THE JOURNEY TO A

SUCCESSFUL
IMPLEMENTATION

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 Table of Contents
1. Before You Start 01

2. Planning Your Strategy 05

3. Begin Building 11

4. Deploying & Training 18

5. About the Author 22

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CHAPTER 1:
BEFORE YOU START

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BEFORE YOU START

Starting a ServiceNow implementation is no small task. While ServiceNow may be

an extremely expansive and all-inclusive offering for your business, you need to be
aware of what the implementation entails.

Successful ServiceNow implementations are the result of solid preparation and

a focus on best practice processes and procedures that will be integrated into the
ServiceNow ITSM tool.

WHAT IS ITSM?

Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) as defined in the ITIL® framework

is “the implementation and management of quality IT services that meet the needs of
the business. ITSM is performed by IT service providers through an appropriate mix
of people, process and information technology.”

There are many different products on the market that support ITSM, however, ServiceNow
is the most closely aligned with best practices and the ITIL® framework and is by far
the most robust.
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WHAT IS AN INTEGRATED SERVICE MANAGEMENT TOOL?

An integrated service management tool has the capability of capturing, managing

and reporting on best practice process activities. In addition, a robust service
management tool will appropriately integrate these processes and activities to the
benefit of the organization using the tool. ServiceNow is one of the leading
integrated service management tools in the industry today.

ADVANTAGES OF AN ITSM PROCESS

» Can help support the standardization of processes and activities across

the organization
» Boosts productivity throughout the organization due to reduced manual
processes

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» Reduces operational costs and total cost of ownership (TCO) of
service support
» Enables IT operations metrics to be tracked and measured
» Improves customer service and the customer experience
» Encourages better collaboration between teams and departments

CONSIDER YOUR TIMELINE

Another key factor to a successful implementation is to be aware that

implementations take time. If an organization has already gone through an
ITSM transformation and implemented best practice processes, an average,
ServiceNow tool implementation can take anywhere from 8-12 weeks. However,
if an organization has not introduced best practices, an implementation can
take longer while the ITSM foundation is built within the organization. The
good news is that V-Soft Digital has the experience to help organizations build
that solid ITSM foundation that underpins a successful and timely
ServiceNow implementation.

Questions to consider:

» What is your target deadline to do the switch?

» Is it feasible?
» Will you have the resources to achieve your goal?
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CHAPTER 2:
PLANNING YOUR
STRATEGY

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PLANNING YOUR STRATEGY

You have done enough research on the product to be confident it is right for
your team and you’re ready to jump into ServiceNow. Now what?

First, look at your existing processes and activities. Gather feedback from those
that will be conducting process activities every day. Consider the following:

1. Which of your current processes are executing successfully and

are best practice aligned?
2. Do you have processes that currently are failing, or not quite best
practice aligned? Are they in the strategy for improvement?
3. What is driving the move to ServiceNow and why?

SELECTING THE RIGHT TEAM

The next step — and quite possibly the most important - is assembling the
right people for your ServiceNow implementation. You will need to consider
identifying all stakeholders, appointing process owners, and training one or
more staff to achieve the ServiceNow Certified Implementation Specialist and/
or Certified System Administrator. If dedication of staff resources for those
certifications and support are not within your strategy or budget, no worries.
V-Soft Digital can provide these resources as part of your
implementation.

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CONSIDER A BUSINESS ANALYST OR PROJECT MANAGER

Keeping the project on track is a vital part of the implementation. Consider having a
project manager (PM) or business analyst (BA) to help navigate the implementation to
a successful completion.

Your BA/PM can drive a wide variety of tasks, such as scheduling, management,
procurement and analysis. He or she would also be the liaison between the
stakeholders and the IT team, able to convert technological jargon to more
commonplace terms.

SERVICENOW DEVELOPER CERTIFICATIONS

While not technically required to implement ServiceNow for your business, it is strongly
recommended for the developer(s) that will be working with your implementation to
have at least one ServiceNow administrator certification. We at V-Soft recommend
having your developer(s) certified in ServiceNow Administration and the ITIL® framework.
ServiceNow also provides many more certifications to help youenhance your
knowledge of the platform. Keep in mind that many of the certification courses have
an cost associated, so plan accordingly. They offer classes in Asset Management,
Portfolio Management, Application Creation and more. You can check out the
ServiceNow Training and Certifications page for more information.

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SELECTING A PROJECT ROADMAP

Once you have your team in place you will need to create an implementation plan.
Typically, this begins with understanding the needs of your company and addressing
the processes that need maturing or improving.

