Platform Overview & Navigation

ServiceNow uses a web-based interface called the Next Experience UI (also known as Polaris). The UI consists of several key areas that you must know for the exam.

Key UI Components

• Banner Frame — Top of the page. Contains the logo, global search, user menu, and system settings.
• Application Navigator (left sidebar) — Filter navigator to find modules. Supports favorites, history, and pinning.
• Content Frame — The main working area where lists, forms, and dashboards display.
• Contextual Sidebar — Right panel for activity stream, notes, and additional context.

The Application Navigator is the primary way users find modules and applications. It supports type-ahead filtering — start typing to instantly filter the list.

Navigation Features

• Filter Navigator — Type to search for modules by name (e.g., 'incident' shows all incident-related modules).
• Favorites — Star frequently used modules for quick access. Favorites appear at the top of the navigator.
• History — Recently visited modules are tracked automatically.
• All menu — Browse the complete application and module hierarchy.
• Tabs — Open multiple modules in separate tabs within the content frame.

Lists and forms are the two primary ways users interact with data in ServiceNow. Lists show multiple records; forms show a single record's details.

List Features

• Column sorting — Click column headers to sort ascending/descending.
• List filters — Use the filter icon (funnel) or condition builder to filter records.
• Personalized lists — Users can add/remove columns, reorder, and save list layouts.
• List editing — Edit fields directly in the list without opening each record.
• Context menu — Right-click records for quick actions (assign, copy, export).
• Breadcrumbs — Show the current filter path and allow quick filter adjustments.

Form Features

• Form layout — Configured by admins via Form Designer or Form Layout.
• Sections — Group related fields into collapsible sections.
• Related Lists — Show child/related records at the bottom of a form (e.g., incidents on a CI).
• Activity Stream — Shows work notes, comments, and record history.
• Form Views — Different form layouts for different user roles (e.g., ITIL view vs. Self-Service view).

Global Search allows users to search across multiple tables simultaneously using Zing, ServiceNow's text search engine.

How Global Search Works

• Searches across multiple tables defined in search groups.
• Uses Zing text indexing — not a direct database query.
• Returns results grouped by table with relevance ranking.
• Admins configure which tables and fields are searchable via Search Groups (ts_configuration).
• Supports wildcards (*) but not complex query operators.

Dashboards provide at-a-glance views of data through widgets and reports. Each user can have a personalized homepage dashboard.

Dashboard Components

• Widgets — Individual data visualizations (charts, lists, counts, gauges).
• Reports — Created via the reporting module, then added to dashboards.
• Tabs — Dashboards support multiple tabs to organize content.
• Sharing — Dashboards can be shared with groups or published globally.

Report Types

• Bar, Pie, Line, Donut charts for visual data.
• List reports for tabular data.
• Pivot tables for cross-referencing dimensions.
• Trend reports for time-series analysis.
• Scores and gauges for KPIs.