How to Create ServiceNow Dashboards and Reports (Zurich Version)

[BillMartin]

If you work with ServiceNow, you know raw data alone does not help anyone. You need clear reports in ServiceNow and focused dashboards so you can see what matters and act quickly. When you treat reports and dashboards as decision tools, you give yourself and your team a practical command center, not just a collection of charts.

In this guide, you walk through the full flow step by step. You start with a simple indicator, turn it into a visualization, convert that into a reusable report, then place it inside a dashboard you can share with your team. Along the way, you see how to reuse out of the box content, how to think about indicator groups, and how to experiment safely without breaking standard dashboards.

 

Introduction to ServiceNow Reports and Dashboards

In ServiceNow, reports and dashboards are not just decoration. They are decision making tools.

You can think of it like this:

• Dashboard: your visible command center.
• Report or Performance Analytics visualization: a single building block that feeds your dashboard.

A dashboard pulls together several visualizations, each one answering a focused question. When you understand how each visualization behaves, building useful dashboards becomes much easier.

In this guide, you build:

• A simple indicator in Performance Analytics.
• A visualization in the form of an indicator scorecard.
• A reusable report based on that visualization.
• A dashboard that hosts your report so you can share it with others.

This flow is perfect for operational reporting because it helps you answer a simple question: is the company improving or getting worse in a given area, such as open incidents.

If you want to go deeper later, you can join the channel as a member using the support and membership link to access longer labs and architectural tutorials.

Why Use the Zurich Version?

The walkthrough uses the Zurich release of ServiceNow, which at the time of recording is the latest version. The interface for reports and dashboards in Zurich is refined, and some buttons and labels may look slightly different from older releases, even though the behavior stays similar.

If you are on a lower version, you are encouraged to upgrade to Zurich before trying to copy everything exactly. The creator mentions a dedicated Zurich upgrade tutorial in the video, so you can look for that if you want a guided upgrade path.

Setting Up Your Developer Instance

To follow along properly, you should work in your own personal developer instance. This lets you click, change, and even break things without touching a live environment.

You can think of your instance as a lab where you can learn reporting safely.

A simple way to get ready is:

1. Request or create your personal developer instance from the ServiceNow Developer site.
2. Log in as an admin-level user.
3. Confirm that your instance is on the Zurich version.

Hands-on practice is the fastest way to build confidence with reports in ServiceNow. Watching the video gives you the big picture, but clicking through in your own instance helps everything stick.

Prerequisites for Hands-On Learning

Before you start building, you should have:

• Access to Platform Analytics in your instance.
• Basic comfort with ServiceNow navigation and the left-hand menu.
• Permissions that allow you to create and edit data visualizations and dashboards.

If you are brand new, you might want to watch a full tutorial about creating a personal developer instance and doing basic navigation first. That way, the steps around reports and dashboards will feel natural instead of overwhelming.

Understanding Visualizations in ServiceNow

In Performance Analytics, a visualization is a structured way to represent data. It is not just a random chart. It has a clear purpose and a specific structure.

A visualization in Performance Analytics can be:

• A scorecard.
• An interactive chart.
• A breakdown.
• A trend chart.

In this guide, you focus on creating an indicator scorecard, because it is one of the most common and useful elements for operations.

An indicator scorecard usually shows four key pieces of information:

• Latest value for the indicator, such as number of open incidents.
• Change since the last period, for example day over day or week over week.
• Target value, if you have one set.
• Trend line across time so you can see direction.

When you look at this scorecard, you can quickly answer questions like:

• Are open incidents going up or down?
• Are you moving toward your target or away from it?
• Is this period better or worse than the last one?

That is why this type of visualization is perfect for operational reporting. It focuses on the health of a key metric, not just a static snapshot.

Key Concepts Before Building

Before you start clicking, it helps to keep two ideas in mind:

1. Reports are building blocks for dashboards.
   Each visualization or report is a small component. You combine these inside a dashboard layout to give your team a full picture.
2. Out of the box content is your teacher.
   ServiceNow ships many standard reports and dashboards. You can open them, duplicate them, and study how they work. This is one of the best ways to learn patterns that ServiceNow recommends.

Tip: ServiceNow docs are your best friend when you are not sure what a component does, such as an indicator group or data source option. Keep them open in another tab as you build.

If you approach reports in ServiceNow with curiosity about how each piece behaves, you will become fast and confident much sooner.

Creating Your First Data Visualization

You will now create your first data visualization using Platform Analytics.

Follow these steps to reach the right area:

1. In the left-hand navigation, go to Platform Analytics.
2. Under the Library section, select Data Visualizations.
3. Look to the top right of the list and choose the option to create a New data visualization.

This list is where all your visual assets are stored. Existing reports, scorecards, and charts appear here. From this page, you can also drill into any visualization to see how it is configured.

When you click to create a new one, ServiceNow helps you with a kind of wizard on the right side of the screen. This wizard guides you through the configuration steps for the visualization type you choose.

For this guide, you select the type that represents an indicator or scorecard, since you want to show open incidents as a metric.

At this point, your visualization is still untitled. You see "Untitled" in the header on the top left.

Exploring Out-of-the-Box Templates

Before you build yours from scratch, you should know that you can also:

• Open an existing out of the box visualization.
• Use the duplicate function from the top right.
• Study and adjust the copy without touching the original.

