ServiceNow Dashboards and Reporting: Build Reports and Dashboards Step by Step

BillMartin · 3 hours ago

You sit on top of a lot of data in ServiceNow, but data alone does not help anyone. You need clear, real-time reports and dashboards that turn that data into actionable insight. The good news is that ServiceNow gives you everything you need, as long as you understand how records, reports, and dashboards connect.

In this guide, you walk through that flow step by step. You start from a single incident record, expand to lists of records, turn those lists into chart-based reports, then add those reports to dashboards that support real decisions. You also see best practices for working with out-of-box content so you do not break anything during upgrades.

Here is the full walkthrough in video form if you want to follow along in the interface:

Understand ServiceNow report components from records to dashboards

Every report in ServiceNow starts from one simple thing: a record.

Think of it like this:

One incident record is a single data point.
A list of incidents is a set of data points.
A report is a way to summarize and present that list.
A dashboard is a collection of reports in one view.

Once you see this structure, building reports feels much easier.

From single record to list of records

You always begin with a single record, for example one incident in the Incident table. That record has fields such as state, assigned group, priority, and so on.

When you have many incidents, you get a list of records. That list might contain hundreds or thousands of items, depending on how much data your system holds.

From a manager or C-level point of view, you are rarely interested in each record by itself. You care more about trends and key performance indicators:

How many incidents are open?
How many are in a specific state?
How many are assigned to a certain team?

To answer those questions, you group and summarize that list of records. That is where reports come in.

ServiceNow as a system of record and system of action

ServiceNow acts as a system of record. It stores operational data across many processes and modules, such as incidents, problems, changes, and more. Because it is integrated, you see real-time information without exporting to other tools.

Once you start reporting on that data, the platform becomes a system of action. You are not just looking at numbers. You are using those numbers to trigger workflows and decisions. For example:

Spot a performance drop, then open a problem or major incident.
See a spike in a certain state, then reassign work to reduce backlog.
View risk-related incidents, then log a risk event.

All of that can start from a report or dashboard.

Report types you can use

A list of records is already a simple type of report. In many cases, a filtered list is enough.

When you need better visualization, you can pick from different report types, such as:

Bar chart
Pie chart
Line chart

You choose the type based on the data and the story you want to tell. For example, a pie chart works well when you want to show a percentage breakdown of incident states. A bar chart might fit better when you compare counts across assignment groups.

Once you have a report in place, it becomes easy to pull it into a dashboard so that others can see it at a glance.

If you want a deeper look at how the ServiceNow platform connects across modules, there are related videos on the TechTalk with Bill channel that focus on platform integration and architecture.

Set up your ServiceNow personal developer environment

You do not want to practice report building in a live production instance. ServiceNow gives you a safe space for that in the form of a personal developer instance.

If you are new to ServiceNow or reporting, start there. There is a dedicated video on the TechTalk with Bill channel that walks you through how to request and set up a ServiceNow developer instance.

Once your instance is ready, you will see a few key parts of the interface:

The application navigator at the top, where you search and open modules.
The content frame in the middle, where forms, lists, reports, and dashboards appear.

For this walkthrough, you work with the IT Service Management (ITSM) module, using Incidents as the data source.

Create your first incident record

To follow the same flow described in the video, you can use these basic steps:

Open the Incident module in the ITSM section.
Click New to create a single incident record.
Fill in the required fields with some sample data.
Click Submit to save the record.

The moment you submit, your record becomes part of the list of records for that table. This list is what you will later filter and report on.

Filter and build your report from incident data

You now have a list of incidents to work with. The list view in ServiceNow is one of your strongest tools for shaping data before you report on it.

You almost never want to report on every record in a table. You want to focus on a meaningful slice that supports a question or decision.

Use list filters to focus on the right incidents

On the incident list, ServiceNow gives you ready-made filters that you can apply with one click. One common example is All open incidents.

When you click that, ServiceNow applies conditions to the list for you so you only see incidents that are open.

From there, you can refine the data even further. For example, say you want to see only incidents for a specific team such as IT Security. You can:

Open the filter builder.
Add a condition where Assigned group equals IT Securities (as used in the demo).
Click Run to apply the filter.

Now your list contains only open incidents assigned to that group.

If you remove the Assigned group condition and click Run again, you return to the broader set of open incidents.

You can also focus on work that is already assigned, so you do not include unassigned items. One way to do that is to:

Right-click on the Assigned group column header.
Add a filter where Assigned group is not empty.
Add another condition where Active is true.

At that point, your list shows only active incidents with an assigned group. In the demo instance, that resulted in 19 records, but in a real environment you might work with thousands. The same filtering approach applies at any scale.

This filtered list now gives you a clear slice of data that you can turn into a report.

Turn a list into a basic incident report

From the list view, you can create a report very quickly without writing any code.

A common example is to view incidents by state. At a high level, you want to know how many incidents are in states like New, In Progress, On Hold, or Resolved.

From the list, you can:

Start the report creation action from the list menu.
Choose to group the data by the State field.
Select a report type, for example a pie chart.

You are not limited to a pie chart. You can also choose a bar chart or line chart, depending on how you prefer to read the data.

Once you pick your initial chart type, ServiceNow opens the report designer. That screen becomes your main workspace for tuning the report.

