Untangling Years of Customizations: How Do We Get Back to OOB?

[becks_kirk]

My organization has been using ServiceNow since at least the Eureka release. Over the years, we’ve significantly over-customized the platform. In many cases, we built custom functionality before ServiceNow provided an out-of-the-box (OOB) solution—functionality that is now natively supported. We’re only now in a position to step back and begin untangling all of the customizations we’ve accumulated.

We’re starting with a major initiative: reverting the entire Change Management application back to its OOB configuration, with only minimal adjustments to meet our organizational needs. This will be a substantial shift for our teams, but a necessary one.

Where I need help is understanding how to begin. What does a solid “revert to OOB” checklist look like? Any guidance or best practices would be greatly appreciated.

#changemanagement #itsm #oob 

[Brad Bowman]

The best way to undertake this initiative is to bite the bullet and start with a fresh instance on the latest version.  You'll see the latest version of ALL of the out of box processes and forms, some of which you can't get from an old/existing instance that has been upgraded.  You can re-create from the current instance the necessary configuration changes without re-inventing everything.

[Marcio Silva]

I agree with @Brad Bowman . When it comes to deciding how to address accumulated technical debt in ServiceNow, in most cases, you’re better off starting with a new instance rather than attempting to untangle years of customisations. A fresh start allows you to put the right governance in place from day one, ensuring that technical debt doesn’t grow exponentially to the levels you’re dealing with today. By starting with a clean instance, you can reassess requirements, adopt out-of-the-box capabilities where possible, retire unnecessary customisations, and establish clear architectural and development standards that support long-term scalability and maintainability.

[tiagomacul]

Returning to Out-of-the-Box (OOTB) after years of customization is more than a technical cleanup—it is a re-implementation journey.

Since your organization has been on the platform since Eureka, you are likely dealing with legacy logic that predates modern features like Flow Designer or the latest Change Models.

To ensure this effort is sustainable, I highly recommend following the Now Create methodology. It provides a structured path to move from a complex 'AS-IS' to a streamlined 'TO-BE' state.

Step-by-Step 'Revert to OOTB' Checklist:

1. Current State Assessment:

   • Perform a deep dive into existing customizations using Instance Scan and Upgrade Center to identify 'Skipped Changes'.

   • Audit your custom fields and business rules to see which ones are truly fulfilling a business need versus those that were simply 'how we used to do it'.

2. Strategic Alignment:

   • Define the Success Measures. Are you doing this for faster upgrades, lower TCO, or to enable AI features?.

   • Identify your Business Value Drivers to ensure the leadership team supports the 'OOTB First' mindset.

3. Process Redesign (The 'TO-BE'):

   • Use the Change Management Starter Stories from Now Create as your new baseline.

   • Host workshops to align business requirements with the native Change Management lifecycle (Standard, Normal, Emergency).

4. Organizational Change Management (OCM):

   • Prepare your users for the shift. Since the UI and process will change, a solid OCM plan is vital to reduce resistance and ensure adoption.

   • Focus on Training over Customization. It’s cheaper to train a user than to maintain a custom script for 5 years.

5. Upgrade & Migration Planning:

   • Use a formal Upgrade Planning Checklist to track tasks across Dev, Test, and Prod.

   • Clone your production instance to a sandbox for a 'clean room' prototype of the OOTB experience.

   •  

Additional Resource: If you want to dive deeper into how to apply the Now Create method to untangle customizations and deliver real value, I’ve co-authored a practical training on this exact methodology: ServiceNow Now Create: Práticas e Metodologia

Moving back to OOTB is a marathon, not a sprint, but it is the only way to transform your instance from a 'ticket factory' into a value creation engine.