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Platform Analytics Overview

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In this lesson, you will learn:

  • What Platform Analytics is
  • How it’s different from a single report
  • How Platform Analytics and Performance Analytics fit together

1 Beyond one report

In Chapter 22, you built single reports. But a manager usually wants to see many numbers together, and see how they change over time. That’s what Platform Analytics is for. 📈

Key term: Platform Analytics

ServiceNow’s modern place for data: dashboards, visualizations, and KPIs, all in one experience.

2 What’s inside

Platform Analytics shown as three layers. At the top, dashboards that people look at, with tabs and filters. In the middle, visualizations like bar charts, single scores, and trend lines. At the bottom, the data: live table data from reports, and KPI scores collected over time by Performance Analytics. A note explains that Performance Analytics adds history, targets, and trends.
Figure 1. Dashboards show visualizations. Visualizations read live data or KPI history.
Part What it is
Dashboards Pages with many charts, tabs, and filters (Lesson 23.2)
Visualizations The charts and numbers on a dashboard
Indicators (KPIs) Numbers measured over time, like “open incidents each day” (Lesson 23.3)
Libraries Lists of saved dashboards, visualizations, and KPIs

3 Platform Analytics vs Performance Analytics

These two names sound alike. Here’s the difference:

Platform Analytics

The experience: where you build and look at dashboards and visualizations. Every instance has it.

Performance Analytics

The engine for KPIs. It collects scores every day, so you can see history, targets, and trends. Full use needs a license.

📝 Note: ServiceNow keeps moving reports and dashboards into the Platform Analytics experience. In newer releases, classic dashboards and Performance Analytics content are managed from there too. Menu names may differ a little between releases.

⭐ Remember: A report answers “what now?”. KPIs answer “how is it changing?”.

4 Let’s try it: look around

  1. Click All and type platform analytics. Open it (it may be called Platform Analytics or Analytics Center).
  2. Find the Library. Look at the Dashboards list.
  3. Open any ready-made dashboard. Count how many visualizations it has.

5 Quick recap

  • Platform Analytics is the modern place for dashboards and visualizations
  • Performance Analytics collects KPI scores over time
  • Dashboards show many visualizations together
  • Reports show now. KPIs show change over time

6 Check yourself

Think of your answer first. Then tap to check.

1 Which one collects scores every day to show trends: Platform Analytics or Performance Analytics? Show answer

Performance Analytics.

2 What is a dashboard? Show answer

A page that shows many visualizations together, with tabs and filters.

3 Your manager asks, “Are open incidents going down this quarter?” Report or KPI? Show answer

A KPI (indicator), because it shows change over time.

Nice work! You finished this lesson. 🎉

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