SNOW-CSA Reporting, SLA and Imports — 40 Questions

Question 1

An organization has a Service Level Agreement (SLA) defined on the Incident table with a condition of 'Category is Network' and a duration of 4 hours. The SLA is triggered when the incident state changes from 'New' to 'In Progress'. A network incident is created and assigned to the Network Support group. The incident state is changed to 'In Progress' immediately. After 3 hours, the incident is resolved. However, the SLA shows a breach despite the resolution being within 4 hours. What is the most likely cause?

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

Accepted Answer

The SLA stop condition is set to 'State is Resolved', but the SLA was paused due to a schedule (e.g., after-hours pause) and the pause time was not counted, causing the actual working time to exceed 4 hours.. The most likely cause is that the SLA stop condition is set to 'State is Resolved', but the SLA timer was paused due to a schedule (e.g., after-hours) at the time the incident was resolved. Because the timer was paused, the stop condition was not evaluated immediately. When the schedule resumed, the working timer continued to run, and by the time the stop condition was evaluated, the accumulated working time had already exceeded the 4-hour duration, resulting in a breach. In ServiceNow, SLA timers that are paused do not trigger stop conditions until they resume, which can cause breaches even when the incident is resolved within the expected real-time window.

Answer

The SLA is assigned to the Network Support group, but the assignment group was changed during the incident.

Answer

The SLA duration is defined in business hours, and the incident was created after business hours, so the elapsed time counted only business hours, making the 4-hour window longer in real time.

Answer

The SLA condition 'Category is Network' was not evaluated correctly because the category field was updated after the SLA was triggered.

Question 2

A company frequently imports data from an external HR system into the Employee [hr_employee] table using an import set. The import set runs nightly and maps fields correctly. Recently, the import started failing with the error 'Field 'manager' not found in table 'hr_employee''. The manager field exists in the import set rows but not in the target table. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The transform map has a field mapping that references 'manager' as a target field, but the hr_employee table does not have a 'manager' column.. The error 'Field 'manager' not found in table 'hr_employee'' indicates that the transform map is attempting to map a source field to a target column that does not exist in the hr_employee table. Since the import set rows contain the 'manager' field, the mapping in the transform map must be referencing 'manager' as a target field, but the target table lacks that column. This is the most likely cause because the transform map defines the field-to-field mapping between the import set row and the target table, and if the target field name is incorrect or missing from the table, the import will fail.

Answer

The import set row table (sys_import_set_row) does not have a 'manager' column.

Answer

The source CSV file contains a column named 'manager' that is misspelled.

Answer

The manager field in the target table is of a different data type (e.g., string vs reference).

Question 3

An administrator is creating a new report to show the average time to resolve incidents for the last quarter. They want the report to automatically update as new incidents are resolved. Which report type should they use?

Accepted Answer

List report with a 'Average' aggregation on the 'Resolved' field.. A List report with an 'Average' aggregation on the 'Resolved' field is the correct choice because it automatically recalculates the average as new records are added or updated, ensuring the report reflects the most current data without manual intervention. List reports in ServiceNow support real-time aggregation on specific fields, making them ideal for dynamic metrics like average resolution time.

Answer

Bar chart report with a condition for resolved incidents.

Answer

Pivot table report with a 'Average' aggregation.

Answer

Scorecard report with a metric for average resolution time.

Question 4

A company uses SLAs on Incident records. They want to notify the assignment group when an SLA is about to breach (within 10 minutes). Which THREE actions can be used to achieve this?

Accepted Answer

Create a notification that triggers on the 'SLA Warning' event.. The 'SLA Warning' event is a predefined event that fires when an SLA is within its warning threshold. By creating a notification that triggers on this event, you can send an alert to the assignment group when the SLA is about to breach within 10 minutes, as the warning threshold can be configured on the SLA definition.

Answer

Create a business rule on the Incident table that checks the SLA percentage.

Answer

Create a scheduled job that runs every minute to check SLA percentages.

