TechNow Ep 88 | Welcome to the Rome Platform Features

[Chuck Tomasi]

The Rome release is coming! This is your chance to find out what hot new platform features are coming to make building on the platform easier than ever before. Join us as we take a look at some new features as well as updates to your favorites to make them even better!

Originally aired: July 27, 2021 8:00 AM PT

• 00:00 Welcome and introductions
• 06:14 App Engine
• 12:27 WebUX
• 19:34 Development and configuration
• 24:14 Workflows and integrations
• 28:55 Security
• 32:03 Platform foundation
• 36:57 Poll and Q & A
• 40:35 Takeaways and next episode
• 42:25 Reference information
• 42:50 Final Q & A

Links Mentioned

• Break Point podcast
• Developer portal
• Community
• Now Learning
• Docs: Rome release notes

Featured Experts

Chuck Tomasi is a Sr. Developer Advocate for ServiceNow. He is a computer science major with over 35 years of IT experience. As a former ServiceNow customer, Chuck won the first Innovation of the Year Award at Knowledge 10. Since joining ServiceNow in 2010 as a Technical Consultant, he has done many large scale ITSM implementations and custom applications, acted as an adjunct instructor for Education Services, created and lead the Technical Best Practices program, makes appearances on Live Coding Happy Hour, created dozens of fit for purpose custom applications, and co-hosts the ServiceNow series "TechNow".

Kreg Steppe is a Sr Staff Enterprise-wide Apps/Sys Developer within ServiceNow Training and Certification developing and supporting cloud training infrastructure. He specializes in developing integration solutions, automating repeatable processes and Cloud Management in ITOM. Kreg's prior experience includes operating his own ISP, developing web applications in PHP, network integration, managing network support, Application Development on cloud based networks, DNS and email server maintenance. He is a Linux enthusiast and enjoys Photography.

Jeremy Duncan is a Platform Architect on the Workflow Design Studio team at ServiceNow. Jeremy is an Enterprise Architect with over 16 years of IT and Service Management experience. His experience and certifications span across retail and manufacturing with focuses on hardware, software, and information security specialties and is a ServiceNow Certified Master Architect. He has done many implementations in both the Enterprise Federal and Commercial spaces since 2011 and brings a breadth of platform knowledge that aids him in sound architectural decisions. He achieved his B.B.A. at MTSU and majored in Information Systems. He spends his free time fighting crime as a volunteer certified police officer in North Nashville since 2012 and enjoys family time, camping, with his wife and kids!

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Questions and Answers

With Delegated Citizen Collaboration, does the invited collaborator need a specific role in order to appear in the Invitees list?

-- Jose017S Maldonado

When you invite them to collaborate, the appropriate roles are taken care of automatically. This was designed so one citizen dev could invite another. The system admin simply approves.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Is there an "installation for dummies" guide out there? I've found it quite challenging to even get AES installed with mystery app dependencies, etc., that were hard to get around.

-- Robert Elliott

There isn't a dummies guide as far as I know for AES. I'll pass this along to our product team so they can follow up to understand where the challenges are and address them.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Can mobile app builder be used on existing/already built mobile apps or is that only for net-new mobile apps?

-- Chris Pearson

While I haven't had hands-on experience yet (because it's not out), my understanding is that it will work with mobile apps built in pre-Rome releases.

-- Chuck Tomasi

how do I upgrade PDI to Rome release?

-- Prashant Shah

Sign in to developer.servicenow.com, click the "down arrow" next to your initials in the upper right, then choose Upgrade Instance from the list of choices.

-- Chuck Tomasi

how does workspace affect existing ui pages?

-- Sherwin Ghavam

Existing UI pages are written in Jelly. This is not compatible with workspaces.

-- Chuck Tomasi

If we already have a scoped app in the store, what can we do to add it as an Experience?

-- Ittai Corem

I'm not sure I totally understand the question. If you're looking to add mobile and workspace, you can do that from Mobile Studio, Dev Studio, and UI Builder in Rome quite easily.

-- Chuck Tomasi

I am on my PDI but do not see how do I upgrade to Rome release?

-- Prashant Shah

Here you go. https://developer.servicenow.com/dev.do#!/guides/paris/developer-program/pdi-guide/managing-your-pdi

-- Kreg Stepp

What do you mean by Theming?

