Configuring Applications for Collaboration · Topic 4 of 6
Task Management and Visual Task Boards
ServiceNow Task table, assignment, priority, work notes versus comments, and Visual Task Boards: freeform and guided boards with lanes and cards.
- 4 min
- The Task table is the parent of Incident, Problem, Change Request and others.
- Number is generated automatically; prefixes are set in Number Maintenance.
- Priority is usually derived from Impact and Urgency.
What it is
A task is a unit of work that someone must do. The Task table is the parent table that holds the fields every kind of work shares, and tables such as Incident, Problem, Change Request, Requested Item and Catalog Task extend it. Task management is how the platform assigns, prioritizes and tracks that work.
A Visual Task Board (VTB) shows records as cards in lanes, like a kanban board, so a team can see and move work at a glance.
How it works
The Task table and inheritance
Because Incident, Problem and the others extend Task, they inherit its fields and behaviors. A field added to Task shows up on all of them, and a rule written on Task can apply to all of them.
| Common task field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Number | Unique identifier, generated automatically with a prefix such as INC |
| Short description | One-line summary |
| State | Where the task is in its life cycle |
| Priority | How urgently it needs attention |
| Assignment group | The team responsible |
| Assigned to | The individual working it |
| Active | True while open, false once closed |
Number prefixes and formats are managed in System Definition > Number Maintenance.
Priority
For many task types, Priority is calculated from Impact (how many people or how much of the business is affected) and Urgency (how quickly it needs a fix). A lookup rule maps each Impact and Urgency pair to a Priority, so users do not set Priority by hand.
Assignment
Admins reduce manual routing with assignment rules and data lookup rules. Assignment rules can fill in the Assignment group or Assigned to based on conditions. Data lookup rules fill in fields, such as Priority, from a table of values. The Assigned to list is usually limited to members of the chosen Assignment group.
Work notes and additional comments
Two journal fields appear in the activity stream, and they are not the same.
| Field | Who sees it |
|---|---|
| Work notes | Internal: the fulfillers working the task |
| Additional comments | Customer-visible: the requester or caller can read them |
Entries in a journal field are added to the record's history. Existing entries cannot be edited like normal fields.
Other task features
- SLAs attach timers to tasks. An SLA starts, can pause, and breaches if the target time passes.
- Approvals can be requested on a task, and the task waits for the response.
- Parent and child relationships link related tasks, such as a problem and its incidents.
Closing a task sets Active to false. Most task lists use Active is true as a default filter.
Visual Task Boards
Open a board from Self-Service > Visual Task Boards, or create one from a list. A board is made of lanes (columns) holding cards (records or notes).
| Board type | Lanes and cards |
|---|---|
| Freeform | You add and name the lanes and cards yourself; not tied to a field |
| Guided | Lanes follow the values of a field, such as State; cards are records from a table |
On a guided board, dragging a card to another lane updates the field on the underlying record. That makes it a quick way to change State or another choice field without opening each form.
Boards can be shared, so members of a team see the same cards.
How the exam asks about this
- "Agents want to move incidents between states by dragging." Use a guided Visual Task Board with State as the lane field.
- "A project team wants to plan work with its own columns and notes, not tied to a table." Create a freeform board.
- "A message must be visible only to fulfillers." Use Work notes, not Additional comments.
What to remember for the exam
- The Task table is the parent of Incident, Problem, Change Request and others.
- Number is generated automatically; prefixes are set in Number Maintenance.
- Priority is usually derived from Impact and Urgency.
- Work notes are internal; Additional comments are visible to the customer.
- Freeform boards are manual; guided boards follow a field and update it when cards move.
- Dragging a card on a guided board changes the record's field value.
Additional comments can notify the customer. Putting an internal remark there exposes it, so check which field a question describes.
Common mistakes
Mixing up work notes and comments. Internal discussion goes in work notes. A message to the requester goes in additional comments.
Setting Priority by hand and expecting it to stick. Where a lookup rule exists, changing Impact or Urgency recalculates Priority.
Treating a board as a separate data store. A guided board shows real records. Moving a card changes the record, so permissions still matter.
Check yourself
Which table is the parent of Incident and Problem?
The Task table, whose fields and behavior they inherit.
What decides Priority on many task forms?
Impact and Urgency, mapped to a Priority by a lookup rule.
What happens when you drag a card to another lane on a guided board?
The underlying record's field, such as State, is updated to the lane's value.
Topic 4 of 6 in Configuring Applications for Collaboration
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