How I Passed the ServiceNow CIS-SPM Exam: One Practitioner’s Story and Every Resource I Used

BillMartin · 3 weeks ago

How I Passed the ServiceNow CIS-SPM Exam: One Practitioner’s Story, Every Resource I Used, and What I’d Tell You Now

If you’re reading this, you’re probably facing the same crossroads I stood at not too long ago: staring down the ServiceNow CIS-SPM (Certified Implementation Specialist – Strategic Portfolio Management) certification, feeling the weight of real project deadlines, and wondering how to pull it all off. I know the mix of nerves and possibility well—for me, this wasn’t just a career move, it was the next step in becoming someone my team and clients could fully rely on.

This is my honest account. It’s not just tips you’ll find in the docs—it’s reality: what worked, what didn’t, what links actually mattered, and why being hands-on is absolutely everything.

Why I Chased the CIS-SPM (and Why This Exam Matters)

After ten years running enterprise project management solutions for companies from Australia to the Philippines and Bangkok, I’d used it all: Microsoft Enterprise Project Management, Micro Focus PPM, and eventually, ServiceNow SPM. No system has shaped my career like ServiceNow. But the moment the CIS-SPM became a requirement in my org—right before I was to lead our biggest ServiceNow rollout to date—I realized this wasn’t just about leveling-up my resume. It was about stepping up for my team. Certification would prove, to them and to myself, that when a major SPM program was on the line, I was ready.

And let’s face it: it’s not just a technical test. It’s respect, trust, and access to roles and projects you might not get otherwise.

Step 1: Start with Official Training—But Don’t Stop There

Like everyone, I started with the ServiceNow CIS-SPM On Demand Training. If you’re serious, this is your foundation. It covers the essentials—demand management, project, resource, timecard management, and portfolio planning.

But it didn’t take long to realize: the exam expects more than the training covers. What the On Demand Training doesn’t spell out, you’ll find in real-world config, edge cases, and the ServiceNow community. Immediately, I began building a resource list of my own to fill the gaps:

Demand to Project Conversion:
Community Article
Resource Plans and Reports:
Resource Management Reports (Yokohama)
Resource Plan Cost Calculations
PPM Product Updates:
Rome Release PPM Blog
Quebec Release PPM Blog

Step 2: Get Into a Dev Instance—Theory Won’t Be Enough

I’ll be blunt: I never passed a ServiceNow certification by just reading. You need a dev instance. As soon as the On Demand lectures wrapped, I spun up my own and started breaking and building every process I could.

These tasks were my bread-and-butter:

Build and assign resource plans
Cancel resource plans
Generate resource availability/utilization reports
Review capacity for resources
Update resource capacity: How-to

My approach: if a workflow, cost calculation, or scenario came up in training or a practice test, I would rebuild it by hand, experimenting until I understood every step and exception. Mistakes became my best learning moments.

Step 3: Tap Into the Community (It’s Not Just a Forum—It’s Your Shortcut to Real-World Answers)

When things got weird or confusing (when do underlying entities of a demand move? Why isn’t my allocation right?), the ServiceNow Community was my lifeline. Veteran admins, product managers, and other candidates answered questions official docs left unsolved:

Don’t just Google—search and bookmark these specific threads and articles. Most answers in interviews or on the exam come straight from what people are solving in real projects right now.

Step 4: Use Practice Exams—But Don’t Trust, Verify

Let’s talk practice tests. I ran through anything I could find, especially from dumpscore.com. Warning: the answers are often off or flat-out wrong. I learned the hard way to use them as questions, not gospel—if you get it wrong, set up the scenario in your dev instance, read the official docs, and figure out the why behind the right answer. That process fixed weak spots no cheat sheet ever could.

Step 5: Double Down on Resource Management

Every SPM practitioner stresses different modules. For me and for almost everyone I coached, resource management was the dealbreaker. About a third of my exam—and the majority of “gotcha” questions—came back to allocations, plan costing, cancellations, and reporting. The only way I got comfortable with these workflows was by rebuilding them repeatedly in my own instance and cross-checking every workflow detail:

Step 6: Prepare for the Exam Like a Real-World Go-Live

Exam day looks a lot like project go-live: pressure, time crunch, and unpredictable curveballs. The best hacks I found:

Stick to my normal routine: Eat, stretch, take notes—not obsessively cramming.
Run one last round in my dev instance—practice cancelling a resource plan, running a key report, or updating a financial table.
Prep my space as I would a boardroom before client cutover—minimal distractions, stable Wi-Fi.
If anxiety hit: Three deep breaths, remember every live issue I’d handled in the field, and refocus on the question.

If you hit a question you don’t know, flag it, move on, and come back after a round of easier ones. You’ll be surprised how much comes back as you relax.

What Happened After: Doors Open and Confidence Soars

Passing CIS-SPM didn’t just land me the biggest ServiceNow project of my career—it gave me immediate confidence to make tough calls, lead global teams, and answer questions in the real world. The badge changed how clients saw me and how I saw my own skills. But just as important are the habits I built: verifying, practicing, double-checking, and reaching out for help.

I now share these workflows in my YouTube SPM Series (if you want full walk-throughs and live builds), keep my links folder updated, and stay plugged into the ServiceNow user community. This stuff moves fast—community updates and official docs are key.

All My Key Resources (and the Links I Needed Most)

Official Training and Docs

Practice Exams

dumpscore.com (always verify every answer!)

Final Thoughts: Your Path Might Look Different—But the Real Lessons Hold

If you’re reading this and prepping, know this: real progress comes from real practice. Do the official training, but fill in every blank with config, mistakes, and hands-on work. Bookmark the links above, dig into community answers, and don’t let a bad practice test knock your confidence.

When you walk into that exam, trust the work you’ve put in. CIS-SPM is within reach if you approach it with grit, honesty, and a willingness to get your hands dirty.

If you need more stories, encouragement, or deep dives, check out my YouTube SPM series soon—or reach out here in the community. You’re closer than you think.

Mark Manders · 3 weeks ago

Everybody learns best in their own way. Thank you for sharing your experience, because I believe that this is the only way to become good at what you are doing. Experience counts, even if it's on your PDI, because it helps you to understand what you are doing.

There are way too many people using dumps as their main learning. They learn the questions and the answers and then take the test. They get a 'pass' and are very proud that they can call themselves a Certified Implementation Specialist (no matter the topic). And then an implementation comes along and they can't even configure the basic things, because they don't understand what they are doing and how the processes work.

And customers require the guidance through ServiceNow and the processes. Not just someone that is good at remembering question/answer combinations.

Please mark any helpful or correct solutions as such. That helps others find their solutions.
Mark

View solution in original post

BillMartin · 3 weeks ago

A very good point you’ve raised, and I totally agree.

We can take this further by guiding newbies on best practices — showing them that hands-on experience, even in a PDI, is what builds real capability. Passing an exam is great, but combining certification with practical application ensures they can confidently configure, adapt, and support customers in real-world scenarios.

The ServiceNow Community has been instrumental in helping many of us find greener pastures — better opportunities, career growth, and the confidence to lead implementations. By continuing to mentor and share our experiences here, we can help the next generation of professionals not only pass the test but also deliver real value once they’re in front of customers.