General guidelines for using app generation
Summarize
Summary of General guidelines for using app generation
This guidance helps ServiceNow customers effectively use app generation through ServiceNow Otto® to create tailored applications. Starting with the Australia release, app generation is being phased out and hidden on new instances but remains supported. The recommended alternative is the Build Agent, which offers an updated experience for app creation.
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How to Have a Productive Conversation with App Generation
To maximize app generation results, provide clear, detailed, and specific descriptions of your application requirements during your interaction with ServiceNow Otto®. This collaborative dialogue helps refine the app structure and features to meet your needs.
- Initiation: Begin by stating the main purpose of your application in general terms (e.g., managing employee travel).
- Conversation: Describe desired functionalities, data fields, user roles, and workflows in detail. Be direct if you know exactly what you want or share partial information to receive suggestions.
- Refinement: Respond to Otto®’s prompts and suggestions to fine-tune the app, such as specifying tables, forms, permissions, and dashboards.
Practical Example
For instance, you can request a travel request app with tables containing employee name, destination, and trip duration fields; forms for employees and managers; role-based permissions; and dashboards with reports. ServiceNow Otto® will guide you through setting up such features and offer additional options like record producers for service catalog submissions.
Why This Matters
Following these guidelines ensures that your app generation experience is efficient and aligned with your business processes. Clear communication with ServiceNow Otto® leads to better app customization and reduces the need for extensive manual adjustments.
Next Steps
Since app generation is being deprecated, consider transitioning to the Build Agent for app creation. For more detailed advice on interacting with generative AI like ServiceNow Otto®, refer to the general guidelines for writing instructions for large language models (LLMs).
To get the best results from app generation, provide clear and detailed descriptions of your application requirements during your conversation with ServiceNow Otto®.
Starting with the Australia release, app generation is being prepared for future deprecation. It will be hidden and no longer activated on new instances but will continue to be supported. Build Agent provides the latest experience for this functionality. For more information, see Build Agent.
How do I have a productive conversation with app generation?
App generation works best when you include specific details about your requirements. As ServiceNow Otto® makes suggestions and generates a preview, respond with additional details to refine the application.
- Initiation
- ServiceNow Otto® asks for the main purpose of your application so that it can generate an initial structure. You can start with a general statement. For example, I'd like to manage how my employees travel within my business.
- Conversation
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Describe how you want your app to work and respond to ServiceNow Otto® inquiries so that it can refine the application to match your requirements.
If you know exactly what you want, be direct and specific. For example:
- I want a table for travel requests with fields like employee name, destination, and trip duration.
- I want employees to be able to create and submit requests. Managers can then view these, and approve or deny them. Employees can view requests they've submitted, but not requests submitted by others.
- I would like a form for employees to submit requests, and another form for managers to review and respond to those requests.
- Please add a workspace with a dashboard containing relevant reports about the travel requests.
You can also share only what you know and collaborate with ServiceNow Otto® to fill in the gaps. For example:
- I need to collect and monitor relevant data for each employee trip. Can you suggest anything?
ServiceNow Otto® suggests:
Sure, we can begin with the basics. How about capturing the employee's name, destination, duration of travel, purpose of travel, and budget. Does that sound like a good starting point? - Yes, thanks. I need to manage permissions for my app's users. What can you do for me?
ServiceNow Otto® explains:
We can create roles to manage permissions. Can you tell me more about the types of users for your application and what they should be able to do? - Sure. Currently, employees email their managers for travel approval, and the manager decides whether the employee gets to go, per budget at the department level.
ServiceNow Otto® clarifies:
So, should employees be able to create and view their own requests, and should managers be able to view and approve all requests? - That sounds good, thanks.
ServiceNow Otto® understands your workflow and suggests ways to implement the desired functionality:
Would you also like to create forms for employees to submit and update travel requests?Do you want to build a form for managers to approve or reject the travel request?We could also create a record producer. This will allow employees to submit travel requests directly from the Service Catalog. Would you like to include this feature in your application?
Throughout the conversation, ServiceNow Otto® adjusts its understanding of your application requirements based on your input.
For more information about having productive conversations with ServiceNow Otto®, see General guidelines for writing instructions for generative AI large language models (LLMs).