Basic Overview on Migrating to a Configurable Workspace

Ashley Snyder · ‎02-07-2022

Center of Excellence / Workspace / Basic Overview on Migrating to a Configurable Workspace

FYI: This article has not been updated or reviewed since the Tokyo release. Use at your discretion, but be advised that these methods may or may not work on later releases.

Terminology
Best Practices
Migrate from Agent Workspace (Legacy)
New Configurable Workspace (Not using any version of Agent Workspace)
Migrate Basic Settings/Features from Agent Workspace to a Configurable Workspace
Chrome Header Preferences and New Tab Menu
Landing Page Configuration
Lists, List Categories, List Access
Form Header and Ribbon
Migrate from Classic Environment by Feature
Frequently Asked Questions

This article highlights instructions for customers who are currently using Agent/legacy workspaces that have questions regarding migration to Configurable Workspace and for customers that are utilizing Core/Platform UI and are considering migrating to workspace. Configurable Workspaces allow customers to perform the following:

Quickly configure page layouts and components in UI Builder
Extend and deploy custom components into the Configurable Workspace
Leverage UI Builder components to build additional solutions. UI Builder is a WYSIWYG web user interface builder that enables you to quickly build pages for Configurable workspace and portal web-based experiences.

For more information on migrating to a Configurable Workspace and setting up various features see the Migrate to Configurable Workspace product documentation. For information on setting up a product workspace such as Service Operations Workspace, CSM Configurable Workspace, etc. see the resource hub to find linked product documentation.

Terminology

For more information see the article Next Experience Architecture and Terminology.

Agent Workspace	Modern user interface offering a multi-tab, multi-panel experience optimized for larger screens. Introduces concepts like interaction management, advanced work assignment, agent intelligence, case types, and playbooks.
Configurable Workspace	Configurable workspaces are our new way of working that replaces users working out of classic environment forms and lists. Configurable Workspaces were introduced before Next Experience UI, but opened in a separate browser tab.
Classic Environment	Classic Environment is the terminology used for the previous way of working, i.e. users working out of forms, lists, and dashboards. Prior to Next Experience, users worked within the classic environment in the CoreUI app shell. Next Experience enables users to continue to work in classic environment forms, lists, and dashboards as well as configurable workspaces. Note: Development in the form of UI Pages, UI Macros, and other Jelly based development will continue to work in the Classic Environment whether you're using Core UI or Next Experience UI.
Next Experience UI	Next Experience UI is the new app shell that allows users to work out of both configurable workspaces and the Classic Environment within one browser window.
UI Builder	The web user interface builder for the Next Experience framework. UI Builder is used to build pages for Next Experience UI Landing Pages, Configurable Workspaces, App Engine Studio generated workspaces and portals, or custom web experiences using Next Experience Components and custom web components.

Best Practices

Whether your organization is migrating process from Classic Environment or from a previous Agent Workspace the following best practices can ensure a smooth implementation.

Define Goals

Begin the Configurable Workspace implementation with clear goals of what the agents are trying to achieve, for example KPI goals such as First Contact Resolution, or Knowledge attach rate, etc. and ensure these goals are agreed upon by stakeholders.

Design the Configurable Workspace to meet these goals when setting up list, landing page, agent assist, etc. configurations. Designing with goals in mind will answer the questions of 'what should we set up in our Workspace' as the tools will be configured to meet the needs of the goal.

Avoid Lift-and-Shift

You may have existing customizations on the Core UI that you want to shift over to workspace to have parity between both UIs. Migrating to a Configurable Workspace is a great opportunity to re-imagine and improve the agent experience.

Customizations may have been made to the Core UI at the time, due to the one-size-fits-all approach and limitations of the technology. Start with comparing existing processes with out-of-the-box functionality and making configuration changes rather than trying to reproduce the Core UI in workspace.

Use Pilot Groups

Agents can utilize Core UI or even Agent Workspace while a configurable workspace is being configured. Agent Workspaces and configurable workspaces can exist in parallel on the same instance.Enabling Configurable Workspaces will not overwrite Agent Workspace configurations. This provides administrators time to configure the new Configurable Workspace while agents utilize the previous Agent Workspace, and allow for groups of pilot users to provide feedback on the Configurable Workspace while it is being configured.

Take time to observe how agents work either in the Core UI or Agent Workspace today, and what has been working for them or not and build this into your Configurable Workspace plan.

