Role Model, or Why Model Management is Important

[Community Alums]

Welcome to the first on a series of blog posts on Model Management in ServiceNow! A lot of what happens in ServiceNow can be affected by Product Models, including, but not limited to:

• Configuration Management
• Asset Management
• Contract Management
• Service Catalog
• Request Management
• Vendor Management

You might be thinking "What? You're nuts. Models don't touch all that!" They do, and the better they are managed, the more value you can get from them.

I recently attended a session on Model Management, that, while good for the content it did present on the topic, seemed to miss a lot of key elements about the value of models and some different steps you can take to get the most value from the Models in your environment. In the presenter's defense, his focus was on Discovery, so he had a very focused view of the purpose of Models. I hope to share some thoughts on the topic here and that you can get some benefit from my ramblings.

So, before I get into various topics on how you can more effectively manage Models, you should be familar with what they are and why it is important to manage them.

model |'mädl| (noun) - a particular design or version of a product

This dictionary definition is a very simple way of thinking about what a model is. Other definitions of model provide some interesting insight into the the purpose as well:

• A system or thing used as an example to follow or imitate
• A simplified description of a system or process, to assist calculations and preditions
• A person or thing regarded as an excellent example of a specified quality

Simply put, a Model record matches the model of the device you manage. If you work with Lenovo computers, you may work with Lenovo X1 Carbons or Lenovo X240 laptops. If you work with Apple, you may work with 2014 MacBook Air 13" or 2013 MacBook Pro Retina 15" computers. I won't list all the vendors with samples, as I think you get the idea at this point.

Why are Models important? Here are a few things they do for you:

• They provide a single repository for information about device models that can be shared by Assets and CIs in your environment. This allows you to easily report on things like:
  • How much you spend on a particular Model
  • How many incidents opened against a particular Model
  • Which Models have upcoming end-of-life dates
  • The ratio of desktops to laptops in your environment
• Models also provide the basis for catalog items, including vendor catalog items. This provides you with the means to:
  • Identify when you have something already in stock so you do not need to order a new device
  • Create vendor items to help make decisions on where to purchase items as part of your procurement process

With this in mind, subsequent blog posts will detail some common/good practices around how to manage these Models and how to more effectively leverage them in your environment. This includes suggestions on how to populate Model records, normalize information for consistency and reporting, and some extensions you can make in your environment to get the most value from your Models.

Up first, though, will be a discussion on Models vs. Model Categories to ensure there is no confusion between these two important items. Watch for that post soon.