Implications if I change install status values in Business Application form

[dvass0107]

Hi All,

I need your opinion, if I change install status dropdown values in Business Application form as below, will it change the across CMDB tables whereever Install status is used?

What are the implications?

Install Status	Changes wanted	Description
Implementing	Pending	Not currently deployed or used in our production environment, and/or are getting ready to be implemented. This status will also be used for those items that we are evaluating (e.g., demo or POC).
In Production	Active - Investing	Currently deployed or used in our production environment which have no plans to being retired
Under evaluation	Active - Deprecating	Currently deployed or used in our production environment which have  plans to be retire in the future
Retired	Retired	Formerly deployed or used in our production environment, but are no longer being used.
Pilot/ cancelled	Cancelled	Previously pending reviewed/considered technologies but were never placed into production for broad use

[AJ-TechTrek · Accepted solution]

Hi @dvass0107 ,

1. How Install status Works in ServiceNow
* Field: install_status (dictionary defined on cmdb_ci).
* Type: Choice field (shared across all CI classes inheriting from cmdb_ci).
* Scope: Global — meaning any change to the choice list (labels or values) applies across ALL CMDB tables that inherit from cmdb_ci.
* Usage:
* Discovery uses it (Active, Retired).
* CMDB Health depends on it.
* Workflows, lifecycle management, and integrations often key off it.

2. If You Change the Values as Proposed
Your mapping proposal:

Current	New	Description
Implementing	Pending	Pre-production / demo / POC
In Production	Active – Investing	Currently in production, no retirement planned
Under evaluation	Active – Deprecating	In production, but planned for retirement
Retired	Retired	No longer used
Pilot / Cancelled	Cancelled	Never went into production

Implications:
1. All CMDB Classes Affected
Every table that inherits from cmdb_ci (servers, databases, network gear, applications, etc.) will show your new choice labels.

2. Discovery & Integrations Impact
* Discovery usually sets install_status → e.g., Active or Retired.
* If you rename "In Production → Active - Investing", Discovery might not recognize the mapping unless you keep the underlying choice values the same.

3. Workflows / Scripts / Reports
* If someone wrote scripts like if (ci.install_status == 1) or filtering reports by In Production, your renaming may break them.
* Anything hard-coded to text labels will definitely break.
* Anything using choice value (1, 6, 7, etc.) will still work.

4. CMDB Health Dashboard
* It classifies CIs based on Install Status (e.g., Active vs Retired).
* You may need to reconfigure CMDB Health settings if you deviate from OOB labels.

3. Best Practices / Recommendations

Do NOT change OOB values directly unless absolutely necessary.
Instead:
* Keep OOB values (In Production, Retired, etc.) untouched.
* Add custom choice labels or use choice overrides at the Business Application form level if you need user-friendly names.
* Alternatively, use UI Policy or Dictionary Override so Business Application users see "Active – Investing" but the underlying system value stays In Production.
If you must change:
* Ensure choice values (integers like 1, 2, 3, …) remain unchanged.
* Only change the labels.
* Do a search across scripts, reports, Discovery patterns for "In Production" / "Retired" / etc. to ensure nothing breaks.

Document the changes clearly for all downstream consumers of CMDB (Ops, ITAM, Discovery, APM, etc.).

Recommended Approach
1. Leave OOB Install Status as-is.
2. Use a business-friendly field (e.g., u_business_status) on Business Application for "Active - Investing", "Active - Deprecating", etc.
3. Map your new field to OOB Install Status via Business Rules.
This way, you don’t break Discovery, CMDB Health, or integrations, but still give business users the statuses they want.

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Thank You
AJ - TechTrek with AJ - ITOM Trainer
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ServiceNow Community MVP 2025

[dvass0107]

Hi AJ,

Thanks for giving the recommended approach, customer is insisting on changing the dropdowns and its order also, so I will create new one and map them to Install Status field.

Regards,

Srinivas

[Dr Atul G- LNG]

Hi @dvass0107 

I wouldn’t recommend making changes directly. The reason is that there could be flows or business rules associated with the “On Install” status, and changing it might cause unexpected behavior.

Instead, you can just change the label name so that front-end users see what you want, while the backend retains the OOTB values. This approach will achieve your purpose safely.

[dvass0107]

Dr Atul,

Thank you for your valuable suggetions

Regards,

Srinivas