SNOW-CSA Reporting, SLA and Imports Practice Question
An administrator imports a CSV file into the incident table using an import set. After the import, several records are duplicated. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
ServiceNow often tests the misconception that duplicate CSV rows are the root cause, but the real issue is the absence of a coalesce field in the transform map, which controls deduplication logic regardless of source data uniqueness.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The transform map does not have a coalesce field set.
The transform map lacks a coalesce field, which is required to match incoming records to existing records in the target table. Without a coalesce field, the import set treats every row as a new record, causing duplicates even if the CSV contains unique data. Coalesce fields define the unique key (e.g., sys_id or number) used to prevent duplicate inserts.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The CSV contained duplicate rows.
Why it's wrong here
Duplicate rows in CSV can cause duplicates, but coalesce can mitigate if set.
- ✗
The target table has an index on the number field.
Why it's wrong here
Indexes improve performance, they do not cause duplication.
- ✓
The transform map does not have a coalesce field set.
Why this is correct
Without coalesce, every row creates a new record.
- ✗
The import set row limit was exceeded.
Why it's wrong here
Row limit causes truncation, not duplication.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SNOW-CSA practice question is part of Courseiva's free ServiceNow certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SNOW-CSA exam.