3 most-asked questions on upgrading in customised ServiceNow environments

What’s classified as “customised” on the ServiceNow platform? 

Interestingly, despite ServiceNow’s customisation capabilities being one of its primary benefits, there is a lot of confusion about what constitutes as customisation, let’s clarify. ServiceNow defines customisation as a ‘modification of a ServiceNow feature that requires custom coding and/ or some form of implementation outside the out-of-the-box (OOTB) context’. Although typically done, this should not be mistaken for configuration, which is when standard tools built into the ServiceNow platform are used to meet business needs.

Is too much customization bad? 

It has become an urban myth that ‘too much’ customisation bad, but our experts have debunked it by reminding us that ServiceNow encourages its customers to push the platform’s functionality, so it works for their organisation’s unique set of requirements. However, it’s important to note that customisations can become a problem if they are business-critical and if the correct upgrade process is not implemented to ensure they survive the upgrade to the latest release. 

My servicenow environment is too complex, should I re-platform?  

Customers contemplate re-platforming when confronted with the realisation that they are investing excessive time and resources in pushing upgrades through. In such cases, the goal is to regain control of their complex ServiceNow instance and return to the baseline of the latest release. Our experts assert that the decision to re-platform should be determined by comparing the effort needed to remediate the client’s current implementation versus building from scratch. However, the ultimate solution lies in achieving control. 

At Automatepro, we advocate for customers to adopt a proactive approach to manage their servicenow instances and pre-empt the need for re–platforming. Upgrading becomes an arduous process when there is a mammoth number of customisations that need to be manually tested and validated, or when a streamlined documentation process and a comprehensive regression test plan is absent. Thus, the key to mastering upgrades in customised servicenow environments requires clients to understand the breadth of their customisations, across all their instances so they can be tested frequently and kept up to date.  

Test Automation – How AutomatePro can help  

AutomatePro’s suite of Test Automation and DevOps solutions streamlines and accelerates every stage of the software delivery lifecycle, from requirements and design specifications to implementation. Reducing our customers’ costs and exposure to change risk. Here are some game-changing features that help our clients master their ServiceNow upgrades.  

• The Control Console - provides a centralised repository to easily schedule, execute and manage test runs and nightly regression results across all instances.  
• Quick Start AI – is a revolutionary tool enabling the rapid development of tests with minimal user input. It expedites the testing process and increases test coverage while maintaining accuracy. 
• Test Run Viewer - enables end-to-end test coverage with a step-by-step playback of test execution and automatically identifies defects with screenshots, simplifying the user-accepted testing (UAT) process.  
• Upgrade Comparison Report – offers a complete examination of the before and ‘as is’ situation. Reviewing any previously raised defects, functionality changes and assesses what ServiceNow has fixed. Importantly, it also provides prioritisation guidance on where to focus development efforts.  

Are you ready to take your organisation to the next level with the power of test automation? Contact us today to learn how AutomatePro’s suite of Test Automation, DevOps and Documentation tools can transform your business