CSDM without a formal CMDB?

[danwright]

Hello,

What parts of CSDM can you implement without a formal CMDB? Specifically, thinking about what is coming with CSDM 4.0. 

What are the points of value that you will get out of implementing CSDM without a formal CMDB?

Is it even possible to implement CSDM without CMDB? Has anyone done this?

Does it make sense to start with CSDM in Quebec (our current version), Rome, or just jump to San Diego so we don't have to consider any upgrade effort for the rest of the year which will let us concentrate on priority roadmap efforts?

Any help and opinions of expertise are greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,

Dan Wright - UC Davis

[CMDB Whisperer]

I don't think the question is really clear, so we have to guess at what you mean by not having a "formal CMDB".  By definition CSDM is a convention of how to model CIs in your CMDB, so from that perspective the question doesn't make a whole lot of sense.  But if your question is taken literally "what parts of the CSDM can you implement without a [formal] CMDB" or "Is it even possible to implement CSDM without CMDB?" then the answer is that you cannot, because the CSDM is comprised of CMDB elements.  You can certainly implement the Foundational Data domain, because for the most part those exist outside the CMDB and are also leveraged by platform elements outside the CMDB.  That comes down to starting with good foundational data in your platform (users, groups, locations, departments, companies, product models, etc.)  As for "what release of CSDM" this is not quite the right question, because CSDM is a white paper that is versioned as 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0.  My recommendation would be to start with 3.0 and keep your eyes open for 4.0.  Yes it is true that the individual releases have features that support the changes in these releases, but that's putting the cart before the horse.  If you don't have a formal CMDB in place then what you should be doing is start down the road of establishing one, using CSDM is your design for how you are managing your CI classes and relationships.

[Dan Freed]

I would start by asking...

• What your objectives are in implementing CSDM?
• What are your use cases?
• What ServiceNow products have you implemented? (different products use different parts of the CSDM)

I recommend viewing ITBM Office Hour 20 - CSDM 3.0 – Best Practices - Overview (20:40-25:58) for guidance on implementing CSDM in stages. In particular, the second half of that section covers implementing for a "Service Focus". 

[Stig Brandt]

Hi

The challenge with the Servicenow staged approach recommended, you have to wait to define end user services untill the fly state, to much IT oriented imo.

[Barry Kant]

Absolutely, the question isn't so much about the end state, but how to get there. 
And these starting situation can be way different:
eg

1. Greenfield implementation
2. Remediating a mature instance
3. Adding new modules/using new features

In Greenfield it isn't too bad to start with bare minimum as the result is almost a quick win.
In remediating instances the current state is important, and often the process side already has some level of maturity.
In adding new modules or using new features it sometimes needs to shift data to the right classes to be able to adept those new modules/features.

So it is a game with many directions and not necessarily a one size fix all approach.

• be clear on the starting state
• be clear on the short term objectives and prerequisites
• be clear on the long term objectives and prerequisites

Cheers,

Barry

[Dan Freed]

Stig:

The video I referenced actually proposes two different staged approaches. The first is the traditional "Application Focus". The second "Service Focus" approach has Business Capability, Service Portfolio, Business Service, and Business Service Offering in the "Crawl" stage. See 23:58 of the video. 

There is no "one size fits all" approach. The "Application Focus" approach in the video (which is consistent with the approach in the white paper) meets the needs of many ServiceNow customers that already have infrastructure and application CIs and are looking to expand into managing their services. 

As you point out, other customers may have different starting points, objectives, and use cases. For these customers the "Service Focus" approach, or a third approach, may be best.