Question 5

A company uses SLA definitions with a time zone of 'US/Eastern'. A task is created at 10:00 PM Eastern on a Sunday. The SLA definition has a start condition that triggers on creation, a 4-hour duration, and a schedule that includes only weekdays 9 AM to 5 PM. What is the expected SLA state at 2:00 PM Eastern on Monday?

Accepted Answer

Breached (at 1 PM). The SLA starts at 10:00 PM Eastern on Sunday, but the schedule only counts weekdays 9 AM–5 PM. The first eligible time is Monday 9 AM, so the 4-hour duration runs from 9 AM to 1 PM Eastern on Monday. At 2:00 PM Eastern on Monday, the SLA has already exceeded its 4-hour window, meaning it breached at 1 PM. Option C correctly identifies the breach time.

Answer

In Progress (still running)

Answer

In Progress (not breached)

Answer

Breached (at 2 PM)

Question 6

An administrator imports data from a CSV file into the 'cmdb_ci' table using a transform map. The import set row contains fields 'name', 'serial_number', and 'manufacturer'. The transform map has a field mapping for 'name' with a co-paste of 'name' and 'serial_number'. Another mapping for 'serial_number' uses a script to concatenate 'SN-' prefix. The 'manufacturer' field is not mapped. After the import, the resulting 'name' field contains 'Laptop123, SN-12345' and 'serial_number' contains 'SN-12345'. Which statement best describes the outcome?

Accepted Answer

The 'name' field contains 'Laptop123, SN-12345' and 'serial_number' contains 'SN-12345'. The transform map's field mapping for 'name' uses a co-paste of 'name' and 'serial_number', which concatenates the source values with a comma and space, resulting in 'Laptop123, SN-12345'. The mapping for 'serial_number' uses a script that adds the 'SN-' prefix to the source 'serial_number' value, producing 'SN-12345'. The unmapped 'manufacturer' field is simply ignored during import, causing no failure. Therefore, the outcome matches option B exactly.

Answer

The import fails because the 'manufacturer' field is not mapped

Answer

The 'name' field contains 'Laptop123, 12345' because the script for 'serial_number' overrides the co-paste for 'name'

Answer

The 'serial_number' field remains '12345' because the co-paste mapping for 'name' consumed the source field

Question 7

Which TWO of the following are valid ways to trigger an SLA in ServiceNow? (Choose exactly 2.)

Accepted Answer

When a new incident is created with a specific category. Option B is correct because SLA definitions in ServiceNow use start conditions, and a condition such as 'new incident created with a specific category' is a valid start condition that triggers the SLA when the record matches. Option E is correct because an SLA can also be triggered by a condition evaluated on record updates, such as when the incident's assignment group changes, which is a common way to start an SLA based on reassignment. Option A is not a valid trigger because 'not updated for 24 hours' describes a pause/stop or escalation condition rather than an SLA start condition. Option C is not correct because scheduled jobs are used for background automation, not for starting SLAs on task records. Option D is not correct because SLAs are not automatically applied to every record in a table; they require a defined SLA definition with specific start, pause, and stop conditions.

Answer

When a task is not updated for 24 hours

Answer

When a scheduled job runs at a specific time each day

Answer

Automatically for every record in the incident table

Question 8

A transform map for importing incidents uses a co-paste field mapping for 'short_description' that references the source field 'caller_id'. The import fails with the error shown. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The import set does not contain a column named 'caller_id'. The error indicates that the transform map is trying to reference a source field named 'caller_id' via a co-paste field mapping, but the import set table does not contain a column with that name. Co-paste mappings combine source fields from the import set row, so if 'caller_id' is missing from the import set columns, the transform engine cannot find the data and fails. Option B correctly identifies that the import set lacks the required column.

Answer

The 'caller_id' field in the target table is read-only

Answer

The target table 'incident' does not have a 'caller_id' field

Answer

The co-paste function cannot combine more than two fields

Question 9

Which TWO are true about Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in ServiceNow?

