Problem
At the Crawl stage, Application Services are connected to core entities (users, groups, business applications, applications, and servers). However, this model can still leave gaps when tracking how services are offered and consumed. At the Walk stage, the blueprint introduces Technical Service Offerings and strengthens upstream/downstream relationships, allowing organizations to manage services not only as records in CMDB but also as offerings delivered to consumers.
What the Blueprint Includes
The Walk phase extends the Crawl model with:
- Application Service – Root entity representing service instances.
- User – Service managers and owners.
- Group – Support and management groups.
- Business Application – Design and portfolio management context for the Application Services.
- SDLC Component – Lifecycle components supporting the application.
- Application – Middleware applications that the app service depends on.
- Server – Servers hosting the application.
- Technical Service Offering – Newly introduced at Walk, representing how the Application Service is packaged and delivered.
Considerations
- Closest links only: This blueprint focuses on immediate relationships. Other blueprints will handle extended dependencies.
- Ensure group references match your operating model.
- The Application Service (cmdb_ci_service_auto) class remains central.
- The SDLC Component class still requires the CMDB CI Class Models plugin.
- Technical Service Offerings must be defined for Application Services to connect service consumption and delivery.
- Alternative Link Groups remain: at least one downstream link (Server or Application) is required.
Benefits
- Service Delivery Context – With Technical Service Offerings, you can connect Application Services to how they are consumed.
- Improved Traceability – Links across business apps, lifecycle components, infrastructure, and service offerings provide complete service awareness.
- Operational Clarity – Clear assignment of users and groups ensures accountability across ownership, support, and management.
- Maturity Step – Moves from simply modeling services (Crawl) to aligning them with actual service delivery structures (Walk).
Related Information
Check other templates related to the Service Delivery.
The crawl phase model for Application Services is available here.
How to Get This Blueprint?
If you’re already a Data Content Manager Customer, you can download the Blueprint from the Knowledge Base. You will need your login credentials to access the blueprint download page.
