Business Applications for different business unit

[Mitch23]

Business Applications have a number of OOTB attributes. What is the recommendation for the same business application used by different departments? Do you append the "Name" (or use a field such as "Business Unit" or "Department" and then have multiple Business Applications

Salesforce - Finance

Salesforce - HR

Or do these represent Application Services (iterations for the Salesforce Business Application).

There is probably guidance somewhere but I am drawing a blank.

Thank you

[Peter Kindbom]

Check the reply from mcastoe above which is a better approach (with good explaination and reference to CSDM).

[Barry Kant]

Hi all,

a couple of comments about the CSDM paper model. 


I think for the 80% it does make sense and probably fits the CSDM paper model.

But it also needs to match real life situations and not everything fits in the paper model. 

in the paper model it looks like you can only have 1 layer of Business Applications. In case of hosting platforms you have 2 layers. 

I give an another example:

Also when there are multiple ServiceNow solutions, eg:

• ServiceNow for IT
• ServiceNow for OT

The IT Business Application is using 2 SDLC components, the OT Business Application not. 
Would you model this as a single Business Application? That doesn't reflect the real situation in my opinion. 

CSDM is a guiding model (like ITIL) and it is a common sense model. And consumers can use it to the needs. 


Another example that is not reflected in CSDM but is standard in SPM.

in SPM you relate Business Service Offerings to underpinning Technical Service Offerings. So a Service Decomposition. Which is really nice to identify the Chain of Support for that Business Service Offering. 

This is not shown in CSDM. But it isn't incorrect because it is not shown in the CSDM paper model right? 

BR,

Barry

[Peter Kindbom]

“Essentially all models are wrong, but some are useful.”

CSDM is a good effort by Service Now and it is getting better. It is a complex task to "fix" what could have been prevented with good wholistic architecture work from start.

[CMDB Whisperer]

I think it is largely subjective.

The answer ultimately has more to do with the Service Design and Application Portfolio Management processes than whether they are used by different Business Units.  In other words, if Business Units can independently determine what applications will be used to meet their needs, then in that sense they are operating as independent entities, and the fact that they have selected the same technology, whether to provide similar capabilities or different capabilities, is irrelevant, and they may define these as different business applications.  The application rationalization will be conducted differently for each, and therefore it is possible that over time one could be retired while the other lives on, or even expands, because their use is applied to two different business problems. 

That said, it is arguable that even in this situation, an enterprise architect could just as easily combine the two business applications into one, managing the complete set of capabilities that the business application provides, as a whole, rather than as two different applications.  In the end it's probably going to come down to which one is more sensible for the given organization, based on their culture, and their use of the application.

One thing is for certain, you should not define two different Business Applications solely because two different departments or business units are using them in two different instances.  That's what application services are for.  But if the the technology is appplied differently for different departments, then they can and probably be considered two different Business Applications.