Setting up a new ServiceNow Knowledge Base from scratch - Any good resources on best practices?

[colleenkoll]

Hi everyone. I am a new member and new ServiceNow user. I will be creating a new ServiceNow Knowledge Base from scratch that the IT support team will use to assist callers in troubleshooting issues. Can anyone recommend any good resources on best practices for help on how to set up this new Knowledge Base properly? Any resources you can provide are very much appreciated.

[gauravchoudhury · Accepted solution]

Hi Colleen,

The ServiceNow Knowledge Management (KM) application enables the sharing of information in knowledge bases. These knowledge bases contain articles that provide users with information such as self-help, troubleshooting, and task resolution.

To support multiple groups, knowledge bases can be assigned to individual managers. Separate workflows can be used for publishing and retiring articles, and separate access controls can be used to control reading and contributing.

To know more about how to setup, administer, use, migrate, troubleshoot & help, you can refer to this link.

There are a few videos I would direct you to which should help you as well,

• How to Use the Knowledge Base
• Knowledge Management in ServiceNow
• Getting Started with ServiceNow Knowledge Base
• Getting Started with Knowledge Management v3

To top it all off, there is a blog, "Step-by-step guide to Knowledge administration and usage" which should help you setup a Knowledge base.

Also, if you want to know on how to implement a Multi-KB system, you can refer to this blog.

In terms of BEST PRACTICES, here are my thoughts:

The goal is to create documentation so good that your customers don't need to contact your support team. The way you support your product is as important as the product itself.

Know your Audience: This helps you to set the tone and style of your articles to speak to customers in the way they want.

Structure the article thoughtfully: State the solution up front, then include the logical steps.

Categorize/Tag articles: Tag your articles correctly to enable your users to use the search function.

Navigation: It is your priority when designing your knowledge base. The search bar should catch your customer's attention as soon as they hit your knowledge base.

Keep it up-to-date: You need to be an active curator of your documentation so it continues to serve your customers' needs.

Establish formatting guidelines: It's essential to keep your content standardized to ensure your customers know what to expect from your knowledge base.

White space: Make use of white space and other visual elements such as imagery and video.

Accessibility: Your knowledge base must be mobile-friendly.

Other important points:

• Use article types (How-to's, Best Practices, Reference) to clearly define the purpose of each article.
• Surface your most popular articles on your homepage to anticipate your customer's needs.
• Make sure you have quick links to frequently-asked questions on the homepage too, so customers can instantly find what they're looking for.
• Make it a policy never to repeat information in different articles. Hyperlink to the relevant article instead.
• Establish sensible formatting guidelines for every content writer to follow when they submit articles to your knowledge base.

[colleenkoll]

@Gaurav Choudhury Wow! Thanks so much for these resources. Greatly appreciated!

[gauravchoudhury]

You're welcome, Colleen! Please mark my response as correct if you are satisfied with my response.