What Should I Know Before Starting On-Demand App Development?

[jademerlin2]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to learn more about on-demand app development and would appreciate some guidance from those who have experience building or launching these types of applications.

Before getting started, I have a few questions:

1. What are the key things I should know before starting on-demand app development?
2. Which industries benefit the most from on-demand applications today?
3. What are the must-have features for a successful on-demand app?
4. Is it better to build a native app or use a cross-platform framework?
5. Which technologies or development frameworks do you recommend for beginners?

I'd love to hear your experiences and recommendations.

Thanks in advance!

[Dr Atul G- LNG]

Hi @jademerlin2 

Application development is about building a new application from scratch. It starts with understanding the business need, identifying the problem to solve, and deciding on the best approach to build the solution. There are many factors involved, such as business requirements, architecture, technology choices, integrations, scalability, security, and user experience. Let me try to answer each of these points based on my experience.

1. What are the key things I should know before starting on-demand app development?

Atul:
The first step is to understand the business need and the business use case. Identify what problem the application is trying to solve and whether it can be built using existing platform capabilities or if it requires development from scratch.

You should also understand:

• What data is required.
• Where the data will come from.
• Whether integrations are needed.
• Whether existing components can be reused.

Once these are clear, design the application architecture and then move into development.

2. Which industries benefit the most from on-demand applications today?

Atul:
Almost every industry benefits from custom or on-demand applications. Organizations build these applications when an off-the-shelf solution does not completely meet their business requirements.

It is difficult to say one industry benefits more than another, as healthcare, banking, manufacturing, retail, telecom, education, and many others all use custom applications as part of their digital portfolio.

3. What are the must-have features for a successful on-demand app?

Atul:
There is no single answer because every application has different business needs.

However, today User Experience (UI/UX) is one of the most important factors. An application should:

• Be easy to use.
• Have a clean and intuitive interface.
• Be easy to maintain.
• Include reporting and analytics where required.
• Be scalable and secure.

With AI becoming increasingly important, adding AI capabilities where they provide real business value is also worth considering.

4. Is it better to build a native app or use a cross-platform framework?

Atul:
It depends on the nature of the application.

If you are already working on a platform like ServiceNow, it is usually best to build using the platform capabilities.

If you are developing outside a specific platform, then cross-platform frameworks can be a good option as they allow you to build once and support multiple platforms while integrating with different technologies.

5. Which technologies or development frameworks do you recommend for beginners?

Atul:
Start with the fundamentals before choosing a framework.

Learn:

• HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
• Basic database concepts.
• REST APIs and integrations.
• Git/GitHub for version control.

Once you are comfortable with the basics, choose a platform or framework based on your career goals. For ServiceNow developers, start with the Now Platform, JavaScript, Flow Designer, IntegrationHub, and App Engine Studio. If you're interested in general application development, frameworks such as React, Angular, Node.js, or .NET are excellent options.

[Tanushree Maiti]

Hi @jademerlin2 

Read this Servicenow Page : https://www.servicenow.com/workflows/creator-workflows/what-is-application-development.html

Also check:

Developing your application 

 https://www.servicenow.com/community/app-development/ct-p/app-development

https://www.servicenow.com/solutions/application-development.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78SZeeIlMxU&t=299s

[Abhishek Pal]

From a ServiceNow perspective, if you are planning to learn on-demand/custom application development, I would suggest focusing on these key areas:

• App Planning: Understand the business requirement, users, process flow, scope, and whether the requirement should be handled through an existing ServiceNow application or a new scoped app.

• Data Model: Learn custom tables, fields, reference fields, table relationships, table extension, and application scope.

• User Experience: Forms, lists, related lists, Workspace, UI Builder, Service Portal, or Employee Center depending on the use case.

• Business Logic: Client Scripts, UI Policies, Business Rules, Script Includes, GlideRecord, and GlideAjax.

• Automation: Flow Designer / Workflow Studio, approvals, notifications, subflows, scheduled jobs, and events.

• Security: Roles, ACLs, record/field-level security, Application Access, and cross-scope access.

• Integrations: REST/SOAP APIs, IntegrationHub, authentication, JSON handling, and MID Server where required.

• Testing & Deployment: ATF, functional testing, Update Sets, Application Repository, and DEV → TEST → PROD deployment.

• Reporting: Reports, dashboards, KPIs, and audit/history.

• Best Practices: Use scoped applications, reusable logic, proper security, performance-conscious scripting, and avoid unnecessary customization.

For learning, App Engine Studio is a good place to start:

App Engine Studio Overview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kl2WMgMG9A

App Engine Studio Practical Tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAY1V9UlL6Y

ACL / Security Basics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nym3UXspS4M

I would also recommend building one small custom app, such as a Travel Request, Vendor Onboarding, Asset Request, or Approval Management application, because it helps you understand data model, security, automation, scripting, and reporting together.