Platform Academy 10/21 | Workspaces through the ages and why NOW matters

[Dexter Chan]

Workspaces Through the Ages: Why Now’s the Time to Adopt Configurable Workspaces

ServiceNow’s workspace experience has come a long way from the legacy Agent Workspace to the flexible, Configurable Workspace that we have today. In this Platform Academy session, Dexter Chan and Maria Gabriela Ochoa Perez Waechter walk us through that evolution, release by release, and share best practices for adopting the latest workspace capabilities.

 

From Legacy to Configurable

Early Agent Workspaces offered a place where agents could view their current work but had limitations in the interface. The new Configurable Workspaces are built with ultimate flexibility in mind, provide consistent theming/branding, and are supported by the UI Builder that is continually updated to provide the latest for all agents.

Forms: Smarter, Faster, More Secure

The following releases provided updates to Workspace forms including:

• Washington focused on better communications with features like email draft management and bulk address pasting

• Xanadu added activity stream tagging for root cause analysis

• Yokohama introduced GenAI-powered responses, automatically generating message templates and summaries

• Zurich delivered a big step forward in security and usability—S/MIME encryption, digital signatures, contact cards, and bulk attachment uploads all made their debut

Lists: From Static Tables to Dynamic Views

The following releases provided updates to Workspace lists including:

• San Diego–Tokyo–Utah laid the groundwork for usability, filtering, and performance

• Vancouver added accessibility and pro-code extensibility through transform scripts

• Washington–Xanadu–Yokohama introduced the new presentational list component, flexible layouts, and scriptable customization

• Finally, Zurich introduced the Gallery View, letting users visualize data in cards for faster insights

Building Your Own Experience

Maria Gabriella’s live demo showed how to adopt these new features early using UI Builder variants. By duplicating a page and enabling the new list and form components, you can test new functionality before they are rolled out in the pre-built workspaces (ex. Service Operations Workspace). Just remember to keep your UI Builder store application up to date and confirm the correct conditions and audiences in your variant settings.

Chapters

0:00 – Introduction and Safe Harbor
1:40 – What Are Workspaces and Why Adopt Them
3:26 – Configurable vs. Legacy Agent Workspace
5:27 – Managing Workspaces with UI Builder
6:05 – UI Builder vs. Service Portal Explained
8:03 – UI Builder Moved to the Store
9:00 – Dexter’s Segment: Forms Evolution Overview
10:51 – Washington: Email Drafts and Bulk Paste
13:19 – Xanadu: Tagging in Activity Stream
17:02 – Yokohama: GenAI for Email and Replies
19:19 – Zurich: Digital Signatures, Encryption, and More
25:49 – Bulk Attachment Uploads and Other QoL Updates
26:12 – Lists Evolution Begins (San Diego to Zurich)
28:01 – San Diego: Configurable Workspaces Launch
29:09 – Tokyo: Condition Builder and Performance
30:44 – Utah: Visual Improvements in Lists
32:18 – Vancouver: Accessibility and Transform Scripts
35:44 – Washington: Presentational List Component
36:33 – Xanadu: Pro-Code Customizations
37:51 – Yokohama: Updated List Interface
38:37 – Zurich: Gallery View for Lists
40:15 – Demo: Adopting New Features in UI Builder
45:06 – Learning and Training Resources
47:09 – Closing and Upcoming Sessions