--- sourceDocument: Yokohama Enterprise Architecture (formerly Application Portfolio Management) sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/yokohama/application-portfolio-management Release : - yokohama ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Yokohama Enterprise Architecture (formerly Application Portfolio Management) ft:clusterId : - appportman bundleId : - appportman workflow : - Technology --- # Managing the Technology Reference Model in Enterprise Architecture Workspace # Managing the Technology Reference Model in Enterprise Architecture Workspace {#ariaid-title1} * Release version: Yokohama * * Updated January 30, 2025 * * ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 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 Managing the Technology Reference Model in Enterprise Architecture Workspace The Technology Reference Model (TRM) in the Enterprise Architecture Workspace enables ServiceNow customers to define and enforce organizational standards for software and hardware products. Managing the TRM helps mitigate risks associated with unapproved technology, including security vulnerabilities, delivery challenges, and legal issues. By establishing approved products and lifecycle phases, organizations can improve governance, reduce technical debt, enhance security posture, and control costs. Show full answer Show less ## Key Features * **TRM Product Management:** View, create, and request TRM products grouped by categories. This allows clear visibility into approved software and hardware standards. * **Lifecycle Management:** Define and manage product lifecycles with phases such as approved, unapproved, evaluation, and divest. This helps track the status and compliance of technologies over time. * **Governance and Accountability:** Assign owners to TRM categories to maintain consistent compliance standards and improve technology governance. * **Integration with Software Asset Management (SAM):** Utilize SAM integration to fetch and select products and versions for the TRM library, or define products manually if SAM is not available. * **Architectural Artifact Association:** Link architectural artifacts to TRM products to maintain alignment between architecture and technology standards. * **Product Capabilities Management:** Create, associate, and remove product capabilities linked to TRM products to ensure accurate representation of technology features. * **Data Export and Synchronization:** Export TRM data to Excel or CSV for stakeholder communication and analysis. Schedule jobs to sync TRM product names with linked SAM software products. * **Wildcard Lifecycle Updates:** Use wildcard functionality in TRM lifecycles to update multiple product versions efficiently without specifying exact minor versions. * **Technical Debt Management:** Track and manage technical debt arising from use of unapproved products, aiding in risk reduction and compliance. ## Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers * Establish clear technology standards to reduce organizational risk. * Monitor and control software usage to ensure only approved versions are in production. * Improve governance through category ownership and lifecycle management. * Integrate with SAM for streamlined product data management. * Facilitate communication and analysis through data export capabilities. * Efficiently manage multiple product versions with wildcard lifecycle updates. * Identify and remediate technical debt resulting from non-compliant technology use. You can use the Technology Reference Model (TRM) feature in Enterprise Architecture Workspace to define the standards for your software and hardware products and manage unapproved products in your organization. Note: You can zoom on this page to 200% or 400% through your browser settings without the loss of content or functionality. Page layouts are transformed into a vertical, stacked view automatically. ## Overview and benefits of a TRM {#eaw-managing-the-technology-portfolio__section_lwg_dnr_dcc} In your business enterprise, using an unapproved software can create a risk to the organization. The risks can include the following: * Security risks: The software might be exposed to security issues. * Delivery risks: There might not be sufficient knowledge on how to support the software. * Legal risks: A business application might use the software in illegal ways. {#eaw-managing-the-technology-portfolio__ul_ovt_2nr_dcc} You must define the standards for the software that is to be used and the software versions that are permitted for use in your organization. Also, you need a way to explore when a non-permitted software is being used within the organization and in which business applications. You can use the TRM module in the Enterprise Architecture Workspace to perform the following: * View a list of all available TRM products. You can also view the list of TRM products grouped by product category. * Request a TRM product * Request a TRM product lifecycle * Create a TRM product * Create a TRM product lifecycle * Approve or reject TRM product and product lifecycle requests. {#eaw-managing-the-technology-portfolio__ul_jcm_3nr_dcc} Using the TRM module, you can manage the standards of the technology and set the right guardrail for technology usage. Setting the standards can improve the technical debt, security posture and save costs for the organization. You can also assign an owner to a TRM category, to ensure clear accountability and improved governance standards. The owner is responsible for maintaining consistent technology compliance standards for that TRM category. ## TRM Product Lifecycle {#eaw-managing-the-technology-portfolio__section_okg_rxq_dcc} Each product in the TRM library is associated with