Dashboards, Database Views & Gauges
Once you have created reports in the ServiceNow instance, it is important to understand how they look to the users. To do that, ServiceNow offers dedicated dashboards that can be created to manage metrics and KPIs in a central location.
In this topic, we will understand the dashboards, how they are created, and ways to work with gauges.
What are ServiceNow Dashboards?
Dashboards in ServiceNow are visual representations of reports, metrics, and key performance indicators in one place. They provide a central workspace for users, ensuring that relevant data is shown to each individual.
This makes it easier for process owners and executives to identify and navigate multiple reports simultaneously. Also, with proper visualization of metrics, users can make better-informed decisions and track workflows end to end.
To build a dashboard, widgets are used. These widgets act as building blocks. The common types of widgets are:
- The Report Widget helps display specific reports in a dashboard.
- The Performance Analytics Widget displays KPIs and scorecards based on metrics.
- The Charts Widget displays data as bar charts, pie charts, or line graphs.
- The Metrics Widget displays metrics such as SLA compliance and response times.
How to Create Dashboards?
To create a new dashboard in ServiceNow, follow the given steps:
- Choose Dashboard from the ServiceNow navigator.
- Click the Create New option, and add a name and description of the dashboard.
- Choose the types of widgets and reports/ performance analytics data.
- Arrange dashboard widgets by resizing, moving, or customizing the layout.
- Define the user roles to view and edit the dashboard. It ensures that the right people access the data.
Dashboards are connected to specific modules, such as incident management, change management, and more. The different modules and user roles determine who can see dashboards and how.
Dashboard Sharing and Permissions
Access controls in dashboards are important for defining who can see what data. The permissions are at three levels.
| Permission Level | Description |
|---|---|
| Can View | Users can open the dashboards, see widgets and interact with dynamic filters. |
| Can Edit | Users can make changes in layouts, add or remove widgets and add new tabs. |
| Can Share | Users can give access permissions to other groups, users, or roles. |
What is Database View?
In ServiceNow, reports usually query one table at a time. A database view or sys_db_object is a SQL join that acts as a virtual table to combine fields from related tables in a single dataset that can be queried using Report Designer. Some of its key components include:
- View tables using sys_db_view_table, which shows the individual tables that are combined.
- Variable prefixes that act as a short alias assigned to each table. For example, inc for incident, usr for sys user, etc.
- Where clause, which is a condition defined using SQL-like syntax. It matches the field values between tables.
What does Working With Gauges mean?
A gauge in ServiceNow is a visual widget container created to display operational summaries on the user homepage and dashboard layout. Gauges are used to convert filtered table lists or reports into an embeddable content block.
Gauges are contained in the gauge table or sys_gauge. The gauges can be added to dashboards from the Add content menu under the gauges option.
Conclusion
ServiceNow reports and dashboards are tools that display large amounts of data in simpler, attractive formats, such as charts and graphs. These are used by stakeholders and process owners to make better decisions and present the performance in a systematic manner.
It helps avoid large data clusters, and options like database views make it easier to identify tables and datasets. In the next chapter, we will be focusing on how Service Catalogs are managed and how catalog items are created.
