Tips for studying for the CSA exam?

[petergoldberg]

Anyone have any tips for studying for the CSA exam? I've taken the SNAF course but I'm wondering what other resources are helpful for preparing.

Thanks!

[M Iftikhar]

Hi @petergoldberg 
If you’ve already completed the SNAF course, Here are a few solid, proven tips for preparing for the CSA

Make sure you understand and practice these areas well, they form the core of the exam:

• User Interface & Navigation

• Lists and Forms

• Tables & Fields

• CMDB

• Users, Roles & Groups

• Knowledge & Service Catalog

• Flow Designer / Workflows

• Reports, Dashboards & Notifications

• Data Management (Import Sets & Transform Maps)

• Access Control

• ITSM basics (Incident, Problem, Change)

 Best Prep Approach (from ServiceNow experts):

• Don’t rely on dumps or exam crams,  focus on building in your Personal Developer Instance (PDI).

• Practice every topic you study, and create tables, forms, flows, and catalog items yourself.

• Go through your course materials again, take notes, and repeat the labs.

• Use Quizlet or Udemy CSA practice tests to strengthen recall and exam readiness.

If my response helped, please mark it as the accepted solution so others can benefit as well.

[Dr Atul G- LNG]

Hi @petergoldberg 

Tips for the CSA Exam (Certified System Administrator)

CSA is the first and foundational exam in your ServiceNow journey. Here are some tips to help you prepare effectively:

• Study the training material thoroughly – Go through it line by line, word by word, at least 2–3 times.

• Practice the labs multiple times – Do each lab 3–4 times. Don’t just complete them; carefully read and understand the instructions as well.

• Follow the official eBook – Review it thoroughly at least 2–3 times to reinforce your understanding.

• Consider supplementary courses – Some candidates have found Udemy courses helpful for additional practice and clarity.

• Watch my experience video – I’ve shared my own preparation journey and tips here:

  
  

   https://youtu.be/60KXCXXHW7

Good luck on your CSA journey!

[MaxMixali · Accepted solution]

.

Master the Official Exam Blueprint

Download the CSA Exam Specification from the ServiceNow Certification Portal.

It lists all knowledge domains and their approximate weight:

DomainWeight

User Interface & Navigation	20%
Collaboration	20%
Database Administration	30%
Self-Service & Process Automation	20%
Intro to Scripting & Migration	10%

Use this as your study map. Focus most effort on high-weight areas like the data model, tables, forms, and lists.

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🔹 2.

Work Directly in a Personal Developer Instance (PDI)

Hands-on practice is crucial.

Get your free PDI from developer.servicenow.com and:

• Create/update users, groups, and roles.

• Configure forms and lists, add UI Policies, UI Actions, and Client Scripts.

• Build and run a simple Flow Designer flow.

• Explore tables like sys_user, incident, and task.

• Work with ACLs and business rules.

  👉 Experience beats memorization — the exam favors scenario-based questions.

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🔹 3.

Review the Now Learning Resources

After SNAF, take:

• CSA Practice Exam on Now Learning (free).

• ServiceNow Fundamentals Review Quizzes (they mirror real exam logic).

• Exam Readiness: Certified System Administrator course — includes sample questions and explanations.

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🔹 4.

Focus on Key Technical Areas

Make sure you deeply understand:

• Table Hierarchy: Task table inheritance (Incident, Problem, Change, etc.).

• Forms and Lists: Personalization vs Configuration.

• Access Controls (ACLs): Role-based and condition/script logic.

• Update Sets: Capture, commit, and best practices.

• Business Rules & Client Scripts: When they execute and their order.

• Flow Designer: Triggers, actions, and inputs/outputs.

• UI Policies vs Data Policies: When each applies.

• Service Catalog basics (items, variables, record producers).

• Notifications & Email Logs.

• Import Sets & Transform Maps.

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🔹 5.

Use Community & Flashcards

• Review ServiceNow Community posts tagged CSA for tips and common pitfalls.

• Use Quizlet or Anki flashcards for rapid recall of key terms and concepts (search “ServiceNow CSA Flashcards”).

• Join ServiceNow Discord or Reddit groups — many share legitimate study guidance (not dumps).

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🔹 6.

Take the Practice Exam Seriously

The practice exam from Now Learning reflects real exam question style — read each explanation carefully.

If you miss questions, revisit that area in your PDI. Practice navigating the platform quickly — you’ll need to recognize UI terms under time pressure.

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🔹 7.

Time & Strategy

• 60 multiple-choice questions, 90 minutes.

• Passing score ≈ 70%.

• Don’t overthink wording — most wrong answers include overly technical or unrelated platform features.

• Use the “flag” feature to return to tricky questions.

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✅

Final Recommendations

✔ Hands-on practice > theory.

✔ Know the difference between configuration vs customization.

✔ Understand how ServiceNow’s data model works (Task inheritance, dictionary, tables).

✔ Practice manipulating records, building simple workflows, and using Flow Designer.

✔ Review the official docs at docs.servicenow.com for terminology.

[petergoldberg]

Thanks for the responses everyone 🙂