Managing work on tickets by using tasks

To add a task to a ticket

You add tasks directly from the ticket.

1. Open the ticket to which you need to add the task.
2. On the Tasks tab, select Add Task.
3. Select one of the following choices. 
   • From scratch — Select this option to add a task from scratch, or to add an ad hoc task. For an ad hoc task, provide a task title and description.
   • From template — Select this option to add a task from a single task template or task group template. Problem investigations and known errors do not support the use of templates.
     
     

1. (Optional) If you are using a template, you can search for it by typing part of the template name in the search field or filter the list of templates by using the following criteria:
   

   Type	Activity type
   Single Tasks	Manual — An action (for example, replacing a cable) is performed by a person. Automatic — A predefined instruction is automatically executed by the task.
   Task Groups	Standard — A flow mechanism establishes how the tasks relate to each other. Sequencing — Sequencing strictly specifies the order of tasks.

   

2. From the template tasks, from the search results, select the task that you want to add.
3. Save the task.
4. After you add a task, update the task details.
   For example, schedule a start and stop time, add attachments, or select an assignee. If the ticket is auto-assigned, the task uses the assignment rules of your organization. You can also add attachments to the tasks.

To add attachments to tasks

When using classic Smart IT on mobile devices, you can attach files from the following locations:

• Files stored on the local devices
• Files stored on cloud storage such as, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and Box.

You can use the following options to add attachments when you create or edit change requests, and when you add a comment:

• (iOS devices) Add Attachment
• (Android devices) From files and Dropbox options

To assign tasks

You can assign tasks to one person, to several people, or to a support group. The person or support group to whom the task is assigned is the task implementer. After a task or task group is assigned to a task implementer, the task implementer receives notifications to perform each of the assigned tasks. Task implementers can log their progress as they complete each task.

When you add or edit a task, you can quickly assign it to yourself by using the Assign to me link. You will see the Assign to me link only if you belong to the same support group to which the task is assigned.

• If you are part of only one support group, after you click the Assign to me link, the task is assigned to you without opening the Update Assignment pane.
• If you are part of multiple support groups, when you click the Assign to me link, the Update Assignment pane is displayed on the task profile. The system searches for support groups to which you belong across all support companies, support organizations, and support groups. You must select one of the search results and save the selection. For more information, see Overview-of-ticket-creation.

When a task is assigned to you, it appears in the Ticket Console as separate ticket. When you open the task, it has a link back to the parent ticket, which you can open to see the full context of the task.

Overview of task reordering

If there is a change in the priority of planned tasks, you can change the task sequence as required. BMC Helix ITSM provides the capability to change task sequences of Staged tasks by manually updating their sequence number or by dragging them from within the task list. Task sequencing is available for incident, work order, change requests, and activity (from release) tickets. Task sequence is not supported for Problem or Known Error records.

When reordering tasks, consider the following points:

• A logged-in user who can add tasks can also change the sequence.
• Only Staged tasks can be reordered.
  
• A task that is a part of a task group cannot be moved outside the parent task group. However, the entire task group can be moved as a single unit.
• A task cannot be moved above a task or task group that is closed or bypassed. 
• Child tasks with the Standard task group cannot be moved. Only child tasks with the Sequencing task group can be moved internally.
  
• Nested tasks are read-only and cannot be reordered. 
• Nested task groups can be reordered, but tasks within nested task groups cannot be reordered.
• For change management tasks, when task phasing is enabled, you cannot drag a task from its existing phase to another phase. The same rule applies to task groups.

To reorder tasks

Moving a staged task above an active task or task group, changes the sequence number of the staged task to the same as that of the active task and updates the status to Pending.
For example, you drag a staged task above an active task with a sequence of 3, the status of the staged task is changed to Pending and its sequence is updated to 3.

When you move a task group above an active task or task group, the status of the first task in the task group is changed to Pending, and the sequence of the task group is changed to the same sequence as the active task or task group.

You can reorder tasks by using the following methods:

• Drag a task to the new location.
• Enter a sequence number in the input box displayed.
  

The drag-and-drop functionality allows you to drag the existing task and move it to the desired sequence in the task list. The sequence of all tasks is updated when you move the task. However, entering a number in the input box will only move that task to the logical location in the sequence. If your task sequence follows a progression, for example 10, 20, 30...n, tasks are renumbered in a regular numerical sequence, starting with 1. Do not use the drag-and-drop functionality to reorder tasks if the numbering follows a progression. 

The sequence input box allows you to manually update a task sequence by entering the new sequence number for a task. The task is moved to the logical place in the task sequence and the sequence numbers of other tasks are not changed. Use this method to reorder tasks if the numbering follows a progression because using the drag-and-drop functionality updates the sequence number to a regular numerical sequence of 1, 2, 3...n.

1. From the Actions menu, select Reorder tasks.
   A sequence number input box is displayed for each task. 

2. Click or tap the drag-and-drop icon and move the task to the desired place in the task list.
   When you drag a task to a new position in the task list, the sequence of all tasks is automatically updated.
   To run two tasks in parallel, manually enter the sequence number for the tasks in the input box provided.
   The Save and Revert options are enabled when you move any task.
   
