Task Phase Management

The Task Phase Management feature is designed for implementing phase-related task completion.

When you implement a change request, you might need to create and complete tasks related to the change during the stages that precede the Implementation stage. These tasks are generally research tasks that occur in preparation for the Implementation stage, but they often drive the implementation approval decisions or the scheduled dates. For example, such tasks might be identifying available space in the data center or researching the latest patch level and release date.

Task Phase Management is designed to resolve the requirement of phase-related task completion. If Task Phase Management is enabled for Change Management, you can define tasks that are mapped to a change request's status and status reason in various phases of the change request's lifecycle. Tasks can be added to the change request at any state of the change request, including the Completed stage, but before the change request is closed.

Additionally, you can enforce closure of the tasks performed in each phase within a given application. If validation of tasks in a phase is enabled, you must close all tasks activated for that phase before you can move the change request to the next status. For example, you can configure Change Management so that a change request cannot move to the next status until all tasks activated during the Review phase have been closed.

If Task Phase Management is not enabled, tasks are activated according to their sequence in the Scheduled status of the change request.

You can enable task phases on the Change Configuration Rules form that is displayed when you select the Change Management > Advance Options > Rules. For more information, see Configuring-change-rules.

When Task Phase Management is enabled, the Phase field appears on the Change form above the Tasks and Task Groups table.

The following table describes when the Phase field is visible or hidden on the Change form.

Change status transitions - Draft to complete with task phase management enabled

1. The change request starts in the Initiate stage with the Draft status. Any related task groups or tasks are in the Staged status.
2. Depending upon whether approvals are mapped for the approval phases, one of the following actions happen:
   • If approvals are mapped to the Review approval phase:
     1. The change moves to the Request for Change status of the Review & Authorize stage. The first task in the Business Approval phase is activated. The approver must approve the change request.
     2. The change moves to the Planning in Progress status of the Plan & Schedule stage.

   • If no approvals are mapped and standard approval configurations are used, the request moves to the Planning in Progress status of the Planning & Schedule stage, skipping the Request for Authorization status of the Initiate stage and the Request for Change status of the Review & Authorize stage. Tasks in the Review and Business Approval phases are activated according to the defined sequences.

     Important

     • If task closure is enforced, approvers must ensure that tasks defined for a phase are closed before the change can move forward. For example, tasks defined for the Review phase must be closed in the Initiate stage, and the tasks defined in the Business Approval phase must be closed in the Review and Authorize stage.
     • When both a task and an approval are activated for the same change status, the approver must ensure that the task is completed before approving the change request.
3. Tasks are activated as the change moves to the phase for which the task is defined. When activated, tasks follow the lifecycle described under Completing-and-closing-a-change-request-in-the-Closed-stage.
4. In the Plan & Schedule stage, when all tasks defined for the Review and Business Approval phases are closed, the request moves to the Scheduled for Review status.
5. The Change Manager or the Change Coordinator moves the request forward through the Schedule for Approval and Scheduled statuses of the Plan & Schedule stage.
   If approvers are mapped to these stages, the change is moved forward only after the required approvals are done.

6. After required approvals (if any) are done, the Change Manager or the Change Coordinator moves the request to the Implementation in Progress status of the Implementation stage. At this stage, the tasks of the Implementation phase are activated and the first task for this phase is activated.

   Important

   The task phase is activated only when the values of the Status field and the Status Reason field match for both the change request and the task phase configuration. If you are not sure about the values to enter in those fields, you must keep them blank for the task to get activated.

   All tasks in the Implementation phase are completed and closed. If task closure is not enforced, any tasks in the Review and Business Approval phases that are not already closed can be worked on and closed at this stage. After all of the tasks are completed, the change request moves automatically to the Completed status.

   In the change request, Actual Start Date and Actual End Date are populated with the actual start date of the first task and the actual end date of the last task by the workflows. If required, you can add tasks related to the Completed status. 

   When you promote a change request to the Completed status, a status reason is selected automatically, based on the approval process configuration. The default status reason is Final Review Required.

   Alternatively, if you have not configured an approval process for the Close Down Approval phase, the Final Review Completed status reason is selected automatically. Then, if you have enabled the Auto-Close feature, the change request is closed automatically, based on the Auto-Close Days rule that you configure.

   Additionally, you can send email notifications from the Task form. You might do this, for example, to request more information about the task, or to inform the person who created the task that the task is now complete.
   If the change request is closed between phases for any reason, all of the tasks are set to the Closed status with a status reason of Canceled. Also, if all of the tasks are closed in the Implementation stage, the change request moves to the Closed status.

Release status transitions - Draft to complete with task phase management enabled

1. When a release request is created, it is in the Initiate milestone and Draft status.
2. When the release request moves to the next stage, its status changes to Initiation Approval for the Initiate milestone.
3. Complete approvals are required for the release request.
4. Move the release request to move it to the next milestone.
5. After the Initiate milestone, the release goes through the Planning, Build, Test, Deployment, and Close Down milestones. Each milestone follows the same status transition. As the release request moves through the process flow:
   • If approvers are mapped to the milestone, the request remains in the approval phase until it is approved by the assigned approvers. The status is set to Initiation Approval.
   • If no approvers are mapped, the request moves to the planning phase and the status is set to In Progress. A release coordinator must move the release request forward.

6. When in the approval phase, the release request requires the record to be approved to move it to the next milestone. When the request is approved, the request must be saved and then moved to the next milestone.

   Important

   If the release request is approved from the Approval Server, the approval status of the release request is automatically updated and you can move the release request forward.

7. For any milestone, if activities are defined:
   • Any tasks associated with the related activities must be completed and their status set to Closed before the activity can be marked as Completed.
   • If configured, all activities related to that milestone must be completed and closed before the record can be moved to the next milestone. For more information about this configuration option, see Configuring-release-priorities.