Dependency View not showing Business Service and Service Offering together

Tuhina Sharma · 3 weeks ago

Hi Community,

I’m facing an issue with Dependency Views in ServiceNow and would like some guidance.

Current setup

- Business Service is set as the parent of Service Offering using the `parent` reference field.

- Service Offering is already related to Application Service / Service Instance.

- Business Application is also connected through the same service instance/application service path.

- The related item configuration is already in place.

Issue

When I open the Business Service in Dependency View, I can see related nodes, but I cannot get Business Service, Service Offering, and Business Application to display together in a single dependency view the way I expected.

Also, when I open the Service Offering node and try to expand it, the parent Business Service does not appear.

What I already checked

- Relationships are created correctly.

- The `parent` reference on Service Offering is populated.

- `ngbsm_related_item` is configured.

- The data model seems correct.

Questions

1. Is this expected behavior in classic Dependency Views?

2. Is there a supported way to show the Business Service → Service Offering parent reference in the dependency map from both sides?

3. Are there any filters, map settings, or additional configurations that could affect this behavior?

4. If classic Dependency Views cannot show this properly, is there a recommended alternative?

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Vikram Reddy · 3 weeks ago

Hi @Tuhina Sharma,

Yes, this is expected in classic Dependency Views (the NGBSM map), and no, there isn't a way to get it to show automatically. The map only draws edges from actual records in cmdb_rel_ci, it does not walk plain reference fields. The parent field on Service Offering (cmdb_ci_service_offering, pointing back to the Business Service in cmdb_ci_service) is just a reference field, not a CI relationship record, so the map engine has no edge to traverse in either direction. That is exactly why expanding the Service Offering node never surfaces its parent Business Service, and why you can't get Business Service, Service Offering, and Business Application into one map even though the data model itself is correct.

There are two supported ways to get around it:

Map Related Items: this is the built-in bridge for exactly this scenario. It's backed by the ngbsm_related_item table (Configuration item, Related item, Related field), and it tells Dependency Views to treat a specific reference field as a map edge. Go to Dependency Views > Administration > Map Related Items and add a record for the Service Offering table with the parent field selected. That makes the Business Service show up as a related node when you open or expand a Service Offering, without you having to touch cmdb_rel_ci.
Real CI relationship: alternatively, create an actual cmdb_rel_ci record between the Business Service and Service Offering (a Contains::Contained by style relationship works well) alongside the parent reference. Once that relationship exists, it renders on the map like any other dependency, and this is the more "native" fix if you want Business Service, Service Offering, and Business Application to all appear together in one continuous map, since the whole map is just relationship traversal.

On the alternative front, if you're on a recent release, look at Unified Map in CMDB Workspace (it merges Dependency Views and Service Mapping into one map experience). It still relies on cmdb_rel_ci under the hood, so the Map Related Items or real-relationship fix above still applies there too, but the UX for exploring these mixed service/offering/application chains is noticeably better than the classic BSM map.

Let me know which release you're on and whether Map Related Items is even visible in your instance, happy to dig further if it's hidden behind a role or plugin.

References

Thank you,
Vikram Karety
Octigo Solutions INC

View solution in original post

Vikram Reddy · 3 weeks ago

Hi @Tuhina Sharma,

Yes, this is expected in classic Dependency Views (the NGBSM map), and no, there isn't a way to get it to show automatically. The map only draws edges from actual records in cmdb_rel_ci, it does not walk plain reference fields. The parent field on Service Offering (cmdb_ci_service_offering, pointing back to the Business Service in cmdb_ci_service) is just a reference field, not a CI relationship record, so the map engine has no edge to traverse in either direction. That is exactly why expanding the Service Offering node never surfaces its parent Business Service, and why you can't get Business Service, Service Offering, and Business Application into one map even though the data model itself is correct.

There are two supported ways to get around it:

Map Related Items: this is the built-in bridge for exactly this scenario. It's backed by the ngbsm_related_item table (Configuration item, Related item, Related field), and it tells Dependency Views to treat a specific reference field as a map edge. Go to Dependency Views > Administration > Map Related Items and add a record for the Service Offering table with the parent field selected. That makes the Business Service show up as a related node when you open or expand a Service Offering, without you having to touch cmdb_rel_ci.
Real CI relationship: alternatively, create an actual cmdb_rel_ci record between the Business Service and Service Offering (a Contains::Contained by style relationship works well) alongside the parent reference. Once that relationship exists, it renders on the map like any other dependency, and this is the more "native" fix if you want Business Service, Service Offering, and Business Application to all appear together in one continuous map, since the whole map is just relationship traversal.

On the alternative front, if you're on a recent release, look at Unified Map in CMDB Workspace (it merges Dependency Views and Service Mapping into one map experience). It still relies on cmdb_rel_ci under the hood, so the Map Related Items or real-relationship fix above still applies there too, but the UX for exploring these mixed service/offering/application chains is noticeably better than the classic BSM map.

Let me know which release you're on and whether Map Related Items is even visible in your instance, happy to dig further if it's hidden behind a role or plugin.

References

Thank you,
Vikram Karety
Octigo Solutions INC