Common Service Data Model (CSDM) Assessment– Total
Summarize
Summary of Common Service Data Model (CSDM) Assessment– Total
The Common Service Data Model (CSDM) Assessment offers ServiceNow customers expert guidance and best practices to evaluate and enhance their CSDM framework within the ServiceNow AI Platform. This initiative includes personalized assessments, collaboration with ServiceNow CSDM subject matter experts, and tailored recommendations to improve alignment of people, processes, and technology with CSDM standards.
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Assessment Process and Customer Involvement
The assessment involves multiple interactive sessions with the customer, including:
- Introductory Customer Session (up to 60 minutes): Introduces the initiative, sets expectations, and collects initial customer inputs.
- Customer Kick-off Working Session (up to 2 hours): Reviews customer materials, explains CSDM value, and discusses maturity and organizational context.
- Current State Discovery (up to 1.5 hours): Focuses on the customer’s CSDM roadmap and priority applications/services.
- Scope Definition Session (up to 1.5 hours): Defines the assessment scope aligned with customer priorities and maturity levels across CSDM maturity stages (Foundation, Crawl, Walk, Run, Fly).
- In-Depth Assessment: Detailed evaluation of people, processes, and technology by the Platform Architect in partnership with customer stakeholders.
- Customer Review Session (up to 2 hours): Presentation of findings, implementation recommendations, and discussion of next steps.
- Optional Follow-Up Session (up to 60 minutes): Additional Q&A and guidance on leading practices upon customer request.
Customer Roles and Responsibilities
Successful engagement requires active participation from key customer roles to ensure comprehensive assessment coverage:
- Platform Owner: Oversees platform governance and alignment with business strategy.
- Platform Administrator: Manages day-to-day platform configuration and support.
- Enterprise Architect: Guides strategic investment decisions.
- CSDM Data Modeler / Manager: Maintains CSDM data accuracy and certification.
- CMDB Manager: Ensures CMDB data integrity.
- Application and Service Owners: Manage specific applications and services.
- Process Owners: Define and manage relevant service processes.
- Technical Governance Board Lead and Security Administrator: Lead governance and security configuration.
- Optional Vendor Lead: Included if third-party partners contribute to CSDM-related design or development.
Required Customer Information and Access
To conduct the assessment, customers must provide organizational charts, ServiceNow and CSDM roadmaps, completed questionnaires, data models, governance models, and screenshots from dashboards related to CSDM and CMDB. Access to the customer’s ServiceNow instance is necessary for the Platform Architect, which can be granted either by direct temporary login with appropriate permissions or via a paired representative with system access.
Deliverables
- Comprehensive working session slide deck with supplemental CSDM references.
- Detailed current state in-depth assessment spreadsheet including standard recommendations.
- Action planning notes outlining next steps.
Scope and Limitations
This assessment focuses on evaluating and recommending improvements for the CSDM framework but explicitly excludes:
- CMDB assessments.
- Detailed CSDM model design reviews.
- Technical troubleshooting or remediation of existing CSDM implementations.
- Service Mapping troubleshooting.
- Detailed technical governance process reviews.
ServiceNow customers engaging in the CSDM Assessment can expect a structured, collaborative, and expert-led process that clarifies their current CSDM maturity, identifies improvement opportunities, and provides actionable guidance to better leverage the CSDM framework for enhanced service management outcomes.
Guidance to assess and improve the CSDM framework
Overview
CSDM Assessment provides Impact Customers with leading practices content and prescriptive guidance on the CSDM framework and how it supports processes within the ServiceNow AI Platform. It includes interactions with ServiceNow’s CSDM Subject Matter Experts and a personalized assessment and associated content on CSDM for the Customer’s organization.
What You Get
- Introductory Customer Session (up to 60 min)
- Introduce the CSDM Assessment initiative
- Review initiative approach, scoping process, and depth of deliverables
- Communicate expectations for Customer participation;participation,request
Customer participant contactsNote:The CSDM Assessment entails active Customer participation from a variety of customer roles to address the breadth of the CSDM framework’s application across the organization.
