I Broke My First Instance—and That’s How I Learned to Build It the Right Way

[BillMartin]

I didn’t come from a ServiceNow background. In fact, I came in completely blind.

The first time I accessed a ServiceNow developer instance, I had no idea what I was looking at. I clicked around, accidentally deleted a record, created a few forms I couldn’t find again, and panicked when I saw a red error message.

That moment could’ve ended my journey.
Instead—it shaped it.

As I kept learning, I realized something crucial: you can get things working with trial and error, but if you don’t build with intention, things will break. Slowly, I stopped treating ServiceNow like a sandbox and started treating it like a system that powers real businesses.

That’s when “Build It The Right Way” became more than just a phrase. It became the core of how I approached ServiceNow—whether I was building catalog items, configuring access, working with the CMDB, or deploying update sets.

And now, I’ve turned that philosophy into a course:

Foundations of ServiceNow Administration: Build It The Right Way.

It’s not just a collection of topics—it’s a story-based learning path. We start from the user experience, then move into hands-on instance setup, application configuration, automation, data structuring, and safe deployment. Everything leads to a real-world capstone project where learners can apply what they’ve built.

But the goal isn’t just to pass an exam. It’s to think like an admin.

To see the bigger picture.

To understand how every field, flow, and table fits together.

To build with clarity, security, and scale in mind.

I recently shared this journey in a YouTube video here:

If you're just getting started—or helping others along their path—I hope this reminds you that it's okay to feel lost at first. What matters is that you keep going, keep learning, and keep building it the right way.

If you’ve ever broken something in ServiceNow and fixed it later, you’re already on the right track.

Let’s grow together.