Custom Fields for Reporting?

[Mike McCall]

Should every team using ServiceNow be given their own custom fields to track, or should they work with only the standard fields that are available by default? It can be quick and easy to add new fields as an admin, but the "out-of-the-cloud" fields that are available were intentionally designed to provide great functionality on their own.

The challenge I'm currently facing is that we have all of our ITIL teams using only three dependent category fields—we added a third level, sort of a "sub-subcategory"—so the options that show are based on the assignment group selected, and teams are using the fields for all sorts of values, many of which are not actually dependent (and shouldn't really be considered "categories" at all).

Is it a better use of ServiceNow to apply the standards that come pre-packaged, or is every part of the system meant to be completely shaped to your own needs? Please feel free to argue your side, but I'd even accept simple votes at this point.

To customize, or not to customize, that is the question.

[geoffcox]

That's a highly subjective call.

My answer is: it depends on the needs of the business, and whether or not you can meet them with out of the box content.

We often add fields just for reporting.

Cheers,

                  Geoff.

[Uncle Rob]

The answer is in the middle.   Out-of-box isn't going to suit your needs to a high level of satisfaction because Out-of-Box is built for the lowest common denominator.   On the other hand, building everything anyone wants exactly as they asked for it will very rapidly put you in a place you can't scale from. Just ask a former employer of mine who ended up paying a million dollars to re-architect the entire thing from scratch.

So many businesses want the answer to be one or the other, and its just not.   You need wisdom and vision for a balanced approach, and you just can't automate or outsource that.