Service Mapping flow

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated August 6, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Service Mapping flow

    Service Mapping enables collaborative mapping, reviewing, and monitoring of an organization's application services. It involves multiple user roles, primarily administrators and service instance owners, working together to ensure accurate service maps. The process supports bulk and individual mapping, error resolution, and iterative reviews to refine service definitions.

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    Key Workflow Stages

    • Initial Setup: The administrator performs essential configurations to prepare Service Mapping for use.
    • Bulk and Individual Mapping: Administrators map application services either in bulk or individually to capture the organization's services.
    • Error Resolution: Errors in service maps are fixed in bulk initially, followed by detailed resolution of individual service map errors.
    • Review Process: Fixed service maps are sent to service instance owners for validation. Owners verify completeness and accuracy, leaving reject messages if corrections are needed.
    • Fine-Tuning: Administrators adjust maps based on owner feedback and resend for approval. This iterative process continues until owners approve the service maps.
    • Finalization: Administrators finalize service maps by configuring access rights and setting advanced attributes such as service criticality.
    • Maintenance and Analysis: Once finalized, users can view and maintain application service maps through ongoing analysis.

    Additional Considerations

    Customizing discovery patterns for devices and applications within Service Mapping requires the pdadmin role and basic programming knowledge. This customization is necessary for tailoring how Service Mapping identifies components of application services. The servicemappingadmin role includes this capability.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Structured, role-based workflow ensures accurate and complete application service mapping.
    • Bulk operations and iterative reviews streamline service map creation and error correction.
    • Collaboration between administrators and service owners improves map quality and relevance.
    • Finalized service maps include configured access and criticality attributes, supporting operational use and reporting.
    • Customization options allow adaptation of discovery patterns to fit specific organizational environments.

    Learn about high-level tasks users having different roles perform in Service Mapping.

    In Service Mapping, users collaborate to map, review, and monitor an organization's application services.
    Note:
    For a complete list of Service Mapping roles, see Components installed with Service Mapping.
    A typical Service Mapping workflow has the following stages:
    1. The administrator performs basic obligatory configurations to set up Service Mapping. See Configuring Service Mapping for more details.
    2. The administrator maps organization application services in bulk. In addition, the administrator may map some application services individually. See Map multiple application services suggested by classic Service Mapping for more information about mapping services in bulk.
    3. The administrator fixes application service errors in bulk, as described in Fix application service errors in bulk.
    4. The administrator reviews the results of the initial mapping, resolving errors in individual application services. See Fix errors in individual application service maps for more details.
    5. The administrator sends fixed application services to the application service owner for review. See Send application service maps for review for more information.
    6. The service instance owner checks that the service instance maps are complete and all major components comprising it are correctly represented. If necessary, the owner leaves comments, referred to as reject messages, on service instance maps for the Service Mapping administrator to implement. See Review application service maps.
    7. The administrator uses the feedback from the application service owner to fine-tune the application service maps, and then resends them to the owner for review. For more information about fine-tuning an application service map, see Fine-tune application services to implement owner requests.
    8. If the revised service instance maps are satisfactory, the service instance owner approves them. If not, the owner requests further fixes, which the administrator must address. See Review application service maps.
    9. The administrator finalizes the application services by configuring access and setting advanced attributes, such as criticality. To learn more, see Application service completion.
    10. After the service instance definition is complete, the Service Mapping user can view application service maps. To learn more about maintaining the application services using Service Mapping, see Application service analysis and maintenance using classic Service Mapping.
    Figure 1. Service Mapping flow

    Service Mapping flow

    In addition to these tasks, there may be a need to customize patterns that Service Mapping uses to discover devices and applications forming application services. Users must have the pd_admin role to customize patterns. In the base system, the service_mapping_admin role contains the pd_role. Customizing patterns requires basic knowledge of programming.