CIS-DF CSDM Fundamentals — 20 Questions

Question 1

An organization wants to link an active Apache Tomcat server CI directly to an Application Service. Which relationship type should be used to connect the Application Service to the underlying infrastructure CI?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

Depends on / Used by. The 'Depends on / Used by' relationship type is used to link an Application Service to the infrastructure CIs it relies on, such as an active Apache Tomcat server. It expresses a logical dependency: the Application Service depends on the Tomcat server, and the server is used by the service. This is the correct semantic for connecting a service to its underlying runtime infrastructure in the CMDB.

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Hosted on / Hosts

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Member of / Contains

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Runs on / Runs

Question 2

An organization wants to link a Business Service to a Business Application to establish enterprise architecture traceability. What is the recommended relationship or mapping method in CSDM?

Accepted Answer

Direct relationship between Business Application and Business Capability / Portfolio.. In the CSDM (Common Service Data Model), Business Applications are linked to Business Services through a Business Capability or Portfolio relationship, not directly. The recommended method is to associate the Business Application with a Business Capability, which in turn is mapped to the Business Service via the Portfolio. This creates a traceable path: Business Service → Business Capability → Business Application. Option A correctly identifies this indirect relationship as the CSDM-recommended approach.

Answer

Mapping Business Applications directly to User Group records.

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Direct foreign key column on the Incident table.

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Embedding Business Applications inside Hardware Asset records.

Question 3

Your team is mapping a custom homegrown Java application to the CSDM framework. The application runs across a cluster of three Linux servers in a Production environment. According to best practices, what is the exact hierarchical relationship path from the infrastructure to the Business Application?

Accepted Answer

Linux Servers -> Application Service -> Business Application. In the CSDM framework, the correct hierarchy flows from the lowest-level infrastructure (Linux Servers) upward to the Application Service, which represents the logical grouping of application functionality, and then to the Business Application, which is the highest-level representation of the application from a business perspective. This bottom-up path reflects how technical components support business capabilities. Option B correctly shows this: Linux Servers -> Application Service -> Business Application.

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Business Application -> Linux Servers -> Application Service

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Application Service -> Linux Servers -> Business Application

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Linux Servers -> Business Application -> Application Service

Question 4

Your organization is adopting CSDM and wants to map incidents so that when a database server fails, the service desk instantly sees which Business Services are impacted. What is the correct traversal path in the CMDB to achieve this visibility?

Accepted Answer

Database Server -> Application Service -> Business Service. The correct traversal is Database Server -> Application Service -> Business Service because CSDM models the dependency from the lowest CI (the database server) upward through the application service that consumes it, then to the business service that the application supports. This direction reflects how impact propagates: a database failure affects the application service, which in turn affects the business service. Incident impact analysis uses this upward traversal to show affected business services.

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Database Server -> Business Service -> Application Service

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Business Service -> Application Service -> Database Server

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Business Service -> Database Server -> Application Service

Question 5

During which CSDM maturity phase does an organization typically implement Service Portfolio Management and basic Business Service mapping?

Accepted Answer

Walk. The Walk phase of CSDM maturity is where organizations typically implement Service Portfolio Management and basic Business Service mapping. This phase focuses on establishing foundational service definitions and linking them to business services, enabling better service visibility and management.

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Run

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Fly

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Crawl

Question 6

Which CSDM domain is primarily concerned with tracking software assets from a vendor, lifecycle, and financial portfolio management standpoint?

Accepted Answer

Design. The Design domain manages Business Applications and enterprise architecture portfolios.

Answer

Foundation

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Manage Technical Services

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Sell/Consume

Question 7

Which CSDM phase focuses on ensuring that data quality is maintained and operational metrics are fully integrated across all four domains?

Accepted Answer

Run. The Run phase of the CSDM (Common Service Data Model) is the operational maturity stage where data quality is continuously maintained and operational metrics are fully integrated across all four CSDM domains (Foundation, Design, Manage Technical Services, and Sell/Service). During Run, the model is production-grade, with governance, reporting, and cross-domain relationships actively enforced. Crawl and Walk are earlier adoption phases focused on foundational data, while Fly represents advanced optimization beyond steady-state operations.

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Fly

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Crawl

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Walk

Question 8

Which TWO of the following represent valid types of Application Services that can be deployed in ServiceNow?

Accepted Answer

Manual Application Service. In ServiceNow, Application Services are logical groupings of CIs that support a business function, and the platform defines specific Application Service types used when creating them. Option B, Manual Application Service, is correct because it is a valid type where CIs are added manually to the service rather than being populated automatically by a rule or query. Option D, Dynamic CI Group Application Service, is correct because it is a valid type that dynamically populates its CIs based on a saved CI Group query, keeping membership current as CIs change. The remaining options are not valid ServiceNow Application Service types: Hardware Application Service (A) and Portfolio Application Service (E) are not defined Application Service types, and Foundation Application Service (C) is not a recognized type either, even though 'Foundation' appears elsewhere in ServiceNow terminology.