Define Personas

Core UI and even Agent Workspace to an extent was built as a one-size-fits-all approach to managing work. Configurable Workspaces offer the ability to create tailored experiences to multiple personas by using variants.

Keep in mind the amount of effort and maintenance cost associated with different variants, user personas should be clearly defined and agreed upon before deploying Configurable Workspaces.

For user personas who fit outside of the basic persona use cases, explore opportunities for different experiences. Personas such as power users may still need access to the Core UI to perform tasks and the Next Experience UI bridges the gap between users who still need feet in both UIs.

Offer Training Early

In many implementations of products, training gets tacked on to the end and many user questions/feedback come up during training sessions. Utilizing pilot groups and designing training early on with the pilot groups will provide valuable insight into configuration and design needs before the workspace is live to a larger audience.

Implement a "Workspace champion" team from each department which can assist with training, funneling feedback, and assisting teams with questions.

Create a training program for Workspace early on, as switching user interfaces is not a small change. Many users will have questions and will need more time early on with trainers and support.

Transparent Support

Make sure that agents have clearly defined pathways for questions, issues, and feedback for the new Workspace UI, and that their communication is being addressed in a structured way.

Plan to staff accordingly during the training and adoption period for cutting over to Workspace UI.

Continued Innovation

Create a roadmap for Configurable Workspace enhancements and ensure to work user feedback into the enhancement backlog.

Provide transparency to agents in their feedback and the plans for action to implement enhancements into the Workspace UI.

Use Provided Technologies

Customers may have complex UI Pages or other Jelly/AngularJS based functionality embedded within Core UI forms. Explore the Next Experience Component Library to see if a provided component meets the need for the process.

Use the implementation process to re-imagine complex code and functionality to see it can be simplified into existing Workspace functionality.

Building custom components do require higher levels of coding and may take existing teams time to build, especially if they're replacing something complex. Be advised that components are meant to be re-usable across different experiences, and avoid custom component sprawl if possible. Customers are responsible for any support and enhancements to their custom components, ensure this level of technical debt is planned for when creating custom components.

As of the San Diego release Workspace UI is for Tier 1/2 agents to perform their work, rather than trying to reproduce a highly customized experience in Workspace, tailor the implementation to what those agents need, and allow for power users who need highly customized elements to continue working in the Core UI utilizing Next Experience UI or UI16.

Migrating from Agent Workspace (Legacy)

For more information on the differences between Agent Workspace and Configurable Workspaces, see the Agent Workspace (Legacy) versus Configurable Workspace article. It is recommended to utilize one of our product configurable workspace when possible when migrating from a product Agent Workspace such as ITSM, CSM, or even when thinking of creating a custom workspace as our product teams may have produced a workspace for your persona.

If you are currently using Agent Workspace or a legacy workspace created before the Quebec release and want to migrate to a configurable workspace, you can continue using most of your existing configurations. Some features, however, need to be configured specifically for configurable workspace. You can migrate some of the configurations using lists and forms and others using UI Builder.

Some configurations work in both Agent Workspace and configurable workspace without modification, for example ribbons and form configurations. Be advised that some configuration changes made for one workspace can also affect the other. For example, changes to the legacy workspace configuration may impact configurable workspace. The same applies to changes to the configurable workspace configuration, which may impact legacy workspace. See the product documentation on which features may apply to both technologies.

When migrating from Agent Workspace to a configurable workspace, treat the migration as a re-implementation. Some functionality will need to be replicated, such as Landing Pages, but take into consideration the best practices discussed above to ensure the migration is more than a lift and shift.

Customers will need to manually re-implement customizations made to agent workspaces that do not apply to both Agent Workspace and configurable workspaces as mentioned in the content above. There is not a migration tool to automatically copy over customizations and configurations from Agent Workspace to configurable workspaces, as the technology stack has changed and the workspace features may differ from Agent Workspace.

New Configurable Workspace (Not using any version of Agent Workspace)

For customers who are not currently using legacy workspace and want to implement a configurable workspace. Refer to the best practices section above for planning migrating personas from the Classic Environment to a configurable workspace.

In the San Diego release, our product teams launched a number of configurable workspaces for processes and personas specific to their products. We recommend working with your implementation team to install and configure a product workspace per the guidance on Now Create and the product documentation. Customers are not advised to install and configure Agent Workspace or workspaces built on the legacy Agent Workspace technology as of the San Diego release. We encourage customers on releases prior to San Diego to uptake the new family version when possible and start with a product configurable workspace, instead of implementing a legacy workspace.

