CSDM Fundamentals · Topic 1 of 2
CSDM Domains and Mapping CIs with Stakeholders
CSDM 5 domains for the CIS-DF exam: Foundation to Service Consumption, their tables and personas, and how to map each CI to the right domain.
- 5 min
- CSDM 5 domains: Foundation, Ideation and Strategy, Design and Planning, Build and Integration, Service Delivery, Service Consumption.
- Service Delivery was Manage Technical Services and Service Consumption was Sell/Consume in CSDM 4.
- Business applications are not operational CIs; application services are.
What it is
CSDM sorts service-related data into domains. Each domain groups the tables used by one part of the service life cycle, from shared reference data through design, build and delivery to the services the business consumes.
Mapping a CI correctly means two things: putting it in the right table and getting it from the right people. Each domain has typical personas who know and own its data, so the work is as much about stakeholders as about classes.
How it works
The CSDM 5 domains
CSDM 5 has six life cycle domains, and the white paper counts Manage Portfolio as a seventh that spans them. Earlier versions used other names: CSDM 4 had Foundation, Design, Build, Manage Technical Services and Sell/Consume, so older material may say Manage Technical Services where CSDM 5 says Service Delivery.
| CSDM 5 domain | Example tables | Typical personas |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Company, business unit, department, location, groups, users, CMDB group, product models, contracts, business process | Process Owner, Data Steward, Product Owner, Contract Manager |
| Ideation and Strategy | Product idea, planning item, strategic priority, goal, target | Product Owner |
| Design and Planning | Business capability, business application, information object | Enterprise Architect, Application Owner |
| Build and Integration | SDLC component, DevOps change data | Teams |
| Service Delivery | Service instance (including application service), application, infrastructure CIs, technology management service and offering, dynamic CI group | Service Instance Owner, Service Delivery Owner, Service Provider |
| Service Consumption | Business service, business service offering, request catalog | Business Relationship Manager, Customer Service Manager |
Manage Portfolio covers portfolios, such as the service portfolio, that cut across the other domains.
Operational or not
The most useful test is whether ITSM processes point at the record.
| Record | Table | Used in incident, problem, change? |
|---|---|---|
| Business application | cmdb_ci_business_app | No; it is the portfolio entry, not a running thing |
| SDLC component | cmdb_ci_sdlc_component | No; it describes a developed part |
| Application service | Service instance classes under cmdb_ci_service_auto | Yes; often the CI a caller reports against |
| Application | cmdb_ci_appl | Yes; discovered, not a manual inventory |
| Technology management service | cmdb_ci_service_technical | Yes; used for impact analysis |
| Business service | cmdb_ci_service_business | Yes; used for impact and change approvals |
| Business or technology management service offering | service_offering | Yes; separated by service classification |
Design and Planning and Build and Integration tables hold logical design and development detail. Service Delivery and Service Consumption tables are the operational ones.
Working with stakeholders
Correct mapping starts with asking the right people what they manage:
| Stakeholder says | Map to |
|---|---|
| "We keep a list of the applications the business uses and who owns them." | Business application, Design and Planning |
| "This is the production deployment of the payroll app in Europe." | Application service, Service Delivery |
| "My team runs the database platform that many apps rely on." | Technology management service and offering, Service Delivery |
| "Customers subscribe to Gold or Silver email." | Business service and business service offerings, Service Consumption |
| "This app processes card data and personal data." | Information object, Design and Planning |
| "We need sites, buildings and the support groups right first." | Locations and groups, Foundation |
Enterprise architects and application owners usually own the design records. Service owners and technical teams own the delivery records. Business relationship managers own what is offered to consumers.
Across industries
CSDM 5 widens service management beyond IT, to industrial, operational and utility services and connected devices in fields such as medical, production and transportation. The model still applies: operational technology and connected devices map to the same domain structure, with Service Delivery holding the operational CIs and Service Consumption holding what the business offers.
The implementation task is the same in every industry: translate the stakeholder's vocabulary into the CSDM entity, then use the out of box table rather than a custom one.
How the exam asks about this
- "A CMDB architect asks which tables build the Service Consumption domain." Business service and business service offering.
- "An enterprise architect wants to record which applications support the business and which data they handle." Business application and information object, in Design and Planning.
- "A platform team supports servers for many applications and wants support groups set from one place." A technology management service with offerings in Service Delivery, with a dynamic CI group for the CIs.
What to remember for the exam
- CSDM 5 domains: Foundation, Ideation and Strategy, Design and Planning, Build and Integration, Service Delivery, Service Consumption.
- Service Delivery was Manage Technical Services and Service Consumption was Sell/Consume in CSDM 4.
- Business applications are not operational CIs; application services are.
- Business and technology management service offerings share the
service_offeringtable, separated by service classification. - Information objects describe the data a business application handles, such as personal or card data.
- Technology management services were called technical services in older CSDM versions.
Do not put deployed instances in the business application table. One business application can have several application services, one per environment or region.
Common mistakes
Using business applications in incidents. A business application is portfolio data. Incidents and changes should point at the application service or infrastructure CI.
Building custom tables for a stakeholder's term. A team's "platform" or "product" usually maps to an existing CSDM entity. Custom tables lose out of box product support.
Talking only to IT. Business services and offerings come from business relationship managers, and capabilities from architects. Missing them leaves the top of the model empty.
Check yourself
Which CSDM 5 domain holds business services and business service offerings?
Service Consumption, which CSDM 4 called Sell/Consume.
Why should an incident not reference a business application?
A business application is a portfolio record in Design and Planning, not an operational CI. Incidents should point to the application service or infrastructure CI.
Which personas are most useful for populating Design and Planning?
Enterprise architects and application owners, who know the business capabilities, applications and the data those applications handle.
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