Studying these templates helps you understand what ServiceNow considers standard practice. It is similar to getting a new car and reading about its features. Once you know what is already there, you can drive more safely and take advantage of all the controls.

This is not just about convenience. Knowing what is provided out of the box gives you an edge, because you avoid re-inventing common metrics and layouts.

Configuring and Saving Your Report

With the new visualization started, you now shape it into a real report.

You can follow a basic flow:

1. Set the title and description.
   In the header section, give your KPI a clear title. In this example, you name it Open Incident Parameters. Add a short description that explains what this report shows, such as "Current number of open incidents and trend over time."
2. Choose the data source and indicator group.
   Use the data panel to define where your numbers come from. You select an indicator group such as Incident open. If you switch to a different indicator, like SLA of incidents, you will instantly see the scorecard change to reflect that choice.
3. Save and bookmark for reuse.
   Once the title and source are set, click Save. The name on the top left updates from "Untitled" to your new title. You can also add the visualization to your bookmarks so you can find it quickly later.

Pro tip: save often as you build, so you do not lose changes if your session times out.

This simple habit of naming, connecting data, and saving early gives structure to your work and prevents confusion later when you start adding the report to dashboards.

Understanding the Data Panel and Indicator Groups

As you work with the data panel, take a moment to observe what each component does:

• Indicator group: groups related metrics, such as open incidents.
• Time settings: control the period you are analyzing.
• Breakdowns or filters (if present): shape which records you include.

While you adjust these, watch how the visualization responds. For example, when you change the indicator from open incidents to SLA of incidents, the title and numbers in your scorecard also shift. This feedback helps you connect the setup to the result.

The key is familiarity. The more you work with these options, the more natural they will feel when you design other reports in ServiceNow.

Handling Notifications and Edits

After you save, you may see notifications at the top of the screen. You can click Exit to clear them and return to the visualization list.

Depending on your version, the overall look of the page might differ slightly. Zurich has its own style, but the main buttons for creating, saving, duplicating, and adding to dashboards stay in similar places.

You can also:

• Duplicate your own report if you want to create a variant.
• Add it to bookmarks so you can access it without searching.

The video creator mentions having a full tutorial on dashboards and reports that takes you from beginner to expert. The interface in that older content may look slightly different from Zurich, but the actions you perform stay aligned.

What Makes a Good Indicator Group?

When you pick an indicator group, think about what your stakeholders care about. Out of the box options often cover common needs, such as:

• Incident open: total number of open incidents.
• SLA of incidents: performance against service level targets for incidents.

You want an indicator group that matches the outcomes and objectives your client or team is aiming for. Once you pick a solid group, the scorecard you create makes sense to your audience, not just to you as the builder.

Using out of the box indicator groups where they fit saves you time and keeps you closer to ServiceNow best practice.

Adding Reports to Dashboards

With your Open Incident Parameters report defined and saved, you are ready to add it to a dashboard.

You have two basic options:

• Add it to a new dashboard.
• Add it to an existing dashboard.

Many ServiceNow instances include standard platform dashboards out of the box. For example, you might see an Incident Management dashboard that comes pre-built from ServiceNow.

These out of the box dashboards are often locked so you cannot change them directly. ServiceNow does this to keep best practice layouts intact.

To work safely with them, follow this approach:

1. Duplicate the standard dashboard.
   From the dashboard menu, choose to duplicate it and give it a name such as "Incident Management Dashboard" with a slight change if needed so it gets a unique ID.
2. Enter edit mode on your copy.
   Now that you are on your own dashboard copy, you can enter Edit mode.
3. Add a new tab or use an existing one.
   You can add another tab as a playground where you add and remove reports until you are happy with the layout.
4. Insert your visualization.
   From the list of available visualizations, select the data visualization report you created, for example "Open Incident Parameters." Place it on the dashboard where it fits best.
5. Configure and save.
   Adjust size, titles, and any branding details you care about. When you are satisfied, click Save and exit edit mode.

By working on a copy, you give yourself space to try ideas, break layouts, and fix them again. You can treat this dashboard as your laboratory until you feel strong with reports in ServiceNow.

Editing and Customizing Dashboards

Once your report sits on the dashboard, you have plenty of room to refine things.

You can:

• Mix out of the box reports with your custom ones on the same dashboard.
• Remove widgets that do not add value for your team.
• Adjust labels and layout so the story you tell is clear.

Caution: avoid editing original out of the box dashboards directly. Work on copies so you do not lose standard content or best practice models.

As you continue to adjust dashboards, you will get a feel for which reports belong together and which ones distract from the main message.

Final Tips and Conclusion

By following this guide, you have walked through the full reporting flow in Zurich:

• You saw how visualizations act as building blocks for dashboards.
• You created an indicator scorecard that shows latest value, change, target, and trend.
• You selected an out of the box indicator group to power your report.
• You saved and bookmarked your work so you can reuse it.
• You duplicated a standard dashboard and safely added your new report to it.

These steps form a foundation for real-world reporting and executive analytics. Once you are comfortable with this pattern, you can repeat it for other indicators, tables, and processes, and grow a full suite of reports in ServiceNow.

You now have the core skills to turn data into a clear, visual story in ServiceNow. Use them well, keep experimenting, and build dashboards that your stakeholders actually use.

Thanks for reading!