Pass the ServiceNow CIS-Data Foundations (CMDB and CSDM) CIS-DF Questions and answers with ExamsMirror

Principal Classesare a key CMDB configuration concept used to controlwhich CI classes are selectable in reference fieldsacross ITSM processes. This helps reduce noise, prevent incorrect CI selection, and improve data quality.

InServiceNow, Principal Classes are designated within theCI Class Manager. This tool allows CMDB administrators to manage the CI class hierarchy, define ownership, and explicitly mark classes asprincipal. Once a class is marked as principal, its CIs become available in CI reference fields such as those on Incident, Change, and Problem forms.

Option A (CMDB Workspace) provides operational and analytical views but does not control schema-level class behavior. Option C (System Properties) does not manage class designation. Option D (CMDB Data Manager) governs lifecycle and data quality policies, not reference field behavior.

By configuring Principal Classes in theCI Class Manager, organizations ensure that only relevant, high-value CI classes are exposed to end users, aligning with Data Foundations best practices.

Therefore, the correct answer isB – CI Class Manager.

TheCMDB Data Foundations Dashboardis designed to providevisibility, insight, and guidanceinto the overall health of CMDB data. Its purpose is not to automate ITSM workflows, but to enable informed decision-making and continuous improvement of configuration data.

One of its primary benefits is providingactionable insights to improve data quality and completeness(Option B). The dashboard highlights gaps in CI attributes, missing relationships, and compliance issues, enabling CMDB administrators and data owners to take targeted corrective actions using Get Well Playbooks.

Another core benefit is enabling organizations tomonitor and track CMDB health over time(Option D). The dashboard presents trends across health dimensions—completeness, correctness, and compliance—allowing teams to measure progress, justify investments, and demonstrate maturity improvements aligned to CSDM adoption stages.

Option A is incorrect because Change Management approvals are handled by workflow and policy engines, not the Data Foundations Dashboard. Option C is also incorrect because duplicate detection and remediation are handled throughde-duplication tools and the Duplicate CI Remediator, not directly by the dashboard itself.

Therefore, the correct answers areB and D, which accurately reflect the strategic and operational value of the CMDB Data Foundations Dashboard.

TheUnified MapinServiceNowprovides a consolidated view of services and their underlying components, integrating Discovery and Service Mapping data. To make this view actionable, Service Owners can applyfiltersto focus on relevant elements and reduce visual noise.

Filtering byCI type(Option A) is a core capability. It allows the Service Owner to show or hide categories such as servers, databases, load balancers, or applications—making it easier to analyze specific layers of the service.

Filtering byBusiness Criticality(Option D) is also available and highly valuable. This enables Service Owners to prioritize views around high-impact components, ensuring attention is focused on CIs that pose the greatest risk to service delivery.

Option B (Discovery source) is not typically exposed as a Unified Map filter because the map focuses onoperational and service context, not ingestion provenance. Option C (Managed by group) is a governance attribute and is not a standard visual filter within the Unified Map.

Thus, the correct filter options areA – CI typeandD – Business criticality.

InServiceNow, ingesting custom CIs must be done with a strong focus onupgrade safety, governance, and long-term maintainability. Data Foundations guidance explicitly discourages repurposing or overloading base classes, as this creates technical debt and upgrade risk.

Option Bis a best practice because theCMDB CI Class Models Storedelivers ServiceNow-supported CI classes that align with platform evolution. Before creating or extending classes, administrators should verify whether a suitable class already exists or has been introduced in newer releases. This avoids duplication and ensures future compatibility.

Option Dis also correct. When no suitable class exists, extending anexisting CI class(under the appropriate parent) to add required attributes preserves inheritance, discovery behavior, reporting, and upgrade compatibility. This approach is preferred over creating entirely new, disconnected schemas.

Option A is incorrect because repurposing base classes and renaming attributes breaks standard semantics, causes confusion, and complicates upgrades. Option C is incorrect because extendingAssettables to represent CIs conflates ITAM and CMDB concerns; assets and CIs serve different purposes and lifecycles.

Therefore, the solutions that minimize technical debt and ensure upgrade compliance areB and D.

TheCMDB Data Manageris the ServiceNow capability responsible for generatingactionable governance tasksand assigning them to CI class owners and data stewards. These tasks appear directly in the“My Work”tab within the CMDB Workspace, enabling proactive and role-based CMDB governance.

CMDB Data Manager focuses ondata lifecycle management, including archival, retirement, and cleanup of CIs based on defined policies. When lifecycle rules or retention thresholds are met—or when human validation is required—the Data Manager creates tasks to prompt responsible owners to take action. This ensures that CMDB data remainsaccurate, compliant, and leanover time.

TheCMDB Health Dashboard(Option C) provides visibility into health metrics such as completeness, correctness, and compliance, but it doesnot generate tasks. Similarly,De-duplication templates(Option A) support duplicate identification and remediation workflows, but they do not create ongoing governance tasks in the CMDB Workspace.

By surfacing tasks in “My Work,” CMDB Data Manager operationalizes governance and embeds accountability into daily workflows, which is a key principle of CMDB Data Foundations.

Therefore, the correct answer isOption B – CMDB Data Manager.

