Meet Steve Bell!
We recently had the opportunity to talk with one of the Community's Leading Top Contributor and Community MVP, Steve Bell
With a long developer career, he's been working with ServiceNow Solutions since 2012. He enjoys participating in the Community because he loves to "Contribute, Contribute, Contribute.. There finally came a tip-over point where I could not find the answers I sought, and felt bad that I was not helping others. That combo did it, and I started contributing... oh and Join a SNUG!"
How did your career evolve?
My degree is in Computer Science from Texas Tech University ('83). I started my career on mainframes back in the early '80's (Pascal, Rexx VMS). Yeah, I'm old. Then after about eight years of that I started to migrate onto both Mac (Lightspeed C), and PC platforms (Pascal), and made the career jump to PCs in the very early 90's (Visual Basic, MS C, MS Access, Oracle, SQL Server, ASP.NET). At which point I started achieving certifications (MCSD). In 2000 I moved into the .NET world (C#, Web Services) and stayed there until late 2011. At that point I started developing in ServiceNow! I have been a developer, a manager, senior management, quality assurance, configuration management, process developer. My motto is: Never stop learning!
What do you do now? What is your favorite part of using ServiceNow
I am a Technical Architect Manager, Senior Implementation Specialist, and Senior Trainer for Accenture Cloud-First. My favorite part of using ServiceNow is DEVELOPMENT! Especially product development.
How did you get involved with the ServiceNow Community?
I needed help for a couple of especially nasty problems. At the time I worked for a customer and one of our contractors suggested I look on the Community. I took a look, and immediately became a member. I started really contributing in late 2013, and kicked it in gear July, 2015!
How do you work the community into your day?
All the time. Mornings: I publish my articles and check my inbox. During the day: if I am needing the answer to a question or problem. Evenings: answer questions. Saturdays: Watch American College Football, each hot sauce and chips, and write articles like crazy! I am a Texan after all!
What motivates you to participate? Why do you do it?
I was finding that certain questions were getting asked a lot. For a solution to a problem, or clarification to developing in some part of ServiceNow. As an instructor I was getting bombarded with how-do-I questions. The combination of the two caused me to start writing articles to answer what I could. I also, was unable to find answers to questions I had, and was encouraged by my management at Accenture to share what I worked out.
How else do you participate?
I am a member of the Expert's Bureau, and volunteer to do live videos explaining development techniques. I also participate in our local ServiceNow User Group (North Texas), and with the ServiceNow TechNOW sessions held in Las Colinas, TX. I have given several presentations at both. I also lead MVP Round-Tables at K16, and have presented at CreatorCon (K15, K16).
Where do you spend your time in the community?
Scripting, Developer Community, Orchestration, Discover
You're very generous with your time. Why do you do it?
The Community has given me a lot of help and information over the years. That has to come from somewhere. I have a lot of things I have found solutions for over the years that can make other developer's lives easier. I also have a lot of process experience, and can make a difference in how ServiceNow solutions are architected.
Does your employer support your participation?
Yes, they are of the opinion that it raises awareness of our company, and what we can do.
Do you have any stand-out / memorable experiences with ServiceNow?
I was writing an enhancement to Discovery for my company back in 2012 when I introduced a bug that created 4 million bogus records in my CMDB. I called support, they asked if they could call back, and who should it be but Tom Delatouch the creator of Discovery! We had a great conversation. He found my bug, and suggested a correction. Was really cool to talk with one of the guys who wrote ServiceNow.
Is there a specific product and/or feature that you just can't believe you ever lived without?
ServiceNow. As a senior manager I wish it had been available for me way back when! ServiceNow is managerial software. The best I have seen, and I am now a enthusiast. If you are asking about applications, then I would have to say it is a toss-up between Discovery and Orchestration.
What inspired you to start answering in addition to asking?
I was a taker. I would search for an answer to a problem and that would be the sum total of my participation. There finally came a tip-over point where I could not find the answers I sought, and felt bad that I was not helping others. That combo did it, and I started contributing.
What would you say to encourage your peers to participate more?
Take the time. Once-a-week or more to help someone, or write an article. Every little bit helps!
Any thoughts for your peers who are thinking about becoming more active in the Community?
Focus on helping others. Articles are badly needed to explain existing and new features in ServiceNow. More so the Intermediate to Expert level topics!
Any suggestions to fellow members to make the community even better?
Contribute! Contribute! Contribute! By doing so you make life easier for all of the other members. The question you answer, the story you tell, the article you publish will help others. Guaranteed!
What advice would you give to someone who wanted a nudge to start contributing?
Join a SNUG blog and write about the latest snippet you have created. Build points by answering questions. Don't be afraid! Build from there! That is how I started contributing.
Any other interesting tidbits, stories, hobbies you'd like to share?
Have a horse, have sailed most of my life, do leatherworking, huge on hiking, voracious reader.
