Implications if i dont use life cycle stage and status field in business application

[dvass0107]

Hi,

  We are in initial stage of setting up our CMDB. 

Customer says Life cycle stage and status fields and its values are not 100% matching to their needs  

  Instead they want to go with Status field as of now. 

But they say they may go back to the life cycle stage field if situation demands in future.

Below  questions needs your help:

1. Is it a best practice? 

2. What are the implications later if we revert to life cycle fields? 

3. If they want to use CMDB Data manager will it work without life cycle stage and status fields?

4. If they are mandatory fields to use then, can we do changes to the dropdown values (add/remove options)?

5. If we do that can we sync up with CSDM migration standards, to use CMDB data manager?

Regards,

Srinivas

[AJ-TechTrek]

Hi @dvass0107 ,

1. Is it a best practice to ignore Lifecycle Stage & Lifecycle Stage Status fields?
* Best practice: No — these fields are part of CSDM (Common Service Data Model), specifically for tracking application and service lifecycles. They support governance, retirement planning, impact analysis, and CMDB health metrics.
* However, in the early CMDB setup phase (manual loads, limited governance), some orgs temporarily keep them blank while focusing on core CI attributes (Name, Status, Owner, etc.).

* Recommendation: Don’t remove or hide them — leave them in the form but mark them optional until governance matures.

2. Implications if we ignore them now and re-visit later

If you skip them now:
* Short term – No immediate CMDB functionality breaks (except where lifecycle-based reporting is needed).
* Long term – You may face: Extra cleanup effort later to populate historical lifecycle data.
* Missed alignment with CSDM & CMDB Data Manager policies.
* Limited ability to automate decommissioning workflows or impact analysis based on lifecycle stages.
* Best practice – Keep the fields in the model from day one, even if you default them (e.g., Lifecycle Stage = “Live”, Lifecycle Stage Status = “Operational”).

3. Can they implement CMDB Data Manager without these fields?
* Officially: CMDB Data Manager policies are designed to work best when CSDM lifecycle attributes are populated, because:
* Retirement definitions and cleanup rules often filter by lifecycle_stage / lifecycle_stage_status.
* Completeness metrics in CMDB Health may flag them as missing.
* Reality: You can technically run CMDB Data Manager without them, but you’ll need to adjust your policy definitions to use status instead. This means deviating from OOTB CSDM-aligned configurations.
* Recommendation: If possible, populate them with default values that map to your Status field.

4. If mandatory, can we add/remove dropdown options for these fields?
* Yes – Both lifecycle_stage and lifecycle_stage_status are choice fields, and you can:
* Add options that reflect your business terminology.
* Hide/remove unused OOTB values (mark inactive rather than delete).
* Map your existing status values to lifecycle stage/status for consistency.

* Caution: If you change the meaning of these fields too far from CSDM definitions, you might break future OOTB integrations and reports.

Please appreciate the efforts of community contributors by marking appropriate response as Mark my Answer Helpful or Accept Solution this may help other community users to follow correct solution in future.
 

Thank You
AJ - TechTrek with AJ - ITOM Trainer
LinkedIn:- https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajay-kumar-66a91385/
YouTube:- https://www.youtube.com/@learnitomwithaj
Topmate:- https://topmate.io/aj_techtrekwithaj (Connect for 1-1 Session)
ServiceNow Community MVP 2025

[AJ-TechTrek]

Hi @dvass0107 ,

1. Is it a best practice to ignore Lifecycle Stage & Lifecycle Stage Status fields?
* Best practice: No — these fields are part of CSDM (Common Service Data Model), specifically for tracking application and service lifecycles. They support governance, retirement planning, impact analysis, and CMDB health metrics.
* However, in the early CMDB setup phase (manual loads, limited governance), some orgs temporarily keep them blank while focusing on core CI attributes (Name, Status, Owner, etc.).

* Recommendation: Don’t remove or hide them — leave them in the form but mark them optional until governance matures.

2. Implications if we ignore them now and re-visit later

If you skip them now:
* Short term – No immediate CMDB functionality breaks (except where lifecycle-based reporting is needed).
* Long term – You may face: Extra cleanup effort later to populate historical lifecycle data.
* Missed alignment with CSDM & CMDB Data Manager policies.
* Limited ability to automate decommissioning workflows or impact analysis based on lifecycle stages.
* Best practice – Keep the fields in the model from day one, even if you default them (e.g., Lifecycle Stage = “Live”, Lifecycle Stage Status = “Operational”).

3. Can they implement CMDB Data Manager without these fields?
* Officially: CMDB Data Manager policies are designed to work best when CSDM lifecycle attributes are populated, because:
* Retirement definitions and cleanup rules often filter by lifecycle_stage / lifecycle_stage_status.
* Completeness metrics in CMDB Health may flag them as missing.
* Reality: You can technically run CMDB Data Manager without them, but you’ll need to adjust your policy definitions to use status instead. This means deviating from OOTB CSDM-aligned configurations.
* Recommendation: If possible, populate them with default values that map to your Status field.

4. If mandatory, can we add/remove dropdown options for these fields?
* Yes – Both lifecycle_stage and lifecycle_stage_status are choice fields, and you can:
* Add options that reflect your business terminology.
* Hide/remove unused OOTB values (mark inactive rather than delete).
* Map your existing status values to lifecycle stage/status for consistency.

* Caution: If you change the meaning of these fields too far from CSDM definitions, you might break future OOTB integrations and reports.

Please appreciate the efforts of community contributors by marking appropriate response as Mark my Answer Helpful or Accept Solution this may help other community users to follow correct solution in future.
 

Thank You
AJ - TechTrek with AJ - ITOM Trainer
LinkedIn:- https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajay-kumar-66a91385/
YouTube:- https://www.youtube.com/@learnitomwithaj
Topmate:- https://topmate.io/aj_techtrekwithaj (Connect for 1-1 Session)
ServiceNow Community MVP 2025

[dvass0107]

AJ,

Thanks for the excellent write up. Lot of doubts are cleared to proceed further.

As suggested, I will go ahead and add/remove options of lifecycle stage and status values, so CMDB Data Manager will run smoothly.

Also it will reduce rework/clean up in future upgrades around these 2 fields.

Can you also give me correct procedure how to sync up with CSDM standards once after modifying lifecycle stage and lifecycle stage status fields?

Regards,
Srinivas