-- Avinash D

Within UIB you are able to brand and theme. See: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/quebec-application-development/page/administer/ui-builder/task/workspace-branding-theming-settings.html

-- Jeremy Duncan

Will there be any enhancements to UI Builder Portal Experiences in order to allow them to be responsive (bootstrap-like)?

-- Chris Pearson

That's on the radar. It did not make it in the Rome release.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Have you also added ATF for Agent Workspace?

-- Nick Hinton

ATF Form steps (open new form, field value validation) were existing and functional for Agent Workspace in Quebec (possibly before, can't find it in the release notes and don't have a Paris instance anymore), but it's limited to Agent Workspace and does not work for other (custom or product) workspaces, neither for Configurable Workspaces).

-- Lisa Holenstein

can we enable MFA for JUST the Security Admin role; after already using MFA/third party login (okta)?

-- Jeffery Page

Not that I'm aware. It's a great idea. I recommend posting it to the idea portal on the community.

-- Chuck Tomasi

What access is required for developer to create a new app or spoke?

-- Avinash D

Typically this is done with admin access, however App Engine Studio can provide non-admins a subset of low-code dev capabilities.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Do we need to learn any coding language for ui builder similar to angular js for service portal? Will service portal be deprecated?

-- Ankit Kathuria

Q1: No, UI builder was designed to be clicks, not code. There are opportunities to write server side code (e.g. GlideRecord queries), but that's nothing new. Q2: Service Portal will remain, it just won't be receiving any updates at this point.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Is the plan to move most things to the store?

-- Jace Benson

Hey Jace, the direction is clearly to move many things to the store to provide for increased flexibility/velocity for updates, but I can't say if it's going to be "most". All those "good old global ITSM apps" aren't likely to be going anywhere soon. :)

-- Chuck Tomasi

A coworker wants to know what is glowing behind Jeremy

-- michael smith

Tell your co-worker 🙂 that's a book case with string lights behind it.

-- Jeremy Duncan

Is this Security more like MFA?What's more advanced features in this?

-- Revathi D

Sorry, I don't understand the question out of context since I don't recall which talking point it refers to. If you can clarify in the comments what "this security" means, perhaps we can answer. Thanks.

-- Chuck Tomasi

What makes the CMN structure different from the previous Profiles and Community features? Or is this an extension of that feature set?

-- Nick Hinton

I assume you are talking about the last few slides about the customer table structure and inbound email. The main point I was trying to make is that users can now have multiple emails to represent different personas (customer and employee, for example) and the inbound email would resolve and recognize correctly.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Can the timer-field type be used in the new UI builder/workspaces?

-- Richard Prevost

That is a good question. There are basically two questions in that. If you used a form component, does the timer-field display and work correctly (I don’t know but this should be easy to test on an oob workspace). The second would be is there a component I can use that is a timer field type - I’m 90% sure this is a no.

-- Brad Tilton

In the Security slide, there was a mention about tracking extracted data would this include data extracted via API, Reports , Export sets etc ?

-- Irston Antao

Currently this is only for exporting from a list. I've got a question to the dev team about monitor the other vectors. If you feel it's an important point, I recommend adding it to the idea portal on the community (https://community.servicenow.com) Thanks.

-- Chuck Tomasi

I have a query regarding the inbound email action. We have field called personal email id user profile will this be considered for inbound without mapping it with guest

-- Sangeetha Ramanathan

Custom fields on sys_user are not evaluated as part of the inbound process. To get this to work in Rome and beyond, you would need to map/copy that email address to the cmn_notif_device table and associate it to that user. A simple fix script should suffice for the initial data load and business rule to keep them up to date.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Will all questions be answered in the post?

-- Jace Benson

Yes

-- Kreg Stepp

Will the studio mobile builder get legacy with Mobile App Builder ?

-- Rohit Bhadoria

I'm not sure I entirely understand the question. It sounds like you are asking if Mobile Studio will support pre-Rome mobile apps. My understanding at this point is "Yes". If I have misunderstood your question please respond in the comments below. Thank you

-- Chuck Tomasi

Is there a specific role that the invited collaborators need to have to appear in the Invitee list?

