The ServiceNow Development Handbook - Fourth Edition
The hilariously unfiltered, unapologetically practical field guide to building real, robust, and resilient solutions on the Now Platform.
From the massive nerd behind SN Pro Tips (snprotips.com), Tim Woodruff returns with a refreshed and drastically expanded fourth edition that doesn't just tell you what to do to be an excellent ServiceNow developer, administrator, or technical architect; it tells you why. These are the lessons that would otherwise be learned the hard way or not at all.
Whether to seek arcane wisdom, or just commiseration... you'll find yourself returning to The ServiceNow Development Handbook time and time again throughout your career. When you're in the trenches slinging code or slogging through Flows, you'll want to have this book on your desk.
Inside, you'll find battle-tested strategies, cautionary tales from the field, performance tips that actually matter, and just enough snark and sarcasm to keep you engaged and feel like you're learning from that earnest but brutally honest greybeard of a mentor you wish you had.
Packed with real-world examples, sharp-witted commentary, and a treasure trove of best-practices, this handbook will help you stop writing fragile spaghetti and start building durable, elegant solutions that scale. You'll come away with a deeper understanding of the platform, the tools, and the confidence to apply what you've learned beyond the explicit lessons stated directly in the Handbook.
For developers, admins, and architects who prefer precision over platitudes, and clarity over corporate fluff - this is your handbook.
ServiceNow doesn't have to be a black box.
Let's open it up together.
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Who this book is for
This book will be useful for ServiceNow developers and technical architects. It is not a ServiceNow training course meant to take you from start to finish. It's aimed at ServiceNow administrators, developers, and architects, who have at least a little experience, whether that's on-the-job, or just building your portfolio. It's also extremely helpful to have a basic understanding of JavaScript before getting started with this book.
If you're just starting your ServiceNow career, consider reading my other book, "Learning ServiceNow" (ISBN-13: 978-1788837040).
You can find Learning ServiceNow at https://lsn.snc.guru/
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What's new in the 4th Edition
Just as the 3rd Edition was a major update compared with the 2nd, the 4th Edition of The ServiceNow Development Handbook is a similarly massive improvement.
Here are just a few of the updates you'll find between the 3rd and 4th editions:
New chapter: Flow Designer
Flow Designer now represents one of the largest chapters in the entire book. It is the primary reason that publishing this edition was delayed by so long. I spent an absurd amount of time slogging through it and tearing my hair out for this book. I hope you're happy.
New chapter: Style and Standards
New chapter: Technical Debt
Improvements to the Debugging chapter
Added more real-world workflow notes and strategies for identifying root causes
Updates throughout
Added a bunch of notes around known and common bugs/issues that have cropped up in the ServiceNow platform, in the time since the 3rd edition was published.
Improved code snippets and embedded images to be more readable, both on Kindle and hardcopy.
Publishing both digital and physical books with code snippets is actually really hard. :-(
Consolidated and re-organized several sections for clarity
Enhanced snark in footnotes, section headers, and captions. As it should be.