- Request completion of information gathering questionnaire, materials, data, and any other inputs
- Customer Kick-off Working Session (up to 2 hours
- Review Customer-provided materials
- Introduce CSDM, Its Value and Potential
- Introduce the CSDM Assessment initiative. The Assessment dimensions include:
- CSDM Maturity (Foundation Data, Crawl, Walk, Run, Fly)
- People, Process, Technology
- Review initiative approach, scoping process, and depth of deliverables
- Discuss customer’s objectives for initiative
- Discuss current state challenges and perceived obstacles
- Review CSDM Basics
- Customer Current State Discovery Working Session (up to 1.5 hours)
- Discuss customer’s CSDM Roadmap
- Discuss customer’s identified top priority Applications and/or Services
- Review customer’s CSDM data model related to top priority Applications and/or Services
- Customer Scope Definition Working Session (up to 1.5 hours)
- Review CSDM Guiding Principles
- Define CSDM Assessment Scope taking into consideration the customer’s
Application/Service priorities and their current CSDM maturity level, and the
following scope alternatives:
- Foundation Data Assessment
- Crawl Assessment
- Walk Assessment
- Run Assessment
- Fly Assessment
- CSDM In-Depth Assessment
- In-Depth Assessment activity for defined scope that includes assessment of People, Process, and Technology.
- The Assessment is performed by the Platform Architect in partnership with the Customer Platform Owner and related data, application, and/or service subject-matter-experts (SMEs).
- Customer Review Session (up to 2 hours)
- Present CSDM Assessment findings
- Provide CSDM implementation recommendations
- Align CSDM recommendations with CSDM framework value and outcomes
- Discuss possible next steps for execution of recommendations and measurement of recommendation results
- CSDM Assessment Deliverables
- Complete Working Session slide deck, including supplemental CSDM references
- Current State In-Depth Assessment spreadsheet – includes standard recommendations
- Action planning notes for next steps
- Follow-Up Customer Session (optional upon Customer request- up to 60 min)
- Opportunity for Q&A related to CSDM
- Provide additional guidance on leading practices
Requested Customer Resources
Customer representatives will be involved, especially to facilitate access to ServiceNow records and/or tools that will be inspected as part of the CSDM.
| Customer Resource | Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Platform Owner- Required | |
| Platform Owner- Required | Responsible for the overall accountability of the ServiceNow platform. Provides leadership and oversight to the System Administrators, ensures team alignment to business strategy and the ServiceNow roadmap, and is actively involved in the overarching governance of the platform. |
| Platform Administrator- Required | Responsible for day-to-day administration & maintenance, including configuration and support. |
| Platform Administrator- Required | Responsible for day-to-day administration & maintenance, including configuration and support. |
| Enterprise Architect- Required | Drives strategic investment decisions by understanding Business capabilities. |
| CSDM Data Modeler / Manager- Required | Maintains the accuracy and integrity of the CSDM, works with teams to certify data. |
| CMDB Manager- Required | Maintains the accuracy and integrity of the CMDB, works with teams to certify data. |
| Application Owner(s)- Required | Manages ServiceNow application(s) (e.g., ServiceNow HRSD owner.) |
| Application Service Owner(s)- Required | Manages all applications services across a given division (e.g., ITSM or HR application services owner.) |
| Service Portfolio Owner(s)- Required | Owns a portfolio– collection of Services. Monitors portfolio performance. |
| Process Owner(s)- Required | Owns the process(es) related to the service, or ancillary process. Defines process flow(e.g. ancillary processes such as: ITSM incident management, ITSM change management, Employee onboarding.) |
| Technical Governance Board Lead– Required | Leads the technical governance board that establishes policies and procedures for data, security, development, change, and release. |
| Security Administrator- Required | Leads the administration of ServiceNow security configuration that complies with Technical Governance guidance. |
| Master Service Provider/Vendor Lead- Optional | Include if customer is using a 3rd party development partner, and that partner is involved in design and/or development of applications and/or services leveraging CSDM framework capabilities. |
Requested Information / Access
- Organization Chart
- ServiceNow Roadmap
- CSDM (Technical) Applications and (Technical/Business) Services Roadmap
- CSDM Information Collection Questionnaire completed by Customer at least 1 week in
advance of Customer Kick-off Working Session (to be provided by ServiceNow)
- CSDM Data Model (template to be provided by ServiceNow)
- CSDM RACI / Governance model
- CSDM Data Foundations Dashboard screen captures
- CMDB Data Model
- CMDB Data Foundations Dashboard screen captures
- The CSDM Assessment includes inspection of records and tools on the customer’s
ServiceNow instance. Therefore, the ServiceNow AI Platform Architect will require access to
the Customer’s instance. A couple of possible methods to satisfy the PA access
requirement are:
- Provide PA with temporary direct login access to system Customer’s instance with appropriate roles and permissions to access the necessary records and tools
- Alternative 2: Pair the PA with a representative employee who has roles and permissions to access the necessary records and tools
Exceptions
- CMDB assessment
- Detailed CSDM model design review
- Technical troubleshooting of current implementation of CSDM framework
- CSDM technical remediation
- Service Mapping troubleshooting
- Detailed review of technical governance processes