See the Exploring our Product Workspaces article for a living list of configurable workspaces, and speak to your account team regarding any questions you may have regarding implementing a configurable workspace.

Migrate Basic Settings/Features from Agent Workspace to a Configurable Workspace

This section will cover some basic settings and features that your organization may have configured for Agent Workspace, and how to configure them in a configurable workspace. This is not meant as a replacement for an implementation guide, just a general overview when setting up basic settings. For components and features that are workspace specific, i.e. landing pages in Service Operations Workspace, or components utilized in CSM Configurable Workspace such as Customer 360, see the respective product documentation or community forums for those products, as they will not be covered in this overview.

For an extensive list of configurable workspace properties, see our article Workspace App Shell UX Page Properties.

Chrome Header Preferences and New Tab Menu

Search, Notifications, User Preferences

In Agent Workspace, set in the Workspace record via checkboxes for Search enabled, Notifications enabled, User Preference Controls enabled.

In Configurable Workspace, set in the chrome_header UX Page Property (sys_ux_page_property) for the experience via a JSON object in the Value field. The properties are notificationsEnabled, searchEnabled, and userPrefsEnabled.

New Tab Menu

In Agent Workspace, set in the Workspace record via the New Record Menu Items (sys_aw_new_menu_item) related list.

In Configurable Workspace, set in the chrome_tab UX Page Property (sys_ux_page_property) for the experience via a JSON object in the Value field. Set in the newTabMenu property. The example below shows another record type added such as incident. In the first column, a comma has been added to the final bracket to allow for another object, and the label object has been copied and modified and placed before the end of array bracket ],.

"newTabMenu": [
    {
      "label": {
        "translatable": true,
        "message": "New Interaction"
      },
      "routeInfo": {
        "route": "record",
        "fields": {
          "table": "interaction",
          "sysId": "-1"
        },
        "multiInstField": "sysId"
      },
      "condition": {
        "tableDescription": {
          "table": "interaction",
          "canCreate": true
        },
        "plugin": "com.snc.uib.csm_agent_workspace"
      }
    },

 {
      "label": {
        "translatable": true,
        "message": "New Incident"
      },
      "routeInfo": {
        "route": "record",
        "fields": {
          "table": "incident",
          "sysId": "-1"
        },
        "multiInstField": "sysId"
      },
      "condition": {
        "tableDescription": {
          "table": "incident",
          "canCreate": true
        },
        "plugin": "com.snc.uib.csm_agent_workspace"
      }
    }
  ],

Landing Page Configuration

In Agent Workspace, set in the Workspace record via the Agent Workspace version of UI Builder. Using different landing pages is configured in the Landing Pages (sys_ux_custom_content_root_elem) related list, showing Landing Pages by role is done in the UX Page Element Permissions (sys_ux_page_element_m2m_role) related list by role.

In Configurable Workspace, set in UI Builder. Use the 'Page' drop down to select 'Landing Page'. Landing Page variants can be created in UI Builder and restricted to users by role via Audiences.

Lists, List Categories, List Access

Lists

In Agent Workspace, set in the Workspace record via the Workspace Lists (sys_aw_lists) related list.

In Configurable Workspace, can either be set in UI Builder by navigating to the List page, and clicking Configuration link in the Configuration panel, or by navigating to sys_ux_list_menu_config directly and then choosing the Workspace.The UX Lists (sys_ux_list) related list will be available for editing. Note: OOTB the List page is read only by default, but you do not need to modify any configuration settings on the List component itself to define lists, list categories, and list access.

List Categories

In Agent Workspace, set in the Workspace record via the Workspace List Categories (sys_aw_list_category) related list (this may need to be added to the form if not visible).

In Configurable Workspace, can either be set in UI Builder by navigating to the List page, and clicking Configuration link in the Configuration panel, or by navigating to sys_ux_list_menu_config directly and selecting the workspace. The UX List Categories (sys_ux_list_category) related list will be available for editing.

List Access

In Agent Workspace, set in the Workspace record via the Workspace List (sys_aw_list) related list within the Roles section of the Workspace List record.

In Configurable Workspace, can either be set in UI Builder by navigating to the List page, and clicking the Applicability link in the Configuration panel, or by navigating to sys_ux_applicability directly to create an audience if one hasn't been defined already. Once an audience has been created for the list, click the M2M Applicability List (sys_ux_applicability_m2m_list) link to define which audiences can view the list.