Configure, save, and drill into your ServiceNow report

The report designer shows the chart along with its key settings. In the example from the video, the designer displays a pie chart that breaks incidents down by state.

On this screen you can adjust how the report looks and behaves. The current video focuses on understanding the components, not every advanced option, but the basics already give you a strong starting point.

Save and describe your report

To save your work in the report designer, follow this simple flow:

Give the report a clear name, such as Incident Report by State.
Add a description that explains what the report shows and how it is filtered.
Click Save.

ServiceNow then confirms that your report has been saved successfully. In the top-left corner of the screen, you will see a confirmation message.

At this point, your report is stored in the system, so you and others can run it whenever needed.

Interact with and drill into the chart

The chart in the report designer is not just a static picture. You can interact with it to explore the data.

On a pie chart, you can move your pointer over each segment to see details such as:

The state name.
The number of incidents in that state.
The percentage of the total.

You can also drill down. When you click a segment, ServiceNow opens the underlying list of records that make up that slice. From that list, you can open an individual record.

This drill path gives you a full chain of views:

High-level chart that summarizes data.
Filtered list of records behind a segment.
Single incident record with full detail.

From that incident record, you can take action. For example, in the video, the incident could be:

Reported as a risk event.
Resolved from the incident form.
Used to trigger a workflow.

This is where the platform shifts from pure system of record to a system of action. You see a trend in the report, step into the specific record, and then decide what to do in a single place.

Add reports to dashboards for full visibility

A report by itself is helpful, but you gain the most value when you bring multiple reports together into a dashboard. Dashboards give managers and teams a one-page view of their area, such as Incident Management.

ServiceNow makes it simple to add an existing report to a dashboard.

Create a new dashboard from your report

From the report you just created, you have an option to add it to a dashboard. The interface lets you:

Add the report to a new dashboard, or
Add it to an existing dashboard.

If you choose to create a new one, ServiceNow creates the dashboard and drops your report into it right away. It also confirms that the report was added successfully.

You then give the dashboard a clear title, for example:

Incident Dashboard Example

After you set the title and click Save, the dashboard layout appears. Your incident report shows up as a widget inside it.

Add more elements and exit edit mode

From the dashboard, you can expand the view with additional reports. When you click Add new element, ServiceNow lets you pick other existing reports or components to include.

In the context of Incident Management, you might later add:

A report for incidents by priority.
A report for incidents by assignment group.
A trend chart of incidents created per day.

There is a separate video on the channel that focuses only on dashboard building and adding reports to it, which you can watch when you are ready to go deeper.

Once you are done adding elements, you exit the editing mode. Now you have a working dashboard that brings together several views, ready for everyday use.

From that dashboard, you can still drill down the same way as before. You can click on parts of a chart, open the list behind it, then drop into a single record and act.

Use existing dashboards and follow best practices

Before you spend time building new dashboards or reports, it pays to look at what already exists in your instance.

When you open the dashboards section in ServiceNow, you will see several out-of-box dashboards. These come from ServiceNow and cover common use cases.

One best practice is very important here: do not edit out-of-box dashboards or workflows directly.

These out-of-box items serve as your template. When ServiceNow publishes new releases or upgrades, those templates might change. If you have modified them, you will have to maintain those changes and fix conflicts.

A better approach is:

Copy or duplicate the out-of-box dashboard.
Work on the copy instead of the original.
Feel free to make mistakes, test ideas, and even break the copy while you learn.

This same copy-first habit applies to many items in ServiceNow, such as reports and workflows. It keeps your upgrade path cleaner and still gives you room to experiment.

As you study the out-of-box reports and dashboards, you also learn how ServiceNow experts structure them. You see which fields they use, how they group data, and how they design layouts. That knowledge makes you faster when you start building your own.

Grow from report builder to subject matter expert

At first, you might feel like a consumer of ServiceNow reports. You run what others built and use them for your daily work.

Once you understand the components of a report and a dashboard, you start to shift into a creator role. The report designer becomes a canvas where you can shape data in any way that fits your goals.

Over time, you can move beyond basic incident reports and build more focused reports such as:

Financial reports that show costs or volumes by service.
Risk reports that highlight events, controls, or loss events.
Function-specific reports for areas like HR, security, or facilities.

To reach that level, you combine three types of knowledge:

The technology, such as tables, filters, and report types.
The process, such as how Incident or Risk Management should work.
The line of business, such as finance, security, or operations.

When you bring those together, you become the person your managers trust for real insight. You can take a request like “show me how my team is performing” and quickly turn it into a working dashboard with drill-down capability.

In short: components → canvas → expert.

Keep building your skills with more learning options

If you find these steps helpful and want to keep growing, you have a few paths to go deeper.

Those options help you move from basic reporting to more advanced development or administration, using guided practice instead of trial and error alone.

Wrap-up: Turn ServiceNow data into decisions

You now have a clear view of how to go from a single record to a list, from a list to a report, and from reports to dashboards that guide action. When you understand these core components, you can handle almost any reporting request that comes your way.

Use filtered lists to shape your data, pick the right report type, save and describe your reports clearly, then bring them together in dashboards that support top-down and bottom-up views. Always work from copies of out-of-box content so upgrades stay clean and learning stays safe.