Why I'm Heading to now[dev]26: Conversations, Curiosity, and Staying Ahead

[Ishaan Shoor]

I’m headed to now[dev]26 in San Jose on November 4 and 5, and I’ve been thinking about why this one feels worth the trip.

Most of what I know about ServiceNow, I didn’t learn alone. It came from forum threads, shared scripts, someone’s blog post at just the right moment, and people in this Community who took the time to answer a question they’d probably answered a dozen times before.

That’s what keeps pulling me back to events like now[dev]. It’s two days with the Community in one place, building alongside the engineers and product teams behind the platform. For me, it comes down to two things.

1. Nothing beats being in the same room

I’ve learned a lot from the Community online, but some things only happen in person.

Think about the moments that actually changed how you work. For me, they’re rarely a slide. They’re a hallway chat after a session, or a quick “how did you solve that?” over coffee. You can’t plan those. They happen when people are in the same place with a bit of time and curiosity.

A big part of it for me is catching up with familiar faces. Many of the people I’ll see are folks I’ve known for years through the forums and past events, and a few of them have pulled me out of a tricky spot more than once. Those catch-ups are still my favourite part of any event. And every year there are new people in the Community doing great work, so I’m looking forward to meeting them too.

These connections last long after the event. They’re the people you message months later when you’re stuck, and they’re often where the best ideas start.

2. AI is moving fast

What we build on ServiceNow, and how we build it, is changing quickly. New AI tooling seems to land every few months, and each release shifts what’s possible. I don’t want to just keep up. I want to stay ahead and keep growing as a developer. What I like about now[dev] is that AI isn’t the whole story. Half the agenda is core platform work: Flow Designer, integrations, workflows, and apps. Get the foundations right first, then use AI where it actually helps. That’s how I want to grow too. AI works best on a solid platform, not as a shortcut around one.

The event’s tagline puts it well: writing code isn’t the hard part, shipping it is. I want to get better at closing that gap, with the people who built the tools right there to help.

What I hope to take home

I’ll call it two days well spent if I come back with:

• Hands-on practice, not just notes. Every lab runs on a live environment, and you leave with the code and update sets to rebuild it on your own instance.
• A clear view of the roadmap. The developer platform roadmap sessions should help me sort out what I can use today and what to plan for next.
• Answers to my toughest questions. There’s a live AMA with product leaders across Core Platform, Build Agent, Build Anywhere, and EmployeeWorks.
• Stronger connections. Old friends to catch up with, new people to learn from, and conversations that carry on long after November.

Will I see you there?

I’m joining the hackathon on Day 1. It runs from noon to 8 p.m. on November 4, with teams of three to six building with Build Agent and EmployeeWorks. If you’re looking for a teammate, reach out. There’s also a team formation session at 11:30 if you’d rather find your crew on the day.

If you’re still deciding, early-bird pricing of $295 ends on October 14. After that it goes up to $495. If you need your manager’s sign-off, there’s a customizable approval letter on the event page that makes the case for you.

Whether we’ve known each other for years or you’re coming to your first in-person event, I’d love to connect. Come say hello, tell me what you’re building, or bring a problem you’re stuck on.

Join me at now[dev]26.

I’m curious: what are you hoping to get out of it? Let me know in the comments.

Register here: now[dev]26