Welcome to the Next Experience Vancouver release! We're excited to share with you the latest enhancements and features that will elevate your ServiceNow journey to new heights. With a focus on user experience, streamlined workflows, and enhanced communication, Vancouver brings a set of powerful updates that will transform the way you work within the platform. Let's dive into what's new:
1. Next Experience: Enabled upon upgrade to Vancouver
With the Vancouver upgrade, Next Experience is being enabled for all customers, providing a modernized and unified interface that enhances productivity and user satisfaction. However, we understand that every organization is unique. If you encounter any known issues with Next Experience that could potentially impact your instance negatively, don't worry. We've got you covered. Check out June's Next Experience Academy for more information on this change.
For those who prefer a phased rollout by groups, our Next Experience Center of Excellence (COE) article provides guidance on how to manage the transition smoothly. Check out the COE article here.
2. Guided Tours for Workspaces
Workspaces are the heart of collaboration, and now they're even more intuitive with the addition of Guided Tours. These tours allow you to create step-by-step walkthroughs, helping users navigate through complex processes effortlessly. With Guided Tours, you can ensure a consistent onboarding experience and boost productivity.
Note: The Next Experience Readiness Checker tool currently still marks Guided Tours as not compatible with Experiences as of Vancouver, but this is getting updated and can be disregarded.
3. Enhanced Banner Announcements
Communication is key, and with non-dismissible Banner Announcements, you have the perfect tool to convey important messages to your team. Originally introduced in San Diego, these announcements now come with the flexibility to be non-dismissible and non-stackable. Whether it's planned maintenance, unexpected outages, or critical events, you can ensure that the right information reaches the right people. You can schedule announcements, tailor them based on user roles or groups, and even highlight urgency with colors and icons.
4. Instance Tools Utility Menu
We've streamlined your workspace further with the new Instance Tools Utility Menu. Gone are the days of navigating through various menus to find what you need. With a simple configuration, you can now access Application Scope, Update Set Picker, Encryption Contexts, and Domain menus from a single location. This new menu simplifies your workflow and boosts efficiency.
- How to enable the Instance Tools Admin Toolbar:
- Using the filter navigator, type in
sys_properties.listand hit enter. This will open up the System Properties table. - Make sure you’re in the Global scope, then click “New”
- Fill in the form as follows and hit save:
- Name: glide.ui.next_experience.instance_tools_disabled
- Value: false
- Refresh your browser and the instance tools menu should appear.
- Using the filter navigator, type in
5. Mobile Theming
Next Experience UI arrives with the sleek Polaris theme, designed to provide a clean and consistent visual experience across devices. And now, with the Vancouver release, we're introducing the dark theme variant of the Polaris theme for mobile users. With this update, you can match your interface to your preferred aesthetic. Mobile now also supports Alternate Color Palettes, which we will go in to further in the next part!
6. Theme Builder
Introducing the Theme Builder, your ticket to a customized Next Experience UI. Found in the ServiceNow Store for both Utah and Vancouver, Theme Builder lets you create a core theme effortlessly. And now, with the Vancouver release, Theme Builder supports Alternate Color Palettes, giving you even more control over your UI's appearance. Additionally, a new component preview screen further enhances the design process, allowing you to see your changes in action before finalizing them.
Alternate Color Palettes are the new name for what you currently know as your theme's variants. Something like the Polaris dark theme is considered a variant for accessibility purposes, while a palette swap of your brand's main theme would be considered an alternate color palette. As of Vancouver, Theme Builder now supports creating and editing your own alternate color palettes. Since it is a variant, you cannot edit the Polaris dark theme record.
Remember, these are just highlights of what the Vancouver release brings. Dive into the release notes and explore the myriad of possibilities waiting for you.
I am very sorry to say that, but with the application/update set picker the Instance tools absolutely is not what developers/administrators call for.
What we are used to from previous version and what we want back is:
1. instant visibility of current update set and application
2. instant option to open current update set in new tab with single middle-click or CTRL+right-click
3. easy option to enable/disable this per user in preferences
What we got?
1. another lost space - Instance tools, when turned on, takes 52 vertical pixels from usable area ~7 % on FullHD
2. we still have to point, click, point and click again to open current update set and there is no option to open it in new tab and keep current
3. "secret" global property which enables it for all
Is it better now?
1. There indeed is option of instant visibility. But you have to sacrifice some valuable vertical space for it. No.
2. Still the same as without Instance tools and still much worse than in previous UI - more clicks, more navigations, more waiting/reloading. Absolutely No.
3. No.
From point of view of power users the Next Experience UI brings few improvements, some confusing changes and some real design fails which really complicates everyday work, while it ignores space for really huge improvements.
For each category I can provide real life examples and I wish I could speak with designers to explain them what power users want and need, while they spend most of the day interacting with ServiceNow UI.
Edit:
After some time I have noticed another fail which sets the Instance tools usability even lower.
If you click on Update set with intention to change it, you can see and find only current Update set until you close and open the Instance tools again!
