ServiceNow introduced a new general application design today, and while they were there, they launched the Automation Engine, a tool developed to help companies accelerate the creation of automations including the integration of native RPA (robotic process automation). They are both part of the new San Diego release available today.
Dave Wright, chief innovation officer at ServiceNow said the release is focused on streamlining and simplification. “One of the key things about the new design is this concept of‘ Next Experience, ’this kind of reinvention of what the user experience is,” he said.
Amy Lokey, SVP and global head of design at ServiceNow came to the company about two and a half years ago and began a systematic review of the company’s tools from a design perspective. Although he liked what he saw on the mobile side of things, the web application hadn’t been updated in a long time and he wanted to streamline and modernize it.
“As I dived deeper into our experience with the platform, which is a web-based application with a vast number of tools and applications in it, that’s where I really felt like we had the greatest opportunity to both innovate and modernize. experience, ”he said.
He said they need to be really sensitive to changing the overall design because it’s the hub where people use ServiceNow, and they want to make sure they make it easier without confusing long -time users.
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“It is used by service agents throughout IT, HR and customer service. People are on this application, eight or more hours a day possibly doing their job. So any changes need to be productivity-boosting, need to have intelligence built into the experience, and need to feel cohesive and simple to use to really empower these users, ”Lockey explains.
He said that with all of this in mind, the redesign includes three main components: streamlining navigation, doing smart search and simplifying personalization. All of that was done in the name of making users better and smarter without interrupting the way they work.
In addition, the workspace is now highly customizable and includes elements such as the ability to move menus around where you want them and dark mode for working at night or in bad working conditions. lighting, something that service technicians can experience.
The other big change in the new release is Automation Engine, which combines the previously announced Integration Hub with the robotic process automation capability the company acquired when it acquired Intellibot last year. “The Automation Engine is this combination of Integration Hub and RPA Hub. So what it allows us to do is do the standard integrations, but also do the integrations and be able to execute a bot process that’s on top of it, ”Wright said.
It could be an unguarded bot, one that runs unaccompanied or attend where someone is needed to complete part of the task. Although the tool is designed to simplify ServiceNow workflows by adding automation, implementing it may require someone with a specialty understanding of how work flows in an organization to create them, or help from a third party consultant to build them correctly.