Adding tasks to work orders

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

To add a task to a work order, you can:

Use a task template, which includes predefined tasks that you can quickly add to a work order. When using task templates, you can also add tasks that are divided into subtasks.
Add an ad hoc task, which is added manually without a template.

A task that has subtasks is called a task group. Subtasks in a task group are called children of the task group. To view the task group, select the arrow (>) next to the task.

Although tasks and task groups are related to specific tickets, information about the tasks and task groups is stored on a separate Task form. You can relate an unlimited number of tasks or task groups to a work order.

Before you begin

Before you add tasks to work orders, ensure that the administrator has configured:

Task phases to enforce validation of tasks performed in each phase. For more information, see Configuring task phases.
Change rules. For more information, see Configuring change rules.
Attachment criteria and the supported file extensions. For more information, see Configuring file attachments.

To add tasks, you must have the requisite permissions:

You must have the User or Master permissions for the parent ticket type to add a task to it or modify an existing task.
For example, to add a task to a work order, you must be a Work Order User or Work Order Master.
You must also belong to the support group assigned to that work order.

Task user and Task manager permissions are included with other BMC Helix ITSM permissions, such as Infrastructure Change User.

To add a task

The following video explains the process of adding tasks to a ticket.

https://youtu.be/pxGMEGHsDOk

You add tasks directly from the ticket.

Open the ticket to which you need to add the task.
On the Tasks tab, select Add Task.
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.
  If you are adding tasks from a template in the Progressive Web App work order and incident screens, you can add multiple tasks to an incident or a work order ticket. If you add multiple tasks to a ticket, these tasks are assigned the same sequence number.

(Optional) If you are using a template, you can search for a template by typing part of the 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

The tasks in a task group are displayed as a nested table in the Select task template pane. After you add a task group to a ticket, the child tasks are not displayed under the task group. You must expand the task group to view the child tasks.

From the template tasks, from the search results, select the task that you want to add.
Save the task.
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.

Instructions for classic interfaces

View instructions for Smart IT

To add attachments to tasks

When using 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

View instructions for Mid Tier

To add tasks to work orders

On the IT Home Page, select Service Request Management > Search Work Order, and click Search.
Select the work order, and click the Tasks tab.
In the Request Type field, select Ad hoc.
Click Relate.
Some fields in the form already contain data for the work order.
In the upper area of the form, complete the following required fields:
- Name — Enter a descriptive name of the task.
- Summary — Enter a brief description of the task.
On the General tab, complete information about the company.
By default, the Company field includes the information provided in the Location Information area on the Categorization tab of the Work Order form. Your task can be assigned to a different department or company.
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 work order.
On the Categorization tab, complete information about the product and operational categorizations.
(Optional) Schedule and assign the task, as explained in Ordering-scheduling-and-assigning-tasks.
On the Relationships tab, search for, and relate configuration items, LDAP objects, and software library items that are needed with this task.
To return to the Work Order form, click Save.