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CIS-PA exam blueprint, explained

Certified Implementation Specialist - Platform Analytics

ServiceNow's blueprint lists what the exam tests and how much each area counts. This page restates it in plain language, with the domains ordered as published and every objective as a checklist.

Official source: KB0011497, updated August 2026. Open the official CIS-PA blueprint

The original is a ServiceNow University knowledge article and may ask you to sign in to Now Learning. If anything here disagrees with it, the official blueprint wins.

At a glance

Domains
6
Heaviest domains
Configure Indicators and Indicator Sources, Configure Breakdowns and Breakdown Sources and Data Visualization and Dashboards (25% each)
Top two domains
50% of the exam
Objectives listed
25

Where the marks are

Each domain's share of the exam, and what that means for every 10 hours you study.

DomainWeightOf every 10 study hours
1. Architecture and Deployment
10%
1 h
2. Configure Indicators and Indicator Sources
25%
2 h 30 min
3. Configure Breakdowns and Breakdown Sources
25%
2 h 30 min
4. Data Collection
10%
1 h
5. Data Visualization and Dashboards
25%
2 h 30 min
6. Administration and Advanced Implementation Solutions
5%
30 min

Weights as published in KB0011497. The study-time column only applies the weight; spend more on domains you're weaker in.

What each domain covers

The blueprint's objectives for each domain. Tick them off as you can explain and do each one in a Personal Developer Instance.

Domain 3 · Configure Breakdowns and Breakdown Sources

25% of the exam
  • Configure Breakdown Sources
  • Perform Breakdown Mappings
  • Create Breakdown Matrix and apply Exclusions
  • Create Scripts for Scripted Breakdown Mapping
  • Configure Bucket Groups
Practice 20 Breakdowns & Breakdown Sources questions →

Domain 5 · Data Visualization and Dashboards

25% of the exam
  • Build Platform Analytics Visualizations
  • Configure and apply Unified Filters
  • Choose the Appropriate Visualization
  • Create Dashboards and Manage Access
  • Manage Dashboard Performance
  • Analyze data using KPI Details
Practice 20 Visualization & Dashboards questions →

Before you book

  • Prerequisites: Our transcription of the blueprint lists no mandatory prerequisite certification. Check the exam registration page to confirm.
  • Exam fee: $450.
  • Passing score: ServiceNow does not publish the cut score, and the official exam blueprint says it is not always 70%.
  • Booking, retake waits and exam format are covered on the CIS-PA page.

Courses the blueprint points to

Recommended on the blueprint

The blueprint lists these as recommended preparation.

Additional resources on the blueprint

Listed as further reading, not core preparation.

Also on the Now Learning credential path

Optional practice listed on the credential path, not in the blueprint.

Courses without a link are named in the blueprint but we haven't recorded a course URL for them; search for them in Now Learning.

How to use this blueprint

  1. Go through the objectives above and mark each one: done for real, only read about, or new.
  2. Start where heavy weight meets the most “new” marks. Configure Indicators and Indicator Sources, Configure Breakdowns and Breakdown Sources and Data Visualization and Dashboards are 25% each.
  3. Build each objective in a Personal Developer Instance rather than only reading about it.
  4. Use practice questions to find weak domains, then go back to those objectives and their documentation.

Keep going