-- Jose017S Maldonado

Not that I am aware, but I haven't had a chance to reverse engineer the automation and understand exactly what happens with the new AES collaboration/approval process.

-- Chuck Tomasi

What percentage of SN named scopes will be extensible in Rome so that modifications to OOB objects can be managed as new scoped apps rather than update sets?

-- Chris Pearson

With the addition of source control to SN Plugin apps (like CSM and HR), all changes, including global, can be managed in Studio and take advantage of source control. There should no longer be a need for update sets.

-- Chuck Tomasi

does App Engine Studio require a license?

-- Daniel Boyette

Yes Daniel, it does.

-- Jeremy Duncan

Jeremy's connection is really cutting in and out.

-- Scot Northern

Sorry Scot, i'll switch to a new connection, thanks!

-- Jeremy Duncan

Is configurable workspace available only on AES?

-- Irston Antao

Hey Irston, while we have kicked Workspace out of the Guided App Creator in Dev Studio, you can create one directly from UIB without AES. Chuck is covering now that fact.

-- Jeremy Duncan

Do the Agent Workspaces work with the existing UI Polices, Client Scripts, etc that already exist in UI16?

-- Henry Sosa

I know UI Policies are supported and client scripts that adhere to best practices (like using g_form). I have to check again, but I though there was a checkbox that said something along the lines of "Works with Workspace". I could be thinking of UI actions though. As always, testing is always advised.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Can admin provide access to developers to build apps or spoke?

-- Avinash D

Yes

-- Chuck Tomasi

inbound email actions -> can we attach a shared email address to one user? besides their own personal email address

-- Paula Onuta

Technically, yes. Although, I'd be curious to understand the use case behind this. Curious.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Is new Condition Builder in Report Designer as well?

-- Lena Steingard

Short answer: No. The new condition builder in UI Builder replaced the standard UI16 condition builder to take advantage of the data constructs in UI builder (e.g. @context). Since that doesn't exist in reports, there's no need.

-- Chuck Tomasi

have atf's tables been added to the studio list of tables?

-- Jace Benson

What do you mean by "studio list of tables"? Do you mean from the Create Application File picker? I.e.: Are you looking to manage your ATF tests/suites/steps directly in Studio?

-- Chuck Tomasi

Anything new in Rome for Virtual Agent or AI Search? Is there a webinar I can tune in to?

-- Sarin Devraj

Apologies, we didn't cover those here. Technically we aren't allowed to until general availability in September. While I don't have details, I'm sure there will be upcoming webinars, podcasts, and videos in the community about those in Q3/Q4.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Is UI Framework included in the ATF improvements?

-- Nick Hinton

I'm assuming you mean "Can you test workspaces with ATF yet?" I believe that's coming in the next release. #safeharbor

-- Chuck Tomasi

Can the view of the workspace also be configured based on the role?

-- Avinash D

Yes

-- Chuck Tomasi

Can Source Control be utilized for Global Apps ?

-- Rohit Bhadoria

Yes. That was available in Paris, if I recall correctly.

-- Lisa Holenstein

can you schedule installs of update sets?

-- Jace Benson

Sorry, not at this point as a standard feature. There may be a third party library/app on the share page of the developer portal that some creative person wrote.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Can you demonstrate mobile app builder?

-- Ankit Kathuria

Unfortunately do the amount of information and limited time on this episode we cannot do demos. However, we will be doing follow on episodes of Creator Toolbox on Tuesday mornings and Live Coding Happy Hour (Thurs/Fri) that go in to deeper detail. The Mobile Builder is on the agenda.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Are there any resources for pro-code design and development?

-- Denwood Fairley

Yes, we have several on the developer portal. developer.servicenow.com

-- Chuck Tomasi

Will there be some training modules specific to Mobile App Builder in the Now learning web site?

-- Denwood Fairley

Yes. That's underway now.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Is this iOS or Android support or both?

-- Mohit Nagpal

I assume you mean the Mobile App Builder. Short answer: Yes.

-- Chuck Tomasi

any update in Rome related to regress ATF recorder?

-- Deepika Wahi

Not that I'm aware of. I love the idea. Have you posted it to the Idea Portal on the Community site yet?

-- Chuck Tomasi

If I already have the custom app developed in Studio, can I switch to AES? Will my app show up in AES?

