Improving CMDB data quality for Data Foundations
Summarize
Summary of Improving CMDB data quality for Data Foundations
The Remediation actions panel within the CMDB success advisor dashboard for Data Foundations helps ServiceNow customers improve the quality of their Configuration Management Database (CMDB) data. It provides targeted, context-aware suggestions to address data quality issues, enhancing the accuracy, consistency, and usability of configuration items (CIs) aligned with Data Foundations principles.
Show less
Key Features
- Guided remediation actions: The panel offers actionable steps directly related to identified data quality problems.
- Context-aware suggestions: Recommendations are based on the specific issues shown in the selected chart segment.
- Visibility on demand: The panel appears only when relevant remediation actions are available, focusing user attention on meaningful tasks.
- Easy access: Users can open the panel by selecting segments or counts on charts within the CMDB success advisor dashboard.
Available Remediation Actions
The Remediation actions panel targets common CMDB data quality issues by suggesting specific fixes for CIs in principal classes, including:
- Invalid or unpopulated CI names: Identify and correct CIs lacking valid names to ensure accurate referencing.
- Missing location data: Assign location information to support incident routing, asset tracking, and compliance.
- Missing managed by group: Assign ownership to facilitate proper routing of incidents, changes, and service requests.
- Stale CIs: Remove or update CIs not recently updated or discovered to maintain trustworthiness and accuracy.
- Duplicate CIs: Remove or merge duplicates to prevent split histories and routing errors.
Data Foundations Specific Tips
- For stale CIs, verify that Discovery schedules are active for the relevant network segments or cloud accounts, as stale data may indicate failed or out-of-scope Discovery jobs.
- For duplicate CIs, review and update CMDB Identification and Reconciliation (IRE) rules for the affected CI classes to prevent duplicates.
- For missing location or owner fields, use CMDB enrichment rules to auto-populate these fields from related records (e.g., deriving location from IP subnet).
By following these guided remediation actions, ServiceNow customers can enhance their CMDB data quality, enabling more reliable IT operations, accurate incident routing, and better compliance reporting.
The Remediation actions panel available for a chart in the CMDB success advisor dashboard for Data Foundations suggests targeted actions to address Data Foundations data quality issues and improve the overall quality of your Configuration Management Database (CMDB).
When remediation actions are available for a chart, the Remediation actions panel appears on the KPI Details page.
You can perform the actions suggested within the Remediation actions panel to address Data Foundations data quality issues in the CMDB. These actions help improve the accuracy, consistency, and usability of configuration items (CIs), promoting better alignment with Data Foundations.
- Improves CMDB data quality through guided actions
- Suggests context-aware actions
- Supports quick, informed remediation steps
- Focuses attention on meaningful tasks
- Appears only when actionable insights are available
Accessing the Remediation actions panel
To open the Remediation actions panel, select a segment or count on a chart in the CMDB success advisor dashboard for Data Foundations. The KPI Details page opens. If the remediation actions are available for the selected data, the panel appears on the details page suggesting various remediation actions.
Available remediation actions
The Remediation actions panel provides relevant suggestions and actions based on the information in the selected chart. For example, if the chart shows CIs that weren't updated recently, the panel displays a suggestion to review retirement policies.
The remediation actions are available for the improvement of the following issues:
- CIs with invalid or unpopulated names
- Identify and correct CIs in your principal classes that lack a valid name. Accurate names are required to correctly reference data to the right configuration item.
- CIs missing location
- Resolve CIs in your principal classes that have no location assigned. Location data supports incident routing, asset tracking, and compliance reporting across your organization.
- CIs missing managed by group
- Assign a managed by group to CIs in your principal classes that are missing ownership. Ownership data is critical for routing incidents, changes, and service requests to the correct team.
- Stale CIs
- Remove or update CIs in your principal classes that have not been updated or discovered for an extended period. Stale records reduce trust in the CMDB and can cause incorrect assignments.
- Duplicate CIs
- Remove or merge duplicate records within your principal classes. Duplicates can cause split incident history and routing errors in workflows.
Data Foundations specific remediation tips
- For stale CIs in principal classes: check whether a Discovery schedule is running against the affected network segment or cloud account. Stale data often means a Discovery job is failing or out of scope.
- For duplicate CIs: review the CMDB Identification and Reconciliation (IRE) rules for the affected CI class. Duplicates often signal that IRE rules need updating.
- For missing location or owner: consider using a CMDB enrichment rule to auto-populate these fields from related records. For example, derive location from IP subnet.