Imagine you are wading through shallow water on a sunny day, just ankles deep in warm water, toes squishing into the sand. You feel connected and secure. No need for a life vest...right?!
But what happens when you take a step, and the squishy sand is no longer beneath your feet? Suddenly, you are afloat in open water, with no land in sight. Your pulse quickens for a moment... then you are grateful you donned a life VEST before stepping in.
Let us talk about what this trusty flotation device represents in ServiceNow terms. Because whether you are looking across a new application or diving deep into governance, the VEST framework can help you stay safe and stable:
Vision
This is your compass, your strategic map laid out with stakeholders for the next 1 - 3 years. Vision sets the course, aligning ServiceNow roadmap releases with real business objectives. Product Managers take the helm by translating business insights into a north star that guides development.
Execute
This is where the engine kicks in. You now have a vision; it is time to go! Product Owners are the skippers of this quadrant, driving backlog prioritization, sprint refinement, and collaboration. If Vision sets the course, Execute is throttle you need to deliver against the vision.
Solve
This is what gets you through unforeseen blockers as they appear along the way towards the vision. Developers and Process Owners collaborate to build cool tech, addresses bugs, and create focused solutions that users will love.
Track
You need a way to measure, and this is where Process Owners can make sure every metric is accounted for or Tracked in some fashion. This step ensures you are not just floating out in the sea, you are moving toward goals and having conversations through tracking and assessing metrics along the way.
Why You Should Never Swim Without VEST
Navigating the depths of platform delivery without the VEST framework is asking for trouble. VEST isn’t just protective, it is proactive. Vision, Execute, Solve, and Track offers structure and stability, helping you steer through uncertainty, stay aligned with goals, and helps to keep technical debt, missed requirements, and scope creep at bay.
With Product Managers charting the course, Product Owners powering the sails, and Process Owners scanning the horizon, your ServiceNow voyage turns into a strategic expedition rather than a survival swim.
So next time you are gearing up for your next ServiceNow rollout or just trying to maintain a platform that has already set sail, ask yourself, are you VESTed and ready to swim?