Road to workload management

There is no such thing as a finished app...

Unifii have launched a few ServiceNow store products now, the latest being the Workload Management App. This was released earlier this year, and since then, new ideas have been thrown into the mix via feedback from our customers. Over the course of this blog, I will outline an audience-based roadmap that Unifii has planned for the app based on said feedback.

The app provides businesses with optimised workflows to better deliver their services. It focuses on minimising manual, inefficient processes such as shared mailboxes and spreadsheets by increasing automation. For more details on this, check out our previous blog here.

Keep reading for the upcoming additions and key milestones of our Workload Management app. It can be found on the ServiceNow store here, along with our other apps.

Guided Setup

The established Workload Management app has many carefully designed features. These enable non-technical users to not only better manage their workload, but also predefine the processes which Items and tasks will run against using only data. Now, we want to take this one step further through a “guided setup” feature. Having a simplified process for Item Extension will allow a smooth onboarding for new areas of the business. 

Mobile App

Almost all feedback from our customers so far has included the addition of the mobile app. ServiceNow Mobile App is a powerful tool allowing agents to create and update Items in the field; agents can easily find answers and update or submit new Items via a consumer-grade mobile experience. All the desktop functionality, but within a mobile app.  

We already know that the Workload Management app can utilise the mobile app to make the user experience more efficient – this is what the app is all about. The application already has one of the best service portals I have seen as well as its own dedicated workspace, so it makes sense to replicate this on mobile too.

Task Automation 

The Workload Management app allows predefined data records to determine how many tasks should be generated for each Item and what each task should represent. The next step is to allow task automation on Items. If a task is closed with specific data populated, we want predefined data records to determine if new tasks should be generated  - currently task generation is static.

Integration to ITSM

A key purpose of the Workload Management App is to house and maintain a business process outside of existing processes. This is to stop processes (such as Incident or Service Request) from becoming too customised for a specific business case. However, specific cases often need to be related to core processes – this is the next step in the app roadmap, allowing ITSM processes to be linked to custom Workload Items.

Performance Analytics

Performance Analytics is an application driven by a defined set of “indicators,” each with clear definition criteria. They’re calculated through a scheduled collection job that takes data snapshots of your results on a periodic basis. Think of PA as a tool to introduce better standardisation with some of your KPIs and metrics. 

If PA is something you use, then you’ll want it to be compatible with the Workload Management app. The app can already be used with standard ServiceNow reporting, but PA offers much more detail including trending and KPIs of snapshot data.

Business Impact Assessments

Let’s take a typical scenario that the app might be used for. A Workload Item might be raised to track an issue where some data in a system is wrong and needs reviewing or correcting. The app can handle the process to define what needs to happen, and who needs to do what. However, the data being reviewed and changed may be sensitive enough to have an impact on the business. We want to introduce capabilities to capture and manage business impact relating to Workload Items raised in the app. Such as regulatory, reputational and financial tracking.

Item Packs

Imagine downloading the Workload Management app with Item types and activity configuration pre-loaded. This step in the roadmap will be on-going throughout the apps lifecycle but we want to capture how different industries use the app, take those ways and build them into the app. This will allow app admins to have a near-personalised app immediately after downloading it.

Case Transfer

The last step in the roadmap is to allow the ability to transfer an opened Workload Item one type to another type. A typical ServiceNow scenario involving multiple ticket types would require an end user to cancel the original incorrect ticket and raise a new one. However, the Workload Management app is designed to keep information only visible to the relevant teams – a security layer, if you will. This means that only teams associated with the Items Service can view and update the Item, making it difficult to simply reassign Items to different teams. Allowing the ability to transfer an Item from one type to another will mean Items can easily be passed between teams without recreating records or losing information. 

The Workload Management app could potentially be a game changer for your business. The feedback we’ve received from our customers thus far has been extremely positive; we aim to use the feedback to continuously improve and enhance its current functionality. Given that the app is useful for so many in different areas of an organisation, there’s still a lot that can be done with it.

Stay tuned for updates on our progression plan for this app, and how the different enhancements can benefit your business.

Come and have a chat with us if you'd like to know more - please reach out to one of the team here.