Where to Start with Service Mapping in the CSDM: Focus on the Challenge, Not the Checklist

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A colleague recently asked me a question that many ServiceNow practitioners' encounter: “Where do I start when mapping services aligned to the Common Service Data Model (CSDM)?” My first question was to clarify, did they mean mapping Business, Technical, or Application Services? The response was a familiar one: “All of them.” To which I replied, “Well, it depends.”

Based on my experience of being asked and answering this question many times over the years, here is some guidance on where to begin with mapping services in ServiceNow in a way that delivers value.

Focus on Your Business Problem, Not a Prescribed Path

The CSDM white paper lays out a Foundation, Crawl, Walk, Run, Fly maturity model for the adoption of CSDM, that tells you what pieces of the puzzle to put in place at each stage. It is a great maturity model with an application focused approach. But it’s just one way to approach your journey, and every organization’s need is unique. That’s the critical first step: What is the challenge you’re trying to solve?

• Are you trying to improve your ability to assess the impact of planned and unplanned outages? Then start with building out Application Service Maps for your critical systems, or those that are experiencing the most outages.
• If you already have a robust CMDB and solid understanding of your CIs: You might be wrestling more with operational questions like, “How do I route work to the right support teams efficiently?”. In this case, start with mapping Technical Management Services, Service Offerings and defining Dynamic CI Groups.
• If your goal is better understand and enhance how users engage with your services: Business Service Mapping helps you understand consumption patterns and measure experience levels.

No matter your starting point, the most important question is always: What business outcome matters most right now? Start there. And then re-ask the question regularly and at each milestone to ensure you are focusing on the right outcome.

Building Your Foundations: A Value-First Approach

Don’t try to build everything at once. Instead, let your organisation’s most pressing challenge guide your next move. As you iterate and build confidence, you’ll naturally expand coverage and maturity. Building your foundational data should support the business problem you are trying to solve for.

Ask yourself:

• How are my services structured (e.g., by location, by business unit)?
• Who consumes these services? Is my user data solid?
• Are the services supported by internal teams or external parties? Does service performance need to be managed against contracts?
• Which business processes do these services underpin?

As you answer these questions, the pieces of your service management puzzle become clearer. Over time, you’ll build out your CSDM maturity in a way that’s sustainable, actionable, and focused on real value, not just ticking boxes.

What Comes Next

There’s no single right way, and there’s certainly no “one-and-done” solution. The next question: How do you actually do this in practice? is a bigger conversation, one I’m eager to explore in future posts.

For now, remember: Start with the challenge, let value drive your direction, and your mapped services will become a powerful enabler for your organization’s service management success.

Let’s continue the conversation, what’s the challenge you’re trying to solve with service mapping?