CMDB CI Ownership

[JeetV]

As i know ownership can be assigned at a group level (e.g., support, change, approval) in CMDB CI.I want to know that if we assign group level ownership for particular CI and if we point to particular individual as owner then can we consider that particular group's manager as owner?

[AJ-TechTrek]

Hi @JeetV ,

As per my understanding ServiceNow CMDB Ownership – Key Concepts are -
In ServiceNow, ownership of Configuration Items (CIs) can be assigned using specific fields:
* Managed by (typically an individual user)
* Supported by (usually a group – e.g., support group)
* Change Owner / Change Group
* Owned by (business/technical ownership)
* Approval Group

Your Scenario:
If I assign a group-level ownership to a CI (like Support Group), and then assign an individual owner, can I consider the group’s manager as the actual owner of the CI?

Answer:
By default, ServiceNow does NOT automatically treat a group's manager as the CI owner.
* The group manager (defined in sys_user_group.manager) is not automatically linked to CI ownership unless you explicitly reference it in a custom logic or script.
* The Owned by or Managed by fields must point directly to a user record (sys_user) to reflect individual ownership.

Solution Options:
Option 1: Use Individual Field (Owned by) Explicitly
* Directly assign the CI to the individual (e.g., via Owned by or Managed by field).
* This is the cleanest approach and supports out-of-box reporting and accountability.

Option 2: Auto-derive Individual Owner from Group Manager (Custom)
If you want the system to treat the group’s manager as the owner when only a group is assigned:
You can use a Business Rule or scripted logic such as:
if (!current.owned_by && current.support_group.manager) {
current.owned_by = current.support_group.manager;
}
This can be applied:
* On form load (UI policy)
* On insert/update (Business Rule)
* During CMDB Health calculation logic (if part of ownership metrics)

Option 3: Reporting Perspective
If you just need this logic for reporting or visibility, you can use a report script or dot-walking logic in reports:
* Report on CI → support_group.manager
* Label that column as “Derived Owner” for display

Best Practice Recommendation:
Always define and populate both:
* A group-level owner (for responsibilities and workflow)
* An individual owner (for accountability)
Use CMDB data quality policies (via Health Rules or CMDB Data Manager) to enforce that Owned by is never empty, even if you derive it from the group’s manager.

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