Certified System Administrator flashcards

SERVICENOW · Certified System Administrator (CSA)

By caffeinated soul

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Full flash card set covering what we need to know on this exam. Don't worry, this is one of the easier exams!

Certification Summary

The ServiceNow Certified System Administrator exam is for the person who actually manages the platform instance, not the user who just opens tickets. You sit for this if you are the one configuring forms, managing access lists, or getting paged at 3am because a business rule crashed the production workflow.

Data Administration, User Interface and Navigation, and Service Automation take up the most space on the screen. You will spend your time identifying which table a field lives on, picking the right UI policy for a view, or choosing the correct workflow activity to route an approval. The rest of the exam covers basic scripting logic and user management, where you need to know how to restrict access to a record or when to trigger a client script instead of a server side business rule.

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All cards (145)

Scroll to review fronts and backs

Card 1

Front

Next Experience

Back

Modern UI, personalized, user friendly

Card 2

Front

Unified Navigation

Back

Central menu for workspaces, lists, favorites

Card 3

Front

Workspace

Back

Role specific, task oriented interface

Card 4

Front

Platform UI

Back

Traditional interface, for admins and developers

Card 5

Front

Application Navigator

Back

Lists applications and modules

Card 6

Front

Filter Navigator

Back

Search and filter apps and modules

Card 7

Front

Favorites

Back

Quick access to frequently used items

Card 8

Front

History

Back

Recently visited pages and records

Card 9

Front

Banner Frame

Back

Top of the screen, global elements

Card 10

Front

Global Search

Back

Find records, knowledge articles, users

Card 11

Front

Impersonate User

Back

Test access and experience as another user

Card 12

Front

System Settings (gear icon)

Back

Personal UI preferences, compact view

Card 13

Front

List View

Back

Displays multiple records in a table

Card 14

Front

Form View

Back

Displays details of a single record

Card 15

Front

Activity Stream

Back

Chronological record of changes and comments

Card 16

Front

Related Lists

Back

Records linked to the current record

Card 17

Front

Personalize List Columns

Back

Choose which fields display in a list

Card 18

Front

Context Menu (List)

Back

Right click options for list actions

Card 19

Front

Context Menu (Form)

Back

Right click options for form actions

Card 20

Front

UI Actions

Back

Buttons, links, and context menu items

Card 21

Front

Client Scripts

Back

Run on the client side (browser)

