Design and assign

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of Design and assign

    The design and assign function in the Telecommunications Network Inventory application allows you to digitally represent network inventories and services. It enables you to sequentially or concurrently perform inventory tasks to set network design criteria that trigger change workflows. These workflows help assign inventory resources and instantiate your network inventory, supporting efficient and accurate network capacity building and service expansion.

    Show full answer Show less

    This function integrates standard processes from ServiceNow’s Change Management and Workflow Studio applications, allowing you to automate workflows for both simple circuits and complex network infrastructures. It supports path analysis, computations, and the application of VLAN and LAG assignment rules, particularly for Passive Optical Networks (PONs). It also enforces technology and process restrictions throughout the design and allocation phases.

    Design and assign workflow

    Before using design and assign, you define inventory models, model relationships, templates, and template relationships that form your design criteria. The ServiceNow AI Platform then generates an automated workflow to instantiate the network inventory based on these definitions.

    As an inventory template or catalog manager, you:

    • Create inventory models to capture technical manufacturer details for network assets.
    • Define model relationships that represent connections between inventory models.
    • Create inventory templates containing business rules from telecommunications providers.

    Using Change Management workflows, you can instantiate new network inventory records aligned with your designs.

    As an inventory agent, you:

    • Create change requests using defined change models.
    • Create and execute change tasks from these requests, which use APIs or task automation to instantiate network assets.

    Upon task completion, a network inventory record is generated reflecting the predefined structural relationships and configured items. If integrated with operational and business support systems, internal workflows handle purchase, installation, shipment, and asset instantiation at designated sites, following tasks defined in Workflow Studio.

    Instantiation example

    The design and assign function can be used to create network inventory records fulfilling orders such as for Gigabyte Passive Optical Networks (GPON) broadband services.

    With the design and assign function, you can build a digital representation of your network inventories and your network service in the Telecommunications Network Inventory application.

    Design and assign overview

    By using the design and assign function, you perform inventory tasks sequentially or in parallel to set a network design criteria that initiate s change workflows. With these workflows, you can assign inventory resources and instantiate your network inventory. You can also perform the design and assign function with the information that you collected from the customer orders.

    When you perform the design and assign function in the Telecommunications Network Inventory application, you use the standard processes from the Change Management and Workflow Studio applications. Create a change request enables you to instantiate the network inventory resources to support your network service topologies. It helps you efficiently build new network capacity with accurate resource allocation. You can also automate workflows to create and expand your network service.

    You can design and configure both simple circuits and a complex network infrastructure. You can then perform path analysis and computations for your network assignments​. You can also apply virtual local area network (VLAN) and link aggregation group (LAG) assignment rules for Passive Optical Networks (PONs). By using the design and assign function, you enforce technology and process restrictions as you design and allocate your network resources.

    Design and assign workflow

    Design and assign process

    Before you start the design and assign function, you define the models, model relationships, templates, and template relationships for your design criteria. Then the ServiceNow AI Platform generates an automated workflow that performs all the tasks that are required to instantiate a network inventory.

    As an inventory template or catalog manager, you can do the following tasks to instantiate your network inventory:
    1. Create the inventory models. You create an inventory model to track the technical information from the manufacturer about a network asset. When you instantiate an inventory record, your inventory record contains this standard manufacturer information. To learn more, see Create inventory models.
    2. Create the model relationship. The model relationship captures the relationships between the inventory models. To learn more, see Modeling network inventory relationships.
    3. Create the inventory template. You create the network inventory template that contains the business guidance rules from a telecommunications provider. To learn more, see Create inventory template for network asset instantiation.
    You can then instantiate a new network inventory record by using the change management workflow to fulfill the network designs. As an inventory agent, you perform the following tasks:
    1. Create the change request with the change model. To learn more, see Create a change request from Network Inventory Workspace.
    2. Create the change tasks from the change request. The network asset instantiation takes place using an Application programming interface (API) or change task that you create from the change request. To learn more, see Create and execute a change task.
    When you complete the task, the following processing takes place:
    • A network inventory record is generated. The record is based on the same structural relationships that you defined for the inventory templates and associated inventory models. The configured item consists of your inventory model and all the related inventory models.
    • If you integrate with other operational and business support systems, the process triggers an internal workflow. This workflow completes the purchase, installation, shipment, and instantiation of your network asset at the designated site. This internal workflow is based on the individual tasks or lists of tasks that are associated with the inventory model in Workflow Studio.

    Instantiation example

    You can create a set of network inventory records to fulfill an order request for Gigabyte Passive Optical Networks (GPON) broadband by using the design and assign function.