This webinar was originally recorded in November 2020 as the final part of our CSDM 3.0 series.
The session explores the Fly stage of CSDM 3.0 and looks at how organizations could move from implementing the model toward a more systematic and measurable way of managing ServiceNow data over time.
CSDM has evolved significantly since this recording, so the session should be viewed as historical and practical context rather than current implementation guidance.
The most useful ideas today are less about reproducing the exact CSDM 3.0 Fly model and more about the underlying principles: measuring maturity, improving data continuously, connecting governance to real outcomes, and avoiding one-time implementation projects.
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See how to build trust in your ServiceNow data
In a one-hour live demo we show how Data Content Manager turns ServiceNow data quality from dashboards and manual follow-up into a continuous operational process: define what good data looks like, audit your actual data, engage the people who own it, and remediate the issues that matter.
What still matters from the CSDM 3.0 Fly stage
The CSDM model shown in this webinar is no longer current, but the Fly stage captured an idea that remains relevant: data maturity is not finished when the model has been implemented.
A mature ServiceNow data model still needs to be monitored, maintained, and improved as the organization changes.
Move from implementation to continuous management
Early CSDM work often focuses on establishing the right records and relationships.
The challenge after that is keeping them reliable.
Applications change.
Services are introduced or retired.
People leave.
Infrastructure changes.
New operational requirements appear.
Without an ongoing process, even a well-designed model can gradually lose quality.
That means mature data management needs more than an implementation project.
It needs:
- Defined data requirements
- Clear ownership
- Regular quality checks
- Visible trends
- Remediation processes
- Periodic refinement of the model
Measure whether the data model is actually improving
Maturity becomes easier to manage when teams can see how the data changes over time.
Useful questions include:
- Are more records meeting the agreed requirements?
- Are the same issues recurring?
- Which domains are improving?
- Which responsibilities are unclear?
- Are new records being created correctly?
A trend is often more useful than a single point-in-time score.
A data-quality score of 85% means something different if it has improved from 60% than if it has declined from 95%.
Use recurring issues to improve the operating model
A mature data-quality process should not only fix individual records.
Repeated findings can point to deeper problems in:
- Record creation
- Integrations
- Ownership
- Automation
- Data modeling
- Governance processes
If the same issue keeps returning, the long-term solution may be to improve the process that creates the data rather than repeatedly correcting the symptom.
Keep maturity connected to real ServiceNow outcomes
Higher maturity should support something useful.
That may include:
- Better impact analysis
- More reliable automation
- Clearer service ownership
- More dependable reporting
- Better operational decision-making
The objective is not to reach a maturity stage simply because it exists in a model.
The data should become more useful as maturity increases.
Treat CSDM as an ongoing operating model
The enduring lesson from this historical Fly session is that CSDM should not be treated as a one-time project with a fixed finish line.
The model, requirements, ownership, and ServiceNow environment all continue to change.
A sustainable approach is to:
- Define the current target.
- Measure the live data.
- Resolve the most important gaps.
- Monitor the trend.
- Improve the underlying process.
- Raise the target when the organization is ready.
For current implementation guidance, see our CSDM in ServiceNow: How to Align and Succeed guide.
To follow the original historical series from the beginning, see CSDM 3.0: Crawling with DCM and CSDM 3.0: Walking & Running with DCM.
For the latest model, refer to ServiceNow's current CSDM documentation.
