Creating action items in crisis events
Summarize
Summary of Creating action items in crisis events
Starting with BCM release 9.0.x, crisis managers can create ad-hoc action tasks for recovery members or teams at any time while a crisis event or exercise remains open. These tasks can be created quickly without needing to map them to event assets or recovery plans, and they are excluded from the event recovery timeline. This capability enables real-time task assignment and assessments during crisis events, enhancing responsiveness and coordination.
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Key Features
- Real-time action items: Assign tasks such as verifying safety, reviewing business continuity plans, or conducting situation assessments during crises or exercises.
- Action item details: Includes fields like actual start/end dates, total time taken, event reference, descriptions, due date, task numbers, type, and assessment.
- Workflow states: Action items progress through Open, Work in progress (auto-captures start time), Skipped (removes time tracking), and Closed (auto-captures end time). Tasks can be updated or reopened by BCM managers or planners.
- Assignment flexibility: Tasks can be assigned to groups, individuals, or multiple assignees using fields such as Assignment group, Assigned to, and Additional assignee list.
- Types of action items: Supports both task and assessment action items, with integration of crisis events and Smart Assessment tools.
Comparison with Event Tasks
Action items differ from traditional event tasks in several ways:
- Action items are not dependent on event assets or recovery plans, whereas event tasks are.
- Event tasks have automated ordering and time calculations rolled up to plans and assets; action items do not.
- Workflow for action items excludes the Pending state and does not include failures as a final state.
- Access and role permissions are similar, allowing plan owners, program managers, and recovery members controlled creation and updates.
Roles and Permissions
- Plan owner: Can create, read, update, and delete action items if they own the event.
- Program managers: Can create, read, update, and delete action items across all events.
- Viewers: Can read all action items.
- Recovery event/plan owners: Can read and update assigned action items.
Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers
This feature enables crisis managers to dynamically assign and track tasks during live crisis events or exercises without the need for extensive prior planning or asset mapping. It supports fast, flexible responses such as safety verifications, plan reviews, and situation assessments, improving incident management effectiveness. Understanding the differences between action items and event tasks helps in leveraging the right tool for specific crisis workflows and maintaining proper role-based access and task tracking.
Starting with BCM release 9.0.x, crisis managers can create action tasks for recovery members or teams anytime during a crisis event or exercise, as long as the event remains open. Crisis managers can create these tasks on the fly without mapping them to event assets or recovery plans. These action tasks are also not included in the event recovery timeline.
Action items in real-time
Action items can be used to assign tasks in real-time. For example, a crisis manager can assign an action item to verify that there are no injuries at a specific office location after an exercise or they can request someone to review the business continuity plan before proceeding to the next steps.
You can also use action items to conduct assessments during a crisis event. For example, in the event of a fire, you can assign an action item to assess the situation, determining the severity, and identify affected employees and buildings. You can perform an assessment and assign an action item.
Fields and states associated with Action items
- Actual start date
- Actual end date
- Total time taken
- Event (Reference)
- Short description
- Description
- Due date
- Task numbers
- Type
- Task
- Assessment
| State | Description |
|---|---|
| Open | First state of the action item. |
| Work in progress | State of the action item when its work begins. When an action item moves to the Work in progress state, the system auto-captures its start time. |
| Skipped | Assigned state of the action item when it is not relevant. When an action item is skipped and considered not relevant, its time fields are removed, resulting in a total time of 0. |
| Closed (complete, incomplete) | Final state of the action item task. When an action item has been completed, the system auto-captures its end time. |
BCM managers or planners can update the action items and can reopen the ad-hoc tasks associated with them.
- Assignment group
- Assigned to
- Additional assignee list
Comparison between event tasks and action items
The action items are distinct from the event tasks in crises and events. The following table outlines the differences between event tasks and action items.
| Fields/Criteria | Event task | Action items |
|---|---|---|
| Details |
|
|
| Assignment |
|
|
| Access |
|
|
| Workflow | Pending -> Open -> Work in progress -> Skipped -> Closed (complete, incomplete, failed) | Open -> Work in progress -> Skipped -> Closed (complete, incomplete) |
| Dependencies | Yes | No |
| Automation | Yes | No |
| Orders | Yes, order is auto-calculated based on dependencies. | No, order is not calculated for the action item tasks. |
| Time calculation | Yes, the event tasks time is rolled up to activated plans, and impacted assets. | No, the event tasks time is not rolled up for the action item tasks. |
Roles associated with action items
The following roles are associated with action items.
| Role | Description |
|---|---|
| Plan owner | Can create, read, update, and delete action items when the plan owner is the event owner. |
| Program managers | Can create, read, update, and delete action items for all events. |
| Viewers | Can read all action items. |
| Recovery event/Plan owner | Can read and update all action items that they are assigned to. |