So, what do you do now? First, make a list of the processes that you want to include
in your base ServiceNow implementation. Are you moving from an existing service
management tool to ServiceNow? If so, then determine if you will be implementing the
same processes in ServiceNow. Are you new to formal service management tools?
Then your approach is pretty much the same. Determine what processes you want to
implement and ensure you have them documented so your configuration of ServiceNow
will be successful. What processes do we need to “stand up” now? Should we stand up
some in a subsequent phase of implementation? Determining answers to these
questions will help you map out your implementation journey. Another roadmap
consideration is determining if your organization wants to use ServiceNow as closely
out-of-the-box (OOB) as possible. If so, then explore the capabilities of the OOB
modules and applications to ensure they support your requirements. Once you’ve
implemented the desired modules and applications, let the base implementation
settle in for a while. While your users engage with the various elements and capabilities
of ServiceNow be sure to document any issues during implementation for improvement
or correction opportunities.

Make a list of processes that will not work with an OOB ServiceNow implementation.
Why will those processes not transfer? Remember that sometimes it is easier to relearn
a process versus changing everything to try and get it to work the way you’re used to.

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CUSTOMIZATION VS. CONFIGURATION

While your ServiceNow implementation project is meant to simplify the work of many,
there will be some that are still set in their ways and will insist that ServiceNow work
exactly like the tool that’s being replaced or mimic current manual procedures. This is
where you will have to determine if your organization should spend dollars and
resources on customization or use the robust configuration capabilities of ServiceNow
to achieve your objectives. The best practice is to limit customization as much as
possible.

COLLABORATION IS KEY

A great byproduct of team collaboration is a successful implementation. Buy-in for

your ServiceNow rollout is a critical component and it transcends all levels of your
organization, from the top to the front-line. Your implementation should seek out
feedback from all stakeholders from start to finish. The more a team member knows
that he or she is a key part of the project, the higher the likelihood he or she will
become a champion of the use of ServiceNow.

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COMMUNICATION OF CHANGES

Once you start your roadmap journey, start communicating progress, results and
milestones. Set up a structure of meetings, from simple stand-ups for quick and easy
communication, to formal checkpoints and status updates. Make sure your meeting
schema includes meeting minutes where appropriate and action items for roadmap
activities. Consider having a dedicated page or space on a company intranet to keep
users and stakeholders informed during the implementation. The more they know, the
greater adoption you’ll have of ServiceNow! From a project management perspective,
ensure that tasks are kept current and responsible parties are held accountable for
their activities and keep them informed as well.

Training is also a key piece of collaboration. Build required and optional training into
your project plan and keep track of any completed required training. Understanding
who is trained can help you in managing training courses and resources as well as
identifying additional training opportunities.

ANSWER QUESTIONS

There are bound to be many questions from your audience during the transition.
Some people will be ecstatic, while others will be skeptical or concerned.

Be responsive. Assure them of the benefits of a ServiceNow implementation. Champion

the features and benefits. Champion the improvement in support of service
management processes and the efficiencies gained.

Just remember that up to 70% of a great service management

platform’s development occurs outside of ServiceNow.

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CHAPTER 3:
BEGIN BUILDING

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Begin Building
CHOOSE THE CORRECT PRODUCT FOR YOU

Before starting your new ServiceNow implementation, you need to determine which
version will be most appropriate for you and your business. There are different features
and functionalities in each version, so here’s a brief overview for your consideration:

Service Management

ServiceNow is a true enterprise-wide service management tool that supports many

functions and capabilities both inside and outside of IT. It includes modules and
applications such as HR, Facilities, Field Services, Customer Service Management (CSM)
and more to help manage all services and processes of your enterprise.

IT Service Management

The ITSM application suite offers a powerful platform to support most ITIL®
framework-based best practice processes. ServiceNow ITSM can help you reduce
costs, lower risks, improve business agility, and boast IT innovation. Easy upgrades
and customizations allow organizations to focus on improving service
experiences versus software upkeep.

IT Operations Management

ITOM, also called the ServiceWatch Suite, is a suite of applications that includes
Configuration Management (including CMDB), Incident Management, Problem
Management, Change Management and a robust Service Catalog. ServiceWatch
has an array of flexible features to suit your business requirements.

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Business Management

ServiceNow’s Business Management suite of applications reaches beyond the

traditional boundaries of IT to enable other business areas to manage their
services and processes effectively and efficiently and enjoy the same benefits
of using an integrated service management tool. Your organization can better
manage demand, balance resources, manage agile and waterfall projects,
perform budget planning, and map costs to technical business services with
ServiceNow’s Business Management applications. Applications include
Financial Management, Project and Portfolio Management and Application
Portfolio Management.

CORE SYSTEM SETUP

The core configuration can be setup in many ways to address your organization’s
needs. You can use it to create, manage, and distribute applications for your business.
You can install any number of applications that are provided by ServiceNow, or
even create your own custom ones. These applications can be made available to
specific users, roles, or companies. The system can also be configured to send and
receive emails to track service requests.

