Using Planning console - Legacy

Release version: Yokohama

Updated July 31, 2025

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Summary of Using Planning console - Legacy

The Planning Console is a centralized interface within the Project Management application that provides project managers with a comprehensive view of project elements, including hierarchical sub-projects, tasks in a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), and a Gantt chart. It supports task dependencies, resource allocation, and collaboration via Live Feed integration. Note that the Planning Console is being prepared for future deprecation and will eventually be replaced by the new Project Workspace, which offers an enhanced user interface and improved project management capabilities.

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Key Features

Project Structure and Visualization: Displays tasks in a WBS list and a Gantt chart, allowing visualization of timelines, task dependencies, and hierarchical relationships.
Parent-Child Relationships: Enables creation and adjustment of task hierarchies directly within the WBS section, with indentation determining relationships.
Task Dependencies: Allows users to set predecessor dependencies among tasks to model task sequencing and impacts.
Resource Constraints: Assigned resources can be limited to those defined in allocated resource plans linked to projects or tasks.
Business Rules Control: Business rules are disabled by default during console operations to optimize performance but can be enabled if required for specific workflows.
Client-Side Planning Console: Supports quick project structure building on the client side without immediate server saves, improving scheduling responsiveness and reducing lag.
Automatic vs. Manual Projects:
- Automatic Projects: Task changes automatically update related tasks and project records.
- Manual Projects: Task changes do not automatically cascade except for project record updates; planned dates can be optionally updated based on actual start dates.
Customizable Columns: Administrators can configure which columns appear in the console to tailor information display.
Tutorial Walkthrough: An integrated tutorial accessible via the help icon guides users through console features and usage.

Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

ServiceNow customers using the Planning Console can efficiently manage project timelines, tasks, and dependencies within a single interface. The ability to create hierarchical task relationships and define dependencies supports detailed project scheduling and resource planning. Customers should note the option to enable business rules if needed and can leverage client-side planning for better performance during schedule adjustments. Understanding the difference between automatic and manual projects helps ensure accurate project updates and scheduling behavior.

Given the upcoming deprecation of the Planning Console, customers are encouraged to transition to the new Project Workspace for enhanced project management capabilities and a more modern user experience.

The planning console is a centralized interface for the Project Management application.

Important:

Planning console is being prepared for future deprecation. It will be hidden and no longer available for installation but will continue to be supported. For details, see the Deprecation Process [KB0867184] article in the Now Support knowledge base. Use new Project Workspace with enhanced UI to help you efficiently manage your projects.

The planning console gives project managers a comprehensive view of all aspects of a project, including a hierarchical list of sub-projects, if any, project tasks that appear in a work breakdown structure (WBS) list, and the project Gantt chart. The console also integrates with Live Feed so your users can collaborate on projects.

Sections in the planning console

The planning console is divided into the following sections:

A list of the project tasks if you open the planning console for a project.
The Gantt chart.
Banner icons and lists for performing tasks on the console.

screenshot for Planning console — Figure 1. Example planning console

For more information on the Gantt chart and the task relationships and dependencies that you can build, see Gantt chart and Parent-child rollup task calculations.

Note:

The resources in the Assigned to column of the planning console can be constrained to be derived only from the allocated resource plans associated to the project or any of its tasks.

Business rules

By default, the business rules are not triggered during an operation in the planning console. You can enable the business rules using Enable firing of Business Rules property.

Note:

To enable this property, you must clear the Enable Client Side Planning check box.

You can also enable business rules when defining the columns for planning console using the Fire BR on Save field.

Client side planning console

Build your project structure quickly on the client side without having to save details in the server for each interaction in planning console. Enabling Client side planning console prevents any time lags that occur after you perform any actions in planning console, and improves the scheduling performance.

Automatic and manual projects

In an automatic project, any change to the dates, duration, or relationships of a project task automatically updates all the tasks in the entire project, including the project record, as necessary. The automatic project icon () appears adjacent to the project name.

In a manual project, changes to the dates, duration, or relationships of a project task do not automatically update all tasks. So parent task dates do not reflect any changes made to dependents or child tasks. The only change that is made automatically is when a task date or duration change updates dates and duration of the project record. In a manual project, any update to actual start date does not update the planned end date of the project or project task. However, enabling the project property Enable alter of planned date with Actual for Manual Project updates the planned end date from actual start date and planned duration. The manual project icon () appears adjacent to the project name.

You can specify if a project is automatic or manual in the Calculation field on the Project form. This field becomes read-only when the project starts.

Tutorial

A tutorial walk through is available in the console. It shows you all the features of the console and how to use them. Access the walk through within the help icon ().