Accepted Answer

A Business Rule can be used to pause or cancel an SLA.. Option A is correct because ServiceNow SLA processing is driven by the SLA Engine, and a Business Rule (or the SLA's own pause/cancel conditions) can trigger the pause or cancel of an SLA task on a record, for example by setting the stage or invoking the SLA engine's pause/cancel logic. Option B is correct because an SLA definition's Start condition is a condition builder that evaluates record field values (such as Priority or State) to determine when the SLA task begins. Option C is incorrect because SLAs are defined on task tables and their conditions, not per individual user for performance tracking. Option D is incorrect because SLAs can be defined on any task-extended table, such as Incident, Problem, Change, or custom task tables, not only Incident. Option E is incorrect because a breached SLA is retained and marked as breached; it is not automatically deleted from the system.

Answer

SLAs are defined per user to track individual performance.

Answer

SLAs can only be created for the Incident table.

Answer

Once an SLA is breached, it is automatically deleted from the system.

Question 10

Match each ServiceNow UI element to its description.

Accepted Answer

Module: A component or feature within an application.. These are fundamental UI components in ServiceNow. The Application Navigator is the left panel providing access to modules, the Application Menu is a dropdown showing installed applications, Modules are components within applications, and Favorites are bookmarked items for quick access. Common confusions include swapping the Application Navigator and Application Menu.

Answer

Application Navigator: A dropdown menu displaying installed applications.

Answer

Application Menu: The left sidebar that lists modules.

Question 11

A ServiceNow administrator creates a new report showing incident counts by category. After sharing the report with the IT team, some users report they cannot see the report in their navigation menu. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The report is not marked as public.. Reports in ServiceNow are private by default, meaning only the creator can see them. To make a report visible to other users in the navigation menu, the report must be marked as 'Public' in its properties. Without this setting, users without direct access to the report's URL will not see it in their module list.

Answer

The report is scheduled to run at night.

Answer

The users do not have the required roles to view the report.

Answer

The report uses an unsupported chart type.

Question 12

An import set row fails with the error 'Coalesce field not found on target table'. What is the most common cause?

Accepted Answer

The coalesce field is not mapped in the transform map.. The 'Coalesce field not found on target table' error occurs when the transform map specifies a coalesce field that is not mapped to any target column in the transform map. The coalesce field is used to determine whether an import set row should update an existing record or create a new one; if the field is not mapped, the system cannot locate it on the target table during the coalesce operation, triggering this error. Option A correctly identifies that the coalesce field is missing from the transform map's field mappings, which is the most common root cause.

Answer

The import set row is missing data in the coalesce field.

Answer

The staging table is incorrectly configured.

Answer

The target table does not have the specified coalesce field.

Question 13

Which two actions should be taken to ensure a dashboard is visible to all members of the 'service_desk' role? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Set the dashboard's visibility to 'Public'.. Option A is correct because setting the dashboard's visibility to 'Public' removes per-user ownership restrictions, allowing any authenticated user—including every member of the service_desk role—to view it. Option D is correct because configuring the dashboard's 'Can read' ACL to include the service_desk role explicitly grants read access to that entire role, ensuring all its members can see the dashboard. Option B is incorrect because adding a dashboard to an application menu module only controls navigation placement, not access permissions. Option C is incorrect because publishing a dashboard to a homepage affects where it appears, not who is authorized to view it. Option E is incorrect because granting report_admin to service desk members escalates privileges unnecessarily and is not required to make a dashboard visible.

Answer

Add the dashboard to a module in the application menu.

Answer

Publish the dashboard to a homepage.

Answer

Grant the 'report_admin' role to all service desk members.

Question 14

An import set row is being transformed but the target record is not updated. Which two possible causes should the administrator investigate? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

The transform map's 'Action' field is set to 'Create' instead of 'Create or Update'.. Option B is correct because when a transform map's Action is set to 'Create', the transform only inserts new records and will not update an existing target record; setting it to 'Create or Update' is required to modify existing rows. Option C is correct because a syntax error in a transform script (onBefore, onAfter, or field-level script) causes the transform to fail or skip the update, so the target record is never written. Option A is not the cause because the 'Target table' field on the staging table only determines which table the import set is associated with, not whether an existing record is updated. Option D is not the cause because coalesce with no matching record simply results in an insert (or no action), not a failed update of an existing record. Option E is not the cause because the import set row 'state' value governs the row's processing status, not the transform's update behavior.

