ITSM Knowledge Article View Tracking

DavidBReynolds
Mega Guru

3 weeks ago

Hello,

How often do you reset the knowledge article view count tracker? Is it every 30 days starting with the day an article is published? 90 days? Six months? A year? What time range gives you an accurate idea of user acceptance and self-service use?

What do you do when an article does not get any hits? Do you retire it or leave it up?

We normally require all articles be reviewed once a year. Some commonly used ones get updated much more often, though. Do you use a different method?

 

Thanks for your comments.

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3 REPLIES 3

Swapna Abburi
Mega Sage

3 weeks ago

Hi @DavidBReynolds 

The view count on knowledge article is calculated based on last 30 days view count. This can be managed using a property. You can increase it to 60 or 90 days depends on your requirement. Review frequency for articles depends on your organization requirements.

 

For example, we do process related knowledge articles review every 6 months to ensure they're up to date. 

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Tejas Adhalrao
Tera Guru

3 weeks ago

Hi @DavidBReynolds ,

In ServiceNow, knowledge article view metrics are typically analyzed over a defined reporting period (e.g., 90 days or six months) rather than resetting counts, to provide accurate insights into self-service adoption and user engagement. Articles with zero views should undergo a content and relevance assessment, checking search keywords, tags, workflow links, and knowledge base associations before deciding to retire them. Following CMDB-aligned knowledge governance, all articles should have a scheduled review cycle of at least one year, while high-impact or frequently accessed articles may require more frequent knowledge updates and lifecycle management. This approach ensures data-driven knowledge base optimization, improves content discoverability, and maintains compliance with organizational standards.

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Its_Sagnic
Mega Guru

2 weeks ago

Hi @DavidBReynolds ,

Please check the solution mentioned below.

1. Configure the View Count Reset Frequency
By default, Servicenow calculates the "View count" field on the knowledge form using a rolling 30-day window. It does not "reset" to zero on a fixed date but instead ignores views older than the defined age. 
  • How to Adjust: Navigate to Knowledge > Administration > Properties. Locate the property glide.knowman.view_age.days.
  • Recommendation:
    • 90 Days: Most organizations find 90 days provides the best "accurate idea" of current self-service relevance.
    • 0 (Never Reset): Set this to 0 if you want a lifetime total view count. Note that setting this to 0 disables the daily "Count Knowledge Use" scheduled job. 
 
2. Manage Articles with Zero Hits
When an article consistently receives no views, it likely indicates a discovery issue rather than a lack of value.
  • Step A: Audit Discovery: Check if the article has proper meta tags and keywords. Often, a "Zero Hit" article simply isn't using the terminology users search for.
  • Step B: The 6-Month Rule: For 2026, a best practice is to flag articles with zero views in the last 180 days for a "Retire or Refresh" review.
  • Step C: Retirement Strategy: Do not leave unused articles up indefinitely as they clutter search results. If an article is no longer technically accurate or needed, click Retire to trigger the retirement workflow. 
 
3. Optimize the Review Process
While an annual review is the standard baseline, high-velocity organizations use a tiered method:
  1. Tier 1 (Mission Critical): Articles tied to "High" or "Critical" services (CIs) should be reviewed every 6 months.
  2. Tier 2 (General Information): Standard articles can remain on the annual review cycle.
  3. Automated Reminders: Set the Valid to date on articles to exactly one year from publication. ServiceNow will automatically send notifications to the Ownership Group or Author 30 days before this date. 
 
4. Advanced Tracking with the KB_USE Table
For a "true" understanding of self-service use, do not rely solely on the form view count.
  • Report on the kb_use Table: This table tracks every individual view and "Used" click. Unlike the form field, this data is permanent and allows you to see long-term trends even if you have a 30-day rolling reset on the main form.
  • Use Metrics: Track the Incident Deflection rate (articles attached to incidents vs. views) to see if users are finding answers before submitting tickets. 


    If you find the solution helpful please mark it as helpful.

    Regards,

    Sagnic
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