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ServiceNow Products & Workflows

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In this lesson, you will learn:

  • The difference between a product and a workflow
  • The 4 main workflow families and what each one is for
  • The short names (like ITSM and HRSD) you will hear every day
  • How one request can move across many teams

1 Quick look back

In Lesson 1.2, you saw the Now Platform as a building with 3 floors: apps on top, capabilities in the middle, and data at the bottom.

This lesson is all about the top floor. These are the apps that ServiceNow sells. ServiceNow calls them products.

2 Product vs workflow

Think about a big grocery store. 🛒 The store has aisles, like Dairy, Bakery, and Snacks. Each aisle has many items on its shelves.

Key term: Product

One app that ServiceNow sells for one job. Example: IT Service Management (ITSM). It’s like one item on the shelf.

Key term: Workflow family

A group of products for the same kind of people. Example: Technology workflows are for IT teams. It’s like one aisle.

📝 Note: ServiceNow uses the word “workflow” in two ways. A workflow family is a group of products. A flow in Workflow Studio is a set of automatic steps (you’ll build these in Chapter 28). Same word, different meaning!

3 The 4 main workflow families

⭐ Start with these 4. Most companies use at least one of them.

  • 💻 Technology workflows
    For IT teams. Fix problems, keep systems running, and track laptops and software.
  • 🧑‍💼 Employee workflows
    For workers. HR questions, new hires, desks, and office services.
  • 📞 Customer workflows
    For customers. Answer their questions and send technicians to fix things.
  • 🧱 Creator workflows
    For builders. Make your own apps when no product fits the job. Admins use this one a lot! 💪
Map of ServiceNow products. Four workflow families sit on the Now Platform: Technology (ITSM, ITOM, ITAM, SPM), Employee (HRSD, Employee Center, Workplace Service Delivery), Customer (CSM, FSM), and Creator (App Engine, IntegrationHub). A row below lists more families: Security and Risk, Finance and Supply Chain, and Industry solutions.
Figure 1. Workflow families are the aisles. Products are the items on each shelf.

💡 Good to know: ServiceNow has more families too, like Security & Risk, Finance & Supply Chain, and Industry solutions for banks, hospitals, and more. ServiceNow also moves and renames products from time to time, so the groups on its website may look a little different.

4 Short names cheat sheet

ServiceNow people love short names. Here are the ones you will hear the most:

Short name Full name What it does
ITSM IT Service Management Incidents, problems, changes, and requests. The most used product!
ITOM IT Operations Management Finds servers and devices and warns IT before things break
ITAM IT Asset Management Tracks laptops, phones, and software licenses
SPM Strategic Portfolio Management Plans projects and decides what to work on next
HRSD HR Service Delivery HR cases, new hires, and people leaving the company
CSM Customer Service Management Helps customers with questions and problems
FSM Field Service Management Sends technicians out to fix things on site
SecOps Security Operations Finds and fixes security threats
GRC Governance, Risk & Compliance Tracks risks and makes sure rules are followed

⭐ Remember: ITSM is the big one. ServiceNow started with it, and the CSA exam uses ITSM examples (incidents, problems, changes) all the time.

5 One request, many teams

Here’s where it gets cool. Real work often needs more than one team. Let’s follow a new worker named Priya on her first day:

  1. 📋 HR (HRSD): HR opens an onboarding case for Priya. It lists everything she needs.
  2. 💻 IT (ITSM): ServiceNow makes a task for IT to set up her laptop and email.
  3. 🏢 Workplace: Another task asks Facilities to get her a desk and a badge.
  4. 🔔 Priya: She opens Employee Center and sees all her tasks in one place. ✅
One onboarding request for new hire Priya moving across teams: HR opens the onboarding case in HR Service Delivery, IT sets up the laptop and email in IT Service Management, Workplace gets her a desk and badge, and Priya tracks everything in Employee Center. All steps link to the same onboarding case.
Figure 2. One new hire, three teams, one platform. Nobody sends emails back and forth.

💡 Why does this matter? HR, IT, and Workplace use different products, but they all sit on the same platform and share the same data. So one request can pass from team to team with nothing lost. That’s the big reason companies buy more than one ServiceNow product.

6 Companies pick what they need

No company uses every product. Each company buys a license for the products it needs.

  • A small company might only use ITSM.
  • A big bank might use ITSM, HRSD, CSM, SecOps, and GRC.
  • If a product is not licensed and turned on, you won’t see it in the menu.

Key term: License

Permission (that a company pays for) to use a product. As an admin, only turn on products your company has a license for.

⚠️ Heads up: Your PDI is free and comes with many products, but not all of them. Some products must be installed first. You’ll learn how in Chapter 7 (Plugin Installation).

7 Let’s try it: spot products in your PDI

Log in to your PDI. Then:

  1. Click All at the top left.
  2. Type Incident in the filter box. You’ll see menus like Create New and Open. This is ITSM. 💻
  3. Clear the box and type Problem, then Change. These are part of ITSM too.
  4. Type Service Catalog. ITSM uses the catalog for requests, like “I need a new keyboard.”
  5. Now type HR. If you see only a few items, or none, that’s normal. The full HR product (HRSD) isn’t installed in your PDI yet.

📝 Note: Just look for now. Don’t create records yet. You’ll work with incidents, problems, and changes step by step in Chapter 20.

8 Fun facts

  • 🌱 It started with IT
    ServiceNow was founded in 2004 by Fred Luddy. Its first big product was for IT help desks. HR, customer service, and the rest came later.
  • 🏥 Made for your industry
    ServiceNow has special versions for hospitals, banks, phone companies, and more. They use the same platform, with extra features for that industry.

9 Quick recap

  • A product is one app ServiceNow sells. A workflow family is a group of products
  • The 4 main families: Technology, Employee, Customer, and Creator
  • ITSM is the most used product and the base of the CSA exam
  • Other key short names: ITOM, ITAM, HRSD, CSM, FSM, SecOps, GRC
  • Products share one platform, so one request can move across HR, IT, and Workplace
  • Companies only use the products they have a license for

10 Check yourself

Think of your answer first. Then tap to check.

1 In the grocery store example, is ITSM the aisle or the item? Show answer

The item. ITSM is a product. The aisle is the workflow family (Technology).

2 A customer calls because their new fridge won’t cool, and a technician must visit. Which two products help? Show answer

CSM (Customer Service Management) for the call, and FSM (Field Service Management) to send the technician.

3 What does HRSD stand for? Show answer

HR Service Delivery.

4 Which workflow family would you use to build your own app? Show answer

Creator workflows (for example, App Engine).

5 You can’t find the HR menus in your PDI. Is something broken? Show answer

No. The HR product isn’t installed yet. Products must be licensed and installed before they show up.

Nice work! You finished this lesson. 🎉

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