Value builder

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 4 minutes to read
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    Summary of Value builder

    The Value builder is a feature within ServiceNow's Software Asset Management (SAM) application designed to helpsamuserrole users identify and prioritize unused or unimplemented functionalities. It provides insights into how fully your instance utilizes SAM capabilities, enabling you to maximize value from integrations, playbooks, and installations.

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    Key functionalities include:

    • Tracking automatically generated and manually created Value builder tasks related to underused publisher packs and other SAM components.
    • Filtering tasks and data by domain or category for focused analysis.
    • Prioritizing important tasks by marking them as favorites.
    • Viewing up to 15 tasks in the dashboard, with an option to see all tasks.
    • Keeping up to date with new features in upcoming releases.

    Use Case

    The Value builder dashboard presents four donut chart widgets showing the extent of SAM utilization, helping users visually assess gaps. For example, if a publisher pack is available but unused, a corresponding task is created to encourage adoption or review. Users can mark such tasks as favorites for prioritization or dismiss them if irrelevant.

    Value builder Widgets and Their Purpose

    • SAM apps and plugins: Shows SAM plugins and store applications available versus installed, highlighting incompletes for action.
    • Publisher pack utilization: Displays usage of all publisher packs, indicating which are fully used or incomplete based on criteria such as enabled plugins, usage detection, and entitlement creation.
    • Usage under management: Tracks usage of all licensable products, considering products used if usage and entitlements are detected.
    • Value builder tasks by status: Lists tasks by states like New, In Progress, Pending Review, and Closed Complete; excludes Closed Skipped tasks.

    Clicking on any donut chart segment takes you to detailed records for further investigation. Tasks are refreshed after scheduled jobs run, ensuring up-to-date information.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Gain clear visibility into which SAM features and publisher packs are underutilized, helping direct efforts to maximize your software asset management investments.
    • Effectively prioritize and manage improvement tasks with filtering, favorites, and status tracking.
    • Stay informed of new SAM capabilities and upcoming features to continuously enhance asset management processes.

    Overall, Value builder empowers SAM administrators to optimize the usage of their instance’s SAM functionalities, improve compliance, and realize greater value from their software assets.

    Maximize the usage of your Software Asset Management application capabilities by getting insights into integrations, playbooks, and other installations.

    Overview of the Value builder

    The sam_user role can identify and prioritize functionalities that haven't yet been implemented or aren't being used.

    The Value builder functionality enables you to perform the following actions:
    • Learn how close your instance is to maximizing the value of your Software Asset Management application.
    • Track Value builder tasks that are automatically generated when publisher packs aren't fully used and are identified as incomplete. You can also manually create Value builder tasks. For details see Create a Value builder task.
    • Filter the data by domain or category or you can filter by both domain and category. The filter applies to the entire dashboard, and when selected, displays only the data that matches the specific filter.
    • Prioritize or increase visibility of certain tasks by marking tasks as favorites.
    • Stay up to date and get a glimpse of the new features available in the upcoming release.

    You can view a maximum of 15 tasks in the Value builder section. To see additional tasks, click View all.

    Figure 1. Value builder dashboard

    Value builder in the Success Portal view.

    Use case for Value builder

    The Value builder displays four donut chart widgets to the sam_user role. Each widget shows you how far your instance is from fully using the Software Asset Management capabilities.

    For example, the Publisher pack utilization widget shows five publisher packs but only four are being used in your instance. A Value builder task automatically gets created for the additional publisher pack that is not being used and appears in the New Value builder tasks section. You can prioritize this task and click the star icon to add this task to your Favorites list. If you decide not to work on this task, you can click Dismiss to remove it from the New Value builder tasks section.

    Value builder widgets

    Select a donut chart widget to take you to the list view of records. For example, if you want to view the incomplete publisher pack records, select the incomplete part in the donut chart widget.

    All the widgets get refreshed and the value builder tasks are created after the following two scheduled jobs run:
    • SAM- Update value builder usage
    • SAM- Value builder content handler
    Widget Source Description
    SAM apps and plugins sam apps and plugins [samp_sp_apps_and_plugins]

    All Software Asset Management plugins and store applications that are available to use and how many haven't been installed on your instance.

    Complete indicates the store applications and plugins that are installed. Incomplete indicates the store applications and plugins that haven't yet been installed.

    Publisher pack utilization SAM Publisher Pack Utilization [samp_sp_publisher_pack_utilization]

    All publisher packs that are available for use and how many are actually being used.

    Complete indicates the publisher packs that are fully used. Incomplete indicates the publisher packs that aren't fully used.

    Utilization of a publisher pack depends on a criteria. If the value is true for all three details in the Usage details section of a publisher pack record, namely Plugin enabled?, Usage found?, and Entitlements created?, then the publisher pack is considered to be fully used and is set to be complete. If the value for even one of the three entities is false, then the publisher pack is considered to be not fully used and is set to be incomplete. Value builder tasks are automatically created for incomplete publisher packs.

    The criteria for Usage found? differs for each publisher pack. For details on the specific Usage found? criteria for each publisher pack, see Usage criteria for publisher packs.

    Usage under management SAM usage under management [samp_usage_under_management]

    Usage of all licensable products.

    Usage of licensable products depends on a criteria. If the value is true for both Usage found? and Entitlement created?, the product is considered to be used.

    The criteria for Usage found? differs for each product. For Usage Found? to be considered complete, any one of the following entities should be detected in your instance for a product.
    • Discovery model
    • Client access record
    • Subscription
    Value builder tasks by status SAM Value Builder Task [samp_sp_vb_task]
    All value builder tasks that are in the following states:
    • New
    • In progress
    • Pending review
    • Closed complete
    Note:
    Value builder tasks that are in the Closed Skippedstate aren't displayed.
    Value builder tasks (In Progress) SAM Value Builder Task [samp_sp_vb_task] Value builder tasks that are currently in progress.
    Value builder tasks (Favorites) SAM Value Builder Task [samp_sp_vb_task]

    Value builder tasks that are marked as favorites.

    Click the star icon in front of a value builder task, in the Value builder task section to mark it as a favorite.

    Value builder tasks (Success Guides) SAM Value Builder Task [samp_sp_vb_task] Value builder tasks that would enable you in accessing the Success Guides.
    New Value builder tasks SAM Value Builder Task [samp_sp_vb_task] All value builder tasks that are still in the New state and aren't favorites.
    New Updates SAM Value Builder Task [samp_sp_vb_task] Preview of the features in the upcoming release.