   

   Important

   Reordering can move a staged task to an active state, for example, to the Assigned state. As long as you are in the Edit mode, you can continue to reorder this task. After you save your changes, you cannot reorder these tasks as they are now active.

   
   
   

3. Click or tap Save after you have completed reordering your task list.

The information in this section is for people who fulfill one or more of the following support roles:

• Service desk analysts
• Group coordinators
• Specialists

When working in BMC Helix ITSM: Service Desk, you access the Task Management system from Incident Management.

A task is a unit of work that needs to be completed as a step in resolving an incident request. If the solution to an incident request involves more than one action, procedure, or process, consider dividing the solution into separate tasks. Dividing the solution into separate tasks can help you manage and monitor the incident request as it moves toward resolution.

You can assign the tasks to the same person, several people, or a support group. The person or support group to whom the task is assigned is the task implementer. When the group coordinator sets the task status to Work in Progress, the task implementers are notified of the tasks assigned to them by email or some other means. Then, they can log their progress as they complete each task.

To add a task using task templates

To save time, you can use a task template to add a task to an incident request record. Your system administrator creates task templates for the most commonly performed tasks that your service desk handles. With templates, the Task form is predefined (that is, the fields are already completed), so you do not need to spend time manually completing the form. 

The following are the types of tasks that you can add to an incident request record when using templates:

• Task Template
• Task Group Template

Task templates associate a single task to the incident request record. Task template tasks can be manual or automatic. Manual tasks must be performed by a person. Automatic tasks are preformed by a computer or automated system, but you must still assign automatic tasks to a person, so someone can monitor the task.

The Task Group template generates a task that has two or more subtasks. Task Group tasks can be defined as standard or sequencing. Standard task group tasks can be performed in any order. In a sequencing task group, however, the tasks must be performed in the sequence indicated on the Task form. 

If you use an incident template to create an incident, the tasks or task groups related in the incident template are automatically available in the created incident. For more information, see Configuring Incident Management templates.

After adding tasks to a request, if you do not save the request or if the request is not created, the tasks related to the request are not deleted. These tasks are saved as orphaned tasks in the system. The escalation SYS:CLN:TA@00:05-StartCleanup, which runs every 24 hours, deletes any tasks that are in Inactive state longer than a defined retention period, and do not have any parent record associated with them.

1. Open the incident request record, and click the Tasks tab.

2. From the Request Type list, select Task Template or Task Group Template, and then click Relate.

   Tip

   To manage a large number of task templates, you can filter the list by selecting from the Type and Category lists at the top of the dialog box.

3. From the hierarchical list of task templates in the Select Template dialog box, select the appropriate template for the task you are adding, and then click Relate . 
   To expand a category in the hierarchy, click the arrow beside the category name.  The list of task templates on the right side of the Select Template dialog box represents all the templates associated with the category that you selected on the left side.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for all tasks you want to add to the incident. 
   The templates you selected are displayed in the Tasks and Task Groups list. If no templates are listed, click inside the list to refresh the table.
5. If necessary, redefine the numeric sequence of the children tasks created by any group template, as described in the assigning and reassigning tasks sections below. 
   The task management subsystem enforces the dependencies between tasks. These relate to the sequence order specified in the Incident Request form.
6. Click Close.
7. When you finish adding templates, save the incident.

To create an ad hoc task

Ad hoc tasks are tasks that are not predefined by a task template and, therefore, must be created manually.

1. Open the incident request record and click the Tasks tab.
2. From the Request Type list, select Ad hoc.
3. Click Relate. 
   The Create Task form appears. Some fields in the form are already completed with the data for the incident.
4. In the upper region of the form, complete the following required fields:
   • Name — Enter a descriptive name of the task.
   • Summary — Enter a brief description of the task. 
     The Type field is set to Manual by default when you create an ad hoc task.
5. On the General tab, complete information about the company. 
   The default value in the Company field is the contents of the Incident Location field in the Incident Request form. Your task can be assigned to an different department or a different company.
6. On the Requester tab, complete information about the person creating the task (Requester) and the intended target of the task (Requested For). 
   Some information is set by default from the Requested By information of the incident.
7. On the Categorization tab, complete information about the product and operational categorizations.
   Optionally, you can click the Copy Parent Data option to copy the parent categorization information to the task.
8. (Optional) On the Assignment/Dates tab, assign the task by completing the following fields:
   • Assignee Group — Select a task implementer group from the list. 
   • Assignee — Select a task implementer from the list.
     The Assignment Engine automatically assigns the task when the task is created according to how the administrator has configured Incident Management, but you can override this setting if necessary. For more information about assignment configuration, see Configuring assignments.
   • Scheduled Start Date — Enter an estimated start date.
   • Scheduled End Date — Enter an estimated end date. 
     You can set the Start Date and End Date to be different from the dates of the parent incident.
9. On the Relationships tab, search for and then relate configuration items that are needed with this task. 
   You can perform quick actions that are associated with the task, for example, get related relationships.
10. When you finish creating the task, click Save. 
    The task information form closes and returns you to the Incident Request form. The task management subsystem enforces the dependencies between tasks. These relate to any Sequence order you might have specified in the Incident Request form.
11. Click Save on the Incident Request form.

