TASK MANAGEMENT

How to create an assignment rule In this example, you will create a new assignment rule to automatically assign incidents with a Category of Hardware to Winnie Reich in the Hardware group.

-Select New in the Assignment Rules list header to create an assignment rule -A. On the Assignment Rules form, enter Hardware Issues in the Name field. B. Set Conditions to Category is Hardware. This means when a Category of Hardware is selected on an incident (see inset), apply this assignment rule. C. Select the Assign To tab to identify the Assignment group and User.

Create an Incident to test your assignment rule

A. Enter Fred Luddy in the Caller field. B. Select Hardware for the Category. C. Provide a Short description of the problem. D. Save your Incident

Complete Assign To tab

A. Enter Winnie Reich in the User field. B. Enter Hardware in the Group field. C. Submit your assignment rule.

4 Stops to assign

Add users to groups Apply roles to groups Assign tasks to groups Assign tasks to users

What is a task?

Any record that can be completed or assigned by any user. Users create tasks and are notified as the task moves along a workflow. Tasks can be assigned to specific users or user groups.

Verify your assignment rule

E. Verify the Assignment group now indicates Hardware. F. Verify Assigned to now indicates Winnie Reich.

Taskboard tools list

Filter tool Chat tool Info tool Users tool Labels tool Activity stream tool Configuration tool

Task is assigned

From there, a group member or manager assigns the task to an individual (Don Goodliffe, for example) within the group.

three types of Visual Task Board

Guided, Flexible, and Freeform.

Task management order (Incident)

Incident submitted>Incident assigned>Incident in progess>Incident resolved

Service Desk application menu allows you to locate all work assigned to you or your group

It can be accessed using the Service Desk > My Work or Service Desk > My Groups Work modules.

The task table is one Service Now's Core tables

It provides a series of standard fields available to other tables that define specific types of tasks (Incident, Problem, Change Request, etc.). In technical terms, these other tables extend the Task table.

inline editing

Just like real-time editing on a form, inline commenting on the activity stream means you can annotate active records as updates are made, allowing multiplied efforts across several pieces of work simultaneously.

Visual Task Boards allow you to

Manage your tasks through a visual, drag-and-drop interface Identify process bottlenecks at a glance Track activity to view updates all in one place

This results in improved efficiency and quality and reduces cost by:

Reducing the amount of time spent resolving tasks Reducing the number of interactions required to resolve tasks Reducing the number of potential human errors that could occur while categorizing and assigning work

When an active task is routed to your group, it can be found under the

Service Desk > My Groups Work module

You can view assignment rules by navigating to

System Policy > Rules > Assignment module.

four elements common to each type of visual task board

Taskboard Tools Quick Panel Lanes Cards

Assignment rule criteria- An assignment rule must meet the following criteria to execute:

The Task record has been created (or modified) and then saved on a form. In the example you walked through above, a new Incident was created. Therefore, this criteria was met. The Task record must be unassigned (no values in the Assigned to or Assignment group fields). In the example above, the Assignment to and Assigned group fields were initially blank since a new record was created. The assignment rule is the first rule that matches the specified table and conditions. If more than one assignment rule matches the conditions, only the rule with the lowest Order value runs. Though not shown in the example above, the assignment rule had the lowest order value (100) for a Hardware Category Incident.

Why use tasks?

The power (and value) of tasks are that they are repeatable processes across the enterprise. By defining tasks, users with similar issues (for example, no network access) can have their issue automatically assigned to the appropriate user and assignment group. This results in quicker resolution times and minimizes the possibility of human error.

Assignment lookup rules

These rules only apply to incident records. They have fewer options than other assignment rules that can be applied to any task.

Task appears under the My Work module

Though an Incident task is shown here, Service Desk > My Work lists all active tasks specifically assigned to you (or Don, here), including: Change Requests Group Approvals Incidents Knowledge Base Submissions Requests Security Cases Visual Task Board Tasks

Follow

User presence. Follow the record to recieve notificatiosn when its updated. Select open connect chat to configure these notifications and enable users to collaborate on a task in real time

Active viewers

User presence. This icon is only present when there is more than one viewer and when clicked identifies the active viewers

Show activity stream

User presence. This icon jumps to the record Activity section, and displays

Visual Task Boards

Uto collaborate on tasks in real-time with group members, create personal to-do lists, and more

Activity (Notes)

a read-only record entry made when the record is created or updated.

