5 Mistakes I did as Developer in ServiceNow. Avoid them ❌

Introduction

I started ServiceNow about 2 years ago.

During this time I learned a lot about the platform.

But if I had to go back in time and start again, here are 5 mistakes I’d avoid.

First and Last are my favorite.

1.Overpromise

I thought that it is great to deliver many stories in one sprint.

Well, it is, but...

Not when you sacrifice the quality of stories.

Always check your work even few times, to ensure it's free of errors and doesn't need corrections from others.

My lesson:

Quality over quantity. Always.

2.Not load US in correct order

I taken my colleague’s story.

He already started the implementation.

Then i continued implementation in another US.

Once I finished, I asked to load only my US, what caused some collisions.

My lesson is:

Always load US in same order as they were loaded on Test

3.Not Starting by Creating US

I started implementation, then I realized I didn’t catch it in US.

Quite common isn’t it ?

Well we can always catch it later by using “Add to Update Set”.

But sometimes we need to “Backout” the US.

Then it is much easier to do that when we have all changes in one place.

My lesson:

Always start any implementation with new US.

4.Use Server-side methods in Client-Side

A common mistake, that also happens to me sometimes, is that I try to put a gs.log() in Client Side (UI Policy for example).

By doing this UI Policy doesn't work at all.

My lesson:

For Client Side use methods that start with “g_”

For Server Side use methods that start with “gs.”

5.Not keeping notes of past stories

Since 1 year I always write all my thinking in my notes.

This helps me stay on track when implementing a solution.

I can send the notes to my colleagues which saves time.

I can refer to them in order to find solution to similar issue faster.

Many of my posts are created from my notes.

And many more...

My lesson:

Always document your implementations.

SUMMARY

1. Overpromise
2. Not load US in correct order
3. Not starting by creating US
4. Use Server-side methods in Client-Side
5. Not keeping notes of past stories