The primary administrator role, “admin”, has access to all system features and
functionalities regardless of security constraints. Other administrators can be given
rights to manage only certain applications or functionalities.

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HOMEPAGE OPTIONS

Great. You’ve got your ServiceNow instance and are ready to dive right in. The first
place you will come to is the homepage, and it may seem a little overwhelming at first.
Really, it is quite simple. Here are some of the options the homepage will offer in a new
installation:

Ten Cool Things in Ten Short Minutes

One of the first things you will notice in your new implementation is a
section called 10 Things. It will give you a rudimentary understanding of
some of the processes that the ServiceNow platform can handle OOB.

Guided Setup
Guided setup is designed to make it easier for you to get up to speed on
the ServiceNow platform. It includes a step-by-step checklist of things to
implement and make sure you have readily available well before launch.

Business Logic
The business logic function allows an administrator to specify the
actions that the platform takes whenever specific events take place.
Some of the business logic is set up for you, and you can edit existing
rules or create new ones.

Create and Deploy

As the title suggests, the section Create and Deploy is for developing
and activating an application for your ServiceNow instance.

Data Management
This is where you can set up and dictate how you want to have your
data managed. The management functions available include importing,
exporting and archiving database data, as well as configuring fields and
tables.

Diagnostics
This section Provides a diagnostic area to look for performance prob-
lems in your instance, as well as providing debugging tools.

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Email

Customize all inbound and outbound emails that are sent within the
ServiceNow platform. You must have an administrator role to modify any
of the email parameters.

Homepages

Configure different portals, self-service homepages and widget,

depending on the user’s needs. You are also able to edit portal pages
and create unique ITIL homepages for users.

Integration

Integrate third-party systems and data sources into your ServiceNow

instance. The most common integrations are with CMDB, Incident
Management, Problem Management, Change Management, User Ad-
ministration, and Single Sign-on.

Reporting and Analytics

The Reporting and Analytics tool enables you to create visual

representations of data, schedule reports, implement advanced
analytics into your ServiceNow instance, and view or create new reports.

User Administration

Much like any website that has logins, the User Administration tool is
designed to maintain your users in a simple one-stop-shop. Manage
user information, roles, groups, departments or even companies in a
centralized location.

User Interface

Change the look and feel of your implementation, applications

or plugins. Gives you the ability to create visually appealing custom
interfaces, tweak navigation panes, and even enable language
translations for specific locations and users.

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CONSIDER PLUGINS

Plugins are optional applications that offer additional functionality that can be
activated within a ServiceNow instance. There are plugins for many different
types of processes and features, such as Asset Management and ServiceNow
integrations with other platforms. The types of plugins that you will choose to
enable will vary greatly depending on your business needs. Conveniently, the
most basic and common are automatically included in your ServiceNow
instance, such as Problem Management.

The availability of plugins can range from free and easily accessible to by
request only and several thousand dollars. Do your research before finalizing on
a specific plugin. Once a plugin is activated it cannot be disabled or deleted.

BUILD IN ITERATIONS

Many organizations start their journey with creating a list of requirements and
trying to implement all the requirements at once in their new instance of
ServiceNow. As the adage states, “one step at a time.”

You should consider standing up the new instance in logical and manageable
iterations, even OOB functionality. This gives your organization time to learn
and engage. It also ensures your implementation project stays on track and
any anomalies can be addressed quickly with minimal impact to other areas of
the project.

By defining your needs, working in sections, and conducting evaluations after each
one, it’s easier to make adjustments to development activities as well as
documentation. Because of the constant evolution of the project, meetings should
be held frequently to prevent any delays.

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CUSTOMIZATION

If your requirements extend beyond the OOB capabilities and user interfaces of
ServiceNow, it has the flexibility to meet your needs. Forms, user interfaces,
workflows and defaults can be customized to suit your organization. As with OOB
implementations, build customizations in iterations as well.

QUALITY ASSURANCE & TESTING

As iterations of your implementation project are executed, you should expect

to be fully engaged in user acceptance testing (UAT) to ensure that any
implemented OOB capabilities or customizations work as required. Any issues
or exceptions should be fully documented so they can be resolved to your
satisfaction. Ensure test cases exercise required functionality, volume flows,
workflows, and user interfaces.

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CHAPTER 4:
DEPLOYMENT &
TRAINING

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DEPLOYMENT & TRAINING

Once the quality and acceptance testing has been completed and all bugs have
been worked out, it’s time to officially go live. Your next task is to prepare your
organization for the implementation and accompanying organizational changes
(think organizational change management).

