Change request project task relationship

  • Release version: Washingtondc
  • Updated February 1, 2024
  • 4 minutes to read
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    Summary of Change Request Project Task Relationship

    The relationship between project tasks and change requests in ServiceNow is governed by specific rules, particularly regarding start and end dates, task durations, and state changes. Understanding this relationship is crucial for effective project management and ensuring that tasks are appropriately aligned with their respective change requests.

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    Key Features

    • Start and End Dates: The project task link inherits dates from the change request, using the later start date in case of discrepancies. If the change request starts during non-work hours, it will begin at the specified change request time, while the duration is adjusted according to the project schedule.
    • Project Task Duration: The duration of the project task link is determined by the change request duration, rolling up to the parent project task. If no planned dates are available, a default duration of one project day is applied.
    • Multiple Linked Change Requests: Each additional linked change request creates a new project task link, with all links rolling up to the parent task. A change request can only link to a single project task.
    • Task State Management: The state of project task links changes in response to the change request state. If a change request is closed, the project task link automatically updates to Closed Complete.
    • Modification Propagation: Changes made to linked change requests update the project task link, but not vice versa. Key fields like planned start date and state will propagate from the change request to the project task link and parent project task.

    Key Outcomes

    By effectively managing the relationship between change requests and project tasks, ServiceNow customers can ensure that project timelines are accurate and that task states reflect the current status of linked change requests. This improves project oversight and helps maintain alignment between project management and change management processes, ultimately leading to more successful project outcomes.

    The rules that apply to all parent-child tasks also govern the relationship between project task and the project task link.

    Start and end dates

    The project task link inherits start and end dates from the change request. However, the Project Management application adjusts the dates when these situations occur:
    • If the project task and the change request have different planned start dates, the project task link uses the later of the two dates. For example, if the project task starts on October 1 but the change request starts on October 2, the project task link changes to October 2.
    • If the change request has an earlier start date, the Time constraint value for the project task link becomes Start ASAP when the link is created. The end date remains the same as the end date specified in the change request record.
    • If the change request starts and ends before the project start date, the project task link has a duration of zero (0). It also appears as a milestone that occurs when the project starts.
    • If a change request is scheduled to start during non-work time according to the project schedule, the planned start date of the project task link ignores the schedule. It also starts at the time specified by the change request. However, the duration of the project task link does take the schedule into consideration. For example: the project uses the default schedule, which specifies that work hours are Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 17:00 with an hour break from noon to 13:00. A change request with a 13-hour duration starts at midnight. The project task link starts at midnight and continues through the start of the schedule at 08:00. It stops at noon for one hour, and continues from 13:00 until 14:00. The total duration would be 13 hours.

    Project Task Duration

    The duration of the change request determines the duration of the project task link. That duration is rolled up to the parent project task just as all child task durations roll up to parent tasks. The Planned start date and Planned end date in the Change Request form Schedule section are the fields that determine the duration. If there are no planned dates on the Change Request form, the default duration is one project day. The project has a schedule or 24 hours when the project has no schedule.

    Multiple Linked Change Requests

    If you link additional change requests to a project task, additional project task links are created. All become child tasks of the project task. The dates roll up to the parent task. For example, if a linked project task is planned to finish on October 30. You link a new change request scheduled to finish on November 30, a new project task link is created. The parent task planned end date extends to November 30 to cover the duration of both project task links. A change request can only be linked to one project task. It cannot be linked to multiple tasks in the same project or across multiple projects. A project task that has one or more child tasks cannot also have a project task link connecting it to a change request.

    Project Task State

    If the state of a change request changes to Pending, Open, or Work in Progress, the state of the project task link changes accordingly. If the state of the change request changes to any of the closed states, the state of the project task link changes to Closed Complete.

    How Modifications Propagate Between Change Requests and Project Tasks

    Modifications to a linked change request propagate to the project task link. However, the reverse is not true. You cannot modify the change request record from the Project Management application.
    Modifications to the following fields propagate from the change request to the project task link:
    • Planned start date
    • Planned end date
    • State
    These change request settings also roll up to the project task that is the parent of the project task link, and also up to the project record. Consider the following example: a project has not yet been started and all its tasks are in the Pending state. If you changed the state of a linked change request record from Open to Work in Progress, the project task link, its parent task, and the project itself all change to Work in Progress.

    When you start a project, tasks that have Start ASAP as the time constraint and have no other start dependencies start immediately. However, project tasks with linked change requests do not start automatically. The project manager must start the task manually by changing the State field to Work in Progress.

    Modifications made in the Project Management application do not propagate to a linked change request record, so closing a project does not close a linked change. When you successfully implement a change and close the project it belongs to, you must go to the change request record and manually change the state to Closed.