Article

Resolving Blank Number in Popup Notifications for Hardware Disposal Order Approval in ServiceNow

Author: Agus Budi Harto, 2025-10-20 09:20:07

ServiceNow has long been a reliable platform for managing IT service workflows. Our organization has been using ITSM (IT Service Management) modules within ServiceNow for quite some time, and everything—from Service Catalog requests to approval flows—has worked seamlessly, aligning perfectly with ServiceNow’s mission to deliver exceptional service experiences.

However, things took an unexpected turn when we began leveraging ITAM (IT Asset Management), specifically the Hardware Disposal Order process. While the approval workflow appeared to function normally, we noticed a peculiar issue: the popup notification sent to approvers displayed a blank "Number" field. This anomaly might not affect every ServiceNow instance, but it certainly impacted ours.

Understanding the Issue

Upon investigation, we discovered that the popup notification is triggered by changes in the sysapproval_approver table. Specifically, when a record enters the requested state, a notification is generated, displaying the value from the Number field.

In the case of Hardware Disposal Order approvals, this field was inexplicably empty.

Initial Attempt: Business Rule Approach

Our first instinct was to create a Business Rule that would automatically populate the Number field when a new record was created in sysapproval_approver with the source_table set to sn_hamp_hardware_disposal.

Unfortunately, this approach failed. After further analysis, we discovered that the Number field in the popup must match the sc_task number, not just any arbitrary value. This dependency rendered our Business Rule ineffective.

The Working Solution: Modify Notification Content

Thankfully, there’s a straightforward workaround that resolves the issue without relying on Business Rules. Here’s how you can fix the blank Number field in the popup notification:

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Navigate to All ? System Notification ? Provider ? Notification


  2. Locate and click on the notification named Approval Notification

  3. Go to the Content tab


  4. Find and click on the content item named Approval

  5. In the Message field, replace:

    Number: ${sysapproval}

    with:

    ${document_id}

Testing the Fix

To verify the solution:

  • Create a new Hardware Disposal Order or submit a catalog request that requires approval.

  • Observe the popup notification received by the approver.

  • You should now see a properly populated Number field, reflecting the correct task reference.

Final Thoughts

This small tweak significantly improves the clarity and usability of approval notifications in ServiceNow, especially for ITAM workflows. While the issue may seem minor, resolving it enhances the overall user experience and ensures that approvers have the necessary context to act promptly.

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