CSM Configuration · Topic 1 of 4
CSM in ServiceNow
CIS-CSM: how Customer Service Management sits on the platform, the case table that extends Task, interactions, internal and external roles, and interfaces.
- 5 min
- CSM is activated by the Customer Service Management plugin, com.sn_customerservice, and configured through the CSM guided setup.
- The case table, sn_customerservice_case, extends Task and is the parent of every case type.
- An interaction captures a customer contact on any channel, with or without a case.
What it is
Customer Service Management (CSM) is the ServiceNow application for serving external customers: businesses, their contacts, and individual consumers. It is activated with the Customer Service Management plugin, com.sn_customerservice, and set up through the CSM guided setup.
CSM is built on the same platform and data model as the rest of ServiceNow. Every customer issue is a case, and the case table extends Task, so cases inherit the platform's assignment, work notes, approvals, SLAs and activity stream.
How it works
The core tables
| Table | What it holds |
|---|---|
Case, sn_customerservice_case | The customer issue being worked; extends Task |
Case task, sn_customerservice_task | A piece of work on a case done by another person or team |
Interaction, interaction | One contact from a customer on a channel, with or without a case |
Account, customer_account | A business customer (B2B) or partner |
Contact, customer_contact | A person who works for an account |
Consumer, csm_consumer | An individual customer in B2C |
The case table is the parent for case types, which are child tables that extend it. Because case extends Task, a single SLA engine, assignment model and reporting model cover cases, case tasks and the ITSM tables.
An interaction records that a customer made contact, for example a chat or an email. If the agent answers the question on the spot, the interaction is closed with no case. If the issue needs follow up, the agent creates a case from the interaction and the two stay linked.
Internal and external roles
CSM users fall into two groups. Internal users are the company's own staff, and external users are customers and partners who log in to the portal.
| Role | Who gets it | What it allows |
|---|---|---|
| sn_customerservice_agent | Internal agent (B2B) | Create, edit and resolve cases for customers and partners |
| sn_customerservice.consumer_agent | Internal agent (B2C) | Handle cases for consumers |
| sn_customerservice_manager | Internal manager | Everything an agent can do, plus manage agents and groups and override agent actions |
| sn_customerservice.customer | External contact | Create and edit own cases, view account assets |
| sn_customerservice.customer_admin | External account administrator | Manage the account's data and users |
| sn_customerservice.partner | External partner | Create cases for its own account and the customers it serves |
| sn_customerservice.partner_admin | External partner administrator | Manage partner users and see cases the partner created |
| sn_customerservice.consumer | External consumer | Create and edit cases for products they bought |
Never give one user both an internal and an external role. External roles keep each customer's view limited to their own account data.
Interfaces
Each group of users reaches the same case data through a different interface.
| User | Interface |
|---|---|
| Agents and managers | CSM Configurable Workspace, with the case, related records, knowledge and suggested actions in one screen |
| Business contacts and partners | Customer Service Portal |
| Consumers | Consumer Service Portal |
| Administrators | Guided setup and the CSM administration modules in the platform UI |
Where CSM connects to the rest of the platform
Knowledge Management answers questions in the portal and workspace, Workflow Studio automates case processes, and Advanced Work Assignment routes work.
When a customer issue needs IT or engineering work, the agent can raise an incident, problem or change from the case. The case stays the customer facing record, while the internal team works the linked record.
How the exam asks about this
- "A customer emails a quick question that the agent answers immediately, and no follow up is needed." Close the interaction without creating a case.
- "An external contact must be able to see every case for their own company but not other customers." Give the contact an external role scoped to the account, such as sn_customerservice.customer_admin; never an internal role.
- "A team lead must reassign cases and manage agent groups." sn_customerservice_manager, which contains the agent role.
What to remember for the exam
- CSM is activated by the Customer Service Management plugin, com.sn_customerservice, and configured through the CSM guided setup.
- The case table, sn_customerservice_case, extends Task and is the parent of every case type.
- An interaction captures a customer contact on any channel, with or without a case.
- Internal roles start with sn_customerservice_ (agent, manager); external roles start with sn_customerservice. (customer, customer_admin, partner, consumer).
- sn_customerservice_manager includes everything sn_customerservice_agent can do.
- Agents work in CSM Configurable Workspace; business customers use the Customer Service Portal and consumers use the Consumer Service Portal.
Do not combine internal and external roles on one user account. A customer who is also given an agent role can see data from other customers' accounts.
Common mistakes
Creating a case for every contact. Many contacts are answered at once. Recording them as interactions keeps the case queue for real work and still keeps a history of every touch point.
Treating CSM as a separate system. CSM runs on the same instance and data model as ITSM. Cases can raise incidents, problems and changes, and the same knowledge base, flows and reports serve both.
Giving customers the agent role to see more cases. Wider customer visibility comes from external roles such as customer_admin and customer_case_manager, scoped to the account, not from internal roles.
Check yourself
Which table does the CSM case table extend, and what does that give cases?
It extends Task. Cases inherit task features such as assignment, work notes, approvals and SLAs.
When would an agent close an interaction without creating a case?
When the customer's request is fully handled during the contact and no follow up work is needed. The interaction keeps the record of that contact.
Which role lets a manager override agent actions and manage agent groups?
sn_customerservice_manager. It contains the sn_customerservice_agent role and adds management of agents and groups.
Topic 1 of 4 in CSM Configuration
Test yourself on CSM Configuration
The full ServiceNow CIS-CSM question bank has 590 questions, with timed practice exams and an explanation for every answer.
This study guide is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by ServiceNow. Vendor names, certification names and exam codes are trademarks of their respective owners and are used for identification only.