As the market leader in Enterprise Service Management and digital workflows, there’s no denying that ServiceNow implementations require buy-in and budget. It’s therefore a no-brainer to ensure that you are getting as much value out of the product, and that it’s implemented and managed in the most beneficial way for your team.
The size, complexity, and power of ServiceNow is immense. Working out how to best to tailor it to your needs may seem daunting, so we’ve put together a best practice guide of core recommendations to help your stakeholders understand, utilise and enjoy the platform. The below points are paramount to consider before any form of implementation begins.
1. Understand the gravity of ServiceNow and the impact it will have on your organisation
Something we have seen time and time again is organisations not treating a ServiceNow implementation as a business transformation programme. It will not just affect your IT team, but the workflows spanning your entire business; from finance and HR to admin, everyone will be operating on ServiceNow workflows, unifying the whole company. For this to work, then, all stakeholders will need to discuss their pain points and ideas prior, and only once people are aligned should ServiceNow be chosen as the software of choice. This will deter friction and discrepancies between departments further down the line, and allow business change to take place harmoniously.
2. Have a detailed, well-thought-through roadmap in place
This is the first essential step when it comes to a ServiceNow implementation that thrives. A good implementation process will consist of something like the below:
Define exactly what your ServiceNow vision entails, and dividing these into business initiatives.
Identify what executives and project managers will be in charge of the migration.
Establish a timeline – remember that this should be achievable, with quick accomplishments where possible. However, this absolutely doesn’t mean cutting corners for the sake of speeding things up – this will lead to mediocre results in the long run and more money needing to be spent. When doing this, consider any other high focus initiatives or dependencies the team may have at the time as this will help make the timeline realistic.
Consider ALL of your stakeholders! It’s crucial to involve the whole business within the roadmap, not just the internal ServiceNow team. In doing this, you'll ensure that there have been no oversights in the constructing of the roadmap, therefore avoiding mistakes that will be too late to rectify further on.
3. Make sure you have the right level of internal resources to support the delivery
This isn’t something that a Service Desk manager can focus on alongside his normal day-to-day responsibilities. A ServiceNow implementation requires a proper allocated project team that have the right amount of time to deliver the programme successfully. A common reason for projects being delayed is because the business didn’t end up having the right resources allocated, or those resources didn’t have enough time to support the UAT (User Acceptance Testing).
4. Engage with expert advisory so that you are fully supported throughout
This will not just be a massive IT project but an enterprise-wide business transformation, and needs to be treated as such. It is likely that your team will need outside help from experts, which will come in the form of a specialist partner. They will guide you through the process, ensuring that you implement the platform in the smartest way possible whilst achieving your strategy goals. Higher ROI incoming…
5. Create awareness of the platform
Your staff will likely need training on how best to utilise the platform. The product is a significant investment, so ensuring that everyone knows how to gain full value from it is essential. How can the platform’s capabilities be leveraged for peoples’ various roles and responsibilities? Everyone should be aware that their efforts and contributions will be managed through ServiceNow workflows. You might want to consider hosting things like:
Lunch and learns with the team
Road shows to demonstrate ServiceNow and what it can do
Drop-in sessions whereby people can join sessions prior to go-live and ask any questions they have about the platform, the project and the timelines
6. Minimise customisations
The most successful implementations tend to be by those customers who have chosen to limit customisations, based on clear business needs. Any customisation will automatically make your investment much more difficult to manage and upgrade in the long term. Staying out-of-the-box will allow you to deliver more effectively and frequently.
We've got more best practice tips for you, too - stay tuned for our recommendations for a seamless ServiceNow upgrade.
For more information on how Unifii could help your business, please feel free to get in touch with one of the team here.
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