White Paper: Mapping CSDM 4.0 to ArchiMate

[Dr Michelle Sup]

I'm very pleased to present a new, and much anticipated, white paper: Mapping CSDM4.0 to ArchiMate

The Common Service Data Model (CSDM) describes the most commonly used elements in the ServiceNow Configuration Management Database (CMDB), and shows the logical connections that exist between them.

The White Paper contains a mapping of the ServiceNow CSDM 4.0 to the ArchiMate notation. Essentially, this is a metamodel that can be used to produce a TOGAF/ArchiMate based architecture that will be supported by the Now Platform’s CSDM.

Aligning an architecture in this way is particularly useful if one wishes to populate and maintain an architecture repository with a direct integration between the ServiceNow CMDB and an enterprise architecture repository tool.

Creating this white paper was made easier through the input of my colleagues; many thanks for wisdom, comments and proof reading are due to Scott Lemm, Mark Bodman, Dave Armes and Graham Williamson. Thanks also to my friends and fellow members of The Open Group, who have developed the TOGAF and ArchiMate standards.

I hope that you will find this mapping useful. Please feel free to share it, and to let me know any improvements/changes you'd like to see in the comments below. I'd love to know how you are using the CSDM/CMDB in your work, and what guidance and resources we could provide to make your experience with ServiceNow as smooth as possible.

About the Author: Dr Michelle Supper has contributed to the creation of eight international standards, along with other publications including white papers and guides. She is the EMEA Enterprise Architecture Advisor, in the ServiceNow EMEA EA Team, and the creator of the Guided Architecture methodology. 

Please join the conversation at the ServiceNow Enterprise Architecture Forum

[WayneOdom]

Thanks for developing this.   I appreciate seeing it as it was touched on in conversation at the APM PAC this year.    I did notice one error in the first item of Table 1, the description of Application.    Last paragraph:

The out of the box Business Application table in the CMDB is meant to house your inventory/portfolio of applications and their metadata; this table can be populated by Discovery.

I think you mean to leave out the word business here, likely a typo.   cmdb_ci_business_app is not discoverable to my knowledge.  In the context of your description, you're refering to cmdb_ci_appl.  

[Christophe M]

Thanks for developing this content, it will be for sure of great value and will bring a lot of insights as we are going down the path of mapping the CSDM and Archimate, and have actually started to some extent. 

I was going to raise a similar question than Wayne, it seems like there is confusion between Business Application and Application in the document. In a previous publication on CSDM 3 Framework mappings, it described a proposition on how to map ArchiMate 3.1 Mapping to CSDM 3.0​. See below. The mapping of Business Application is quite key as it is the Data Object Enterprise Architects have to manage within the CSDM, and we saw it as a key element to be mapped within Archimate. We followed the below mapping as described in previous publication. 

Keen on getting your thoughts on this. Thanks.  

[waacot]

Hello Dr Michelle Supper,

I hope to have access to your white paper Mapping CSDM4.0 to ArchiMate : but the document looks unavailable or with a broken link.

Can you please update or send it directly ? 

Best Regards,

Laurent 

Enterprise Architect @Air Liquide

[Dr Michelle Sup]

Hi Laurent, the link is working for me. I would be happy to send it to you directly, but I don't have your address - please could you contact me directly at Michelle.Supper@servicenow.com? Thanks

[HaroldvB]

Hi,

In the mapping I miss the Archimate "technology service" object that imho can be mapped to "technical service" in CDSM.

Best regards,

Harold van Beele

Enterprise Architect

[Ashish109]

The article has really great insights. great work!