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Hardware Application Service

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Foundation Application Service

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Portfolio Application Service

Question 9

Which THREE of the following domains are formally defined within the CSDM framework?

Accepted Answer

Foundation. The Common Service Data Model (CSDM) defines its domains in successive layers, and the three formally named domains among the options are Foundation, Sell/Consume, and Design. Option C (Foundation) is correct because it is the base CSDM domain that standardizes foundational data such as company, location, user, and service definitions that all other domains build upon. Option D (Sell/Consume) is correct because it is the CSDM domain covering the sell/consume lifecycle stages, including product models, offerings, and service catalog relationships that describe what the business sells and consumes. Option E (Design) is correct because it is the CSDM domain that governs the design and planning of services, including business services, service offerings, and their supporting technical and application services. Options A (Human Resources) and B (Security Operations) are not formally defined CSDM domains; HR is a business function rather than a CSDM domain, and Security Operations is a practice/process area, not one of the CSDM domain layers.

Answer

Human Resources

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Security Operations

Question 10

Which TWO of the following tables belong to the Sell/Consume domain in CSDM?

Accepted Answer

Service Offering [service_offering]. In the CSDM (Common Service Data Model) Sell/Consume domain, the key tables are Service Offering [service_offering] and Business Service [cmdb_ci_service], which represent what is sold or consumed by customers and how it is delivered. Option A, Service Offering [service_offering], is correct because it defines a specific offering of a service (including commitments, pricing, and scope) that a customer can purchase or subscribe to. Option B, Business Service [cmdb_ci_service], is correct because it represents a business-facing service that is consumed by users or customers and is a core component of the Sell/Consume domain. Option C, Computer [cmdb_ci_computer], belongs to the Manage Technical/Infrastructure domain as a hardware CI, not the Sell/Consume domain. Option D, User [sys_user], is a foundational identity table, not a CSDM domain-specific table. Option E, Business Application [cmdb_ci_business_app], belongs to the Design/Plan or Manage Business domain as it represents an application that supports business capabilities, not a consumed service offering.

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Computer [cmdb_ci_computer]

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User [sys_user]

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Business Application [cmdb_ci_business_app]

Question 11

Which TWO of the following tables are part of the CSDM Design domain?

Accepted Answer

Business Application [cmdb_ci_business_app]. In the CSDM (Common Service Data Model) Design domain, the Business Application [cmdb_ci_business_app] table (option B) is correct because it represents the logical application layer that the business relies on, forming a core element of the Design domain alongside Application Services and Digital Interfaces. The Business Capability [cmdb_ci_business_capability] table (option C) is also correct because business capabilities define what the enterprise needs to do and are explicitly part of the Design domain, linking business architecture to the applications and services that support them. Option A (User [sys_user]) is not part of the Design domain; it belongs to the Foundation/People domain as a user record. Option D (Computer [cmdb_ci_computer]) is a hardware CI that belongs to the Foundation domain (or Manage Technical Services), not Design. Option E (Incident [incident]) is a process/task table in ITIL Service Operations, not a CSDM Design domain table.

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User [sys_user]

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Computer [cmdb_ci_computer]

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Incident [incident]

Question 12

Which TWO of the following types of data are primarily captured within the Foundation domain of CSDM?

Accepted Answer

User [sys_user]. In the CSDM (Common Service Data Model), the Foundation domain captures the core reference and party data that everything else builds upon, and both B. User [sys_user] and D. Company [core_company] are the canonical examples of that foundational data — users represent the people/party records and companies represent the organizational/account records that other domains reference. These tables are considered foundational because they are shared master data used across ServiceNow (e.g., for assignment, ownership, and relationship modeling) rather than being service- or application-specific constructs. By contrast, A. Service Offering [service_offering] belongs to the Design/Service domain (it describes what is offered to customers), C. Application Service [cmdb_ci_service_calculated] is a service-level CI used in the Service Delivery/Design layers, and E. Business Application [cmdb_ci_business_app] is a Design-domain CI representing a logical business application — none of these are the primary party/reference data captured in the Foundation domain.

Answer

Service Offering [service_offering]

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Application Service [cmdb_ci_service_calculated]

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Business Application [cmdb_ci_business_app]

Question 13

Which THREE of the following best practices should be followed when mapping Business Applications to Application Services?

Accepted Answer

Create a single Business Application record for each distinct software product or portfolio item.. Option A is correct because the Business Application record represents the logical software product or portfolio item, so creating one record per distinct product keeps the application portfolio normalized and avoids duplicate or fragmented entries. Option C is correct because the Application Service is the technical realization of a Business Application, and the relationship must be explicitly defined so that the Business Application's dependency and impact maps are populated correctly. Option E is correct because Production, QA, and Dev instances have different owners, criticality, and availability characteristics, so modeling them as separate Application Service records preserves accurate service-level and impact reporting. Options B and D are incorrect: Discovery populates and enriches CIs but does not replace the need for Business Application records, and mapping servers directly to a Business Application bypasses the Application Service layer that provides the logical grouping and relationship context.

Answer

Delete all Business Application records once Discovery runs for the first time.

