---
sourceDocument: Australia IT Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/it-service-management

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia IT Service Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itsm

bundleId :

    - itsm

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Assess a problem

# Assess a problem {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated March 12, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read  
Assess a problem to determine whether the problem requires a thorough
investigation.

## Before you begin

* Role required: admin, problem_admin, problem_manager, or problem_coordinator
* Activate the Problem Management Best Practice --- Madrid --- State Model (com.snc.best_practice.problem.madrid.state_model) to get the new best practice states and guided actions to navigate the lifecycle of a problem. For details, see [Activate Problem Management Best Practice --- Madrid --- State Model](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/0b_j6JKqbroohu13nsjeCw "The Problem Management Best Practice — Madrid — State Model plugin (com.snc.best_practice.problem.madrid.state_model) introduces new best practice states and guided actions to navigate the life cycle of a problem.").
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## About this task

Assessing a problem involves analyzing the scale and extent of the problem, as well
as its cause and effect.

## Procedure

Click Assess and fill the mandatory fields.  
After assessing the problem, you can perform any one of the following actions:

| Option | Action to be taken |
| If the problem is valid and requires a resolution | Click Confirm. |
| If there is an existing problem with similar issue | Click Mark Duplicate. Note: * When you mark a problem as duplicate, the related records from the duplicate problem are moved to the existing problem. * The List of related task records (comma-separated) to move over when a problem is marked as a duplicate of another (problem.duplicate.records_to_move) problem management property controls the related records that are copied from the existing to the original problem. {#assess-a-problem__ul_kbm_mdn_pfb} |
| If the problem is not a valid problem | Click Cancel. |
|-|-|

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## What to do next

After you confirm that the problem needs investigation and a resolution, the problem
enters the Root Cause Analysis state.