Speaker 1: Welcome to ServiceNow. Think of it as a living map of ITIL in action. Every form and button matches a step in the framework, so you can see where work flows next. We'll take a short tour and point out the key bits.
Speaker 2: If you've never opened ServiceNow before, don't worry. It's just a website with a very organised menu. The goal here is not to master the tool, but to recognise how incidents and requests move through their lifecycle. Let's dive in.
Speaker 1: Start on the homepage. You'll see tiles for the Service Catalog and Incident lists. Most new analysts live here. Click into the catalog and you'll find request forms for common services. Each field is an ITIL data point—category, priority, and short description.
Speaker 2: The incident form looks similar. Raising a ticket captures details like impact and urgency, which combine into priority. The form also shows assignment groups. As we fill it out, notice how required fields enforce consistency. This is ITIL governance without you having to memorise a textbook.
Speaker 1: Once an incident is logged, watch the state field. It starts as New, then moves to In Progress when someone picks it up. If we need more information, we set it to Awaiting Info, which pings the requester automatically.
Speaker 2: When the issue is fixed, change the state to Resolved. After the user confirms, we mark it Closed. Every update is tracked in the Activity log, forming a complete audit trail. This visual flow mirrors the textbook ITIL lifecycle, so you can see each handoff and decision point.
Speaker 1: Now check out the dashboards. These are customisable charts that show how many incidents sit in each state and which teams are handling them. It's a quick pulse check on service health.
Speaker 2: You can also view request queues and SLA countdowns. Managers love these graphs because they highlight bottlenecks at a glance. By reviewing the charts each day, teams spot trends early and keep priorities aligned with customer impact.
Speaker 1: The real value of this quick tour is seeing ITIL concepts play out in a real tool. When you log in to ServiceNow, each click represents a step in the process: raising an incident, updating status, or linking related tasks.
Speaker 2: Remember, the interface is simply a guide. The principles—clear communication, proper escalation and thorough documentation—apply no matter which platform you use. ServiceNow just makes them visible. Use this visual map to reinforce your understanding of ITIL and you'll navigate complex service desks with confidence.