Form Header and Ribbon

Form Header

Agent Workspace: Navigate to Workspace Experience > Forms > Workspace Form Headers (sys_aw_header) or add the Form Headers related list to the Agent Workspace record. Form headers are added on a table by table basis, select a table, and configure the Primary field, subheading, header image, and secondary fields, etc.

Configurable Workspace: Navigate to Now Experience Framework > Configuration Settings > UX Form Header (sys_aw_form_header), or navigate to the UX Header Configuration (sys_ux_header_config) table and select the workspace. Form headers are added on a table by table basis, select a table, and configure the Primary field, subheading, header image, and secondary fields, etc. Note: Agent Workspace and Configurable Workspace share the same table for this configuration and is an example of a change impacting both workspace types.

Ribbon

Agent Workspace: Navigate to Workspace Experience > Forms > Workspace Ribbon Settings (sys_aw_ribbon_setting). Ribbon settings are set on a per table basis, for example the Customer 360 Ribbon is on the Case table.

Configurable Workspace: Navigate to Now Experience Framework > Configuration Settings > UX Ribbon Setting (sys_aw_ribbon_setting). Note: Agent Workspace and Configurable Workspace share the same table for this configuration and is an example of a change impacting both workspace types.

Migrating from Classic Environment by Feature

Customers should use the direction provided in the New Configurable Workspace (Not using any version of Agent Workspace) section and refer to the product documentation for configuring a product specific workspace. There are some key differences between workspaces and platform that will be highlighted in this article.

Highlights vs. Field Styles

Field styles are not honored in Agent Workspace or configurable workspaces. Instead, administrators should set up Highlights for list fields per the Highlight list fields product documentation. Configurable Workspace values can be set via Now Experience Framework > Configuration Settings > UX Highlighted Values (sys_highlighted_value) and shares the same table with Agent Workspace, which is another example of one configuration impacting both workspaces.

UI Actions (Form)

UI Actions can be utilized on the Record page of a configurable workspace. Users can also utilize Declarative Actions in the Action Bar to interact with other components on the page.

In San Diego we added a Format for Configurable Workspace checkbox that will automatically link UI Actions to UXF Form Actions, users on earlier releases will need to navigate to UX Form Action (sys_ux_form_action) and link their UI Actions for a table. The Action Bar component automatically shows UI Actions that have a corresponding UX Form Action. See the Set up a form action in CSM Configurable Workspace product documentation and How to use UI Actions in Workspaces for more information. The information in the product documentation works for all Configurable Workspaces, not just CSM. For lists, related lists, and field decorators, users will need to create Declarative Actions.

List Actions/Related List Actions

As mentioned, UI Actions apply to the record page, or form view, in workspaces. Administrators will need to use Declarative Actions to set up buttons on lists, related lists, and field decorators. We have some articles on Declarative Actions to get you started:

Introduction to Declarative Actions
Add a Button to the List Component using Declarative Actions
Using Extension Points in Declarative Actions to Filter Records
Video Library (See the Common UI16 Actions in Workspace videos)

For questions relating to UI Actions and Declarative Actions, be sure to check in the Next Experience forum, as community users are creating their own articles on specific use cases, and post your question in there for assistance and guidance.

Suzanne H · ‎04-19-2022

I just learned from a separate post on Community that there is a limit of 6 fields in the Customer 360 component. I noticed that all of my selected fields were not displaying ut had a difficult time trying to find out why. Could you please add the limitation to this post and/or to the Product Documentation on Ribbon Settings? That would be really helpful, thank you!

Musab Rasheed · ‎08-05-2022

Just wanted to understand that if Agent workspace works perfectly in San diego or not ? We are in Rome now and planning to upgrade soon and since we are using agent workspace so will it be supported in San diego ?

Brad Tilton · ‎08-05-2022

Hi Musab, agent workspace is and will be supported for a while, but I think we'll eventually phase it out. Right now we're advising that if you're going to move from classic to workspace you use a config workspace and if you're already on agent workspace it's time to start thinking about migrating.

amrin m abdul · ‎10-12-2022

Hi @Brad Tilton It seems to be a cumbersome process to migrate to configurable workspace to Agent workspace, as it's a new concept for most of us is there a documentation or training available to guide users on this?

Kev9 · ‎03-08-2023

There seems to be no clear guidance on how to achieve migration. Documentation when activating Now Experinece recommends moving to a configurable workspace with no instruction on how. Are we to create our own workspace experience from scratch? Should we use the configurator and build from that? Whereas with Agent Workspace the base was there for you, there's no such thing for a configurable workspace.

