--- sourceDocument: Australia ServiceNow AI Platform Capabilities sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/servicenow-platform Release : - australia ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Australia ServiceNow AI Platform Capabilities ft:clusterId : - platcap bundleId : - platcap workflow : - Platform --- # Impact analysis details # CMDB impact analysis agentic workflow details {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Australia Updated July 7, 2026 ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 3 minutes to read Summarize ![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) Summarized using AI This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. ## Summary of CMDB impact analysis agentic workflow details The Assess CMDB impact agentic workflow helps ServiceNow customers analyze the potential impact of change requests or incidents on their Configuration Management Database (CMDB) topology. This workflow is deactivated by default and must be activated via Agentic Solutions in AI Agent Studio before use. It requires users to have theitilrole and access to the ServiceNow Otto panel. Show full answer Show less ## Input and Supported Records The workflow accepts change requests and incidents as input, identified by their task numbers (e.g., CHG0000015, INC0001234). It rejects all other record classes and ignores canceled, new (for changes), or closed (for incidents) states based on predefined conditions. The workflow extracts descriptions primarily using AI-generated summaries; if unavailable, it falls back to record fields like *shortdescription* or *description*. A valid single affected CI must be present on the record or in its affected CI list for the analysis to proceed. ## Output Schema The workflow returns a structured list of impacted Configuration Items (CIs) with the following details: * **sysId:** Unique CMDB CI identifier * **ciName:** Display name of the CI * **ciClass:** CI class name * **impactLevel:** Severity of impact (high, medium, low, none) * **impactType:** Category of impact (e.g., availability, performance, security) * **confidence:** Confidence level of the assessment (high, medium, low) * **reason:** Explanation of impact including redundancy and propagation logic ## Workflow Processing and Tools The impact analysis uses a three-phase breadth-first search (BFS) through the CMDB relationship table to build the dependency topology. It leverages multiple workflow tools including: * **Input validation:** Confirms task validity and CI presence * **Resolve input:** Retrieves change or incident context for AI reasoning * **Skill tool formatter:** Formats results for display in the Otto panel * **GetFullTopology:** Processes and assesses topology chunks with AI and stores results ## Limitations and Error Handling This workflow analyzes only the CMDB topology semantics and does not consider business context, historical data, scheduled changes, or ongoing incidents. The quality of AI reasoning depends on detailed, clear change descriptions. Common error scenarios include: * Change records without associated CIs or descriptions * Nonexistent change or CI records * Multiple or no affected CIs when a single CI is required Errors provide clear messages to guide corrective action, such as updating descriptions or verifying CI assignments. ## Practical Benefits ServiceNow customers can use this agentic workflow to quickly understand the potential impact of changes or incidents on their CMDB topology, improving risk assessment and decision-making. By activating and properly configuring this workflow, users gain structured, AI-enhanced insights into CI dependencies and the severity and nature of impact, all accessible through the ServiceNow Otto panel. Reference information for the Assess CMDB impact agentic workflow, including input modes, output schema, supported record types, workflow tools, and constraints. Note: The Assess CMDB impact agentic workflow is deactivated by default. Activate it from Agentic Solutions before use, as described in [AI Agent Studio overview](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=ai-agent-studio&version=australia&pubname=australia-intelligent-experiences&ft:locale=en-US). ## Role requirements {#na-cmdb-awf-impact-analysis-ref__section_role_requirements} Access to the Assess CMDB impact agentic workflow requires the `itil` role to perform the following actions: * Read CMDB CI records and CI relationship data * Read change request and incident records * Invoke the Impact Analysis agentic workflow from the ServiceNow Otto panel {#na-cmdb-awf-impact-analysis-ref__ul_cgy_nft_5kc} Additionally, users must have access to open the ServiceNow Otto panel from their workspace or application. Contact your administrator if you can't see the ServiceNow Otto icon. ## Input modes {#na-cmdb-awf-impact-analysis-ref__section_input_modes} {#na-cmdb-awf-impact-analysis-ref__section_input_modes__entry__3} | Mode | Inputs | Examples | |-|-|-| | Task record | Change request or incident number. For example, `CHG0000015` or `INC0001234`. | "Help with the impact analysis for CHG000015", "What is the impact of CHG0001234?", "Help me do the impact analysis for INC0001234" or "Analyze the impact of CHG0001235". | [Table 1. Input types] ## Supported record types {#na-cmdb-awf-impact-analysis-ref__section_supported_record_types} For invocation by change record, the workflow processes these record types: * `change_request` (Change) * `incident` (Incident) Any other record class is rejected. Additionally, cancelled or closed records aren't processed: * Change requests