What are advantages of using Flow Designer?
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12-12-2023 04:32 PM
Does using flow designers reduce technical debt?
Does flow designer support advanced developers?

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12-12-2023 04:38 PM
Flow designer is a core component of ServiceNow. It is a replacement of workflow which is a legacy functionality of ServiceNow.
You need flow designer to create flows and orchestration.
The advantage of flow designer is, you dont always need developer to develop the flow. A Business user with no coding skills can use flow designer to build flows for their team. Which in turn reduce technical debt, because you dont need developers to build these flow designers. Not sure what you mean by advanced developers, but you can empower business users to build their own flows.
Please mark this response as correct or helpful if it assisted you with your question.
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12-12-2023 05:58 PM
Hi @donaunilove ,
Advantages of Flow Designer
Flow Designer offers several advantages for automating workflows in ServiceNow:
1. Citizen Developer Friendly:
- No-code/Low-code interface: Visual drag-and-drop functionality allows users with little to no coding experience to create and manage workflows. This empowers business users to automate tasks without relying on IT teams.
2. Increased Productivity and Efficiency:
- Automate repetitive tasks: Free up IT resources and improve overall efficiency by automating manual processes like approvals, data routing, and notifications.
- Streamline complex workflows: Design intricate workflows with conditional branching, loops, and integrations without writing complex code.
3. Improved Visibility and Control:
- Real-time monitoring and reporting: Track workflow execution in real-time and identify bottlenecks or errors for quick resolution.
- Version control and audit trails: Maintain a history of changes and ensure compliance with regulations.
4. Enhanced Integration:
- Connects to various applications and data sources: Integrate seamlessly with ServiceNow applications, external systems, and cloud services through pre-built connectors or custom integrations.
5. Reduced Technical Debt:
- Reusable components: Utilize pre-built and customizable flow components to avoid repetitive coding and maintain a clean codebase.
- Centralized workflow management: Manage all workflows from a single platform, reducing the risk of scattered and unmaintained scripts.
Does Flow Designer Reduce Technical Debt?
Flow Designer can potentially reduce technical debt by:
- Eliminating the need for custom scripting: Replacing manual scripts with visual workflows can lead to cleaner, more maintainable code.
- Promoting code reuse: Utilizing pre-built components and templates reduces code duplication and improves consistency.
- Centralizing workflow management: Consolidate workflows onto a single platform, making them easier to track and manage.
However, technical debt can also increase if:
- Complex workflows are poorly designed: Overly intricate workflows can become difficult to understand and maintain, leading to technical debt.
- Lack of governance: Without proper governance and best practices, Flow Designer workflows can become spaghetti code, increasing technical debt.
Does Flow Designer Support Advanced Developers?
Yes, Flow Designer can also be beneficial for advanced developers:
- Extensibility: Developers can extend Flow Designer functionality by creating custom actions, connectors, and scripts.
- Integration with development tools: Flow Designer integrates with other ServiceNow development tools like ServiceNow Studio and ServiceNow Developer Portal.
- Enhanced development speed: Developers can use Flow Designer to automate repetitive development tasks and prototype workflows quickly.
Overall, Flow Designer is a valuable tool for both citizen developers and advanced developers. Its no-code/low-code interface makes it accessible to everyone, while its extensibility and integration capabilities cater to the needs of experienced developers. However, it's crucial to implement best practices and proper governance to maximize Flow Designer's benefits and prevent technical debt.
Please mark ✅ Correct if this resolves your issue, and also mark 👍 Helpful if you find my response valuable based on its impact.
Regards,
Astik Thombare
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12-12-2023 06:44 PM
Hi @donaunilove ,
The main advantage of using Flow designer is to Automate the work (day to day tasks).
We get more features in flow designer compared to workflow editor.
Your question "Does it support advanced developers?" assuming is scripting can be done or not?
scripting can be added in the flow designer (flow designer offer such feature to add script).
You can refer the below links to learn more about advantages of flow designer:
https://www.servicenow.com/products/platform-flow-designer.html?state=seamless
You can refer this you tube video as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeSumpq0KVM&list=PLzTvAeLiW8Aflc8kE986UslJnyN9nUhw9
If my response helps you in assisting your query, please mark it as helpful/ Accepted solution @donaunilove .
Thanks & Regards,
S. Lakshmikanth Gupta.