The Platform Analytics Academy session on how accessibility drives innovation took place on February 5th, 2025, at Noon Eastern. In this session, we covered Accessibility 101, WCAG, and Section 508 standards, and showcased ServiceNow's latest accessibility features through a live demo.
If you missed it, this video offers valuable insights for creating a more inclusive future, whether you're new to accessibility or looking to deepen your knowledge. Watching this session will help you understand how accessibility can drive innovation and improve user experiences for all.
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Questions & Answers
Question - Hello! I have a question from my testing of Platform Analytics this week, unrelated to Accessibility. I saw that if I tab on "Show data table" for a horizontal bar chart type visualization, it'll show the data table below, but that table doesn't have final column/row totals. This used to be the case in classic reporting before Platform Analytics, and I can see totals when using the pivot table chart type. Do you know what the reason was for no longer having totals in the data table for a bar chart, or does this sound like a bug? Thanks!
Answer - This is not a bug we do not support this yet in PAe
Question - General question: Is Zurich still the point when migration from CoreUI to PAE is enforced? Has there been any movement on this? Might it be extended into the 'A' or 'B' platform upgrade release? (Apologies if I've missed any announcements. I've not made it to the last couple of these webinar sessions and haven't yet watched the replays).
Answer - Hi, we will send an updated communication in March. The timeline has been moved to Australia. We will also have a session in the next weeks on it to update everyone on the Academy
Question - Is there a way to make the axis readable when there is a longer string? Most visualizations make the string on an axis hard to read, even if you make the visualization larger
Answer - In new data visualizations (in platform analytics) you have controls to define the size of your labels (you can increase the number to define when it is truncated), and you can use setting as wrap labels to have it not truncated.
Question - We migrated in a subprod, but that subprod is scheduled to be cloned over. Should I expect any issues in that instance when I reactive the migration tool again, or do you recommend activating the migration in a different subprod?
Answer - I assume on being cloned over all the tables, content is updated/replaced. So you should see no problem running the migration again.
Question - When pulling data on Performance Analytics reports and dashboard, I used tables like sys_report and pa_dashboards. What tables do I use for Platform Analytics' Data Visualization and Dashboards?
Answer - Hi, par_dashboard and par_visualization are the main tables.
Question - Will ServiceNow consider enhancing the accessibility of reporting by allowing secure embeds of SN reporting into other sites and reporting tools(tableau, power bi, etc...?
Answer - ServiceNow is working on capabilities to embed the Data visualizations in third party pages/sites
Question - Report "List" type related to Project "overall status" field shows the values as green, yellow and red with the field also color coded on the core UI, but in platform analytic "simple - list" visualization, it shows only the values (green, yellow, red) without the colors highlighted. Is there a way to enable that on platform analytics?
Answer - We are moving to a new List component in Zurich (safe harbor). let me check with the team if this is a supported capability in the new version.
Question - Is this presentation specific to accessibility with Platform Analytics, or are these platform-wide examples?
Answer - Both. We will have a part specific for Platform Analytics with a demo.
Question - Sort option not carrying over is on a bar chart - from what I can see, there aren't as many options for sort in PAR. Maybe the issue?
Answer - So we do support some attributes to sort by such as Value, Name, Element order, or group buckets. I would suggest opening a support case as it looks like an issue.
Question - Will there be a way to add drill downs to data visualizations in the future?
Answer - We support from Washington the drill down to a custom URL or from a chart to another. Do you need any other specific drill down?
Question - We've been asked for a "dark mode". Is that possible?
Answer - Yes, dark mode is available by default as a theme in the user preferences
Question - I am having trouble turning off the act as filter for option for a simple list report. It seems there is no checkbox option in Platform Analytics. Am I missing something?
Answer - You should not have the act as filter on the List component itself, but you should find a toggle to enable/disable “Follow filters.”
Question - I was looking more for the functionality to stay on the dashboard you are viewing and click a pie chart then see a list without opening a new tab or leaving the dashboard.
Answer - Ah yes, that is what we call drill down chart to chart. Here are the docs: Chart interactions in a data visualization
Question - Chart interaction only allows a drill down to list view, URL, or to use the chart as a filter. In CoreUI, we could create a sub-dataset to drill into. Is this possible, and if so, how do I do that?
Answer - It is supported from a Store release compatible with Washington, so it is installed by default in Xanadu. Chart interactions in a data visualization
Question - When using the pivot chart, is there any way to change the name on the rows or columns vs just using the field name?
Answer - You can change the name of the metric, and that will also change the name in the pivot table, but if you have a column or row group by’s, the name is fixed.
Question - What do you need to subscribe to, and what level of the package do you get Now Assist? ITSM basic?