BUILD A GOVERNANCE PLAN

There is no sense in implementing a robust service management tool like

ServiceNow if everyone follows different paths and procedures! Don’t forget
that major implementations such as this require guidance and governance.
Create policies, processes, procedures and work instructions as guides for
your team members. For example:
» Policies – Guidelines for the execution of processes and procedures
(including ServiceNow)
» Process – Documented steps and explanations for each process activity
» Procedures – The “how to” of executing process steps
» Work Instructions – Actual instructions on how to use the ServiceNow tool. For
example, “click on this link to create a new incident”

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Creating governance documentation and communicating it thoroughly will help
significantly reduce errors, improve and support ServiceNow acceptance.

GO-LIVE COMMUNICATIONS

It’s time to make Go-Live official! Create a communication plan that includes all
information that you will want to communicate to your user community. This is the
time to:
» Provide a highlight reel or “roadshow” of new capabilities and functionality
» Recognize those that have put extra effort into the project
» Identify and train “Power Users” within specific groups that will help the rest of
their group adjust to the changes
» Consider a reward system for utilization, if applicable
» Schedule regular Q&A sessions for the first few months to answer any
questions or concerns users may have

TRAINING BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER GO-LIVE

Training your staff on the new platform is critical. Never assume that any
member of your team catches on right away and doesn’t need instruction. It
can be catastrophic and ultimately lead to abandonment of the platform if it is
too frustrating to the end user because of their lack of training.

Consider designating a member or a group of members to be your go-to trainers that

will be available to answer any questions a user may have regarding the platform.
Train them extensively on the ServiceNow platform and give them the resources
they will need to educate others successfully.

SERVICENOW PLATFORM TRAINING

“Platform” training is instruction on how to use ServiceNow’s features and is not tied
to a specific service or process. All users that will be using the platform in some
way, even infrequently, should have this training. Platform training includes:

» Basic navigation
» Reports
» Application navigation
» Views
» Bookmarks
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SERVICE MANAGEMENT TRAINING

If this is your organization’s first venture into service management best practices,
a training plan should be developed for your key teams and users. Training in ITIL®
Foundation is a great way to embed service management best practices into your
culture. Since the ServiceNow platform was designed with ITIL® framework
foundational principles, ITIL® Foundation training is the perfect complement to your
implementation journey.

END USER TRAINING

While the end user’s experience should be intuitive and may not require training,
providing them with an overview or guide can provide appropriate support to
those who may not be comfortable with adopting a new way of doing things.
Consider creating a step-by-step guide or prerecorded video with instructions on
how to navigate the user portal.

SURVEYS

Surveys are a great tool to assess adoption and feedback of your new
platform. Consider the option to make them anonymous so you will get
more honest and candid feedback. Make them brief with only 4-6 questions
to make the survey appear to be easy to respond to. Follow up on survey responses!
It’s important to make sure employees know they’re being heard.

MARKETING

Marketing should have a collaborative role in announcements and go-live

messaging. They should also include similar materials to continually market the
new platform as well as its improvements.

Advertising the success rates of other departments, creating infographics from the
data that has been recorded in ServiceNow, promoting Lunch & Learns and
webinars, and creating informational articles should be the marketing department’s
responsibility at least in part.

If you are wanting to be more festive, consider memorabilia such as lanyards,

stress balls, note pads, or water bottles to drive interest regarding the launch.

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CELEBRATE!

Congratulations, you have successfully deployed a ServiceNow implementation!

It’s time to take a moment to sit back and relax. Remember to continue soliciting
feedback from all users on their experience using ServiceNow.

Having a party to celebrate is encouraged! It may even spark other users to try out
the ServiceNow platform as well!

FINAL WORDS

Implementing the ServiceNow platform into your organization may be time - intensive
but is definitely doable with the right resources. It can be a very powerful platform
with an unending number of offerings when configured correctly. If you have any
further questions regarding how to properly implement a ServiceNow instance, feel
free to reach out to one of our experts, free of charge.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
V-Soft Digital is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, USA with strategic loca-
tions in North America and India. Known as an agile and innovative tech-
nology services company, V-Soft was recently recognized among the top 100
fastest-growing staffing companies in North America. V-Soft is a trusted partner
with experience across diverse technology stacks to help business get IT done.

From analysis through implementation, V-Soft offers a blended support model that
meets most any budget and results in a reliable and realistic means to
accomplish integration objectives. Unlike most IT companies, V-Soft has a large
quantity of expertise in-house complimented by on-demand talent via their IT
staffing division. These compelling facts for business when combined with nu-
merous “best of” employer awards make V-Soft Digital the employer of choice
and the partner of choice for the enterprise.

To learn more about V-Soft Digital and its offerings, click here.

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 Learn more
vsoftdigital.com

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