in state 4 (Canceled) are rejected * Change requests in state 5 (New) skip LLM-based summarization; the agentic workflow uses record fields as fallback * Incidents in state 8 (Closed) are rejected ## Input resolution {#na-cmdb-awf-impact-analysis-ref__section_input_resolution} For invocation by change record, the workflow extracts the change description by using an AI summary of the task. The summary includes: * For change_request: Objective and Risk sections from the change summary * For incident: Issue section from the incident summary If the task summary is unavailable or does not match the expected schema, the workflow falls back to the record's `short_description` or `description` field. For example, this fallback applies to a New-state change request with no summary content. If the record has no CI set, the workflow resolves the CI from the record's affected CI list. This fallback requires exactly one affected CI. If the affected CI list is empty or contains more than one CI, the workflow returns an error instead of running the analysis. ## Output schema {#na-cmdb-awf-impact-analysis-ref__section_output_schema} The workflow returns a structured list of impacted items. Each item has the following schema: {#na-cmdb-awf-impact-analysis-ref__table_output_schema__entry__3} | Field | Values | Description | |-|-|-| | `sysId` | String | CI sys_id from CMDB topology (unique identifier; for example, `a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8`) | | `ciName` | String | CI display name (for example, "web-node-01" or "payment-gateway-prod") | | `ciClass` | String | CI class name (for example, "cmdb_ci_linux_server", "cmdb_ci_app_server", "cmdb_ci_db_instance") | | `impactLevel` | high \| medium \| low \| none | Severity of impact on this CI | | `impactType` | availability \| performance \| data-integrity \| functional \| security \| operational \| none | Category of impact (for example, availability loss, performance degradation) | | `confidence` | high \| medium \| low | Confidence in the assessment | | `reason` | String | Plain-language explanation including redundancy assessment and propagation reasoning | [Table 2. Output schema] {#na-cmdb-awf-impact-analysis-ref__table_output_schema} ## Topology traversal {#na-cmdb-awf-impact-analysis-ref__section_topology_traversal} The workflow builds the dependency topology using a three-phase breadth-first search (BFS) through the CMDB relationship table (`cmdb_rel_ci`): 1. Resolve inputs. 2. Fetch topology. 3. Invoke LLM. {#na-cmdb-awf-impact-analysis-ref__ol_akv_bkm_tjc} ## Workflow tools {#na-cmdb-awf-impact-analysis-ref__section_workflow_tools} The workflow delegates to an agent that uses the following tools: Input validation : Validates the change or incident number and confirms whether a CI or affected CI is available on the record. Resolve input : Fetches the change context that's passed to the LLM for reasoning. Skill tool formatter : Formats the impact analysis result for display in the ServiceNow Otto panel. GetFullTopology : Loads the topology visualization. This tool invokes a skill that processes the topology in chunks, sends each chunk to the LLM for assessment, and persists the results. ## Limitations {#na-cmdb-awf-impact-analysis-ref__section_gdz_1nm_tjc} The Assess CMDB impact agentic workflow considers only the semantics of CMDB topology. It does not include data on similar past changes, ongoing incidents, upcoming scheduled changes, or business context. LLM reasoning accuracy depends on the richness and clarity of the change description provided. Short or vague descriptions produce lower-quality impact assessments. ## Error handling {#na-cmdb-awf-impact-analysis-ref__section_error_handling} {#na-cmdb-awf-impact-analysis-ref__table_error_scenarios__entry__2} | Situation | Response | |-|-| | Change record exists but has no associated CI | Error: cannot determine topology --- change record has no CI | | Change record has no description (and fallback fails) | Error: change record has no description. Populate the change record's description or risk fields and try again. | | Provided change_id does not exist | Error: change record not found | | Provided CI sys_id does not exist in CMDB | Error: CI not found | | CI exists but has no upstream dependencies | Empty impact list (valid result, not an error) | | Change or incident record has no CI set, and its affected CI list has more than one affected CI | Error: only one affected CI is supported | | Change or incident record has no CI set, and its affected CI list is empty | Error: cannot determine topology because no CI or affected CI is available | [Table 3. Error scenarios and responses] {#na-cmdb-awf-impact-analysis-ref__table_error_scenarios} **Related concepts** * [Analyzing the impact of a change or incident](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/VW_vxXCAIzYZprs4oeD1Ug "The Assess CMDB impact agentic workflow identifies the upstream services and CIs that are likely to be affected by an incident or by a proposed change. The workflow reasons about propagation likelihood based on CMDB dependency topology and the nature of the change. The workflow returns a structured list with impact levels and the reasoning.") **Related tasks** * [Analyze change and incident impact](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Dyc98mcRRI2WGA6erpNEMg "Use the Assess CMDB impact agentic workflow to identify upstream services and CIs likely to be affected by a proposed change. Invoke the workflow in the ServiceNow Otto panel with a change record to receive a prioritized impact assessment with severity levels and reasoning.")