Answer - Now Assist is part of our GenAI capabilities, so Creator licenses are required in most cases. Please contact your ServiceNow account team for details.
Question - Is Now Assist included in Yokahoma?
Answer - Now Assist is a GenAI capability and is separate from specific family releases. Your company must be licensed appropriately to access Now Assist. Contact your ServiceNow account team for details.
Question - Are there plans to add a voice input activation prompt similar to "Hey Siri" or "Alexa"?
Answer - Not at this time, but we are happy to add this suggestion into the idea portal!
Question - Are these all new accessibility features in Yokohama for PAR, or are they features that have been around for a while?
Answer - Those accessibility features that are shown are not exclusively from Yokohama. Some have been around longer. In Yokohama on the visualization side we added: Focusable Charts: Charts are now accessible via keyboard navigation and screen readers, even when chart interactions are disabled. Its highlighted that those elements are not clickable. Gauges now include more detailed, descriptive labels for better screen reader support. Interactive Legends: Legends are consistently focusable and fully interactive with both screen readers and keyboard navigation. Chart Filters Read by Screen Readers: Filter information is now announced by screen readers.
Question - Is there a reference where we can see what accessibility features are available platform-wide versus add-ons such as Now Assist?
Answer - Product documentation for accessibility
Question - Which data visualization type did you use to create the "content or demo ----" when I use HTML, the widget usually has borders.
Answer - The element on the dashboard is also HTML. Usually no borders. So right now I am not sure why it might appear for.
Question - Hi, qq on PA training - for someone interested in SN analytics training from A to Z - pls compare and explain whether they should take one or both of these Now Learning courses: Performance Analytics (PA) Fundamentals On-Demand vs. Platform Analytics (PA) Fundamentals On Demand.
Answer - Depends on the Instance the user is will determine which one. If they are still using Performance Analytics, then the first, etc., for Platform Analytics. However, I don't think it hurts to do both, to be prepared.
Question - Are dashboards easily captured in update sets and therefore transferable to other instances? So far this has been tricky and error-prone.
Answer - Move a Platform Analytics dashboard with an Update Set
Question - What is required to enable the speech to text option in preferences? I have Xanadu with Now Assist installed and cannot see it.
Answer - It is available on Yokohama
Question - Is there any roadmap item to enhance text analytics with additional visuals outside of the word cloud?
Answer - Hi, currently there is nothing in the short term for it.
Question - When using a List viz, there is no longer a way to Page thru the results from within the dashboard. It seems you are forced to View All and be pushed to a list view of that table now
Answer - Hi, we are bringing back the pagination capability in Zurich (safe harbor).
Question - You used to be able to right-click on a List view on the column headers and Export. That seems to not be there any longer. Can this functionality be brought back?
Answer - This is expected to be delivered in Zurich (safe harbor).
Question - Is there a feature where NowAssist (or something) can help with auditing agents' work on cases & incidents against the process for ways of working?
Answer - We do not have an answer for this right now, but we will check in the ServiceNow ecosystem if there is something similar.
Question - We are running our Platform Analytics migration for a large company. We currently have 8 SN Cases open and 2-3 additional that have been closed. Is there any alternative escalation path to get answers faster? We are on a migration timeline and don't want to have to defer multiple upgrades to make this happen.
Answer - We are not going to force the move to Platform Analytics till Australia.
You can send me an email directly of the various cases, and we can check internally what has already been solved and what you are still pending information.
Question - From the Data Visualization Library, a way to sort the viz like we used to be able to in Reports->View/Run
Answer - We are improving this in Zurich, so it should be back as an option.
Question - Can I have a New button on the Platform Analytics->Scheduled Export
Answer - It will be available from Yokohama; before that, it is only available from the Visualization designer.
Question - What is the name of the scheduled reports table?
Answer - sysauto_par
Question - Platform Analytics getting Content Blocks and Custom Interactive Filter compatibility?
Answer - Not in the short term; we plan to allow you to still view the CoreUI dashboard after Australia for this reason. Static content blocks can be supported in Rich Text component.
Question -When I am typing out the name of a table to use as a data source, the application is busy querying the table name and doesn’t capture all of the keys I am typing, making me "misspell" words. Can this be more responsive?
Answer - Safe harbor - we are looking to improve the data source selection page in Zurich.
Question - In Reports, you could add a Drilldown as part of the report builder. What chart types can you build a drill down on?
Answer - The majority of them, except for List/Geomap/Pivot, as much as I remember. We should have that information in the docs: Chart interactions in a data visualization
Prior Platform Analytics Academy Sessions by Year
Click on the year below for all Platform Analytics Academy sessions held that year.
2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019
