---
sourceDocument: Australia Build or modify applications
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/application-development

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia Build or modify applications

ft:clusterId :

    - cadev

bundleId :

    - cadev

workflow :

    - Development, Data, and Analytics


---

# Use cases

# Build Agent use cases {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated September 10, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 6 minutes to read
Summarize  
![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) 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 Build Agent use cases

Build Agent in ServiceNow Australia release offers a versatile AI-powered assistant that supports a broad spectrum of development activities beyond just app creation.
It enables users to accelerate and enhance application development, modernization, documentation, governance, and learning through automated and intelligent tooling integrated into the ServiceNow AI Platform.
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## Key Features

* **Documentation Creation:** Automatically generates customized knowledge articles and structured readme files for source code repositories to reduce onboarding time and improve clarity.
* **Learning Assistance:** Provides explanations, API details, and best practices to support continuous learning and effective application of development guidelines.
* **Brainstorming and Requirements Capture:** Helps refine ideas and capture structured requirements during development planning, enabling traceability and collaboration.
* **Specification-driven Implementation:** Uses Autonomous Engineer capabilities to convert requirements into Agile user stories and parallel automated builds, including test generation and execution.
* **Playbook Authoring:** Creates Playbook Designer artifacts conversationally, configuring permissions, launcher setups, activities, and nested playbook outputs.
* **App Analysis and Improvement:** Summarizes existing applications to identify gaps such as missing ACLs or test coverage, proposes enhancements, and suggests process improvements.
* **Security Posture Review:** Audits roles, ACLs, and data filters to identify security weaknesses and generate fixes.
* **Test Coverage Bootstrapping:** Analyzes metadata for untested areas, generates Automated Test Framework (ATF) tests, runs them, and triages failures.
* **Architecture Diagrams:** Creates visual Mermaid.js diagrams to illustrate table relationships and integration points.
* **Migration and Modernization:** Accelerates migration from legacy systems by recreating tables, relationships, and automation; modernizes legacy customizations using current best practices.
* **Data Model Scaffolding:** Generates tables, columns, and relationships from CSV, screenshots, or textual descriptions of data models.
* **Cross-Scope Workflow Development:** Builds custom apps that interact with global tables and automate workflows, such as incident creation based on asset status.
* **Build from User Stories and SQL:** Converts user stories or SQL table definitions into complete ServiceNow applications with matching logic and tests.
* **Post-build Summaries and Governance:** Produces release notes, and sets up instance scan checks enforcing organizational standards for naming, security, and code quality.

## Use Cases by Development Stage and Goal

Build Agent supports various development stages:

* **Explore (Zero Risk, Read-only):** Understanding concepts, documenting apps, generating diagrams, running tests for health checks, and auditing security posture.
* **Enhance (Modifications):** Adding fields, scripts, notifications, automations, generating ATF test suites, and implementing governance checks.
* **Implement (Specification-driven, Parallel Execution):** Creating and approving detailed plans from requirements, executing work items in parallel with automated testing, and deploying update sets efficiently.
* **Build (New Development on Non-production):** Prototyping apps, building catalog items, full applications with roles, ACLs, flows, portals, AI agents, and generating automated test coverage from design to deployment.

## Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

* Accelerates development cycles by automating repetitive tasks and parallelizing builds.
* Improves application quality through automated testing, security audits, and governance enforcement.
* Enhances developer productivity and learning with contextual assistance and documentation generation.
* Facilitates modernization and migration by automating legacy code analysis and data model recreation.
* Supports agile and structured development workflows with requirements capture, playbook creation, and user story-driven builds.
* Enables better collaboration and knowledge retention through structured brainstorming and documentation.  
Use Build Agent for a wide range of development scenarios beyond application creation, including app analysis, modernization, documentation, governance, and learning assistance.

## Documentation creation {#additional-build-agent-use-cases__section_gr3_nlg_vgc}

Use Build Agent to create customized knowledge articles, so users can access information and learn the application more easily.

Build Agent can automate the creation of readme files for source code repositories. Generated readme files provide clear, structured documentation that outlines installation procedures, usage
guidelines, and example snippets, which reduces onboarding time for new developers.

