State changes for event tasks in groups

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of State changes for event tasks in groups

    This content explains the lifecycle and state transitions of event tasks grouped by similarity within ServiceNow, particularly focusing on the behavior of original and duplicate tasks in the Similar tasks group during the Yokohama release. Understanding these state changes helps you manage grouped event tasks more effectively and maintain clear task dependencies and statuses.

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    Key Features

    • Original and Duplicate Task Identification: When an event starts, the first task in a group becomes the original task, auto-assigned by the system. Duplicate tasks are linked and tracked separately.
    • State Transitions:
      • Before event start, the Original task field is empty and read-only.
      • After event start, the original task moves through states like On hold and Open based on duplicate task progress.
      • Duplicate tasks progress through states such as Pending, Open, On hold, and eventually Closed duplicate.
    • Task Dependencies: Duplicate tasks have dependencies that determine their state progression. For example, a task dependent on a previous task will only move to Open once the predecessor is closed.
    • Automatic State Updates: Closing the original task triggers automatic closure of duplicates by moving them to the Closed duplicate state.
    • UI Actions for Flexibility:
      • Unlink similar tasks group: Allows unlinking a task from the Similar tasks group.
      • Re-trigger as manual task: Enables re-opening the original task as a manual task workflow, while duplicate tasks remain closed.

    Key Outcomes

    • Improved clarity and management of grouped event tasks through explicit state transitions and dependency handling.
    • Automatic handling of duplicate task closures upon original task completion, reducing manual overhead.
    • Flexibility to unlink or re-trigger tasks, supporting varied operational workflows within event management.
    • Clear tracking of event task progress within groups, helping ensure dependencies are respected and tasks are handled in the correct sequence.

    The original and duplicate event tasks in the Similar tasks group move through different states until the original task is closed.

    The state transitions of the original and duplicate event tasks are explained in the following table.

    Table 1. State transitions of the event task
    Description Task state
    An event contains similar tasks grouped together.

    The event from the list where similar event tasks are grouped together is shown in the example.

    Similar tasks group.
    State the Original task field before starting the event.

    Before starting the event, the Original task field in the Similar tasks group is empty and in the read-only state.

    Original task empty.
    After an event is started, the original task is auto-assigned.

    The first task of the event, such as t4 (EVNTSK0010020) of group 2 in the example, becomes the original task of the Similar tasks group. The following example shows that task 4 (t4) does not have any dependency.

    Original task Open.Original task updated.
    States of original and duplicate tasks

    The original task is updated to the On hold state and the duplicate task is in the Pending state.

    On hold state.

    For context, the worknote for the original task is updated such that the task has been moved to On hold because it was grouped by the similar task groups.

    Worknote.
    The dependencies in the similar tasks group are closed.

    Task 4 is dependent on task 3, task 3 is dependent on task 2, and task 2 is dependent on task 1. Therefore, it is closed first.

    Original task Open.
    After closing t1, t2 moves to the Open state. The task, t2, is open.
    After closing t2, t3 moves to the On hold state. The task, t3, is on hold.
    Since all tasks in the group are On hold, the original task (t4) moves to the Open state. The task, t4, is open.
    Final step. After closing the original task, the duplicate task moves to the Closed duplicate state automatically.

    The duplicate task (t3) moves to the Closed duplicate state automatically.

    Closed duplicate.

    You can unlink an event task from the similar tasks group by selecting the Unlink similar tasks group UI action in the event task.

    You can re-trigger an original task as a manual task and complete its workflow like a regular event task by selecting the Re-trigger as a manual task UI action in the event task. It moves the original task to the Open state, but its duplicate task stays in the Closed duplicate state.