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Three Perspectives to Common Services Data Model

by Mikko Juola | Jan 2, 2019 | Articles, CSDM

CSDM ITSM Example Generalization

Mid December in 2018 ServiceNow released a whitepaper introducing their first version of the Common Services Data Model.

In this article I will go through the "ITSM / ServiceNow example" from that whitepaper and introduce an alternative version. And discuss about the common data model drawn from three different perspectives.

ServiceNow ITSM example

The whitepaper from ServiceNow included an example where ServiceNow system was used as an example of using the "Common Services Data Model".

This example has the same "issue" that I described in my previous post. It's not applicable to all types of services. Therefore it's not common. It is a model that is specifically designed for Business Applications. But it can be turned into a more generic example.

Alternative ITSM example

In this alternative example we have again moved Business Applications under the Service Offerings. And made Business Capabilities "dependent on" services instead of applications. In real life, services are the ones creating value and enabling/providing business capabilities while applications are "just tools" used by the services.

In addition, I would not consider "SN Mid Server" as a Business Application nor Application service. Instead, I would include that as an Application (+Server) under the "technical CMDB". So, in the example below both Business Applications and Application Services are part of the "CMDB" and therefore presented as orange boxes.

Alternative ITSM Example
Alternative ITSM Example

By using example we can also draw a more generic service model which includes "Business Capabilities", "Service Portfolio" and "CMDB" as three different, but connected, data models.

Generalized ITSM Example

For a "common services data model" I would argue that model for defining the Business Capabilities part and Service Portfolio can be rather common, regardless of service. Especially the Service Portfolio should have common model, how services are modeled on the portfolio level. And how they are connected to Business Processes and Capabilities and CMDB. But each service can have their own "Blueprint", since different services are dependent on different technology, processes, people and other assets.

CSDM ITSM Example Generalization
CSDM ITSM Example Generalization

So, these three perspectives together would create a "common services data model":

  • Business Capabilities - Enterprise Architecture perspective
  • Service Portfolio - Service Management perspective
  • CMDB - Service Configuration perspective

For the CMDB, each service would define it's own "Service data blueprint". And all these blueprints together would make a CMDB data model. Each blueprint would need to follow an agreed way to connect to Service Porfolio (and Business Capabilities).

What do you think?

How have you combined Enterprise Architecture, Business Capabilities, Business Processes, Service Portfolio(s), Application Portfolio(s) and rest of the CMDB together in a holistic model?

I would like to hear your thoughts as comments below. And of course you can also contact me directly to discuss more on the topic.

ServiceNow CSDM Overview
ServiceNow CSDM Overview

Additional CSDM Resources

We have written a lot on aligning with the Common Service Data Model and how Data Content Manager can help ease the journey.

Here are some excellent places to start:

Please reach out to us if you have any questions!

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SVP, Danske Bank

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Banner Health

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Enterprise Architect
Global Healthcare Company

DCM has been central in federating our dependency mapping to technical teams, and that momentum is building. It’s been a successful first year, and we’re extending use with additional blueprints.

Product Manager - Service Catalog
U.K. Public Sector

DCM provides transparency and a holistic view of the state of our CMDB. It helps us find and fix deviations as they happen. It's vital that with DCM, we can see the big picture as well as drill down into the details at any time. We don't have to think about how to get this data together and how to update it. Once the Blueprint is set up and the audits run, it's all there in the dashboards.

Mika Lindström
ICT Configuration Manager, Metsäliitto Cooperative

Data Content Manager is an excellent tool to measure and control data quality in your ServiceNow instance. It offers much more sophisticated data model definitions than you can get with native CMDB data quality metrics which we were using previously, and this was our main reason for the purchase. It also comes with its own audit and remediation features which make data maintenance easier. Highly recommended!

Lotta Jouhtimäki
Product Owner, ServiceNow, Posti Group

Related Posts:

The CMDB Data Quality Playbook

A Practical Guide for Improving ServiceNow Data Quality, Governance and AI-Readiness.

  • A practical way to establish ownership and roles
  • The 5-step model for data quality improvement
  • Best practices for engaging data providers
  • Five common pitfalls in CMDB data quality and how to avoid

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