When building advanced CMDB queries usingCMDB Query BuilderinServiceNow, the correct approach is to modelCI scope,relationships, andtask contextexplicitly on the canvas.

To limit results to databases in a specific location, the administrator mustfilter the Database CI nodeby the Location attribute. Therefore,Option Cis required to scope the query toDatabase CIs where Location = Seattle.

To includeIncidents related to those databases, the Incident table must be added from theNon-CMDB Tableslist and linked through thetask_cirelationship. This is exactly whatOption Aprovides. CMDB Query Builder separates CMDB tables (CIs) from task and transactional tables, so incidents must be explicitly added from the Non-CMDB section.

Option B is incorrect because property columns on Application Services do not scope databases or incidents. Option D is unnecessary because relationship depth alone does not include non-CMDB task data and does not filter by location.

Thus, the correct actions areA (add Incident table)andC (filter Database by location).

TheCMDB Data Foundations DashboardinServiceNowis intended to provideongoing, trend-based visibilityinto how well the CMDB ingestion and maintenance processes are functioning—not just point-in-time issue lists. This is why continual monitoring of its metrics is valuable.

Option Bis correct because trackingactive CIs updated in the last 90 daysprovides a strong indicator ofdata freshness and operational relevance. A healthy CMDB should reflect recent updates from Discovery, integrations, and governed manual processes. Monitoring this metric over time helps organizations detect stagnation, discovery failures, or integration issues early.

Option Cis also correct because metrics forCIs processed by the Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE)directly indicate the effectiveness and adoption ofgoverned ingestion practices. Consistent IRE processing confirms that integrations are not bypassing identification rules, reducing duplicates and improving trust in CMDB data. Trending this metric helps validate Data Foundations maturity.

Option A is incorrect because the dashboard is not designed to provide exhaustive audit failure lists; those are handled through certification and remediation workflows. Option D is also incorrect becauseorphan CIsare a specific health condition surfaced via health rules and remediation tools, not a core benefit metric for continual dashboard monitoring.

Therefore, the correct answers areB and C.

In theCommon Service Data Model (CSDM), the Incident form is designed to captureoperational impactand enableeffective incident routing, prioritization, and communication. To achieve this, CSDM prescribes using classes that representhow services are delivered and consumed, not how they are planned or governed.

Application Service(Option A) is an appropriate class on the Incident form because it represents thetechnical service that is running in productionand is directly impacted during an incident. Application Services are service-mapped, relate to underlying infrastructure, and support impact analysis, root cause investigation, and automated assignment. This makes them ideal for associating incidents with technical outages or degradations.

Service Offering(Option C) is also appropriate because it representshow a service is consumed by users or business units. Service Offerings allow Incident Management to understandwho is affected, enable targeted communications, and support SLA/OLA alignment. For example, an email service offering for a specific department clearly identifies the impacted consumer group.

Business Application(Option B) isnotrecommended on the Incident form. Business Applications are logical representations used for portfolio, ownership, and governance purposes, not day-to-day operational incident handling. Using them directly on incidents can reduce precision and automation.

Service Portfolio(Option D) is a strategic construct used for service lifecycle management and is never associated with operational incidents.

Therefore, according to CSDM best practices, the correct classes used on the Incident form areApplication ServiceandService Offering, makingOptions A and Cthe correct answers.

InServiceNow, theCompliancedimension of the CMDB Health Dashboard is driven byData Certification. To surface meaningful compliance results—such as identifying servers that arenot on the latest patch—the platform requires a combination ofCertification Policies,Data Filters, andScheduled Jobs.

Certification Policiesdefinewhatdata must be validated andwhich attributesare subject to compliance checks (for example, patch level, OS version, or last update date).Data Filtersscope the population—such as server classes only—ensuring the compliance evaluation targets the correct CIs.Scheduled Jobsautomate when certifications run, keeping compliance scores current and reflective of the latest state.

Options A and C are incorrect becauseauditsandstale/orphan/duplicatechecks relate to other health dimensions (correctness and completeness), not compliance. Option B focuses on service modeling and group alignment, which does not directly drive compliance scoring for patch currency.

Therefore, configuringCertification Policies, Data Filters, and Scheduled Jobsis required to accurately measure and display patch compliance on the CMDB Health Dashboard.

On theCMDB Health DashboardinServiceNow, health metrics are grouped into three primary scorecards:Completeness, Correctness, and Compliance. Each scorecard focuses on a distinct aspect of data quality.

Duplicate CIs,Orphan CIs, andStale CIsare all indicators ofdata accuracy and reliability, which fall under theCorrectnessscorecard.

Duplicate CIsindicate multiple records representing the same real-world item.

Orphan CIsare missing required relationships.

Stale CIshave not been updated within an expected timeframe.

All three conditions reflect whether the CMDB data iscorrect and trustworthy, not whether it is complete or policy-compliant.

TheCompletenessscorecard focuses on missing required attributes or relationships. TheCompliancescorecard evaluates adherence to policies such as certifications, lifecycle rules, or patch compliance.

Since leadership reporting typically focuses ontrust and accuracy of CMDB data, theCorrectness scorecardis the authoritative source for these metrics.

Therefore, the correct answer isB – Correctness.