ServiceNow Knowledge Management: Bases, Articles & Roles

Introduction: Capture Once, Reuse Everywhere

ServiceNow Knowledge Management captures solutions once and reuses them everywhere — resolving issues faster and, ideally, deflecting them before a ticket is ever created. It is the quiet multiplier that makes Incident and Request teams far more efficient.

Key Tables

Table	What it holds
kb_knowledge	Knowledge articles — does not extend Task (unlike incident/problem/change)
kb_knowledge_base	The knowledge bases; an article belongs to a single base
kb_category	Categories within a base; can nest via parent-child
kb_use	Tracks article views and when articles are attached to tasks
ts_query_kb	The knowledge search log — every search query, a great signal for content gaps

The exam loves the fact that kb_knowledge does not extend Task — it is the main ITSM record type that does not.

The Article Lifecycle

Articles move through creation → review/approval → published → retired. Baseline workflows include Knowledge - Approval Publish, Knowledge - Instant Publish, and their retire counterparts. If the baseline logic does not fit, copy the workflow rather than editing the baseline — the same principle applies to the KBWorkflow script includes (customise the non-SNC version; leave the SNC version for upgrades).

Creating Articles

• Manually — from the knowledge application or the "Create an Article" button.
• From an incident — tick the Knowledge checkbox and an article is generated on closure, pre-filled from the record.
• From a problem — the Create Known Error article link generates an article pre-filled with the cause and workaround.
• By import — Word documents or external content sources.

Controlling Access

Access to a knowledge base is governed by User Criteria records (who can read, who can contribute). Owners and managers automatically receive the roles needed to manage their base, and those roles are removed when they step down. A system property can block access for users with no matching user criteria.

Deflection and the Employee Center

Contextual search surfaces relevant articles on incident forms and portals so users self-serve. In the Employee Center, knowledge is curated alongside catalog items through a topic taxonomy — a different lens from the platform knowledge base, which shows only articles.

Key Roles

Role	Responsibility
knowledge_admin	Full administration of Knowledge
knowledge_manager	Manages knowledge bases and articles
knowledge_coach / knowledge_domain_expert	Review and quality within a domain
kcs_contributor / kcs_publisher / kcs_candidate	KCS roles (when the KCS plugin is enabled)

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the knowledge article table extend Task? No. kb_knowledge does not extend the Task table — a key difference from incident, problem, and change records.

How do you create a Known Error article? From a problem record, use the Create Known Error article link; it pre-fills the article with the problem's cause and workaround.

How is access to a knowledge base controlled? Through User Criteria records that define who can read and who can contribute, plus properties that can block users with no matching criteria.

What is knowledge deflection? Surfacing relevant articles via contextual search on forms and portals so users resolve issues themselves before creating a ticket.

What does the ts_query_kb table track? Every knowledge search query users run — invaluable for spotting gaps where content is being searched for but does not exist.

Key Takeaways

• kb_knowledge stores articles and is the notable ITSM table that does not extend Task.
• Articles follow a publish/retire lifecycle; customise copies of baseline workflows, not the originals.
• Articles can be created manually, from incidents, from problems (Known Error), or by import.
• User criteria govern read/contribute access.
• Deflection and the Employee Center turn knowledge into fewer tickets.

Where to go next

• The asset data behind it all: CMDB & Configuration Management
• Where knowledge deflects tickets: Incident Management
• Practise: free practice test