Answer

Map all servers directly to the Business Application without creating Application Services.

Question 14

Which TWO of the following tasks are associated with the 'Manage Technical Services' domain?

Accepted Answer

Tracking underlying infrastructure CIs such as servers, networks, and databases.. Option A is correct because the 'Manage Technical Services' domain covers the technical service portfolio and the underlying infrastructure configuration items (CIs) that support it, including servers, networks, and databases tracked in the CMDB. Option B is correct because this domain specifically addresses technical services that are consumed by internal IT teams (for example, platform, database, or middleware services), rather than business-facing services. Option C is incorrect because publishing employee onboarding catalog items belongs to HR/business service catalog management, not technical services. Option D is incorrect because enterprise business architecture capabilities are governed by business architecture and portfolio management practices, not the technical services domain. Option E is incorrect because defining corporate organizational departments and locations is a foundational/administrative data task, not part of managing technical services.

Answer

Publishing public employee onboarding catalog items.

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Managing enterprise business architecture capabilities.

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Defining corporate organizational departments and locations.

Question 15

Which THREE of the following statements are true regarding the relationship between Business Capabilities and Business Applications?

Accepted Answer

Business applications provide the technological realization of business capabilities.. Option B is correct because business applications are the technological realization of business capabilities — a capability states what the business needs to do, and an application is one way that capability is implemented and delivered. Option D is correct because a business capability is defined as what the business does, expressed independently of how, where, or by whom it is executed, which is what makes capabilities stable while applications change. Option E is correct because in the CSDM (Common Service Data Model), both business capabilities and business applications are modeled in the Design domain, where capabilities sit above applications in the hierarchy. Option A is wrong because applications do not replace capabilities; capabilities are the enduring definition of business intent and applications merely realize them. Option C is wrong because business capabilities are not created as child records of hardware computer CIs — hardware CIs belong to the Manage Technical Service domain, not the Design domain where capabilities live.

Answer

Business applications replace the need for defining business capabilities.

Answer

Business capabilities must be created as child records of hardware computer CIs.

Question 16

A service owner needs to document that the 'Employee Payroll' business service is composed of two application services: 'Payroll Processing' and 'Time Entry'. The CSDM model must represent this relationship so that impact analysis can traverse from the business service to the underlying application services. Which CSDM relationship should be configured?

Accepted Answer

A 'Contains::Contained by' relationship from the business service to each application service.. The CSDM framework uses the 'Contains::Contained by' relationship to model the hierarchical composition of a business service from application services. This relationship ensures that application services are recognized as structural parts of the business service, which is essential for accurate impact analysis and service mapping. Other relationship types, such as dependency or usage, do not convey the same parent-child containment and would misrepresent the service architecture.

Answer

A 'Depends on::Used by' relationship between the business service and each application service.

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A 'Provides::Provided by' relationship from the business service to each application service.

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A 'Uses::Used by' relationship between the business service and each application service.

Question 17

A configuration manager is mapping the CSDM domains and needs to place the 'Database Server' CI. The CI represents a physical server hosting database instances. According to the CSDM framework, which domain should this CI belong to?

Accepted Answer

Service Management domain. The CSDM Service Management domain is responsible for managing technical infrastructure, hardware, and software instances. A database server, being a physical server that hosts database instances, falls squarely into this domain. It serves as a foundational component that other services rely on. Placing it in other domains like Design or Service Delivery would misrepresent its role and break the intended separation of concerns within the CSDM framework.

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Service Delivery domain

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Design domain

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Service Consumption domain

Question 18

A CSDM implementation team is reviewing the framework's domains to ensure complete coverage. They need to identify which of the following are formal CSDM domains. (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Service Management domain. The CSDM framework formally defines several domains, including the Design domain and the Service Management domain. The Design domain handles logical design of services and applications, while the Service Management domain manages technical infrastructure and software instances. Financial Management, Human Resources, and Security Operations are not CSDM domains, although related data may be integrated from other modules.

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Human Resources domain

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Financial Management domain

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Security Operations domain

Question 19

A CMDB administrator is implementing CSDM and needs to ensure that the 'Customer Relationship Management' business application is properly linked to the application services it comprises. Which CSDM domain should contain the business application CI?

Accepted Answer

Design domain. Business applications are logical design elements that represent software from a business perspective. In CSDM, they belong in the Design domain, which is dedicated to modeling the logical architecture of services and applications. This domain includes business applications and application services, along with their relationships. Placing the business application in the Design domain ensures it can be correctly linked to the application services it comprises.

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Service Consumption domain

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Service Management domain

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Service Delivery domain

Question 20

An organization is beginning its CSDM journey and wants to populate basic foundational organizational and user data before linking any technical infrastructure. Which CSDM domain does this activity belong to?

Accepted Answer

Foundation. The Foundation domain of the CSDM (Common Service Data Model) covers foundational data such as company, user, group, location, and other organizational reference data that underpins all other domains. Populating basic organizational and user data before linking technical infrastructure is precisely the Foundation domain's purpose.

Answer

Design

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Sell/Consume

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Manage Technical Services