Taskboard tools

allow you to -filter tasks -connect with board members -edit board info -add users -modify labels -view activity stream -edit board configuration

Lanes

allow you to sort records by field values, such as states or other user defined criteria

chat tool

allows you to chat real time w/ other board members and assignees

Notes tab

allows you to communicate with stakeholders and document task activities throughout the lifecycle for internal and external audiences.

configuration tool

allows you to configure(show/hide) quick panel or card options

Filter tool

allows you to filter tasks by title, number or due date.

a task record can be assigned to

an assignment group and an assigned user.

Real time editing

an extension of user presence and improves collaboration by allowing you to edit records in real-time as well as see edits (indicated by a pulse icon) saved by other users using interfaces or devices such as Visual Task Boards, Connect Chat, Service Portal, ServiceNow Mobile apps, and Apple Watch. This collaboration reduces record resolution from days to minutes.

Users in groups can be assigned permissions to

approve, change, or resolve incidents and requests provide a reference for alerts and notifications receive email notifications

Flexible boards

are also created from a list, but lane changes do not update underlying task data.

Work notes

are only visible to those working on the task.

Workflow processes

are specified by administrators and apply to tasks that meet certain conditions. After a task is created that meets the conditions, the workflow applies an automated process to the task.

Additional comments

are visible to customers (callers).

Assignment rules are used to automatically set a value in the

assigned to and/or Assignment group fields of a task record.

Freeform boards

can act as your personal organizer to manage individual tasks of any kind. Lane changes do not update underlying task data.

Assignment rules

can automatically assign tasks to users or groups, ensuring that tasks are handled by the most appropriate team members.

Guided boards

can be created from a list and use the values of a specified field (e.g. State) as lanes. Tasks in the list are updated when cards are edited or change lanes on the Visual Task Board.

Approvals

can be generated to a list of Approvers, either manually or automatically, according to approval rules. Approvals can be incorporated into workflows or can stand alone.

Service Level Agreements

can track the amount of time that a task has been open, to ensure that tasks are completed within an allotted time.

Cards

cards are records that can be dragged between lanes. depending on the type of visual task board you create, changes to the card may update the records.

labels tool

displays Labels by which you can filter tasks

activity stream tool

displays all activities (work notes, additional comments, etc) for all tasks

users tool

displays board members and task assignees

activity stream inline editor

enables users to contribute to actual work within a record without opening a form interface.

Inactivity monitors

ensure that tasks do not fall by the wayside by notifying users when tasks have been untouched for a predefined period of time.

If you look closely at Assignment Data Lookups, you can see that both Assignment Rules are displayed and Order values are 100. Even though the Order values are identical, this is not a problem because their Category and Subcategory conditions are different (Network - VPN vs Hardware).

f

The user presence feature

facilitates synchronous collaboration within one record. It allows you to see who is online, their current status, and what they are viewing or editing, all in real-time.

Visual Task Boards are displayed

graphically as lanes and cards, and provide a landing page to view and organize work in ServiceNow

Groups

identify a subset of users based on roles. A user can belong to more than one group.

How to create Assignment lookup rules

navigating to System Policy > Rules > Assignment Lookup Rules.

When removing a user from a group

roles inherited by that group are revoked for that user. Similarly, a group may contain other groups, where a child group inherits all roles owned by its parent. Users added to child groups gain roles of that child group plus any parent groups

assignment rules can also be

scripted, giving even more flexibility on the trigger and outcome.

info tool

summarized key visual task board information

extending the Task table provides

task-specific functionality for driving tasks, such as Approvals Assignments Service levels Inactivity monitors Workflow

Quick panel

the quick panel allows you to filter cards by user or label

Group names must be

unique in Servicenow

great feature to have when a time-sensitive, Priority 1 - Critical Task occurs that requires multiple stakeholders to view and update the record simultaneously.

user presence

Predictive Intelligence

uses machine-learning algorithms to determine field values during record creation. Existing data records are required to "train" machine-learning to make effective decisions.