## Learning assistance {#additional-build-agent-use-cases__section_djz_smg_vgc}

Use Build Agent as a resource for learning ServiceNow application development practices. You can ask about many topics, including development techniques, available APIs, and the overall functionality of the ServiceNow AI Platform.

Build Agent supports continuous learning by summarizing relevant documentation, highlighting key points, and providing concrete examples that illustrate complex concepts. These examples help
developers apply general guidelines in their work.

For guidance on structuring a complete development lifecycle with Build Agent, including source control, testing, and release management, see the [SDLC on ServiceNow guide](https://servicenow.github.io/sdk/guides/sdlc-guide) in the ServiceNow SDK documentation.

## Brainstorming sessions {#additional-build-agent-use-cases__section_jkn_wmg_vgc}

Use Build Agent to refine application development ideas and capture structured requirements for later build steps during brainstorming sessions. Requirements are captured during these sessions,
supporting a structured process for developing application features. Ideas are documented so your team can revisit previous discussions and integrate feedback during the development lifecycle.

## Additional use cases {#additional-build-agent-use-cases__section_additional-scenarios}

Use the following scenarios to identify specific ways to apply Build Agent in your development workflow.

Specification-driven implementation with Autonomous Engineer
:   Provide requirements as a prompt or a file upload. Build Agent interviews you to resolve ambiguity, queries your instance for existing artifacts, and generates a plan with work items in an Agile user story format. After you approve the plan, Build Agent builds all work items in parallel in the background, generates and runs Automated Test Framework (ATF) tests, and produces an update set on completion. For more information, see [Autonomous Engineer in Build Agent](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/zb6G6vaJadtISGWATD~UoQ "Autonomous Engineer is an agentic worker that augments product development capacity across the SDLC. It intakes requirements, applies platform best practices through agent packs, and generates an implementation plan before building work items in parallel through Build Agent.").

Playbook authoring
:   Use Build Agent to author Playbook Designer artifacts through a conversation. As of Australia Patch 6, you can have Build Agent do the following for playbooks that it generates:

    * Generate runtime permissions at the playbook and stage levels
    * Define on-demand launcher configurations
    * Create optional activities scoped globally or to a specific stage
    * Configure Set Playbook Outputs activity definitions for nested playbooks
    * Set Agentic activity fields on form-based and record-based activities

    {#additional-build-agent-use-cases__ul_wqc_hmk_hkc}For details on using playbooks with Build Agent, see [Supported metadata in Build Agent](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/L093IWK7z5gescoGCm7vmA "Metadata and app file types that Build Agent can create and manage."). For more information on using playbooks, see [Exploring Playbook](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=process-automation-designer&version=australia&pubname=australia-build-workflows&ft:locale=en-US).

App gap analysis
:   Summarize an existing app, identify gaps in coverage, and propose targeted enhancements. For example, Build Agent identifies tables without ACLs, business rules with no test coverage, and manual steps that could be automated with flows.

Existing app analysis and process improvement
:   Analyze an existing custom scoped application, including one built on custom tables, to identify the business processes that it supports. Build Agent uses its awareness of your instance and data model to describe how the application's tables, business rules, and flows work together. Build Agent can also propose process improvements and provides technical guidance for implementing them. This analysis is useful for applications that have limited documentation, such as
    applications built by teams that are no longer available. AI-generated results might not be accurate in all cases, so review the results before you act on them.

Security posture review
:   Open an existing app and audit its ACLs, roles, and data filters. Build Agent identifies gaps such as tables with no ACLs, overly permissive rules, and missing role hierarchy, then generates fixes.

Test coverage bootstrapping
:   Analyze an app's metadata, identify what has zero test coverage, generate Automated Test Framework (ATF) tests for the gaps, run them, and triage failures.

Architecture diagrams
:   Generate Mermaid.js diagrams by querying and collating data from the platform.

Common workflow patterns
:   Describe a common business process, such as intake and approval, escalation routing, or SLA monitoring with dashboards. Build Agent then scaffolds the full workflow, including tables, flows, catalog items, notifications, and reporting.

Migration acceleration
:   Provide your source system's table definitions, business logic, or data model pasted as SQL, text, CSV, or screenshots. Build Agent then recreates the equivalent tables, fields, relationships, and automation on the ServiceNow AI Platform.

