Demand Templates with Resource Assignments

[ben244536969617]

Hi All

I am working with a client who are looking to migrate their demand process to SPM Demand. Their current tool allows them to select a template for a demand eg. 'Medium sized SaaS implementation', which then populates a proposed end date (8 months after proposed start for a medium) and also creates 'unnamed' Resource Assignment requests based on roles. The template effectively says:

Medium sized SaaS Implementation template:

Duration: 8 months

Proposed End: Proposed start + 8 Months

Resources required:

• Business Analyst for 10 days in Month 1 for maturing the business case
• Solution Architect for 3 days in Month 1 for assisting in the feasibility
• Business Analyst for 30 days from Month 2 - Month 3 for requirements gathering
• Solution Architect for 10 days in Month 2 - for high level design work
• etc across the 8 month span

This allows them to see a proposed resource profile, associated cost and a duration for the project as a start point which they can then tweak as required. Their profiles are pretty complex (it generates nearly 260 resource assignments because they do an assignment per resource role per month) which is why they don't want to manually create these for every single demand. They arguably don't need to be this complicated, but that is a process conversation with them.

The resource managers can then look at the unnamed requests and help decide timescales when the resources are available.

My developer and I have been searching everywhere for a way to accommodate this in ServiceNow Demand/ Resource Management, but everything we find comes up short. We have looked at Project Templates, but these can't be used in Demand. We have looked at child templates, but you seemingly can't associate a resource template with a parent demand template as they are different modules. We have looked at business rules, but there is no trigger of 'template used' in the demand module.

Is there anyone else out there who has been able to achieve a similar thing?

[Namita Mishra]

Hi @ben244536969617 ,

Interesting use case and folks would agree that similar ask we have heard at one point or another.

Did you try flow designer?

Thank You!

Namita Mishra

[trinadh4]

Try Bellow approach:

1) Create a “Demand Template” catalog (your blueprint)

New table (e.g., x_company_demand_template) that stores:

Template name (e.g., Medium sized SaaS implementation)
Duration rule (e.g., 8 months)
End date rule (e.g., “Proposed End = Proposed Start + 8 months”)
Resource profile (JSON) – list of role-based “unnamed” Resource Assignments by month (e.g., BA 10 days in Month 1, SA 3 days in Month 1, BA 30 days Months 2–3, etc.)

Why: You need a maintainable source of truth that your flow can read; Demand OOTB doesn’t have a native template artifact. [servicenow.com]

2) Use Flow Designer to apply the template when a Demand is created or a “Template” field is set

Trigger: Record created/updated on demand (or dmn_demand), when Template is selected.
Steps in flow:

Calculate Proposed End = Proposed Start + Duration from the chosen template and update the Demand.
Generate Resource Assignments (unnamed, role-based) for each month/period in the template JSON.

Create Resource Assignments (new model) against the Demand with planning attributes (Role, Group, Skill) and effort per period.
Mark them Requested (or Planned) so Resource Managers see them in Allocation/Resource Management workspaces as unassigned work. [servicenow.com], [support.se...icenow.com]

Why Flow Designer (vs Business Rules): It’s purpose‑built for multi‑step orchestration and is easier to maintain and audit for this scenario than complex BR chains. (BRs are still valid for short synchronous record hygiene.) [servicenow.com], [linkedin.com]

3) Use Resource Assignments (not Classic Resource Plans)

Since Utah/Vancouver/Washington releases, Resource Assignments are the forward path and power the Strategic/Portfolio Planning Workspace, Project Workspace, and Resource Management Workspace (including Unassigned requests visibility). Enable them if you’re still on plans; use the migration utility if needed. [servicenow.com], [servicenow.com], [support.se...icenow.com]
If you stay on Resource Plans, the same flow can create Plans, but you won’t get the newer workspace experiences (and you’d eventually want to migrate). [servicenow.com]

4) Make the “unnamed” requests actionable for Resource Managers

Resource Managers use Resource Management Workspace (or Allocation Workbench) to view Unassigned assignment requests and then Confirm/Allocate named resources when available. This exactly supports the “resource managers pick timescales” practice you described. [support.se...icenow.com], [servicenow.com]

Step‑by‑Step Build Guide
A) Data model & configuration

Planning attributes (Role/Skill/Group/Location as needed) – ensure your assignment creation references the same attributes Resource Management uses for capacity and finder. [servicenow.com]
Demand Template table with fields:

name, duration_months, end_date_rule (enum), profile_json (long text)
Optional: rate_model to support cost calculations; your flow can recalc costs after creating assignments. [servicenow.com]

B) Flow Designer (high level)

Trigger: Demand updated (Template field changes) OR Demand created where Template is not empty. [servicenow...runjay.com]
Actions:

Lookup template (Get Record from x_company_demand_template).
Compute proposed end = current.proposed_start + duration_months and update demand.
Parse JSON profile and loop:

For each monthly role block:

Create Resource Assignment record (sn_plng_att_core_resource_assignment via action/API) with:

Work item = current Demand
Role/Group/Skill (planning attributes)
Start/End dates per period
Effort (days/hours)
Status = Requested (or Planned)

Recalculate costs (optional) using the Recalculate costs action for the demand’s assignments (or your own scripted action). [servicenow.com]