Which Four Options Set When a ServiceNow Business Rule Executes?
What are the options that can be set to determine when a Business Rule executes? (Choose four.)
Community Insight
The exam tests the four valid 'When' values for Business Rules, and the trap is confusing them with client-script event types like onLoad and onChange.
ServiceNow Business Rules use a 'When' field with exactly four timing values: before, after, async, and display. Community comments, Vancouver e-book references, and hands-on PDI checks consistently confirm ADEF (Async, Display, After, Before) as the correct answer set.
Choosing 'Load' or 'Change' because they sound like execution timing — these are actually client script types (onLoad/onChange), not Business Rule 'When' options; some candidates also miss 'Before' as the fourth valid value.
Community Discussion (5 comments)
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Expert Analysis
Why the Answer Is Correct
In a ServiceNow Business Rule definition, the 'When' field offers exactly four choices: before, after, async, and display. 'Before' and 'after' run relative to the database commit, 'async' runs in the background scheduler after the commit, and 'display' runs when a form is loaded for display. Multiple commenters verified this directly in their Personal Developer Instances (comments [3] and [4]), and comment [2] explicitly states the 'when' field contains before, after, async, and display. Note that the option list shown here only goes to E; the fourth correct choice, 'Before', appears as option F in the original exam item, making the full answer set A, D, E, F.Why the Other Options Are Wrong
'Load' (B) is not a Business Rule timing option — it resembles the onLoad client script type, which runs when a form loads in the browser. 'Change' (C) mirrors the onChange client script type, which fires when a field value changes, and has no equivalent in Business Rule 'When' settings. Business Rules are server-side and trigger around database operations (insert, update, delete, query) or form display, so browser-event vocabulary like 'load' and 'change' does not apply. Picking either of these shows confusion between client scripts and Business Rules, a distinction the CSA exam deliberately tests.Community Comment Notes
All five comments converge on the same answer set, ADEF, which is unusually strong consensus. Comment [1] cites the Vancouver SNAF e-book as the source, while comments [2], [3], and [4] confirm the four 'When' values from the Business Rule form and personal instances. Comment [5] simply reinforces ADEF. No commenter defended 'Load' or 'Change', and none disputed the inclusion of 'Before' as the fourth option, so the community verdict is unanimous.Official Reference
Exam Strategy
Memorize the four Business Rule 'When' values — before, after, async, display — as a fixed set, and immediately eliminate any option that sounds like a client script type (onLoad, onChange). If the printed options omit 'Before', still select Async, Display, and After, and assume 'Before' is the missing fourth choice, as it was in the original exam item.
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