Which Breakdown Should Be Excluded for 'Number of Open and Overdue Incidents' Historical Data?

CAS-PA By islever Editorial Last updated Sep 2, 2026

Short answer

C State

Question

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?

Category
Age
State Correct Answer
Priority

Key Takeaways

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.

Common mistake: 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.

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

These links open the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

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.

Community Votes

100%

100% of anonymous learners picked answer C. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 4 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 4

dam1211 👍 4 Answered C

The [PA Incident SLA] Historic Data Collection job indicator 'Number of open and overdue incidents' excludes the Assignment Group and the State breakdowns.
b3de868 👍 3

For the default indicator “Number of open and overdue incidents,” the breakdown that should be excluded from the historical data collection job is: B. Age The 'Age' breakdown is a time-dependent measure that indicates how long an incident has been open. It changes as time progresses, which makes it irrelevant and potentially misleading for historical data collection, as historical snapshots would not accurately reflect the 'Age' at the time the data was originally captured. Collecting historical data on the 'Age' breakdown could lead to incorrect interpretations when analyzing past data.
draken1107 👍 3 Answered C

In the job indicators, exclude any breakdowns that are based on fields whose value is likely to change during the historical collection period, as described in Configure a job indicator. For example, in the provided [PA Incident SLA] Historic Data Collection job, the job indicator 'Number of open and overdue incidents' excludes the Assignment Group and the State breakdowns. The value of both of these breakdowns could change over the data collection period, making the results meaningless.
Shdwklown 👍 3

Wouldn't the correct answer be C? For example, in the provided [PA Incident SLA] Historic Data Collection job, the job indicator 'Number of open and overdue incidents' excludes the Assignment Group and the State breakdowns. The value of both of these breakdowns could change over the data collection period, making the results meaningless. https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/xanadu-now-intelligence/page/use/performance-analytics/task/t_RunHistoricalDataCollection.html

Reader comments & corrections

No reader corrections yet — spotted an error or have a note? Share it below.

Practice All CAS-PA Questions

Access 79 questions with complete answers and detailed explanations.

View Full CAS-PA Practice Test →

← Back to CAS-PA Study Guide