Dependency Configuration records

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Dependency Configuration records

    In the Xanadu release, Business Continuity Management (BCM) administrators use Dependency Configuration records to automate the updating of Business Impact Analysis (BIA) dependencies, related assets, and sources. These records are managed in the administrator view (UI 16) and rely on data and relationships from the Configuration Management Database (CMDB).

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    This capability ensures that dependencies related to Impact Analysis, Plans, and Events are kept current by selecting either all historical records or only the latest record from source data during updates.

    Key Features

    • Dependency Update Configuration: Administrators configure three main records—Impact Analysis dependency update, Planning dependency update, and Event dependency source configuration—to enable scheduled auto-updates of dependencies.
    • Update Options: Users can choose between pulling dependencies from all source records or only the latest record, affecting how comprehensive the dependency updates are.
    • Sources of Dependencies: For plans, dependencies are pulled from BIA upstream/downstream dependencies and CMDB. For events, additional sources include plan primary and related assets.
    • UI Actions and Scheduled Jobs: The "Update dependencies" UI action and the "Update BCP dependencies snapshot" scheduled job depend on these configuration records to function correctly.

    Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers

    • Keep Dependencies Current: By properly configuring these records, BCM administrators ensure that plans, events, and impact analyses reflect the latest dependency data, improving accuracy and reliability of business continuity planning.
    • Flexible Data Selection: The option to select all records or only the latest provides control over the granularity of dependency updates, which can be tailored based on organizational needs.
    • Integration with CMDB and BIA: Leveraging CMDB and BIA relationships enables automated and consistent updates aligned with asset and impact data.
    • Configuration Guidance: Customers should refer to specific configuration guides for Impact Analysis, Planning, and Event dependencies to set up these records correctly.

    The BCM administrators configure the Dependency Configuration records.

    Administrators configure the Dependency Configuration records in the administrator view (UI 16 view) to schedule an auto-update of the BIA dependencies, related assets, and sources based on the source data and relationships in the CMDB.

    Note:
    Beginning with the Xanadu release, you can access up-to-date information on dependencies related to Business Impact Analysis, Plans, and Events. To access the most recent updates for dependencies, choose All records or Latest record only from the Source records to consider option in the Impact analysis dependency update configuration, Planning dependency update configuration, and Event dependency source configuration records. Based on your selection, the application pulls dependencies from all sources or only from the latest record for each source.

    The following example shows the Planning dependency update configuration record.

    Updating the BCP dependencies.

    Consider an example where you have 2 BIAs done on Acrobat and the configuration is shown in the example. When All records option is selected and you select Update dependencies UI action from the plan record, the application pulls all the dependencies in all BIA records that satisfy the requirement. As shown in the example, dependencies of both BIA Latest and BIA Old records are pulled into the plan.

    Source records.All BIA.

    When Latest record only option is selected and you select Update dependencies UI action from the plan record, the application considers one of the records of the two BIAs and it fetches the dependency assessment of that BIA record.

    Latest BIA.Dependency assessment from latest BIA.

    For the Update dependencies UI action in the plan record and the Update BCP dependencies snapshot scheduled job to function, it is necessary to have the Impact analysis dependency update configuration, Planning dependency update configuration, and Event dependency source configuration records established.

    Pulling latest dependency updates for impact analysis, plans, and events

    You can pull latest dependency updates for impact analysis, plans, and events. Choosing All records or Latest record only functionality is applicable for Impact analysis dependency update configuration, Planning dependency update configuration, and Event dependency source configuration records.

    For Impact analysis dependency updates, pulling all BIA records or the latest BIA record may yield the same information. For planning dependency updates and event dependency updates, pulling all BIA records or the latest BIA record pulls the latest dependency updates.

    Dependencies are fetched from the following sources for the plans:
    • BIA upstream dependency
    • BIA downstream dependencies
    • CMDB
    Dependencies are fetched from the following sources for the events:
    • BIA upstream dependency
    • BIA downstream dependencies
    • CMDB
    • Plan primary assets
    • Plan related assets

    For information on configuring the impact analysis dependency updates, see Configuring impact analysis dependency updates.

    For information on configuring the planning dependency updates, see Configuring planning dependency updates.

    For information on configuring the sources for adding the event dependencies, see Configuring sources for adding event dependencies.