BUSINESS CHALLENGE
ServiceNow customers rely on architects to realize their
organization’s desired strategic outcomes. They are critical in
analyzing and translating business information and technical
requirements to design and implement solutions on the
ServiceNow platform.
Increasing complexity of customer implementations,
combined with a rapidly expanding suite of ServiceNow
digital products and solutions, has urgently stepped up the
demand to elevate the skills and increase the number of
Certified Technical Architects available to support
customer needs.

To meet this need, ServiceNow determined it needed to
overhaul its Certified Technical Architect program to be
scalable and repeatable for a global audience, while also
providing a world-class collaborative learning experience.
ServiceNow faced three key operational challenges with the
CTA program.

Scalability
Supporting CTA program administration required a high
volume of manual work, which added to administrator
workload and increased the risk of errors. This manual work
also negatively impacted administrator job experience and
increased burnout and retention risks.

Functionality
CTA training and tools did not meet ServiceNow expert
training program needs. For example, student progress
was difficult to track and report through existing manual
reporting systems. This presented a challenge to keep
administrative time and overhead low.
User Experience
Instead of a single platform and system of record aligned
to ServiceNow training standards, learners were required
to navigate disparate tools across multiple systems causing
learner confusion, disconnects, and a lower perception of
program value.

SOLUTION
ServiceNow selected the Intrepid cohort learning platform
to launch their CTA program in October 2021. Their objective
was to provide a blended learning program to improve
and certify candidates’ communication and collaboration
capabilities as well as their technical architecture,
governance, and operational skills related to the ServiceNow
platform. The CTA program was a blended 12-week learning
program, which included live virtual sessions, self-paced
learning, individual and group assignments, quizzes, and a
capstone project.
Cohorts for the CTA program included up to 60 learners, a
ServiceNow Delivery Manager, and two Master Trainers to
support each cohort. Within each cohort, each learner was
assigned to a team of five to seven learners to work together
on group projects that reflect the type of work technical
architects typically do on the job. The cohort sizes were small
enough to ensure rich collaboration among participants and trainers. The trainers also led weekly live discussion and presentation sessions, contributed to asynchronous discussions, provided feedback on team projects, and shared real life examples and experiences.

The most innovative elements of this online learning
experience for a global audience include:
■ A single localized platform that provides easy access
to learning program materials – no matter the type,
quantity, or location
■ Connected disparate learners around the globe within
cohorts to support each other and learn together in a
seamless, scalable collaborative learning experience
■ Real-world assignments including opportunities for
learners to practice and improve their presentation skills
through recording and sharing video assignments, and
receiving feedback via peer reviews

RESULTS
The redesigned ServiceNow CTA program delivered on Intrepid has proven to be highly successful across all key objectives. ServiceNow increased program scalability, increasing cohort size almost threefold from the original pilot, and velocity, launching a new cohort each month. The demand for the program has surpassed leadership
expectations, with program seats selling out within hours of release, resulting in a waitlist of hundreds of eager participants. Intrepid’s automated functionality has reduced ServiceNow administrative time and overhead significantly – largely attributed to the consolidation of all related data and reports now residing within the Intrepid learning platform.
Most significantly, learners benefited meaningfully after ServiceNow transitioned the program to the Intrepid platform. For example, the net promoter score increased 25 points (from 58 to 83), and learner engagement and satisfaction increased from 3.48 to 3.8 on a 4-point scale. And critically, initial pass rates for learner program capstone projects