To plan the time for tasks

You can open and view the contents of individual task records, so that you can see detailed information about the individual records and to update them. You can also plan the time for individual tasks.

Depending on how your system is configured, you might receive notification of assigned tasks by email or by an alert. You can also use the Overview console to view all tasks assigned to you. The TAS prefix identifies tasks. To access the Incident Management console, the task implementer must have Incident Master, Incident User, Incident Submitter, or (at minimum) Incident Viewer permissions.

When you follow the recommended lifecycle of an incident, the status of a task must be set to Scheduled before you accept the task. After you receive notification of a task assignment, you must accept it. 

1. On an incident request form, select the Tasks tab.
2. Select a task and click View.
3. On the task form, click the Dates tab.
4. In the Dates/Time region of the form, provide dates for the Scheduled Start Date and Scheduled End Date fields.

5. In the Time Segment Action field, select the following options:

   Time Segment Action	Description
   Analyze Time Segments	Use this option to create the required time segments. For example, you can view when the CI is available or unavailable and accordingly create a time segment.
   Create Business Event Time Segment	Use these options to create or modify the required time segments for business events, for example, holidays or training. Ensure that the business event is unique. Title and specified attributes make a business event unique.
   Modify Business Event Time Segment
   Create Categorizational Time Segment	Use these options to create or modify the required time segments based on categorizations, for example, Calbro Services - Hardware. Ensure that the categorization is unique. Title and specified attributes make a categorization unique.
   Modify Categorizational Time Segment
   Create/Modify CI Time Segment	Use this option to create a time segment that indicates when the CI is available or unavailable.

6. Save and close the form.

To accept an assigned task

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 accept.
3. Click View.
   To view the related incident request record, click Open next to the Request ID field on the Task form.
4. If the Status field of the incident is set to In Progress, in the task, manually set the value of the Status field to Work in Progress.
   In addition, different escalations occur based on the task's status. If the task is still in the Scheduled state while you are working on it, an inaccurate escalation can occur.
5. Click Save.

To assign a task

After creating a task or adding a task template to an incident request record, you assign it. You can assign tasks to individuals or to a support group.

If you cannot resolve one of your assigned tasks, you or your group coordinator can reassign the task. For example, you might ask the group coordinator to reassign the task in situations where you want to reassign the task to someone outside your group.

When you relate tasks or task groups to an incident, they are automatically sequenced in the order in which you related them to the incident. Similarly, when you create a new incident by using an incident template that is related to some task or task group templates, the task or task group templates are automatically sequenced in the order in which they are related to the incident template. This sequence is strictly enforced in the incident. However, you can reassign the sequence in which tasks and task groups are performed. You can also assign the same sequence number to more than one task or children tasks of a task group. If two tasks or children tasks of a task group have the same sequence number, they are considered peers. You can work on peer tasks in any order. (You can reassign the task sequence numbers only when tasks are in the Staged status, and not when they are in any of the active statuses.)

1. Open an incident request and click the Tasks tab.
2. Select a task and click View.
3. On the task form, select the Assignment tab.
4. From the Assignee or Assignee Group lists, select the person or support group to work on the task as the task implementer.
5. Save and close the form.

The task implementer for that task is notified of the task assignment.

To reassign a sequence to task groups and tasks

1. Open an incident request and click the Task tab.
2. In the Tasks and Task Groups table, select the task that you want to resequence.
3. To move the selected task higher or lower in the sequence, click the up or down arrow to the right of the table.
4. Click Close.

To reassign sequence numbers to task group children

1. Open an incident request and click the Task tab.
2. In the table, select the task group. 
   The tasks assigned to the task group appear in the Children of Selected Task Group table. 
3. If needed, refresh the Children of Selected Task Group table and then select the task that you want to reassign.
4. To move the selected task higher or lower in the sequence, click the up or down arrow to the right of the table.

To add work information to a task

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.

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. After 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 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. 

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.

To resolve, close, and cancel incident requests with open tasks

You resolve and close incident requests with open tasks the same way that you close other types of incident requests. However, depending how your environment is configured, if you resolve or close an incident request with open tasks, you might receive either an error message or a warning message. Depending on your configuration, it is also possible to receive no message.

The following paragraphs describe what to do if you receive an error message, what happens when you receive a warning message, and when you receive no message:

• Error message — If you receive an error message when closing an incident that has open tasks, you must close all the open tasks before you can close the incident.
  When the Incident Resolution with Open Tasks rule is configured to generate an error message, the error condition stops all workflow processing and prevents the incident from being closed. This configuration is the default.
• Warning message — If you receive a warning message when closing an incident that has an open task, you can still close the incident successfully. The task remains open, however.
• No message — It is possible to close an incident that has an open task and receive no message, depending on how your installation is configured. If you receive no message when closing an incident with an open task, the task remains open.

If you cancel an incident that has an open task associated with it, the open task is also canceled.