CMDB Go-Live – What should a Business Analyst actually own?

[NOW_seeker]

I’m a Business Analyst responsible for CMDB go-live in a ServiceNow implementation.

Our core team includes:

• CMDB Architect

• CMDB Process Owner

• Developer

• Project Manager

I work very closely with the process owner.

So far, I’m involved in:

1. Driving agreement on principal CI classes and pushing for reference qualifiers so only those classes appear in Incident/Problem CI fields.

2. Supporting Service Mapping for selected applications and getting service owner sign-offs. We’re also implementing a Dynamic CI Group for one application.

3. Picking up and closing CMDB-related stories that were already in progress before I joined.

I’m aware that:

• CMDB-related knowledge articles are required for go-live.

• A separate education/training team needs system access soon, which means configuration needs to be stable so they can build training content.

My question to the community is:

From a CMDB best-practice perspective, what should a Business Analyst own for CMDB go-live versus what should remain with the architect, developer, or process owner?

I’m particularly interested in:

• Go-live readiness activities

• Scope definition vs technical configuration

• Data quality expectations at go-live

• Sign-offs, documentation, or artifacts a CMDB BA should be responsible for

• What docs can I use? Can I take anything from NOW Create?

Looking for practical, real-world guidance from people who’ve been through CMDB go-lives.

Thanks in advance.

[carolineharper]

This usually happens when the service territory setup does not line up between the two groups.
Check that both the dispatch group and the assignment group are using the same service territory.
Also, make sure there is at least one active service resource assigned to that territory.
If anything was recently changed, try re-saving the groups after verifying the settings.
Once the territory coverage matches, the association should work.

[NOW_seeker]

@carolineharper — Sorry but what do you mean by service territory? 

[Dr Atul G- LNG]

Hi @NOW_seeker 

I am a BPC and have also worked as a BA, so I’m happy to share my thoughts.

It’s important to note: when any product or module goes live, during Go-Live, the BA doesn’t own anything directly. This means we are consulted but not responsible for actual delivery.

Here are my inputs:

1. Go-Live readiness activities

• Atul: Yes, we support the team in building readiness activities. All data has been updated/corrected, and all sign-offs have been received.

2. Scope definition vs. technical configuration

• Atul: This is handled before Go-Live, not during.

3. Data quality expectations at Go-Live

• Atul: After Go-Live, as BAs, we quickly check random data to ensure it matches Dev/UAT. In case of CMDB, we also check relationships and consistency.

4. Sign-offs, documentation, or artifacts a CMDB BA should be responsible for

• Atul: Get sign-off on the training side, any technical or functional documentation, and maintain it in a SharePoint repository. Also, before Go-Live, ensure there are no open risks or issues.

5. What docs can I use? Can I take anything from NOW Create?

• Atul: NOW Create is not in scope anymore and has been moved to the Best Practices suite. You can refer to it here: Go-Live FAQs

[https://mynow.servicenow.com/now/best-practices/home]

[Tony K]

You are very focused on the go live. I would be more concerned about the ongoing care and feeding.

Does your CMDB owner know how to use health dashboards to make sure the CMDB states healthy and up to date? Do they have any influence over those who will help to maintain the CMDB?

Do you have class owners that will be responsible for their respective class? I say this because CMDB does not fall on one person. In theory one person can own windows servers, linux servers, workstations, network gear and so on. 

Have you setup remediation tasks? Who is going to monitor those tasks? 

You need a method for someone to report an issue when they see something in the CMDB that is wrong, not updated or missing. I bring up this point because I've seen first hand people say I don't trust the CMDB or use it, but yet have never spoken up to tell anyone what the issues are.  

There will be weekly care and feeding that needs to be accounted for. If you don't maintain the data, you'll be in the same boat in a year or two from now. You will need resources for this part as well.

Those are my thoughts, not really BA focused but for the success of CMDB in general. BA is really more to document, gather requirements, that type of work, not owning processes or technologies. 

Hope that helps.