A **User** is an entity within the [[Foundation (CSDM domain)|Foundation domain]] of the [[Common Service Data Model|Common Service Data Model]] (CSDM), a reference architecture developed by [[ServiceNow|ServiceNow]] that provides prescriptive guidance on service-related definitions and data modeling within the ServiceNow AI Platform. A User represents an individual who has access to the ServiceNow instance, with users organized within [[Group (CSDM)|groups]] and associated to [[Company (CSDM)|Company]], [[Business Unit (CSDM)|Business Unit]], and [[Department (CSDM)|Department]] records as part of the organizational structure. Users are recorded in the sys_user table and are part of the [[Common Data (CSDM)|Common Data (CSDM)]] shared throughout the ServiceNow AI Platform. Users are not [[Configuration item|configuration items]] but serve as critical referential data that multiple ServiceNow products depend upon for assignment, ownership, approvals, and notifications. Users can be assigned as owners of various CSDM entities including [[Business Application (CSDM)|Business Applications]], [[Application Service (CSDM)|Application Services]], [[Business Service (CSDM)|Business Services]], [[Technology Management Service (CSDM)|Technology Management Services]], and [[Product Model (CSDM)|Product Models]]. [[Business Service Offering (CSDM)|Business Service Offerings]] can identify subscribers by user through the subscribe by table, enabling organizations to determine who is impacted when services experience incidents. Users are members of Groups, with any business rules, assignment rules, system roles, or attributes that refer to a group applying to all group members automatically. ServiceNow recommends establishing User data as part of the Foundation stage of [[CSDM Adoption Stages|CSDM adoption]].