Working on tasks

After a task record is created, you can change the details that appear on the record and add work information. You will also need to enter the time you worked on the task.

To update details on the task form

1. Open the incident request record and click the Tasks tab.
2. From the Tasks and Task Groups table, select the task that you want to update, and click View.
3. Update the details as needed.
4. Save the changes and close the form.

To add work information to a task

Work information is a note about any work you performed while completing or trying to complete the task. The work information for each task appears in the Work Info of Selected Task table on the Task form.

1. Open an incident record and select the Tasks tab.
2. Select a task and click View.
3. On the Task form, click the Work Info tab.
4. If needed, modify the work information type.
5. From the Source list, select the source of this information. 
   Information sources can include email messages, system assignment, or the web.
6. Enter the details of your work information record in the Summary and Notes fields.
7. To add attachments to the record, right-click in the attachment table and select Add from the menu that appears. 
8. To lock the log, from the Locked list, select Yes.
9. Select the view access:
   • Internal—Only users within your organization can see the entry.
   • External—Everyone with access to the system can see the entry.
10. When you finish updating, save your changes. 
    The Save operation adds your entry to the task's work history. You filter out specific work entries in the Show field, based on the type of activity that appears in the table.
11. To see a report of the activities you performed against this task, click Report.
12. To display all current entries for work information history, click View.
13. Close the Task form when you finish with it.
14. When you return to the Incident Request form, refresh the work information entry of the Assigned Task table to display all the entries.

Tracking the time spent working on tasks

You can track the time spent working on a task at any time after it is created. Use this feature between the time the task status is in Implementation, In Progress, and Closed.

To use the start and the stop buttons to track the time spent working on a task

1. Open an incident record and click the Tasks tab.
2. Select a task and click View.
3. On the task form, click the Assignment tab.
4. Click the Start Clock button. 
   The current date and current time are displayed in the read-only Start Time field.
5. Click Save.
6. When you finish working on the task and want to stop tracking the time, click Stop Clock. If you closed the task after saving it, you must repeat steps 1 and 2 first. 
   A message reports the number of minutes spent working on the task. The time spent is also added to the value in the read-only Total Time Spent field.
7. Save and close the form. 
   You can use the start and stop clock buttons as many times as is required. For each successive time, the new time is added to the value already in the Total Time Spent field.

To manually track the time spent working on a task

1. Open the incident request record and click the Tasks tab.
2. Select a task and click View.
3. On the task form, click the Assignment tab.
4. Enter a number of hours or minutes manually in the editable Time Spent fields.
5. Click Save. 
   The time you entered is automatically added to the value already in the Total Time Hours and Minutes fields.

To use the Task Effort log to track the time spent working on a task

1. Open the incident record and click the Tasks tab.
2. Select a task from the list and click View.
3. On the Task form, click the Assignment tab.
4. Click Effort Log. 
   The Task Effort Log window appears.
5. Enter information into the effort log. 
   For example, you can enter time spent in hours and minutes and additional details.
6. Click Add to Effort Log. 
   An entry is added to the effort log. You can view the entry or delete it as needed.
7. Close the task effort log to return to the task.
8. Click Save.

To send an email from a task

You can send an email from the task. You can do this, for example, to request more information about the task, or to request a clarification or assistance from another help desk agent. You can also send a note to the originator of the task to let that person know the task is complete, and to ask the originator to verify the work.

1. On the Task form, click Email System.
2. To indicate the recipient, perform any of the following actions:
   • Select one of the following options:
     • Select Current Customer—Places the email address of the customer associated with the task in the Internet Email address field. If the button is not available, no customer is associated with the task.
     • Select Current Assignee—Places the email address of the current task assignee in the Internet Email address field. If the button is not available, no assignee is associated with the task.
   • To select another recipient, perform the following steps:
     1. Complete the fields in the People Search Criteria area. Provide as much information as you can.
     2. Click Search.
     3. When the search finishes, click the recipient's name in the search results table to place their email address in the Internet Email field.
        If you need help determining the correct name in the list, you can see more information about an individual by selecting their name from the list, and then clicking View to opens the People form.
   • If you know it, type the email address of the recipient directly in the Internet Email field.

3. Complete the rest of the information fields on the Email System form. 

   Field	Description
   Email Subject Line	By default, the subject line contains the task ID number. You can append the text or type over it.
   Email Message Body	You type the message text here. By using the following buttons to the right of the field, you can insert text from the record into the message text: Status Summary Details  Resolution If any of these buttons is not active, it means that the corresponding field in the Task form contains no information.
   Email Attachment	You can attach a file to the email message (Service Desk limits you to one attachment). To attach a file, right-click inside the Email Attachment table, and click Add. In the Add Attachment dialog box, browse to and select the file that you want to attach. Click Open. Details of the attached file appear in the table.

4. Click Send Email Now.

To cancel a task

1. Open the incident request record.
2. Click the Tasks tab.
3. In the Tasks and Task Groups table, select the task you want to cancel.
4. Click Cancel.
   This action does not delete the task. It sets the status of the task to Closed and the closure code to Canceled.
5. Save the incident request record.
   If you cancel an incident with open tasks, all the tasks associated with the canceled incident are also canceled. For information about canceling an incident with open tasks, see Resolving-closing-and-canceling-incident-requests-with-open-tasks.

To close a task

Depending on how your system is configured, you might not be able to resolve the incident until you close the task.

1. Open an incident record and click the Tasks tab.
2. Select a task and click View.
3. On the task form, click the Assignment tab.
4. Update the time you spent on the task. 
   You can create an entry in the effort log as needed.
5. Click the Work Info tab, and make an entry in the Work Info History field.
6. At the top of the Task form, set the Status field to Closed. 
   When a task is set to a status of Closed and certain conditions apply, you can update related CIs that might be affected by this modification.
7. Select a status reason to describe how the task was closed. The closure codes are:
   • Success
   • Failed
   • Canceled
8. Click Save.