Creating action items in crisis events
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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 during an open crisis event or exercise. These tasks can be created on the fly without linking to event assets or recovery plans, and are not part of the event recovery timeline. This capability enables real-time task assignment for immediate response actions, assessments, or verifications during a crisis.
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Key Features
- Real-time task creation: Assign action items such as safety verifications, plan reviews, or situational assessments during a crisis or exercise.
- Action item details and states: Each action item includes fields like actual start/end dates, total time, descriptions, due dates, and assignment details. The workflow states include Open, Work in progress (which auto-captures start time), Skipped (removes time tracking), and Closed (auto-captures end time).
- Assignment flexibility: Tasks can be assigned to groups, individuals, or additional assignees, supporting dynamic team collaboration.
- Distinct from event tasks: Action items differ from event tasks as they have no dependencies, automated ordering, or time roll-up to plans/assets. They serve as flexible, standalone tasks during crises.
- Roles and permissions: Plan owners and program managers can create, update, and delete action items. Recovery event owners and assigned members can read and update their tasks. Viewers have read-only access.
- Integration with Smart Assessment: Action items can be task or assessment types, supporting integrated crisis event management and situational evaluations.
Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers
- Enable crisis managers to respond quickly by assigning targeted tasks without waiting for formal recovery planning.
- Gain flexibility to perform situation assessments and assign follow-up actions during evolving events.
- Improve visibility and tracking of ad-hoc actions with automated time capture and clear workflow states.
- Support collaborative recovery efforts by assigning tasks to appropriate groups or individuals in real time.
- Maintain separation between formal recovery event tasks and dynamic action items for clearer crisis management processes.
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. |