The use of rules to normalize a field is intended for large lists of variant field values.

About this task

Always test your rules before applying them to all the existing records in the database. Prior to creating the rule, make sure to generate the list of Pending Values and create a normal value for the field. A normalized field can have a combination of aliases and rules.

The rules in this example are based on the following Pending Values:

Figure 1. Normalization rules 3

Procedure

  1. In a Normalization record, open the Normal Values related list.
  2. Open a Normal Value record.
  3. Open the Rules related list in the Normal Value form, and then click New.

    The Field Normalization Rule form provides the following fields:

    Table 1. Field normalization rule fields
    FieldDescription
    Name Unique name for this rule. For example, this name might be Xeon CPU Type.
    Order Order in which this rule should be evaluated. The platform parses the rules in the order configured until it finds one that evaluates to true.
    Active Enables or disables this rule. By default, new rules are active (true)
    Make alias If this check box is selected, and the rule evaluates to true, the rule makes an alias automatically from a pending value. If this check box is not selected, and the rule evaluates to true, the platform automatically changes the value for the named field in the record to the normal value, but does not create an alias.
    Case sensitive All pending values for the named field must match the case of the same value in a rule to be normalized.
    Rule Use the ServiceNow rule builder to construct the rules for normalizing fields. Rules automate the transformation of large numbers of pending field values into aliases.
  4. Create a set of rules to incorporate all the possible variants of the pending values.
    For this example, the rules might be:
    • Intel Xeon: CPU type matches pattern *Intel*Xeon*. This rule normalizes all variants in which Intel precedes Xeon, including Intel Xeon, Intel(R) Xeon(TM) CPU 2.80GHz, and Intel(R) Xeon(TM) CPU 3.00GHz.
    • Xeon: CPU type contains Xeon
    • L3350: CPU type contains L3350
    • E3350: CPU type contains E3350

    For every rule that is created, the platform generates a Rule applier data job. In the testing mode, the Start controls are not available, and the job cannot be run until the mode is changed to Active.

  5. Test all the rules before making the normalization record Active.
    Testing Rules
    Note: Users must have the normalization_tester role to create test records.

    Field normalization records are created in the Test mode by default, enabling administrators to test normalization rules thoroughly before applying them to the existing records in the database. In the testing mode, the Start controls are not available for the Rule applier data job. The job can be run only when testing is complete and the Mode has been changed to Active. In the testing mode, only records that have been created or updated by a user with the normalization_tester role are normalized. The normalizer and normalization_tester roles can be combined for a single user or granted separately.