a set of life-cycle phases with a start and end date. The life-cycle phases could be approved, unapproved, approved with constraints, Divest, and evaluation. The TLM home page fetches all the business applications that are being used in your organization. It helps to review the status of the software that is being used. You can understand if any business application is using the software that is not part of the TRM or a software version that is not approved for production. For more information, see [TRM lifecycle timelines on Gantt chart](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bM5A3UieCcwRaFbr2AXxRg "For Technology Reference Model (TRM), the application services (hardware models and software products) are displayed in a hierarchical structure, similar to the TPM view. The corresponding lifecycle timelines of the application services are displayed as bars on the Gantt chart. It also displays the data for lifecycles with wild card versions. The TRM wildcard version ends with a ‘*’."). The TRM module uses a similar module to TLM to search in the TRM library. You can view the software that is part of the TRM library, and initiate a request to add the software or software version to the TRM library. You can also use the TRM with the Software Asset Management (SAM) plugin. This plugin helps you to fetch or select the products and versions for the TRM library. You can also define your own software products when the Software Asset Management integration module isn't available for your instance. * **[View all TRM products grouped by product category](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/VPKvDDpV5UfFC6axntruKg)** You can view all your Technology Reference Model (TRM) products, grouped by category, in the Enterprise Architecture Workspace. * **[View all TRM products](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/_8jGDGZjbsxg~Exkq6wcvw)** You can view all available Technology Reference Model (TRM) products in the Enterprise Architecture Workspace. * **[Request a TRM product](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/glEIzEi8wgfrJcmiEUDmow)** You can request a TRM product using the TRM catalog to add a new software or hardware to the TRM library. * **[Request a TRM product lifecycle](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/2CZ5GgMnzD3QOfOXjX8eGA)** You can add a new request to create a life cycle for a TRM product. * **[Add a TRM product in Enterprise Architecture Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/VO2uftV6VfrwI4Zw1GeGwQ)** As an Enterprise Architect, you can add a new TRM product to the TRM library. * **[Associate an Architectural Artifact to a TRM product](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/YpY7QwNEBbM1Ix0u0~Kr8Q)** As an Enterprise Architect, you can associate an architectural artifact to a TRM product. * **[Add a TRM product lifecycle](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/ykPzDRPwqWZ5bvHJhZRsmA)** As an Enterprise Architect, you can add a new TRM product lifecycle. * **[View product capabilities associated with a Technology Reference Model product](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/HGf8YHbsKznAGyMiU~HFBg)** You can view the list of product capabilities associated with Technology Reference Model (TRM) product, in the Enterprise Architecture Workspace. * **[Create product capabilities and associate it with a Technology Reference Model product](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/tN0zBoDvTqJi4JmWfKtBxw)** You can create product capabilities and associate it with Technology Reference Model (TRM) products in the Enterprise Architecture Workspace. * **[Add an existing product capability to a Technology Reference Model product](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/nfKKALnvkM3MNcuxksgetw)** You can add existing product capabilities to Technology Reference Model (TRM) products in the Enterprise Architecture Workspace. * **[Remove product capabilities from a TRM product](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/As97221PqM9~lV2rVLctYg)** You can remove the product capabilities associated with Technology Reference Model (TRM) products in the Enterprise Architecture Workspace, confirming only the relevant and current product capabilities are associated with the TRM products. * **[Export Technology Reference Model product category data to Excel or CSV](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/xX7QrOV6csBOXhuPzKiFdA)** Export the Technology Reference Model (TRM) list view data to Microsoft Excel or CSV so that you can use the data to share with stakeholders and prepare for analysis. * **[Run a job to sync TRM product names in EA Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Hu1PmSfZOU~EUiV52eWjug)** Run a scheduled job to sync the names of Technology Reference Model (TRM) products with the names of their linked Software Asset Management (ServiceNow Otto for SAM) software products. * **[Working with TRM lifecycle with wildcard](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/_R~HL0j1GdH8tICBfbLWtw)** You can use Technology Reference Model (TRM) lifecycles with wildcards to update multiple TRM software product lifecycles simultaneously without having to specify the exact minor version details of individual TRM software products. * **[Manage TRM technical debt](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/WRSMb3ga5T6SBxhZ8i6TdA)** Manage the TRM technical debts that are created for the products that aren't approved for the usage. **Related tasks** * [Approve or reject TRM requests](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/b_G6lL8xRm6bHu8Xrrb2GQ "As an Enterprise Architect, approve or reject a TRM product or product lifecycle requests submitted by other users.")