Matching Rules for IT Components

Overview

During the first synchronization, the ServiceNow integration identifies matching items between ServiceNow and SAP LeanIX. By default, items from ServiceNow are matched with fact sheets in SAP LeanIX using the display_name field. If the display name is missing, it uses the name field instead. If the names in the two systems don't match, it results in the creation of a new fact sheet. This default behavior may result in creating duplicate fact sheets. To learn more about the sync process, see First Sync Behavior.

If your organization uses special formats for software record names in ServiceNow, it may affect their matching with IT component fact sheets in SAP LeanIX. This mismatch can lead to the creation of duplicate fact sheets for the same items. To prevent this, set up custom matching rules in the integration configuration.

Let’s consider an example where ServiceNow is the source system and SAP LeanIX is the target system. In ServiceNow, item names start with a manufacturer name and end with a version and edition. In SAP LeanIX, these details appear in the display name in a different order. With a matching rule in place, the integration identifies and matches items that follow this naming convention during the first synchronization.

📘

Note

Configuring ServiceNow fields in a matching rule may rebuild the mirror table if the previously built mirrors didn't use the configured ServiceNow fields. To learn more about mirror tables, see Synchronization Through a Mirror Table.

You can set up matching rules in one of the following ways:

• In the configuration of a fact sheet mapping
• In the advanced configuration

Configuration in a Fact Sheet Mapping

To configure matching rules from a fact sheet mapping, follow these steps:

1. On the integration configuration page, go to the Mappings tab.

2. Under Fact Sheet Mappings, find a mapping for IT components.

3. Hover over the mapping, then click Configuration under Field Mapping.

4. On the field mapping page that opens, go to the Matching Rules tab.

   

5. To set up a matching rule, click Add Field, then select fields in the source and target systems. When adding multiple fields, place them in the correct order. A preview of the matching rule appears.

6. Save the changes.

📘

Note

The source and target systems in matching rules depend on the data direction set up in a fact sheet mapping.

Advanced Configuration

To configure matching rules using advanced configuration, follow these steps:

1. On the integration configuration page, go to the Advanced tab.

2. In the JSON configuration, locate the object candidateMatch.

3. Within the candidateMatch object, set up matching rules by adding fields to sourceItemFields and targetItemField. For details, refer to the following sections.

   

Candidate Match Object Structure

The table below lists parameters within the candidateMatch object.

Supported Fields

Depending on the data direction, fields can be either sourceItemFields or targetItemField. For example, if ServiceNow is the source (FOREIGN), sourceItemFields are fields in ServiceNow and targetItemField is a field in SAP LeanIX.

Example

Here’s an example matching rule where the source system is ServiceNow and the target system is SAP LeanIX:

"candidateMatch": {
    "sourceItemFields": [
      "manufacturer.name",
      "name",
      "version",
      "edition"
    ],
    "targetItemField": "displayName"
  }

With this matching rule set up, during the first synchronization, the following happens:

1. Values from sourceItemFields are concatenated and used as an identifier of the item in the source system: manufacturer.name + name + version + edition.
2. Based on the defined item in the source system, the integration finds a matching item in the target system by displayName.