How a noncoder built an app that’s used in 16 offices

Hanumanta R. has proven you don’t need coding expertise to build apps with global impact. As a workplace services manager for ServiceNow based in Hyderabad, India, Hanumanta specializes in coordinating and streamlining the operational processes that keep our offices running.

Since discovering the low-code and no-code capabilities of the ServiceNow platform, he’s created and contributed to several apps that help his colleagues work better—including one that’s being used in 16 ServiceNow offices around the globe.

We caught up with Hanumanta, who’s worked in workplace services his entire career, to find out more about his journey from professed noncoder to digital innovator.

What prompted you to explore app development?

I was given an opportunity to join the ServiceNow finance citizen developer program. Apart from learning how to use the ServiceNow low- and no-code tools to create our own apps, we focused on identifying challenges in our line of work that we might be able to solve using digital technologies.

That sparked several ideas for transforming manual processes into automated solutions that could save our colleagues time while improving the quality of our work, including one that’s being used in 16 of our offices worldwide.

Can you tell us how that app came about?

The Automated Courier Mail Communication app, dubbed “Hawkeye” by our team, automates logging and notifications for important courier deliveries.

Originally, our mailroom team managed courier information manually—using spreadsheets to track deliveries and emails to notify employees that a courier had arrived for them.

This was not only labor-intensive, but also risky because team members could potentially miss sending timely notifications for critical couriers, such as those carrying banking, legal, or compliance documents. Couriers are required to deliver their items within a predefined time frame to the specified individual, so timely notifications are critical to avoiding backlogs and internal disruptions.

I realized that if we automated the mailroom process, we could greatly reduce the risk of errors in data entry, misdelivered items, and delayed notifications while also making the work of our mailroom team much less stressful. I had never thought of building my own app to solve that challenge until that point.

How did you go about turning the idea into an app?

I started by evaluating the current mailroom data formats and email reminder processes. Then I developed an intuitive data entry form that minimizes manual inputs and maximizes system-generated information.

We went through several development iterations to make the form as user-friendly and secure as possible. This meant running user acceptance testing for every change we made to ensure we were satisfying regional and country requirements.

Sometimes we encountered difficulties with the app’s internal logic, but we had help from Ayush M., one of our experienced developers, to overcome these challenges. Our finance colleague Rohit K. also stepped in to advise on compliance and technical matters where I had less formal experience.

We played to our strengths in different specialist disciplines—workplace, finance, and software design—which meant we only took around 30 hours over three months to complete the app. Hawkeye now saves regional mailroom teams many hours per month and has received positive feedback from employees.

Why do you think the app is so successful?

We were solving a very specific problem that we experienced every day, so I was confident that the app would be welcomed if it met my colleagues’ expectations.

I was also able to draw on my many years in workplace services to understand the intricacies of the problem we were solving, which those outside this domain may have found more challenging. ServiceNow App Engine Studio greatly simplified the development process so that I could focus on applying my expertise rather than getting stuck in traditional code.

Our business problem was also relevant globally, so I made sure it could support global tracking and mail notifications across all ServiceNow offices—not just Hyderabad. That helped immensely in creating impact for teams in other countries, as well as gaining the interest of some of our customers.

What advice would you give other organizations?

Low- and no-code development is not just empowering, but also inspiring. There is a unique thrill and excitement to finally solving problems that you have wrestled with for months or years. It makes what once felt impossible suddenly achievable.

After experiencing that excitement, I’m now thinking about expanding this app into a more end-to-end solution that supports even more regions. It is an infectious feeling, and the more business leaders can encourage it to spread, the more positive impact they are going to have.

Find out more about the benefits of citizen development.