New year, new release! Details for what is in our Istanbul release is no secret. You can get the skinny on new and changed features in Istanbul in the release notes, now up on the product documentation. As we have started to hit the ground running with 2017, we're all thinking about goals and resolutions for the new year. Make one of your work resolutions to bring your instance into 2017 with the Istanbul release. The QPP is moving instances on and up, and as you contemplate upgrading you can't help but think about what life would be like with a few new bits and baubles from Istanbul.
Istanbul features to make your 2017 ServiceNow resolutions more successful
- Automated Test Framework (aka ATF)
- User Criteria in KMv3 can be set at the article level
- Shopping cart in Service Portal
- JavaScript debugger
- Portfolio budget forecasting
- Guided setup for MID Servers and Discovery
- Service Map Planner
- Change Advisory Board Workbench (aka CAB)
Automated Test Framework
Think of Automated Test Framework (ATF) as the ability to double-check your answer. Think of it as a lifeline when Regis asks you, "Are you sure?" and "Would you like to phone a friend?" after you have upgraded your instance. Automated Test Framework allows you to run an automated test against your instance after modifying it or upgrading it to make sure things work as they are supposed to.
A few automated tests you can perform:
- Checking user actions
- Test Business Rules and scripts
- Perform unit tests using Javascript
It allows you to execute a series of tests in a specific order to ensure that your instance is working as you would hope. Of course, before you start getting your hands dirty with ATF, I would highly suggest understanding how to build and run your first automated test. See what community user goranlundqvist thinks of ATF in My Top 5 Istanbul features.
User Criteria at the article level in Knowledge Management v3
With Knowledge Management v3 in Fuji, we gave you the ability to create new knowledge bases and set user access abilities to those individual knowledge bases. Well, In Istanbul, we are bringing you even more granular control to your content by enabling User Criteria at the article level. This means that you can specify which users can read an article within each user-criteria specified knowledge base.
Shopping cart widget on the Service Portal
There seemed to be the need to have the Shopping cart widget available in the Service Portal. Well, now there is! In Istanbul, the shopping cart widget is used in combination with your Service Portal, allowing you to manage orders in one place. You can now request items, bundle items, and assign the items to the requestor. If you are upgrading to Istanbul, this feature is enabled automatically. If you would prefer to disable it for any reason, you can do so by follow the direction in Enable the Shopping Cart widget.
Script Debugger
What if I told you, in Istanbul, application developers now have the re-instated power of debugging server side JavaScript? Well now you can! If you recall, the Script Debugger was available in a previous release, but due to some complications we did some tweaking before bringing it back. I would say this is the best comeback since Luke Skywalker was found on that desolate mountain hill by Rey in The Force Awakens.
A few things you can do with the script debugger:
- Review code line by line.
- View values of local, global, and private variables.
- Pause a current session at the break point.
For a detailed look at what can and can't be done with the debugger, see dave.slusher's post JavaScript Debugger in Detail.
Portfolio budget forecasting
Wouldn't it be nice to know how much something is going to cost you down the road? I know I have. Whether it is buying a new car, installing a new app, or taking on a new project, I want to know what this is going to cost or save me down the line. In Istanbul, project and portfolio managers can forecast how much a project will actually cost later on with Portfolio budget forecasting. This is determined based on the cost and changes made to the project.
Portfolio forecasting can be done with the it_portfolio_manager role and can be accessed by navigating to Project > Portfolios > All, opening the portfolio, and clicking the Create/Revise Forecast Plan.
Guided setup for Discovery and the MID server
We introduced guided setup in Helsinki and now we are discovering it has uses in other parts of the platform. In Istanbul, we now walk you through setup and configuration of your MID Server and Discovery properties. A Guided Setup system helps you create credentials and create a Discovery schedule using a series of easy-to-follow panels.
Guided setup replaces "Discovery Quick Start" in upgraded instances. To get started, navigate to ITOM Guided Setup > Discovery.
Service Map planner
In the past, the process of creating a new business service was long, intensive, and often tested your patience. The Service Map planner in Istanbul allows you to gather and test all service mapping information in one central location. Manage the process of planning, creating, and reviewing numerous business services from start to finish in a way that is easy to understand and keeps key players informed of progress and change.
To utilize the Service Map planner you will need to:
- Create planning phases
- Add planned business services into your phases
- Create each individual business service
Now, the Service Map planner is meant to make this process easier, but keep in mind that good planning and execution takes time.
Change Advisory Board
The Change Advisory Board, also known as CAB workbench, gives your Change Manager a central location to schedule, plan, and manage his or her CAB meetings. Change Advisory Boards are crucial to instilling quality and efficient changes in your organization. If you don't have a Change Manager yet, what are you waiting for? The death star to blow up due to an achilles heel you never considered? Just kidding... kind of.
Here's how CAB workbench will make your life, and your Change Manager's life, easier:
- Appoint who the Change Advisory Board actually is (no more "Is Steve supposed to go to that meeting? Or was it Marci?")
- Set a schedule for meetings about risks and impacts
- Set a meeting agenda
- Review, reject, and accept change requests
See goranlundqvist's posts for a bit more context around CAB workbench with ServicePortal and how the meetings notes are helpful in My Top 5 Istanbul features.
With every release, we aim to provide new and improved features to allow you to run your organization more efficiently. Start the year on the right foot and upgrade your instance to Istanbul to take advantage of functionalities that will help improve quality, make you more productive, and ultimately be more successful in 2017.
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