App modernization
:   Analyze legacy customizations such as classic workflows, Jelly UI, and script-heavy logic, then rebuild them using modern patterns: flows instead of workflows, React UI pages instead of Jelly, and structured security
    instead of script-based checks.

Data-model scaffolding
:   Paste a CSV file, drop a spreadsheet screenshot into the chat, or describe your data model in plain text. Build Agent generates the matching ServiceNow tables, columns, and relationships. For Excel or PDF input, convert to CSV or paste a screenshot first.

Cross-scope workflows
:   Build custom apps that write to global tables such as Incident. For example, auto-generate incidents when assets become overdue.

Build from user stories
:   Point Build Agent at a user story from the rm_story \[rm_story\] table or paste one from another tool. The acceptance criteria drive development, creating the tables, logic, and tests that satisfy
    each criterion.  
    Note:  
    Querying the rm_story \[rm_story\] table directly requires the Agile Development 2.0 plugin.

SQL to table
:   Paste a SQL `CREATE TABLE` definition into the chat and Build Agent translates it into a ServiceNow table with matching column types and relationships.

Post-build summaries
:   Generate release notes and summary documents after the build foundation is complete.

Instance governance setup
:   Create instance scan checks that enforce your organization's standards, including naming conventions, security requirements, and code quality. Checks run as part of your existing instance scan infrastructure.

## Use cases by development goal {#additional-build-agent-use-cases__section_use-case-matrix}

Use the following table to identify Build Agent use cases based on your development stage and goal.
{#additional-build-agent-use-cases__table_use-case-matrix__entry__4}

| Use case | Immediate productivity | Process and quality improvement | Strategic transformation |
|-|-|-|-|
| Explore (zero risk, read-only) | * Explain any concept, API, or metadata type in plain language * Look up how a specific business rule, flow, or ACL works {#additional-build-agent-use-cases__ul_explore_productivity} | * Document an existing app end-to-end: architecture, security model, and data flows * Generate Mermaid diagrams of table relationships and integration points {#additional-build-agent-use-cases__ul_explore_quality} | * Run existing Automated Test Framework (ATF) tests and triage failures to assess application health before a release * Audit security posture: review ACLs, identify missing role controls, and surface compliance gaps {#additional-build-agent-use-cases__ul_explore_strategic} |
| Enhance (modifications, reviewable before promotion) | * Add a field, client script, or UI policy to a form * Add a catalog variable or update a record producer {#additional-build-agent-use-cases__ul_enhance_productivity} | * Add email notifications, scheduled jobs, and flows to automate a manual process * Build a scripted REST API for an external integration {#additional-build-agent-use-cases__ul_enhance_quality} | * Generate ATF test suites for untested apps, then run and triage them to establish a quality baseline * Add instance scan checks to enforce governance standards across the platform {#additional-build-agent-use-cases__ul_enhance_strategic} |
| Implement (specification-driven, parallel execution) | Provide requirements as a prompt or file and let Autonomous Engineer generate and build a full plan | * Review, edit, and approve work items before execution to align the plan with your standards * Use agent packs to implement custom applications on your instance. {#additional-build-agent-use-cases__ul_implement_quality} | * Compress multi-month implementation timelines to hours by executing all work items in parallel with automated ATF test generation and self-healing * Export the completed update set and deploy to UAT or production {#additional-build-agent-use-cases__ul_implement_strategic} |
| Build (new development on non-production) | * Prototype an app from a one-line description * Create a catalog item with variables and a fulfillment flow {#additional-build-agent-use-cases__ul_build_productivity} | * Build a full app with tables, roles, ACLs, business rules, flows, catalog items, and a UI page * Build a Service Portal or workspace for self-service {#additional-build-agent-use-cases__ul_build_quality} | * Build AI agents and ServiceNow Otto skills to bring intelligent automation into your processes * Build from design mockups or a detailed PRD, complete with automated test coverage from day one {#additional-build-agent-use-cases__ul_build_strategic} |
[Table 1. Build Agent use cases by development stage and goal]

{#additional-build-agent-use-cases__table_use-case-matrix}