Service Portal

ServiceNow Interview Questions

Service Portal

11. What is a Service Catalog in ServiceNow Service Portal?

A Service Catalog in ServiceNow Service Portal is a collection of services and products that users can browse and request. It provides a user-friendly interface for submitting requests, tracking their status, and accessing various IT services.

12. How do you add a new widget to a Service Portal page?

To add a new widget to a Service Portal page, navigate to the Service Portal Designer, select the desired page, and drag the widget from the widget list onto the page layout. You can then configure the widget’s settings as needed.

13. What is the purpose of the Knowledge Base in ServiceNow Service Portal?

The Knowledge Base in ServiceNow Service Portal provides a repository of articles, documentation, and FAQs that users can search and access to find answers to their questions and resolve issues on their own.

14. How can you customize the header of a Service Portal?

You can customize the header of a Service Portal by editing the header widget or creating a custom header widget. This allows you to add menus, logos, and other elements to match your organization’s branding.

15. What is the difference between a public and a private Service Portal?

A public Service Portal is accessible to all users, including those who are not logged in, while a private Service Portal requires users to log in to access its features and content. Public portals are typically used for general information, while private portals provide personalized services and data.

16. How do you enable users to submit incidents through the Service Portal?

To enable users to submit incidents through the Service Portal, you can create a catalog item for incident submission and add it to the Service Catalog. Users can then fill out the form and submit their incidents directly from the portal.

17. What is the role of the Service Portal Administrator?

The Service Portal Administrator is responsible for managing and maintaining the Service Portal. This includes configuring widgets, creating pages, customizing the user interface, and ensuring the portal meets the organization’s requirements.

18. How can you add a search bar to a Service Portal?

You can add a search bar to a Service Portal by using the search widget. This widget can be placed on any page and configured to search the Knowledge Base, Service Catalog, or other data sources within ServiceNow.

19. What is the purpose of the Service Portal Designer?

The Service Portal Designer is a tool in ServiceNow that allows administrators to create and customize portal pages using a drag-and-drop interface. It simplifies the process of building and managing the portal without requiring extensive coding knowledge.

20.  How do you manage user permissions in ServiceNow Service Portal?

User permissions in ServiceNow Service Portal are managed through roles and access controls. Administrators can assign roles to users and configure access controls to restrict or grant access to specific pages, widgets, and data based on the user’s role.

 

Advanced Questions:

 

21. How do you handle custom scripts in ServiceNow Service Portal?

Custom scripts in ServiceNow Service Portal can be added to widgets using the “Client Script” and “Server Script” sections. Client scripts run in the user’s browser and handle tasks like form validation and dynamic content updates. Server scripts run on the server and handle data processing and interactions with the ServiceNow database. Both types of scripts can be written in JavaScript.

22. What is the purpose of the Service Portal’s “spUtil” service, and how do you use it?

The spUtil service in ServiceNow Service Portal is a utility service that provides helper functions for widgets. It can be used to perform tasks such as navigating to different pages, refreshing widgets, and displaying messages. For example, you can use spUtil.addErrorMessage('Error message') to display an error message to the user.

23. How can you implement conditional visibility for widgets in ServiceNow Service Portal?

Conditional visibility for widgets can be implemented using AngularJS directives such as ng-if or ng-show. These directives allow you to control the visibility of widgets based on specific conditions. For example:

HTML

<div ng-if="userHasRole('admin')">

  <!-- Widget content for admin users -->

</div>

This code will display the widget content only if the user has the ‘admin’ role.

24. Explain the concept of “Record Watch” in ServiceNow Service Portal.

 “Record Watch” in ServiceNow Service Portal is a feature that allows widgets to listen for changes to specific records in real-time. When a watched record is updated, the widget can automatically refresh to reflect the changes. This is useful for creating dynamic and responsive interfaces. Record Watch can be implemented using the spUtil.recordWatch function.

25. How do you handle localization in ServiceNow Service Portal?

Localization in ServiceNow Service Portal is handled by creating and managing translation sets. Translation sets contain key-value pairs where the key is the original text, and the value is the translated text. Widgets can use the i18n service to fetch and display the translated text based on the user’s language preference. For example:

HTML

<span>{{ 'WELCOME_MESSAGE' | i18n }}</span>

This code will display the translated text for the key ‘WELCOME_MESSAGE’.

26. What are the best practices for optimizing the performance of a ServiceNow Service Portal?

Best practices for optimizing the performance of a ServiceNow Service Portal include:

                                      i.     Minimizing the use of client scripts and heavy computations on the client side.

                                     ii.     Using asynchronous data loading to improve page load times.

                                    iii.     Caching frequently accessed data to reduce server load.

                                   iv.     Optimizing images and other media assets for faster loading.

                                     v.     Regularly monitoring and profiling the portal to identify and address performance bottlenecks.

27. How can you integrate third-party APIs with ServiceNow Service Portal?

Third-party APIs can be integrated with ServiceNow Service Portal using RESTful APIs or SOAP web services. You can create custom widgets that make HTTP requests to the third-party APIs and process the responses. ServiceNow provides the sn_ws.RESTMessageV2 and sn_ws.SOAPMessageV2 classes for making outbound REST and SOAP calls, respectively.

28. What is the role of the “Service Portal Designer” in customizing the portal?

The Service Portal Designer is a visual tool in ServiceNow that allows administrators to create and customize portal pages using a drag-and-drop interface. It simplifies the process of adding widgets, configuring layouts, and managing the overall structure of the portal without requiring extensive coding knowledge.

29. How do you manage user roles and permissions in ServiceNow Service Portal?

User roles and permissions in ServiceNow Service Portal are managed through the platform’s role-based access control (RBAC) system. Administrators can assign roles to users and configure access controls to restrict or grant access to specific pages, widgets, and data based on the user’s role. This ensures that users only have access to the features and information they are authorized to see.

30. How can you create a custom theme for a ServiceNow Service Portal?

To create a custom theme for a ServiceNow Service Portal, you can use the “Themes” module in the Service Portal configuration. You can define custom CSS styles, colors, fonts, and other visual elements to match your organization’s branding. The custom theme can then be applied to the entire portal or specific pages to achieve a consistent look and feel.