CMDB - Relation between Business Application and Software Model

[midjoule]

Dear community,

1. We have setup the below CMDB model (high-level schema). Could you please confirm it's setup according to the best practices ?
   
2. If it is the case, I don't understand why the Software Model is related to the business application and not the business service (which is an instance of the business application, like DEV, TEST, PROD) ? We could have a newer software model DEV and an older version in PROD. I'm confused because the Software Model appears as mandatory in the Business Application view of the Business Application record:
   

[Damhoej]

An application depends on a type of software, so in my oppinion is naturally that you need a software model (a lot of things in ServiceNow is based on models).

You can find some of your answers in this guide:

https://assets1.dxc.technology/ServiceNow/downloads/FR-003_Fruition_Rebrand-Original_Fruition_document_v4.pdf

And I will recommend Ben Sweetser's blog (9 parts) about models:

https://community.servicenow.com/community?id=community_blog&sys_id=4fdd2ae9dbd0dbc01dcaf3231f9619ef&view_source=searchResult

[midjoule]

Hi Damhøj,

Thanks for your answer.

I built the above schema based on the Fruition document, which is very helpful. I also read the post of Ben (Part 9).

However, from my understanding (and as shown in the above schema), a business application is above the application itself.

A business application would be for instance ServiceNow ITSM, which is then split in two (or more) business services (ServiceNow DEV intance and ServiceNow PROD instance).

If this assumption is right, then I could imagine that the DEV instance is already upgraded to Madrid, whereas the PROD instance is still running London. So again, I don't understand why the Software Model is mandatory at business application level. I would put it at business service level.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Best regards,

Julien

[Damhoej · Accepted solution]

Hi midjoule.

I did not realize until that you wrote it.. Business application vs. application.

you are right. Business Application do not have a software model!!

It is likely another copy/paste job from ServiceNow (I have found plenty of them).

Sometimes you do stumble into challenges like this, and you have to accpt that you need to modify everything from scratch in a lot of cases. It perhaps is founded in ServiceNow Quality assurance proces.

Another exapmle on this issue is Facility Model, if you open the form it is the basic "server form" something that has been copied a lot in ServiceNow.

My reccomendation is to change the field to not be mandatory. You could raise a ticket to ServiceNow, but in my experience there is no a big chance that they change it.

[midjoule]

Thank you Damhøj.

Just before closing the topic and in order to fully clarify it, the Software Model should be related to the Business Service. There is a table that is called Application Service Software Model which creates this relationship :

It can be found under Application Portfolio Management application, in the application navigator.

Or it can be displayed in the related lists of the Business Service form view.