Service Definition form

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 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 Service Definition form

    The Service Definition form in the Customer Service Management (CSM) application provides a detailed configuration record for services offered to customers. It centralizes key information about a service, including its identification, categorization, and related settings, enabling efficient service management and delivery.

    Show full answer Show less

    Key Features

    • ID and Name: Each service definition has a unique ID, auto-generated from the service name with underscores replacing spaces, ensuring distinct identification within the system.
    • Table Association: Services are linked to specific tables, such as the Case table or its extensions like Onboarding Case, defining the context where the service is applicable.
    • Customer Service Type: Services are categorized as Pre-sale, Post-sale, or General, which helps the system display relevant services based on the customer interaction context.
    • Playbook Record Generator: Optionally associates a playbook with the service, allowing agents to follow guided workflows directly from case records to enhance service consistency and effectiveness.
    • Visual Elements: An image can be attached to each service definition, which appears in card views alongside the name and description, aiding quick recognition by agents.
    • Ordering and Display: The Order field controls the sequence in which services appear in selectors or workflows, with lower values displayed first. Services without an order value appear above ordered ones, and alphabetical sorting applies to ties.
    • Activation and Catalog Integration: Services can be enabled or disabled via the Active field, and the Use service catalog item checkbox allows services to launch record producers for catalog-based service requests.
    • Description and Searchability: Descriptions enrich the service details shown in selectors and support keyword search, facilitating agents’ ability to find and select appropriate services.
    • Default Table Field Values: Administrators can specify default values for fields in the associated table, streamlining the creation of new records linked to the service.
    • Related Lists: After saving a service definition, related lists become available to manage product relationships, catalog relationships, inter-service relationships, category associations, and reports, providing comprehensive service management capabilities.

    Practical Benefits

    For ServiceNow customers, the Service Definition form enables precise service configuration tied to case management processes. By defining services with clear identifiers, categories, and contextual associations, agents can efficiently select and apply the appropriate service during customer interactions. The integration with playbooks and service catalogs further enhances the agent experience and operational consistency. Visual elements and ordering improve usability, while default field values reduce manual data entry, accelerating case resolution and improving service delivery quality.

    In the Customer Service Management (CSM) application, the Service Definition form displays information about a service definition configuration. This information record stores the details about a service that is provided to customers.

    Table 1. Service Definition form
    Field Description
    Number (deprecated) The unique number of the service definition record.
    Note:
    Starting with the Washington DC release, this field has been replaced with the ID field.
    Name The name of the service definition.
    ID The ID of the service definition.
    The system auto-populates the ID field with the name of the service definition and replaces the spaces with underscores. The ID can contain alphanumeric characters and underscores and can be up to 40 characters in length.
    Note:
    The value in this field must be unique.
    Table The table that the service definition is available for, either the Case table or a table that extends the case table.

    For example, if the service is available for the onboarding case type, select the Onboarding Case [sn_onboarding_case] table.
    Customer service type The type of service:
    • Pre-sale
    • Post-sale
    • General

    A service type enables the system to display services based on the context.
    Playbook record generator The playbook record generator associated with the service definition.

    If a service definition has an associated playbook, the agent can use the playbook in a tab on the case record. For more information, see Associate a playbook with a service definition.
    Image The image associated with the service definition.

    Service definitions appear in the case type selector or case task type selector in a card view. The image appears in the card for a service definition along with the name and description.
    Order This value determines the order in which the services are displayed in the case type selector or other workflows. Service definitions with the lowest order value are displayed first. The default value is 100.
    • Service definitions with no order value appear above the ordered service definitions.
    • If one or more service definitions have the same order value, the system displays the service definitions in alphabetical order.
    Active Enables the service definition.
    Use service catalog item This check box enables the admin to specify the service definitions that launch record producers.
    Description The description of the service definition.

    Service definitions appear in the case type selector in a card view. The card includes the name, description, and image for a service definition. Customer service agents can search for services by entering keywords found in the service definition name and description.
    Default table field values One or more fields and default values from the target table (the table that you selected in the Table field). When a record is created for the target table for service definitions, the system uses these values to automatically fill in the record fields.
    After creating and saving a service definition, the following related lists are available on the Service Definition form:
    • Product Service Relationships
    • Catalog Service Relationships
    • Service to Service Relationships
    • Service Definition Category Relationships
    • Reports