Overview
An app framework is a user environment provided by the ServiceNow Platform and consists of a front-end development framework, UIs, and design tools that deliver an experience to end users.
Each app framework’s front-end allows for different levels of configuration, theming, and customization with their distinct builder tools.
When using prebuilt ServiceNow applications, our product teams make the app framework decisions. If you're building custom applications using the platform, you'll have to select the app framework that works best for you.
Our app frameworks
Workspaces
| Topic | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Personas | Call center agents, help desk staff, investigators, dispatchers, operations staff |
| Use cases | Case management, incident management, request fulfillment |
The Workspace app framework evolved from the Core UI to become a dedicated interface for high-volume users who need to multi-task. It provides a single-pane experience that reduces the switching costs of moving between various records. Workspaces combine landing pages, list views, record views, and other use case-specific views into a tabbed interface, intelligently consolidating important record details in a unified view for agents.
There are multiple ServiceNow applications leveraging the Workspace app framework to help people get work done effectively. Built using the UI Builder, you can tailor application-specific workspaces to your unique business needs or create new workspaces for your bespoke applications.
Now mobile
| Topic | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Personas | Requesters and managers |
| Use cases | Getting help, requesting a product or service, managing tasks and approvals |
Mobile agent
| Topic | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Personas | Field service agent, resource managers, tech support agents, other fulfillers |
| Use cases | management of approvals/cases/tasks, location management, on-and offline record updates, work scheduling |
Our Native Mobile app framework makes ServiceNow accessible for users on the go. Through our two Native Mobile applications – Now Mobile & ServiceNow Agent – you can blend the power of the ServiceNow Platform with the unique capabilities of mobile devices. The Now Mobile app extends core requestor experiences to all your employees while the ServiceNow Agent app empowers your mobile workforce.
Beyond the features provided by ServiceNow applications, customers can create their own mobile apps and customize out-of-the-box applications using our Mobile App Builder.
| Topic | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Personas | Instance administrators, application administrators. |
| Use cases | User management, system configuration, data management. |
Core UI is the foundational app framework for ServiceNow. If you've been in the community for a while, you may recognize it as UI16, Heisenberg, or "List & forms". Until Service Portal was introduced in the Helsinki release, it was the only way most users interacted with ServiceNow data and applications. As our user interfaces matured, Core UI focused on providing system and application administrators a place to manage the platform.
Users of Core UI will primarily interact with list views to browse data sets and form views to manipulate and view individual records. The app framework also provides you with reporting capabilities to summarize data in various chart types on landing pages and dashboards.
| Topic | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Personas | Requesters, information seekers |
| Use cases | Report incident, requesting a service, finding knowledge, consuming content |
The Service Portal app framework provides a front door to ServiceNow for all your employees or customers. It is ServiceNow's requestor-focused interface with lots of configuration flexibility to accommodate your unique needs. Service Portal is designed with a focus on quick interactions so your users can self-serve, find information, resolve issues, and get back to work.
Employee Center is the flagship capability built on this app framework, and customers invest in extending the experience to represent their brand and meet their users' needs.
How to decide on an app framework
There are a few factors to consider when choosing the the right app framework for your solution. Keep in mind, you might need to use more than one if you span diverse personas and use cases.
Key personas
One of the first considerations in your selection is "Who are you designing the solution for?" The traditional personas that interact with ServiceNow— administrators, fulfillers, and requesters, all have different needs, ServiceNow expertise, and technical skills. Consider how your personas relate to these core ones as you make your decision.
Administrators
Administrators are typically highly trained ServiceNow experts. They often have completed or are pursuing certifications from Now Learning to expand their knowledge of the platform. Their interactions with the platform are frequent, and they are often completing specific tasks to enable others to get value from the platform.
Fulfillers
Users working in call centers, help desks, and other high-volume support roles represent the fulfiller persona. They are often trained in using the ServiceNow applications assigned to them rather than the platform. Their focus is to help resolve issues impacting other employees or customers.
Requesters
Often the largest population of users on the platform, requesters also have less expertise in working with ServiceNow. They are infrequent users who are trying to get something quickly from the platform and return back to their primary job responsibilities.
Use cases
The next factor to consider is how the app framework will be used by the personas interacting with it. Consider the frequency of use, amount of data a user will interact with, and complexity of the tasks assigned.
Instance and user administration
The responsibility of managing a ServiceNow instance and the applications running on it often requires direct manipulation of data, configuring records, and viewing reports.
Case management
The work of reviewing issues and requests, following established procedures to resolve them, and communicating with requestors on status and follow ups.
Self service
When employees, customers, or vendors need to request something, get help, or look up information, they need an interface that allows for quick, targeted interactions that require limited knowledge of the system.
Configuration options
It is important to consider how you might tailor the app framework to fit your unique business case or company brand. Each app framework provides different levels of configuration options, and the ability to customize those should factor into your choice. Our out-of-the-box solutions are well-researched to support a design that meets the average customer's needs while being flexible enough to adapt to your unique business.
Theming
Do you want to apply your company's brand to your user interfaces? Does that mean just uploading a logo and changing a few key colors for your company? Or does your brand demand deeper control over fonts, color, components, shapes, and more? While you may have a strong brand, how does it need to be represented in the application?
Page layout
For your application, will the out-of-the-box page structure support how your users work? Consider the changes you'll want to make to maintain your users' state of flow through the application.
Additional functionality
If your application requires additional functionality than the app framework provides through its structure and components, you will want to choose one that supports that extensibility. Some of our app frameworks (Workspaces and Service Portal) provide the ability to extend existing capability or build net new capability through our Builder tools.
Available skills
You also need to consider the available resources on your team and the skills they have related to the ServiceNow platform. A ServiceNow Admin should have comfort configuring any of our app frameworks, plus there are plenty of training and resources available to expand their skills. If you choose to extend the capabilities of your app framework, it is critical to have resources knowledgeable in the technical stack to support them.