How to Explore ServiceNow Documentation Effectively and Identify Relevant Topics for Learning

[BURLED]

Hi Everyone,

I have a question regarding how to effectively explore and learn from the official ServiceNow Documentation.

When I visit the ServiceNow Docs website and search for a particular topic using the search bar, I get many related topics, articles, and documentation pages.

For example, if I search for UI Policies, I find several related topics covering different configurations, functionalities, and use cases.

My question is:

1. How should we explore the documentation when multiple pages and topics are available for a single concept?

2. How do experienced ServiceNow Developers/Admins identify which documentation pages are important and relevant to their requirements?

3. Is there any recommended approach to reading and understanding the documentation without getting confused by too much information?

4. Do developers generally explore the complete documentation for a particular topic and maintain their own notes for future reference?

5. In real-time projects, how do developers use official ServiceNow Documentation when implementing new requirements or troubleshooting issues?

6. Is it better to follow the documentation topic by topic, or should we focus only on the specific functionality we are currently learning or implementing?

I am asking this because I want to develop the habit of referring to official ServiceNow Documentation rather than depending entirely on YouTube tutorials.

I also want to maintain my own technical notes from the documentation so that I can use them for future reference, practical implementation, and real-time project work.

Sometimes, I find multiple related pages for the same topic, and I am not sure which one to start with or which information is most important.

Could experienced developers please share how you approach ServiceNow Documentation in your daily work?

Any practical guidance or learning strategies would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your valuable suggestions!

Best regards,

Damodar.

[Rafael Batistot · Accepted solution]

Hi @BURLED 

In my experience, you don’t need to read the entire documentation for every feature. Start with the basics, understand the main concepts, and then explore specific topics based on your implementation needs.

In real projects, I use the official documentation mainly as a reference for implementation and troubleshooting.

I also recommend keeping personal technical notes, focusing on practical examples, limitations, common issues, and solutions you may need again.

My advice is to combine official documentation with hands-on practice. Documentation explains how the platform works, while practical experience teaches you how to apply that knowledge in real-world scenarios.

[Tarun Rekandar · Accepted solution]

Hi @BURLED,

Referring to official ServiceNow Documentation instead of depending entirely on YouTube tutorials is a good thing.

In my opinion, you don't need to read every page related to a topic at once. Follow a structured, requirement-based approach.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Start with the basics: Read the overview to understand what the concept is, why it is used, and where it fits in ServiceNow.

2. Explore relevant topics: Move on to configuration steps, available options, limitations, and examples. Make sure you refer to the documentation for the correct ServiceNow release.

3. Learn based on requirements: Experienced developers usually refer to specific documentation based on what they want to implement, configure, or troubleshoot. They don't read the entire documentation every time.

4. Maintain technical notes: Write short notes in your own words covering important configurations, methods, practical examples, common mistakes, and useful documentation links.

5. Practice in your PDI: After reading a concept, implement it in your Personal Developer Instance and experiment with different scenarios. Practical implementation helps you understand the functionality better.

My suggested learning approach:

• Understand the concept.

• Read the official documentation.

• Implement it in your PDI.

• Explore different scenarios.

• Maintain short notes for future reference.

For core concepts like Business Rules, Client Scripts, UI Policies, ACLs, and Flow Designer, follow a structured learning approach. For other functionalities, explore the documentation based on your requirements.

YouTube tutorials and ServiceNow Community discussions are useful for practical explanations, but keep official documentation as your primary reference.

Remember, you don't need to memorize the entire documentation. Focus on understanding the concepts and knowing where to find the right information when you need it.

Accept the solution if it assisted you with your question & Mark this response as Helpful.

Regards,
Tarun

[Rafael Batistot · Accepted solution]

Hi @BURLED 

In my experience, you don’t need to read the entire documentation for every feature. Start with the basics, understand the main concepts, and then explore specific topics based on your implementation needs.

In real projects, I use the official documentation mainly as a reference for implementation and troubleshooting.

I also recommend keeping personal technical notes, focusing on practical examples, limitations, common issues, and solutions you may need again.

My advice is to combine official documentation with hands-on practice. Documentation explains how the platform works, while practical experience teaches you how to apply that knowledge in real-world scenarios.

[Tarun Rekandar · Accepted solution]

Hi @BURLED,

Referring to official ServiceNow Documentation instead of depending entirely on YouTube tutorials is a good thing.

In my opinion, you don't need to read every page related to a topic at once. Follow a structured, requirement-based approach.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Start with the basics: Read the overview to understand what the concept is, why it is used, and where it fits in ServiceNow.

2. Explore relevant topics: Move on to configuration steps, available options, limitations, and examples. Make sure you refer to the documentation for the correct ServiceNow release.

3. Learn based on requirements: Experienced developers usually refer to specific documentation based on what they want to implement, configure, or troubleshoot. They don't read the entire documentation every time.

4. Maintain technical notes: Write short notes in your own words covering important configurations, methods, practical examples, common mistakes, and useful documentation links.

5. Practice in your PDI: After reading a concept, implement it in your Personal Developer Instance and experiment with different scenarios. Practical implementation helps you understand the functionality better.

My suggested learning approach:

• Understand the concept.

• Read the official documentation.

• Implement it in your PDI.

• Explore different scenarios.

• Maintain short notes for future reference.

For core concepts like Business Rules, Client Scripts, UI Policies, ACLs, and Flow Designer, follow a structured learning approach. For other functionalities, explore the documentation based on your requirements.

YouTube tutorials and ServiceNow Community discussions are useful for practical explanations, but keep official documentation as your primary reference.

Remember, you don't need to memorize the entire documentation. Focus on understanding the concepts and knowing where to find the right information when you need it.

Accept the solution if it assisted you with your question & Mark this response as Helpful.

Regards,
Tarun

[Aditya_hublikar · Accepted solution]

Hello @BURLED ,

I would suggest following a requirement-based approach rather than trying to explore the entire documentation at once. Start with the overview of a topic to understand its purpose, then focus on the specific functionality you want to learn or implement. Refer to related documentation whenever you need more clarity. Also, maintain your own notes with important concepts, configurations, limitations, and practical examples. Most importantly, practice everything in your PDI alongside reading the documentation. YouTube tutorials are helpful for understanding concepts, but official ServiceNow documentation should be your primary reference for technical accuracy and real-time implementation.

And always take backup of your work that you are doing on pdi so even if pdi get offline you should have your own backup .

If this helps you then mark it as helpful and accept as solution .

Regards,

Aditya