Business Services and Offerings - CSDM

[LF080291]

We are implementing ServiceNow and we are trying to map out all of our business services and services offerings - and one minute it makes sense and the next I find myself questioning if this is going in the right direction. 

Example One

Refraining from using the software/application name within the offering

Business Service = Documentation and Content Services

Business Service Offerings = Document Editing, Document Reader, Document Storage

And then the below CI's would be selected:

Adobe Acrobat DC

Adobe Acrobat Reader

DocuSign

Nitro PDF Pro

SharePoint

Business Service = Manufacturing Management

Business Service Offerings = Performance Monitoring, Label Printing...

And then the actual software again would be linked via CI selections. 

Or...

Example Two

Using the software/application name within the offering

Business Service = Documentation and Content Services

Business Service Offerings = Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader, DocuSign, Nitro PDF Pro, SharePoint

But then I assume the CI selection would be duplicating the offering?

Business Service = Communication Services

Business Service Offerings = Email, Conferencing, Direct Messaging

And then the CI's would be selected:

Outlook

Teams

Teams Meeting Rooms

Outlook Mobile

But then i guess Teams Meeting Rooms would not be a CI?

As you can probably tell i am starting to overthink every little detail and i need to be set back on the right track, any help, advice and guidance would be appreciated from those who have successfully implemented this. 

[Andreas Borell]

I have some comments. The below is written without knowing fully where you are at and what you have already done and I am not a Servicenow employee or consultant.

1. CSDM has a guided (suggested, recommended) approach to implemented in stages. Implementing the CSDM framework in stages (servicenow.com). If you are in doubt, I would follow those stages before getting to business services. Business Services are quite late in that suggested model. If you follow this approach, you have (some) CI's in place before you get to the business services.

2. If in doubt, utilize the TBM taxonomy as an inspiration for what services to start with. The TBM Taxonomy - TBM Council

3. Only build what you need to get started. You can always model more offerings as you go further later.

4. Avoid vendor product names in service and offering names - they should, if possible, be technology agnostic. You may continue to offer "Email" practically forever, but the technology used to provide it will change over time.

[SteveMacWWT]

@Andreas Borell I'm curious as to why you say not to use vendor product names in Offerings (I agree with not using them in Business Services). How do you then handle the case where you have the same offering from two tools (due to migration, company toolset, etc.)? In addition the 'CSDM Data Models Examples' PowerPoint has vendor product names in quite a few Offerings. 

[Andreas Borell]

As I wrote, " ... if possible, be technology agnostic". It is not always possible, or meaningful - but having the ambition helps to try to model services and offerings technology agnostically.

For instance, if you have the same offering for/by two tools, why do you have the two tools? The reason can be part of the offering names instead of the tool names.

In the example you screenshotted, it may make perfect sense to call something "SAP Finance Group Reporting" - but is there another group reporting? What is that? Is the SAP offering not group reporting for the whole (corporate) group? If SAP is used for group reporting for the whole (corporate) group, then SAP is redundant as part of the name. If it isn't, it is perhaps only for EMEA markets, then maybe the name should be "Finance Group reporting EMEA", and then another offering for the rest of the world is needed.

Same with SAP Transport Management. Is it "the" transport management for everyone and everything? Then SAP is redundant in the name. If it is not, what is the alternative? "Non-SAP transport management"? More likely, if there is an optional offering, there are different ways to support transport management for some different regions or countries - or some other differentiator. Then this differentiator could, and should, ideally, be part of the name instead.

Many of the examples for CSDM are made to show what you can do in CSDM, and probably reflect how many implementations also look - but as per the examples you point to, I think they do not reflect "best" practices, rather "ok" practices. And "ok" is ok, and works. But as I wrote above - what does the "SAP" part of those business offering names actually add or mean is contextual, and the context could help to write other names instead of technology based.

[LF080291]

These comments and discussions are helping me think about how to model this, we are only at the very early stages and I am conscious to not over complicate and put data in the system that is going to be of no value. Do any of these jump out and make you think they should not be included?

Business Service >Offering >Type >App Service

Communication Services	Collaboration Tools	Business Service	Google Workspace
Communication Services	Collaboration Tools	Business Service	Mural
Communication Services	Direct Messaging	Business Service	Microsoft Teams
Communication Services	Video Conferencing	Business Service	Microsoft Teams Rooms
Communication Services	Collaboration Tools	Business Service	Whiteboard
Communication Services	Email	Business Service	Outlook
Communication Services	Email Signature	Business Service	Templafy
Customer Relationship Services		Business Service	SAP C4C
Diagramming	Diagramming	Business Service	Microsoft Visio
Document and Content Services	Screen Recording and Capture	Business Service	Camtasia
Document and Content Services	Screen Recording and Capture	Business Service	Snagit
Document and Content Services	Document Editing	Business Service	Nitro PDF Pro
Document and Content Services	Document Editing	Business Service	DocuSign
Document and Content Services	Document Reader	Business Service	Adobe Acrobat Reader DC
Document and Content Services	Document Editing	Business Service	Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
Document and Content Services	Document Editing	Business Service	Adobe Acrobat DC
Document Management Services	Document Management and Storage	Business Service	SharePoint
Document Management Services	File Hosting and Sharing	Business Service	SharePoint
Document Management Services	File Hosting and Sharing	Business Service	Microsoft One Drive
Document Management Services	Document Control - FRCQ	Business Service	Ennov
Document Management Services	Document Control - CEC	Business Service	Q-Pulse
Document Management Services	Document Control - ESAL	Business Service	Q-Pulse
Document Management Services	Document Control - ESBA	Business Service	Q-Pulse
Document Management Services	Document Control - ESMV	Business Service	Q-Pulse
Document Management Services	Document Control - FRFO	Business Service	Q-Pulse
Document Management Services	Document Control - IT	Business Service	Q-Pulse
Document Management Services	Document Control - UKCH	Business Service	Q-Pulse
Document Management Services	Document Control - UKDT	Business Service	Q-Pulse
Document Management Services	Document Control - UKLK	Business Service	Q-Pulse
Document Management Services	Document Control - UKRB	Business Service	Q-Pulse
Document Management Services	Document Control - USNC	Business Service	Q-Pulse
Employee Management Services	Time and Attendance - UK	Business Service	Tensor
Employee Management Services	Time and Attendance - USAL	Business Service	UKG
Employee Management Services	Time and Attendance - ESMV + ESBA	Business Service	Winplus
Hardware Services	Desk Phone	Business Service
Hardware Services	Desktop	Business Service
Hardware Services	Laptop	Business Service
Hardware Services	Mobile Phone	Business Service
Hardware Services	Monitor	Business Service
Hardware Services	Printer	Business Service

We are a company with approx 90 sites and the majority of these sites use local applications so the support for each offering varies (as you can see by some of the examples)