Admin vs. Developer

[timothy_hamano]

So I'm having some concerns with my role within my company and using SN.   Technically by title, I am the SN Admin. However, lately it seems that I'm being pushed more into the Developer side of SN.   Does anyone have any strict definition of duties of a SN Admin and a SN Developer?       I don't mind working my way into the Development side, however i'm currently NOT a developer and would need quite a bit more training to bring my skill set up to par in SN. Right now my time is being split between SN Admin role and a Tech Support Lead role.     I don't have any problem with my current work load, however if they need me to work more on the development side, then i'd have to step away from the tech support side of things. . . . anyways that is a long way around for asking about having strict definition of duties between a SN Admin and a SN Developer?

[Mark Stanger · Accepted solution]

I think most people would say they are the same thing.   ServiceNow development and administration fit under the same permissions and roles in the system so they are generally accomplished by the same people.   You might have admins with different specialties though (scripting and integrations vs standard configurations for example) but I think the two terms are pretty much interchangeable.

[tltoulson]

Hi Timothy,

As Mark said, from a technical standpoint there is no difference between the roles in the system and it doesn't seem as though ServiceNow distinguishes either.  

From an overall market perspective, though, there does tend to be a difference in expectation.   They are not viewed as separate, distinct roles so much as they are viewed as different skill levels within the same role.   A ServiceNow Developer is often expected to be able to perform the same role as an Admin but there is a higher expectation for skills in scripting, integrations, and Jelly.   There is by no means a strict definition and the definitions are not consistently applied, it really depends on the organization.

[ryan86]

Hi Timothy,

I have not come across a strict definition of a SN Admin or a SN Developer. However, my opinion would be similar to that mentioned by Travis above.

I feel that an Admin would be "Administrating" the SN instance, IE Creating groups and users, recording changes, producing documentation etc.

I feel the Developer would be the one who "Develops" the required solutions. This may be a new application, a new table, a new workflow, a new Client Script, a new UI Action for example - most likely in line with the administrators requests.

I feel most employers seem to see the role as one, as do ServiceNow. Certainly in my position, I am the only SN trained employee, and I'm expected to administer, develop, support and suggest when it comes to SN!

[Tom Alday]

There's really no delineation between the two as far I see. I do the little admin stuff like creating groups and adding categories, but I also plan out and build custom applications for my users.