Answer

The staging table's 'Target table' field is set to the wrong table.

Answer

The transform map has the 'Coalesce' field set but no matching record exists.

Answer

The import set row has a 'state' value that is invalid.

Question 15

A scheduled report is set to run daily but does not execute. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The user who created the schedule is inactive.. ServiceNow schedules are tied to the user who created them. If that user becomes inactive, the system disables the schedule to prevent unauthorized execution. The scheduled report will not run until the user is reactivated or the schedule is reassigned to an active user.

Answer

The schedule is not active.

Answer

The report is not shared.

Answer

The report contains too many rows.

Question 16

An SLA is paused due to a pause condition. The administrator wants to permanently stop tracking SLA for a specific incident. What should be done?

Accepted Answer

Set the SLA state to 'Cancelled' on the indicator.. Setting the SLA state to 'Cancelled' on the indicator permanently stops tracking for that specific incident without affecting other incidents or the SLA definition. This action marks the SLA as no longer applicable, and the system will not continue to calculate or update the SLA for that record.

Answer

Remove the incident from the SLA definition condition.

Answer

Set the SLA definition to inactive.

Answer

Delete the SLA record from the SLA table.

Question 17

An import set row shows as 'Error' with message 'Invalid table name'. What is the cause?

Accepted Answer

The target table does not exist.. The 'Invalid table name' error occurs when the import set row references a target table that does not exist in the ServiceNow instance. The import set table stores the raw data, but the transform map must map to an existing target table (e.g., 'incident', 'cmdb_ci_server'). If the target table name is misspelled, deleted, or never created, the system cannot resolve it and throws this error.

Answer

The staging table is not defined.

Answer

The import set source file is corrupt.

Answer

The transform map references a missing table.

Question 18

An SLA definition has a duration of 8 hours and a schedule of 9am-5pm weekdays. An incident is updated to a state that triggers the SLA at 3pm on Friday. What is the expected breach time?

Accepted Answer

3pm Monday. The SLA is defined with a duration of 8 hours and a schedule of 9am-5pm weekdays. The incident triggers the SLA at 3pm on Friday. Since the SLA clock only runs during the defined schedule (9am-5pm weekdays), only 2 hours of the 8-hour duration are consumed on Friday (3pm to 5pm). The remaining 6 hours must be completed starting at 9am on Monday, resulting in a breach time of 3pm on Monday.

Answer

11am Monday

Answer

7pm Friday

Answer

9am Monday

Question 19

Refer to the exhibit. An SLA definition has the condition shown. An incident is created with state=2, category='network', assignment_group=null, and caller_id=user1. Will the SLA start?

Accepted Answer

No, because the assignment_group is empty.. The SLA definition includes a condition that requires assignment_group to be populated. Since the incident has assignment_group=null, the condition is not fully met, and the SLA will not start. SLAs in ServiceNow only start when all conditions in the definition are satisfied; a null value for a required field causes the condition to fail.

Answer

No, because the caller_id condition is not met.

Answer

No, because the category does not match.

Answer

Yes, because the condition is partially met.

Question 20

Refer to the exhibit. An import set has a row with short_description='Test', category='network', and number='INC001'. The target table has an existing record with number='INC001' and description='Old Desc'. What will happen when the transform runs?

Accepted Answer

The existing record is updated with description='Test'.. The transform uses the coalesce field 'number' to match the incoming record (number='INC001') with the existing target record (number='INC001'). Since a match is found, the transform performs an update operation. The short_description field from the import set row ('Test') is mapped to the description field on the target table, so the existing record's description is updated to 'Test'.

Answer

The transform fails due to coalesce conflict.

Answer

A new record is created.

Answer

No action because coalesce field is invalid.