Nomenclature
Nomenclature in ITAM is a systematic list of items (models) that must be accounted for in an organization. Nomenclature in ITAM is related to the manufacturing company, also it has a number of characteristics provided "out-of-the-box" which can be supplemented in accordance with the company's accounting objectives.
The structure of the nomenclature categories is based on the CMDB class directory. A simple state model is created to manage the nomenclature.
Asset registration in the system is based on the nomenclature model.
See, for example, a laptop nomenclature:
- Model – ThinkPad X1
- Manufacturer – Lenovo
- Category – Office equipment
- Subcategory – Laptop
Assets inherit the values and logic of the Spare parts kit and Consignment attributes from the nomenclature the assets are related to.
You can link a nomenclature with a configuration item model in CMDB. To do so, select the Create CI checkbox on the nomenclature form.
Create a nomenclature
There are several ways to create a new nomenclature record.
The section below describes how to create a nomenclature manually.
The Nomenclature import section describes how to create a nomenclature automatically through import.
Create a nomenclature manually
Role required: itam_agent.
To create a new nomenclature record manually, complete the following steps:
- Navigate to ITAM → Purchase → Nomenclature.
- Click New in the upper left corner of the page.
- Fill in the fields.
- Click Save.
A nomenclature form also contains information about the useful life of the assets covered by the nomenclature. This allows you to timely plan expenses for future asset purchases, as well as activities dependent on the end of the asset useful life.
Nomenclature form fields
| Field | Mandatory | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Y | Select a nomenclature category. |
| Subcategory | Y | Select a nomenclature subcategory. You can select only among child categories of the given category. If CI Model is specified, this field contains the value of the Class field of the related CI record. |
| Model | Y | Specify the model name. |
| State | N | Select the nomenclature state. Available options:
The related assets that are available, in use, or are in the active tasks remain active until they enter their final state. |
| Demand item approval | N | Select this checkbox to ensure that all demand items of this nomenclature go through the approval process. |
| Spare parts kit | N | Select the checkbox if this nomenclature is created for spare parts kit assets, for example, consumables. Selecting the checkbox clears and hides the Permanent location field from the form. CIs cannot be created for a nomenclature with the Spare parts kit checkbox selected. |
| Consignment | N | Select the checkbox if this nomenclature is intended for consignment assets. Selecting the checkbox clears and hides the Permanent location field from the form. CIs cannot be created for a nomenclature with the Consignment checkbox selected. |
| Permanent location | N | A permanent location asset is an asset that is not supposed to be relocated often during its usage (a printer, for example). For such assets, a permanent location is specified with an accuracy down to an office or premise. Select this checkbox if the nomenclature is intended for permanent location assets. You can also select or clear the Permanent location checkbox on a corresponding asset form. Selecting the checkbox on the nomenclature form makes only the newly created assets inherit this attribute. Clearing the checkbox on the nomenclature form does not affect already existing assets. The checkbox remains visible and active as long as the Consignment and Spare parts kit checkboxes are cleared. When either of these checkboxes is selected, the Permanent location checkbox gets cleared and hidden. |
| Minimum balance | Y | The field becomes visible and mandatory when the Consignment checkbox is selected on the nomenclature form. |
| Create CI | N | Select the checkbox to have the system automatically create and register configuration items for the assets of this nomenclature.
|
| Create CI relation | N | Select the checkbox to enable opportunity to create relation between the assets of the current nomenclature and corresponding CIs. By default, after the checkbox is selected, in the related asset forms, the Corresponding CI field appears. Depending on the itam.discover.asset.connect_asset_ci.enabled system property value, you can create the relations between the asset and CI either only manually or also automatically. If the system property is enabled, the relation between the asset and CI that have the same serial number can be created automatically, if the Model, Serial number, or Corresponding asset field values are changed in the CI record, or if a CI record that is not related to an asset is created in the system. If the checkbox is selected and the itam.discover.asset.connect_asset_ci.enabled system property is disabled, the asset-CI relation can only be created manually. |
| CI model | Y | Select the required CI model using the record picker. The field is visible and mandatory when the Create CI or Create CI relation checkbox is selected in the nomenclature form. The field is unavailable if the Spare parts kit or Consignment checkbox is selected. If the Manufacturer field was filled in before the CI Model, only those CI models will be available for the selection whose Vendor matches the Manufacturer specified in the nomenclature form. |
| Manufacturer | Y | Select a manufacturing company from the list, that is a company classified as a Manufacturer. The field may be completed automatically if the CI Model field on the nomenclature form is specified. In this case the field is read-only. If the itam.nomenclature.inherit_manufacturer system property is set to true and the Vendor in the CI model is changed, this field is also updated. |
| Useful life in months | N | Specify the useful life of assets under this nomenclature. |
| Responsible | N | Select a user to hold responsibility for this nomenclature. |
| Serial number mandatory | Y | Select Yes to make the Serial number field mandatory on the asset forms for this nomenclature. If No is selected, the Serial number field on the asset forms becomes optional. If it is not specified during registration, the inventory number is automatically copied into the Serial number field. The field remains editable, and a tooltip is displayed below it. Changing the value from No to Yes does not affect the serial numbers of existing assets, even if they contain a value copied from the inventory number. |
Related lists
- Assets – a list of all assets registered in the system that refer to the nomenclature.
- ITAM Demand Items – the list displays ITAM Demand Items that require assets related to this nomenclature.
Nomenclature import
Role required: admin.
The ESM platform's data import tool allows you to create new and update existing multiple nomenclature records depending on the itam.import.nomenclature.create and itam.import.nomenclature.update system properties.