Card 22

Front

UI Policies

Back

Make fields mandatory, visible, or read-only

Card 23

Front

Client Script vs UI Policy

Back

Policy simpler, for UI changes; script for complex logic

Card 24

Front

Form Sections

Back

Organize fields on a form

Card 25

Front

Split view

Back

List and form side by side

Card 26

Front

Form Designer

Back

Drag and drop layout for forms

Card 27

Front

List Collector

Back

Adds multiple items from a list

Card 28

Front

Reference field

Back

Links to a record on another table

Card 29

Front

Dot-walking

Back

Access fields on related tables

Card 30

Front

Embedded lists

Back

Related list shown directly on a form

Card 31

Front

sys_user table

Back

Stores individual user records

Card 32

Front

sys_user_group table

Back

Stores group definitions

Card 33

Front

Role assignment

Back

Grants access to features and data

Card 34

Front

Group membership

Back

Inherits roles assigned to the group

Card 35

Front

Delegate

Back

User authorized to receive another user's notifications and approvals

Card 36

Front

Task table

Back

Base table for all process records

Card 37

Front

Task table extensions

Back

Incident, Problem, Change Request

Card 38

Front

Assignment rules

Back

Automates task routing based on conditions

Card 39

Front

My Groups Work

Back

Filters tasks assigned to user's groups

Card 40

Front

Visual Task Board

Back

Kanban style management for task records

Card 41

Front

Work notes vs Comments

Back

Work notes internal, comments visible to caller

Card 42

Front

Approver role

Back

Required to approve or reject tasks

Card 43

Front

Task SLA

Back

Track timing against defined service targets

Card 44

Front

Assignment lookup rules

Back

Matches conditions to specific groups or users

Card 45

Front

Role vs Group

Back

Role is permission, group is collection of users

Card 46

Front

Table structure

Back

Database tables store data as records

Card 47

Front

Field types

Back

Define data format and input method

Card 48

Front

Reference field

Back

Points to a record on another table

Card 49

Front

Choice field

Back

Selects from a predefined list of options

Card 50

Front

String field

Back

Freeform text entry

Card 51

Front

Boolean field

Back

True or false toggle

Card 52

Front

Date or Time field

Back

Stores specific calendar or clock values

Card 53

Front

Schema map

Back

Visual representation of table relationships

Card 54

Front

Parent table

Back

Provides fields to child tables

Card 55

Front

Child table

Back

Inherits fields from parent table

Card 56

Front

Base table

Back

Table that is not extended from another

Card 57

Front

Extended table

Back

Table that inherits from another table

Card 58

Front

Dictionary entry

Back

Defines table and field attributes

Card 59

Front

Record number prefix

Back

Configured in Number Maintenance

Card 60

Front

Import Set

Back

Tool to move external data into tables

Card 61

Front

Data source

Back

Defines location and format of import data

Card 62

Front

Import set table

Back

Staging area for incoming data

Card 63

Front

Transform map

Back

Defines relationship between import and target fields

Card 64

Front

Coalesce field

Back

Uses field as unique key for record matching

Card 65

Front

Transform map mapping

Back

Connects source column to target field

Card 66

Front

Update set

Back

Captures configuration changes for migration

Card 67

Front

Update set scope

Back

Only captures customizations, not system data

Card 68

Front

Configuration vs Customization

Back

Configuration is native, customization requires script

Card 69

Front

Business Rule

Back

Server side logic triggered by database action

Card 70

Front

Client Script

Back

Browser side logic for form behavior

Card 71

Front

UI Policy

Back

Form field control without scripting

Card 72

Front

Data Policy

Back

Enforces data requirements on database level

Card 73

Front

Client vs Data Policy

Back

Client is browser, Data is server enforcement

Card 74

Front

ACL

Back

Defines security for tables and fields

Card 75

Front

ACL evaluation order

Back

Role, then condition, then script

Card 76

Front

Table level ACL

Back

Controls access to entire record set

Card 77

Front

Field level ACL

Back

Controls access to specific field values

Card 78

Front

Wildcard ACL

Back

Applies security to all table fields

Card 79

Front

Elevated privilege

Back

Temporary session role for security tasks

Card 80

Front

Update XML

Back

Contains actual configuration changes

Card 81

Front

Exporting records

Back

Supported formats include XML, CSV, Excel

Card 82

Front

Data dictionary

Back

Metadata describing system database structure

Card 83

Front

Table cleanup

Back

Automated removal of old records

Card 84

Front

Database index

Back

Speeds up data retrieval queries

Card 85

Front

Import set vs Update set

Back

Import set handles data, Update set handles configuration

Card 86

Front

Service Catalog

Back

Orderable items and services

Card 87

Front

Catalog Item

Back

Specific service or product request

Card 88

Front

Record Producer

Back

Creates a record in a table from catalog

Card 89

Front

Order Guide

Back

Bundles multiple catalog items into one request

Card 90

Front

Variable Set

Back

Reusable group of variables for catalog items

Card 91

Front

Catalog Variable

Back

User input fields on a catalog item form

Card 92

Front

Variable type

Back

Defines input format, e.g., text, reference, checkbox

Card 93

Front

Request (REQ)

Back

Overall container for ordered items

Card 94

Front

Requested Item (RITM)

Back

Individual item within a request

Card 95

Front

Catalog Task (SCTASK)

