Which Breakdown Should Be Excluded for 'Number of Open and Overdue Incidents' Historical Data?
You plan to collect historical data for the default indicator “Number of open and overdue incidents.” Which breakdown should be excluded from the historical data collection job?
Community Votes
100% of anonymous learners picked answer C. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.
Community Insight
The exam tests whether you understand that breakdowns based on mutable fields, such as State or Assignment Group, produce meaningless historical data because their values can change after an incident is created.
In ServiceNow Performance Analytics, when collecting historical data for the default indicator 'Number of open and overdue incidents,' the State breakdown must be excluded because its value can change during the collection period, distorting historical trends. Community consensus confirms that both State and Assignment Group breakdowns should be excluded from this job indicator.
Choosing 'Age' is the most common trap, because it appears time-dependent. However, Age is a calculated duration, not a mutable property of the incident; State is the correct answer because an incident's state changes over time and would invalidate historical snapshots.
Community Discussion (4 comments)
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Expert Analysis
Why the Answer Is Correct
The default indicator 'Number of open and overdue incidents' in the [PA Incident SLA] Historic Data Collection job is configured to exclude breakdowns whose field values can change during the data collection period. The State breakdown tracks incident status (e.g., New, In Progress, Resolved), and since an incident's state changes over time, including State would cause historical records to incorrectly reflect current values rather than the values at each point in time.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
- Category (A) identifies the incident category, which is typically assigned when the incident is created and does not change, so it can be included safely.
- Age (B) is a time-based calculation, not a stored field that changes arbitrarily; it represents the duration an incident has been open and can be computed from existing timestamps without undermining historical data.
- Priority (D) can change during an incident's lifecycle, but the official guidance and the exam focus specifically on the State and Assignment Group breakdowns as those that must be excluded for this predefined job indicator.
Community Comment Notes
Commenters overwhelmingly agree on State (C), citing ServiceNow's 'Configure a job indicator' documentation. One commenter notes that the [PA Incident SLA] Historic Data Collection job excludes both Assignment Group and State, because 'the value of both of these breakdowns could change over the data collection period, making the results meaningless.' Another commenter highlights the general rule: 'exclude any breakdowns that are based on fields whose value is likely to change during the historical collection period.'
Official Reference
Exam Strategy
On the exam, remember that PA historical collection indicators are preconfigured with certain breakdowns excluded, typically Assignment Group and State, because these fields often change during an incident's lifetime. If a question asks which breakdown to exclude, look for the option that represents a mutable status field rather than a static attribute like Category or a calculated value like Age.
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