To create and/or update nomenclature records, complete the steps below:
- Navigate to Import → Import Sources and open the Loading nomenclatures record.
- Click the icon to open the attachments window and download the Nomenclature import template.xlsx file.
- Fill in all the required cells in the template.
- In the attachment window, delete the empty Nomenclature import template.xlsx and upload the file you have filled out.
- Click Load all records in the upper right corner of the form.
- In the Import Sets related list, open the newly added record.
- The Import Set Rows related list displays the lines of the uploaded XLSX file in the Waiting state.
- Click Transform. The button is located on the Import Sets form above the related lists area. As a result, the states of the records in the Import Set Rows related list will be updated.
Nomenclature import template columns
| Column | Value format | Description |
|---|---|---|
| State | Text | Specify the state of the nomenclature. The value in this cell must match one of the values in the Title column of the Choice option (sys_choice) table used for the State (state) column of the Nomenclature (itam_nomenclature) table. Use the value in the selected interface language of the current user. |
| Category | Text | Specify the category of the nomenclature. The value in this cell must match one of the values in the Name column of the CMDB Class (sys_cmdb_class) table. |
| Subcategory | Text | Specify the subcategory of the nomenclature. The value in this cell must match one of the values in the Name column of the CMDB Class (sys_cmdb_class) table and be a child of the category specified in the same row in the Category column. |
| Model | Text | Specify the model of the nomenclature according to the requirements of nomenclature accounting in your organization. The value in this cell must contain at least one character other than a space and not exceed 255 characters. |
| Create CI | true or false | Specify true if you want to have a CI created as a result of the import. Otherwise, specify false. If you have specified true in this cell, ensure that the value is false in the same row in the Create CI relation, Consignment, and Spare parts kit columns. Default value: false. |
| Create CI relation | true or false | Specify true if you want to allow creating relation between the assets of the current nomenclature and corresponding CIs. As a result, a reference to the corresponding CIs existing in the system will be added into the asset records. Otherwise, specify false. If you have specified true in this cell, ensure that the value is false in the same row in the Create CI, Consignment, and Spare parts kit columns. Default value: false. |
| CI model | Text | The cell is mandatory if you have specified true in the same row in the Create CI or Create CI relation column. If you specify a CI model, the value in the cell must match one of the values in the Name column of the CMDB Model (sys_cmdb_model) table and the following conditions must be met:
If you leave this cell empty, specify false in the same row in the Create CI and Create CI relation columns. |
| Manufacturer | Text | Specify the manufacturer of the assets under the nomenclature. The value must match one of the values in the Name column of the Company (org_company) table. |
| Spare parts kit | true or false | Specify true if the assets under the nomenclature are a spare parts kit. Otherwise, specify false. If you have specified true in this cell, ensure that the value is false in the same row in the Create CI and Create CI relation columns. Default value: false. |
| Consignment | true or false | Specify true if the assets under the nomenclature are accounted as a consignment. Otherwise, specify false. If you have specified true in this cell, ensure that the value is false in the same row in the Create CI and Create CI relation columns Default value: false. |
| Minimum balance | Positive Integer | The cell is mandatory for completion if you have specified true in the same row in the Consignment column. If you have specified the minimum balance, ensure that the value is true in the same row in the Consignment column. If you leave the cell empty, specify false in the same row in the Consignment column. |
| Useful life in months | Positive Integer | Specify the useful life in months or leave the cell empty. |
| Permanent location | true or false | Specify true if the assets under the nomenclature have a permanent location. Otherwise, specify false. If you have specified true in this cell, ensure that the value is false in the same row in the Consignment and Spare parts kit columns. Default value: false. |
| Responsible | Text | Specify the employee responsible for this nomenclature record. The value in the cell must match one of the values in the User column of the Employee (employee) table. The user must be active and not blocked. |
| Demand item approval | true or false | Specify true if the approval process is required for the demand items under the nomenclature. Otherwise, specify false. Default value: false. |
| Serial number mandatory | Text | Specify whether the serial number of the assets under the nomenclature will be mandatory. The value in this cell must match one of the values in the Title column of the Choice option (sys_choice) table used for the Serial number mandatory column of the Nomenclature (itam_nomenclature) table on the selected interface language of the current user. |
Import row states
Possible values of the import row states are displayed on the Import Set form in the Import Set Rows related list in the State column:
- Pending – the record was prepared for import,
- Inserted – the record was created as a result of the import,
- Updated – the record was updated as a result of the import,
- Skipped – creating or updating via import is prohibited or the cell value does not meet the import conditions.
Nomenclature provider
The Nomenclature Provider (itam_m2m_nomenclature_provider) is an M2M table.
Read more on the M2M table in the Many-to-Many Relationships article.
Manage positions you are planning to purchase from specific providers using the Nomenclature Provider (itam_m2m_nomenclature_provider) table. The Nomenclature Provider table stores the relationships between Nomenclatures of your assets and Companies that supply goods and services for your organization.
The request for a direct purchase can include only the demand items the nomenclature of which has the relationship with a provider in the Nomenclature Provider table.
Roles required:
- Read – itam_agent, itam_nomenclature_manager, admin.
- Create, update, delete – itam_nomenclature_manager, admin.
Nomenclature Provider form fields
| Field | Mandatory | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Nomenclature | Y | Specify the nomenclature permitted to be purchased from this provider. |
| Provider | Y | Specify the nomenclature provider. |
| Contract | N | Specify the contract on the basis of which the purchase is made. |