Back

Work performed to fulfill a requested item

Card 96

Front

Workflow

Back

Automates multi-step processes

Card 97

Front

Flow Designer

Back

No-code automation for processes

Card 98

Front

Workflow vs Flow Designer

Back

Workflow is legacy, Flow Designer is modern

Card 99

Front

Flow trigger

Back

Starts a flow, e.g., record created, scheduled

Card 100

Front

Flow action

Back

Building block of a flow, e.g., create record, send email

Card 101

Front

Spoke

Back

Contains related actions for a specific application

Card 102

Front

IntegrationHub

Back

Connects to external systems via spokes

Card 103

Front

Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Back

Defines expected service delivery times

Card 104

Front

SLA condition

Back

When an SLA is attached, started, paused

Card 105

Front

SLA definition

Back

Rules for calculating and enforcing service levels

Card 106

Front

SLA breach

Back

Failure to meet defined service target

Card 107

Front

SLA workflow

Back

Automates actions for SLA events, e.g., notifications

Card 108

Front

Performance Analytics

Back

Tracks and analyzes service metrics

Card 109

Front

Knowledge Base

Back

Repository of self-service information

Card 110

Front

Knowledge Article

Back

Individual document in the Knowledge Base

Card 111

Front

Virtual Agent

Back

Conversational interface for support and tasks

Card 112

Front

Topic

Back

Specific conversation flow in Virtual Agent

Card 113

Front

NLU (Natural Language Understanding)

Back

Interprets user input for Virtual Agent

Card 114

Front

Chatbot integration

Back

Connects Virtual Agent to messaging platforms

Card 115

Front

Self-service portal

Back

User-facing interface for catalog, knowledge, requests

Card 116

Front

Client-side script location

Back

Browser

Card 117

Front

Server-side script location

Back

Database or application server

Card 118

Front

UI Policy execution

Back

Client-side

Card 119

Front

Business Rule execution

Back

Server-side

Card 120

Front

Client Script types

Back

onLoad, onChange, onSubmit, onCellEdit

Card 121

Front

Business Rule timing

Back

Before, After, Async, Display

Card 122

Front

g_form object

Back

Client-side API for form manipulation

Card 123

Front

g_user object

Back

Client-side API for session information

Card 124

Front

current object

Back

Server-side record being processed

Card 125

Front

previous object

Back

Server-side record state before update

Card 126

Front

GlideRecord

Back

Server-side class for database operations

Card 127

Front

GlideSystem

Back

Server-side methods for system tasks

Card 128

Front

GlideAjax

Back

Client-side to server-side communication

Card 129

Front

Script Include

Back

Reusable server-side script library

Card 130

Front

Client-side vs Server-side

Back

Client = browser, Server = database

Card 131

Front

UI Policy vs Client Script

Back

Policy = low-code field control, Script = logic

Card 132

Front

Business Rule vs Client Script

Back

Rule = data integrity, Script = UI behavior

Card 133

Front

Async Business Rule

Back

Runs after database commit, background process

Card 134

Front

Before Business Rule

Back

Runs before record save, modifies data

Card 135

Front

Display Business Rule

Back

Runs when record loads, populates g_scratchpad

Card 136

Front

g_scratchpad

Back

Passes server data to client

Card 137

Front

Data Policy

Back

Enforces mandatory data on server

Card 138

Front

UI Policy conditions

Back

Triggers actions based on field state

Card 139

Front

Script Include access

Back

Client callable or internal server-side

Card 140

Front

gs.addInfoMessage()

Back

Displays blue message at top

Card 141

Front

gs.addErrorMessage()

Back

Displays red message at top

Card 142

Front

current.update()

Back

Saves changes in a script

Card 143

Front

current.getValue()

Back

Retrieves field value from record

Card 144

Front

Scripting best practice

Back

Avoid scripts if configuration suffices

Card 145

Front

GlideRecord query

Back

addQuery, query, next