-- Jenny Hu

Hi Jenny! Yes! You will have to make sure the application that exists is tied to the project for the users that need access to manage/build that application!

-- Jeremy Duncan

That scheduled plugin install also imply I can install multiple plugins in parallel right away?

-- Sandeep Deswal

That sounds plausible if you schedule it to do multiple installs and the time is 'now' (or a minute or two in the future.) Worth testing.

-- Chuck Tomasi

What is the underlying technology behind workspace?

-- Swarnadeep Nandy

It's a ServiceNow specific technology based on web components designed to abstract the underlying technology such that if the technology landscape changes, you're not left with technical debt (as was the case with Jelly and AngularJS).

-- Chuck Tomasi

So when you say "Workspace" is configurable, does it include "Agent Workspace"?

-- William Tholath

Configurable Workspaces are the 2nd gen of workspace technology. The original Agent Workspaces were not compatible with the UI Builder. Most people use the generic term "Agent Workspace" to include all workspaces, but that's not entirely accurate.

-- Chuck Tomasi

so we can edit csm in studio now?

-- Jace Benson

Yes, that's my understanding. Wei'll be testing this out on upcoming videos.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Did someone drop a sugary drink on the keyboard? :)

-- Roshan Rao

Seems as though doesnt it?

-- Jeremy Duncan

I am new to ServiceNow: so Flow Designer is the definitive way to go and not Workflow (Legacy)?

-- Dennis Riedel

Yes. Create new flows in Flow Designer, maintain any existing legacy workflows in Workflow. Don't create new with the old tools. That's a bit like distributing a new movie on VHS today. :)

-- Chuck Tomasi

Will there be any Performance impact on Instance for Reactive Scan

-- Mohit Kochar

Answered live, thanks!

-- Jeremy Duncan

can the tables be configured for the studio so that we can include tables like aft steps/suites etc?

-- Jace Benson

Not as of Rome.

-- Lisa Holenstein

Will you be purging the old Flow Var_Dictionary entries? Or will there be a script provided to clean up that legacy data?

-- Nick Hinton

It's done automatically by the system. While I don't have the details, I have to assume there's a scheduled job somewhere that takes care of it.

-- Chuck Tomasi

I would like to read more about licensing and best practices for licensing? any changes in Rome?

-- Denwood Fairley

When it comes to licensing, I invite you to reach out to your account team. To post something here would only serve as disinformation over time.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Does Configurable Workspace work in Service Portal vs. Native UI. Or can you use it to create a Workspace from Service Portal?

-- Wesley Breshears

Answered Live, thanks for your question Wesley!

-- Jeremy Duncan

Does 'deleting' an APP also restore the Namespace? Or will we still need to open a HI ticket to have the corrected on the database?

-- Nick Hinton

Confirmed on my PDI and regular Rome instance. The namespace is now freed up, no matter if a delegated developer or admin deletes the app. Deleting in AES still only soft deletes (as of Rome EA, no further AES store release installed).

-- Lisa Holenstein

Beginner question: What is the difference between App Engine Studio and Dev Studio?

-- Kenneth Zabriskie

Hey Kenneth! AES is really the next-gen of Dev Studio. Making things easier for our Citizen Developers to build without writing code. Honestly, as a proDev, I think AES speeds up the build of apps...so...personally, I think it is a one-stop shop for all l

-- Jeremy Duncan

After Rome docs update/refresh I can't find a lot of Catalog documentation - not even the OOTB prescribed RITM lifecycle. I understand this is part of the push towards a Universal Request (like it, kudos!) but even the Request Fulfillment process guide from Success centre doesn't contain those details. I need to find it :<

-- Martyna Batko

Was your question related to the creation and maintenance of catalog items? This sounds more process oriented than development? Without knowing which I have a difficult time pointing you in the right direction. If you still cannot find what you are looking for, leave a comment below or try contacting your account's solution consultant. Thanks.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Does e-mail have to be unique across all personae? i.e. is it possible for 2 different users to have the same secondary persona e-mail address? (example case may be a group e-mail address)

-- Daniel Dollbaum

I'd have to understand a little better what you are trying to do. Best practice is to use group email address on group records and user email address on user records.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Are there any enhancements for Domain sep?

