Add a task to the exercise

  • Release version: Washingtondc
  • Updated February 1, 2024
  • 5 minutes to read

    • Add a task to the exercise in BCM UIB Workspace. You can then monitor and complete the tasks that are associated with the exercise.

    Before you begin

    Role required: sn_bcm.planner, sn_bcm.program_manager

    About this task

    Starting with version 6.1.x of the Business Continuity Management application, the following enhancements are supported for managing the tasks.
    • Perform bulk edits and change the state of tasks, making the process more efficient.
    • Reduce the time spent on managing the tasks individually.
    • Improve efficiency for the users who perform the exercises or events offline in tools such as Microsoft Excel. This enhancement helps streamline the transition from offline to online task management.
    • Edit the State field of the event task if you have the BCM manager role, BCM planner role, or if you are the user assigned to the event.
    • The Retrigger as manual UI action is used only for the automated tasks.

    When the plan gets activated as part of an exercise or an actual event, the automated flow gets triggered.

    The bulk edit enhancement offers flexibility for managing the event tasks. The BCM manager, BCM planner, or user assigned to the event can manage the tasks efficiently by performing the following tasks:
    • Edit several fields such as the Assignment field.
    • Edit multiple recovery tasks in the Task status, Actual start, Actual end, Assigned to, Assigned group, and Additional assignee fields in the recovery tasks list at one go.
    • Open a closed task for editing that was closed by mistake. For this scenario, the Closed failed task state is added to the tasks. Moving a task to the Closed failed state brings an entire exercise to a stop unless the program manager (sn_bcm.program_manager) unblocks the task and moves it to the Closed complete state.
    For more information on bulk editing of tasks, see Structured workflows for Exercise Management in BCM Configurable Workspace and Structured workflows for Crisis Management in BCM Configurable Workspace.

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to Workspaces > Business Continuity Workspace.
    2. In the List view, navigate to Exercises > Pending and select the exercise event in the list.
    3. Select the Event tasks tab.
      Note:
      The Event tasks tab is displayed for the exercise events when the exercise method is Functional.
      When you add or update the plan to the exercise event, the related plans, assets, and event tasks that are associated with the plan also get pulled into the event as shown in the following example.Event task cycle.
      The following example shows the circular tasks where Task 3 has a dependency on Task 1.
      • Test Cycle 1: Task 1 activates Test Cycle 2: Planning.
      • Test Cycle 2: Task 1 activates Test Cycle 3: Planning.
      • Test Cycle 3: Task 1 activates Test Cycle 1: Planning.
    4. To add an ad-hoc task to the event, select New ad-hoc task.
      Note:
      When you add an ad-hoc task to the exercise event that is in the Work in progress state and if the activated plan is in the Work in progress state, the tasks get moved to the Open state. If the activated plan is the Pending state, the task moves to the Pending state.
      For more information on the fields in the New Event Task form, see Create New Event Task form.
      Note:
      You cannot create an ad-hoc task for the activated plans that are in Closed Complete or Closed Incomplete state.
      The Create New Event task form is displayed as shown in the following example.

      Create New Event task form.

    5. To start the exercise, select Start Event.

      Beginning with the Xanadu release, you can monitor the activated plans linked to an exercise, that are now displayed in an Open state, instead of the Work in Progress state. The Open state displays an accurate status of the activated plan. The actual duration of the activated plan is calculated from its start date to the end date. When the tasks linked to an activated plan are updated to the Work in Progress state, the status of the activated plan gets updated to Work in Progress.

      When you start an event task in an activated plan and update its state to Work in Progress, the status of the activated plan is also updated to Work in Progress. The condition for the activated plan to move into Work in Progress is that work starts on at least one of the event tasks. Until then, all the activated plans are still in the Open state.

      Whenever the state of an activated plan changes from Open to Work in Progress, the actual start date is recorded in the Actual start field. When all event tasks are completed, the actual end is calculated and recorded in the Actual end field. Based on the actual start and actual end, the actual time taken is recorded in the Actual time taken field. The time required to completed each task is submitted and stamped in the Total effort field in the activated plan.Total effort for the plan.

      You can edit multiple recovery tasks at once.

      A message is displayed that the event task has a circular dependency. You have to trigger the tasks manually for this event.

    6. Select the first task and select Trigger.

      The process to trigger the task manually is shown in the following example.

      Triggering the task.

      It updates the state of the task to Open as shown in the following example and opens all the dependent tasks one by one.

      Dependent tasks.

    7. Complete all the activated plans of the event tasks for the exercise event and select Submit for Approval.
    8. To generate a PDF, select Generate PDF.
      If you have edit access to the crisis event, you can save a copy of the event in PDF format to your local hard drive.
      Note:
      By default, the PDF is generated and attached after the event is closed.
    9. Navigate to the Results section on the Details tab and update the Actual start and Actual end dates for the event task.
    10. Update the assignment fields, if necessary.
    11. Enter any event task-related information in the Work notes field of the Activity section.
    12. Select Save.
    13. Select the refresh icon (Refresh icon.) to display the updated state of the asset or plan, and the actual time taken to recover the asset.