CIS key terms

A repository that stores configuration items and the relationships between them, giving service and AI features a reliable picture of infrastructure, services, and how they depend on each other.

A single tracked record in the CMDB representing a component that must be managed, such as a server, application, service, or device, along with its attributes and relationships.

A prescriptive set of table structures and relationship rules that standardizes how services, applications, and infrastructure are modeled so reporting, workflows, and AI can rely on consistent data.

The shared application platform underneath all ServiceNow products, providing the database, workflow engine, user interface, integration, security, and AI capabilities that every product builds on.

A single deployed environment of the Now Platform with its own database, configuration, and users, typically separated into development, test, and production instances for controlled change management.

The core data structure in the platform, defining a set of fields and records; every record such as an incident or user is stored in a table that can be extended.

One row within a table, holding values for that table's fields; for example, a single incident, user, or configuration item is a record.

A defined attribute or column on a table that stores one type of value, such as a date, reference, or choice list, and controls how users enter and see data.

A container that captures configuration changes made in one instance so they can be exported and applied to another, supporting promotion of customizations between development, test, and production.

An application built in its own namespace with private tables, scripts, and access rules, isolating it from other applications and enabling controlled sharing and upgrade.

A rule that decides whether a user can read, write, create, or delete specific records or fields, evaluated against roles and conditions to enforce data security.

A named collection of permissions assigned to users or groups that grants access to applications, modules, records, and actions, forming the basis of role-based access control.

A set of users assembled for assignment, approval, or access purposes, often carrying roles and used to route work such as incident assignment or approval tasks.

Server-side script logic that runs when records are queried, inserted, updated, or deleted, used to enforce data rules, set values, or trigger related actions automatically.

JavaScript that runs in the user's browser on a form or list to validate input, show or hide fields, or give immediate feedback before data is saved to the server.

A no-code configuration that makes fields mandatory, read-only, visible, or hidden on a form based on conditions, reducing the need for custom client-side scripting.

A low-code tool for building automated workflows from triggers, actions, and logic, letting administrators orchestrate approvals, record changes, and integrations without writing full scripts.

A defined sequence of activities, approvals, and conditions that moves a record through a process, historically built with the workflow editor and now often replaced by Flow Designer.

A curated storefront of items and services users can request, each backed by a catalog item definition that gathers inputs and triggers fulfillment workflows or approvals.

A requestable entry in the service catalog, with variables, pricing, and fulfillment logic that determine what the requester supplies and what happens after submission.

A question or input defined on a catalog item or record producer that captures information from the requester and can drive conditions, pricing, and fulfillment tasks.

A catalog-style form that creates a record in a specified table when submitted, letting users request work through the catalog experience while populating standard records.

The ITIL practice and product area for restoring normal service quickly after disruption, covering logging, categorization, prioritization, assignment, escalation, and resolution of incidents.

The practice of finding and eliminating the underlying causes of recurring incidents, tracking problems, known errors, and workarounds to reduce future disruption.

The practice of controlling how modifications to services and configuration items are requested, assessed, approved, scheduled, and implemented to limit risk.

A defined commitment about response or resolution timing for work, tracked by the platform against conditions and schedules so breaches and progress are visible.

A configuration that automatically sets the assigned user or group on a record when defined conditions match, routing new work to the right team without manual triage.

The product area for creating, reviewing, publishing, and finding articles that answer common questions, supporting self-service and giving AI features trusted content to draw on.

A conversational interface that handles user requests in chat, using topics, intents, and integrations to answer questions, create records, and hand off to live agents.

The capability that interprets free-text or spoken input to detect intent and extract entities, letting conversational and classification features respond to how users actually phrase requests.

The identified purpose behind a user's message, such as checking status or resetting a password, which a conversational system maps to the topic or action that should handle it.

The family of generative AI capabilities embedded across ServiceNow products that summarizes records, drafts content, answers questions, and helps agents and developers work faster.

A machine learning model trained on large text corpora to generate and interpret language, used by generative AI features to summarize, draft, and answer questions.

The instruction and context supplied to a generative AI model that shapes its output; well-designed prompts with relevant record data improve accuracy and usefulness.

The platform capability for training and applying machine learning models to classify records, predict values, and suggest assignments based on historical data.

A branch of AI where models learn patterns from data rather than following explicit rules, enabling classification, prediction, and similarity features on the platform.

The historical examples used to teach a machine learning model; its quality, volume, and representativeness strongly determine how accurate and fair predictions will be.

The degree to which data is complete, accurate, consistent, and timely; poor quality undermines reporting, automation, and AI outputs built on that data.

A platform capability providing prebuilt and custom integrations, spokes, and actions so workflows can connect to external systems without building every connection from scratch.

A standard web interface for reading and writing platform data from external systems, commonly used to integrate applications, automate tasks, and exchange records securely.