-- Daniel Schreiber

Many of the features today support domain separation. Sorry for not clarifying that. I know this is important to many people. I invite you to check out the Dom Sep release notes. https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/rome-release-notes/page/release-notes/now-platform-administration/domain-separation-rn.html

-- Chuck Tomasi

Woo! AES is the best thing ever!

-- Dale Stubblefield

WOOHOO!

-- Jeremy Duncan

create defects in Test management 2.0.....I think there is an idea created for this during Madrid...is there any chance we get this in Rome Release?

-- Ranganayaki SK

I have not heard. I suggest following up with customer support or check the Idea Portal on the community.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Is the source control part "native" or does it rely on Git?

-- Laszlo Balla

We integrate with external Git based source control. https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/rome-application-development/page/build/applications/concept/c_SourceControlIntegration.html

-- Chuck Tomasi

Can the Playbook Record Generator work with Security Incident Response plugin?

-- Henry Umansky

The Playbook Record Generator works with all tables that you can use as trigger tables. This Docs page lists all tables covered by the different PAD licenses: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/rome-servicenow-platform/page/administer/process-automation-designer/concept/activate-process-automation-designer.html#activate-process-automation-designer

-- Lisa Holenstein

Dev studio vs app engine studio ? What is your opinion ?

-- Christopher Crefcoeur

Dev Studio for the pro-devs, AES for citizen devs (and pro-devs who need certain features - quick start!)

-- Chuck Tomasi

Can Error Handling actions have access to error data pills ?

-- Rohit Bhadoria

Answered live, thanks Rohit!

-- Jeremy Duncan

How the reactive scan is different from Health Scan ?

-- Shrikant Bhate

Answered live, thanks Shrikant!

-- Jeremy Duncan

Will the delete application feature be applicable on the existing custom apps?

-- Revathi D

Yes, it's a new option in the delegated development access.

-- Lisa Holenstein

Is there a timeline for whne now components will be available on sp (to expand on statement earlier?)

-- Jace Benson

I have not heard of such a plan. Now components are not compatible with Service Portal. Two different technologies.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Why is the Servicenow CLI installer behind a login?

-- Jace Benson

How i wish it weren’t… but that’s how our store works today, and legal hasn’t approved us just publishing the client installers elsewhere. At this point, you need to be a customer with a HI (support) login.

-- Chiarng Lin

Platform encryption. How does this affect instances with database encryption?

-- Marc See

I'm going to leave this for our next episode on Encryption. I hope you can join us on 8/31.

-- Chuck Tomasi

can we enhance existing service portal using UI Builder?

-- Ranganayaki SK

Sorry no. They are two different technologies. Service Portal is based on AngularJS and UI Builder uses the Now Experience technology.

-- Chuck Tomasi

with future updates can we expect workspaces enabled with AI search ? Right now its only available at portal, mobile app & VA

-- Deepika Wahi

As far as I know, an AI search 'search application configuration' is an option for the 'Search Input' component for Configurable Workspaces: https://developer.servicenow.com/dev.do#!/reference/now-experience/quebec/shared-components/sn-search-combobox/uib-setup

-- Lisa Holenstein

Will there be a more easy way to setup SSO for AzureAD (Microsoft) for connecting integration hub with microsoft services?

-- Dominik Nieberding

Our integration/credential team is working on making the connections and credentials easier to manage and implement.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Will we see App User Persona extending in other applications like HRSD for new hires, employees, etc?

-- Joseph Fiedler

Interesting question. I don't have insight in to what HRSD is doing, sorry.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Are the final release notes for Rome posted, or are these still being updated?

-- Eric Brooks

As far as I know they are still being updated. Around GA (General Availability time) they should be stable.

-- Chuck Tomasi

Will we see any UX improvements for scope management/selection?

-- Joseph Fiedler

Yes. I saw some mock ups for what is on the drawing board for future releases and it's very exciting.

-- Chuck Tomasi

In slide 42, if the user have the same email id in two personas, what will happen

-- Krishnasundar Mani

First found - first used. Like any other lookup.

-- Chuck Tomasi

What about pipeline in AES?

-- Ashutosh Munot

Rome has some steps in the right direction to help automate moving from dev to prod. More to come.

-- Chuck Tomasi