Business Units with Companies

Get Well Playbook

Business Units without Companies

A step-by-step guide to analyze and remediate CMDB Data

Table of Contents

Summary

Goal of this Playbook

Audience

Problem Overview

Executive Summary

How this playbook can help you achieve business goals

How this playbook is structured

Problem Analysis

Upstream Causes

Downstream Consequences

Impact on Your Business

Engagement Questions

Remediation Plays

Summary

Play 1: Review your data

Play 2: Analyze your CI records

Play 3: Fix Play

Play 4: Fix Play

Data Governance

Summary

Goal of this Playbook

Details about this playbook

Author

Scott Lemm

Date

03/14/2021

Addresses HSD #

HSD0003785, HSD0007940

Applicable ServiceNow Releases

Orlando, Paris, Quebec

Prerequisites

CMDB and CSDM Data Foundations Dashboards Version 1.2.0 or above Time Required

Approximately 1 to 4 hours (depending on your environment)

Audience

Configuration Manager or Configuration Management team CI Owner ServiceNow Administrator

Problem Overview

Within the organizational structure, Business Units are a critical data foundation object for planning and reporting on our Digital Products. The organizational structure documented within ServiceNow allows us to provide visibility into our day-to-day operations. This visibility allows for effective planning and risk mitigation. Without an effectively documented organizational structure, we are unable to effectively assist in IT Business Management. The Business Unit is a critical element in the organizational hierarchy as it is often the most utilized object to denote ownership of Digital Product Portfolios and the required planning of said portfolio. Understanding what legal entity, or Company, these Business Units belong enable us to complete the primary elements of the Organizational hierarchy: Company à Business Unit(s) à Department(s).

If the Company is not populated on a Business Unit object, then we will be unable to organize an effective organizational structure for reporting and IT Business Management.

This playbook helps you identify those Business Units that have no Company.

Executive Summary

How this playbook can help you achieve business goals

Business Units with Companies provide capability to manage and report on IT Business Management. How this playbook is structured

This Playbook will guide you through 3 plays.

Play 1 (an analysis play) helps you identify which Business Units have no Company. Play 2 (a fix play) tells you how to populate Company on a Business Unit. Play 3 (a Data Governance play) lists the guidelines and processes for Company management on Business Units. Use these guidelines to maintain effective data in your CMDB.

Problem Analysis

Upstream Causes

Transforms are loading configuration items with Business Unit references, but these transforms lack the hierarchy data for the Business Units Company is not a required attribute on a Business Unit Integrations to 3 rd party solutions may create a Business Unit, but does not create a hierarchy of objects using the Company attribute You may not be aware that Company is an important attribute on a Business Unit Processes may not exist to ensure Companies are populated on Business Units. Downstream Consequences

Data Consequence

A Business Unit with no known Company may lead to duplicate organizational structure objects Configuration Items, and other platform objects, may utilize an incorrect Business Unit object Business decisions made based on incorrect data Operation Consequence

Erodes trust in the accuracy of the CMDB. Results in a poor user-experience Processes that rely on notification and risk mitigation to legal entities will not function Reporting will lack correct data, unable to associate legal entities to the products they own App Consequence

Product costing data may not reach appropriate levels of ownership Cost optimization efforts may be inaccurate due to incorrect data modeling

Impact on Your Business

Missing Company data on a Business Unit affect the following areas of your business

A poor User Experience (internal & external) making Work harder than it needs to be. Erosion of CMDB trust accompanied with a general lack of adoption & enthusiasm. Security - Unable to display knowledge of risks to the correct organizational structure Audit compliance - Unable to show total costs to the correct organizational structure

Engagement Questions:

Consider answers to these questions:

What are the major sources of organizational structure, Company (legal entity), Business Units and Departments in your repository? Who maintains your organizational structure data? Are 3 rd party integrations populating your organizational structure? Do you import data manually? If so, what process do you use? Does your process include populating your organizational structure?

Remediation Plays

Summary

The table below lists and summarizes each of the remediation plays in the playbook. Details are included later.

Play Name

Play 1: Analysis

What is this play about

Identify which Business Units do not have Companies

Play Steps

Run report to help identify target BUs

Play 2: Fix Existing Data

What is this play about

Populate correct Company

Play Steps

Add correct Company from the form view

Play 3: Data Governance

What is this play about

Helps you establish standard operating procedures, as well as periodic data certification

Play Steps

Provides detailed advice, best practices and data audit instructions

Play 1 - Analysis

What this Play is about

Identify which Business Units do not have Company

Required tasks

Install CMDB and CSDM Data Foundations Dashboard from the ServiceNow App Store. Navigate to the CSDM Data Foundations Dashboard module in the left navigation menu. Select the Foundation tab. Select the Business Units without Companies report to view a Performance Analytics report of Business Units without Companies.

On the Performance Analytics report select Show Records to display the Business Units without Companies A list of Business Units without Companies is then displayed

Play 2 - Analyze your CI records

What this Play is about

This play tells you how to add a Company on a Business Unit

Required tasks

Open a Business Unit from the Business Units without Companies report. This activity may need to be performed by an admin. Identify the empty Company attribute Enter the correct Company into Company on the Business Unit form and select Update.

Data Governance

What this Play is about

This play lists the best practices and processes for Business Units without a Company

Required tasks

Periodically review the CSDM Data Foundation dashboard report to see if there are any Business Units without Company. Establish a Foundational Data Owner process that enables Data Stewards to ensure data integrity for the organizational structure. Congratulations

You have completed this Get Well Playbook.