About tasks and task groups
A task is the smallest unit of work that needs to be performed to fulfill a service request or a request for change. Tasks facilitate the timely and accurate resolution of requests that are complex or contain several steps.
Change implementers and service desk analysts can associate multiple tasks with a change, an incident, or a problem. There is no limit to the number of tasks that can be created. Tasks for the same request can be assigned to different assignees, who are then notified. Change implementers and service desk analysts can also assign tasks to themselves.
Change implementers and service desk analysts perform tasks to complete operations related to a request. Change implementers can use the task templates or the task group templates that the task administrator sets up as they work on a change request. The status of all tasks must be marked as Closed (with a status reason of Success, Canceled, or Failed) before a change request can be closed.
As a change implementer or service desk analyst, you can assign ad hoc tasks to one or more people without changing the assignment of the incident. Incident Management lets you create ad hoc tasks for open incidents, as appropriate. The status of these tasks in Incident Management can be staged, assigned, pending, work in progress, closed, or bypassed. The waiting status is used only for automatic tasks, which are not applicable to incident management. You can manually set the assignment for any task.
An Incident Management configuration rule, Incident Resolution with Open Tasks, determines how Incident Management behaves when you close an incident request that still has open tasks.
The options are:
- Error Message — An error message indicates that the user must close all open tasks before closing the incident. The user cannot close the incident until all tasks are closed, because the error stops all workflow processing. This option is the default.
No Action — No error message appears, and the user can close the incident even if an open task is associated with it. The task, however, remains open.
- Warning Message — A warning message tells the user that the incident still has an open task associated with it. The user can still close the incident. The task, however, remains open.
For more information about how to configure this rule, see the Configuring BMC Remedy ITSM applications.
In Problem Management, since the tasks do not have a direct relationship with the Problem form, you can close a problem investigation that has open tasks.
The following figure provides an overview of using change templates for standard changes. For example, each time you get a request to activate a phone line, you might need to perform some of the same steps, such as using change templates for standard changes.
- Verify the employee's specific details
- Search for an available phone number to assign
- Activate the line
- Test the line
- Schedule an appointment for a technician, if necessary
- Notify the employee that the service is active