UI builder skips between it's own UI and back to core UI, documentation is very limited and we've regressed from checkboxes to having to write JSON in a tiny window. It's very frustrating.

Brad Tilton · ‎03-08-2023

Hi @Kev9 we would recommend that you start with one of our 20+ configurable workspaces and configure/customize from there. If you've got a custom app where we wouldn't have a workspace for it already you can use app engine studio to create a workspace for your specific use case.

I would also add that each of the bigger oob workspaces like Service Operations Workspace for ITSM/ITOM and CSM Configurable Workspace have their own documentation and implementations so the migration advice could look different depending on which workspace you're using.

Kumari Divya · ‎06-05-2023

Hi Brad

We are using the agent workspace but plan to move in service operation workspace. Trying to create the ribbon on service operation workspace but it is not display in workspace ui of SO.Instead of SO my ribbons are display in agent workspace only. Any property or something we need to add.

Thanks in advance.

Brad Tilton · ‎06-05-2023

I think SOW moved away from the ribbon if I'm remembering correctly. I would see if there's a way to provide the value that was in the ribbon in the current format of SOW.

Kumari Divya · ‎06-05-2023

Hi Brad

We cant configure ribbon for SOW?

Brad Tilton · ‎06-05-2023

I don't think the ribbon exists OOB in SOW so you'd need to manually add it if that's the case.

Kumari Divya · ‎06-05-2023

Hi Brad

Manually create the ribbon on service operation workspace but it is not display in workspace ui of SO.Instead of SO my ribbons are display in agent workspace only. Any property or something we need to add.

Brad Tilton · ‎06-05-2023

@Kumari Divya Could you create a new post with screenshots and a step by step description of what you did to add the ribbon and tag me? I'd like to move the discussion our of this article's comments.

Kumari Divya · ‎06-08-2023

@Brad

Hi Brad

Sorry for the late Response

Please find the steps for creating the Ribbon in Workspace

Steps-1>All application->Search For workspace->workspace ribbon setting

2>Create the new ribbon with the component Name-Customer 360 with some specific name.

Please find the attached screen shot for the same.

Thanks

Brad Tilton · ‎06-08-2023

@Kumari Divya I don’t think SOW has the ribbon functionality built in like agent workspace did. I think you’ll need to create that ribbon functionality directly in UI Builder in SOW if you need it. However, I would strongly recommend that you explore and use service operations workspace as is before trying to recreate other functionality there.

kiruthika1 · ‎10-02-2023

@Brad Tilton @Ashley Snyder ,

I am trying to give access to the workspace list for particular group in CSM Configurable workspace. Can you please help me to to achieve this I have created audience as below

But its not helping. List is showing for all user who even not in the given group. Is there any other way

Namrata Jain · ‎10-20-2023

Hi All,

Can you please tell if there is way to limit the search on the tables in Service Operations Workspace?

For example : We do not want the Project record to open if anyone uses search functionality from the SOW

Ademir Amaral1 · ‎01-10-2024

Hi All!

Do you know if there is any limit on secondary values for the UX Form Header?

Ashley Snyder · ‎07-05-2024

Hey all,

I just found this as I was updating other apps in Application Manager. If you're on Washington DC+ and are looking to migrate from the legacy ITSM Agent Workspace to Service Operations Workspace, this Innovation Lab app may be of use to you: Migration Utility for Service Operations Workspace

mayankkumar · ‎08-11-2025

Hey all,
I am currently in Xanadu release and both Agent workspace and SOW is there but we didn't made any customizations in Agent Workspace, do we still need to perform migration?
And I also saw Agent Workspace is Active false by system already maybe due to instance upgradation
Need a clarity on this Please guide

Basic Overview on Migrating to a Configurable Workspace

Table of Contents

Terminology

Best Practices

Define Goals

Avoid Lift-and-Shift

Use Pilot Groups

Define Personas

Offer Training Early

Transparent Support

Continued Innovation

Use Provided Technologies

Migrating from Agent Workspace (Legacy)

New Configurable Workspace (Not using any version of Agent Workspace)

Migrate Basic Settings/Features from Agent Workspace to a Configurable Workspace

Chrome Header Preferences and New Tab Menu

Landing Page Configuration

Lists, List Categories, List Access

Form Header and Ribbon

Migrating from Classic Environment by Feature

Highlights vs. Field Styles

UI Actions (Form)

List Actions/Related List Actions