CMDB Health Remediation Tasks - altering the description field/including link to knowledge

[Drew Paul]

Looking for input on how best to solve for configuring health tasks (orphan, staleness, recommended/required fields) so teams assigned remediation tasks have better instructions on how to resolve the issue.

One thought I had, depending on how accessible the configurations are for the health tasks, would be to add a form annotation, something like "click this link to view knowledge on how to remediate this task".  Then if there are updates we can simply update the knowledge article and no need for an update set/change.

[Bhuvan]

@Drew Paul 

Get Well Playbook would be the best option for your use case. Refer this article for more details,

https://noderegister.service-now.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0829103

Thanks,

Bhuvan

[AJ-TechTrek]

Hi @Drew Paul ,

As per my understanding serviceNow CMDB Health tasks recap:

Health tasks come mainly from:
* Orphan task rule
* Staleness task rule
* Required / recommended field rule
Each creates records in CMDB Health Task table (cmdb_health_task).

Solution approach will be helpful for you :-

Option 1: Add form annotation or UI macro (best practice)
* Add a UI macro or UI formatter (or simpler: form annotation) on the cmdb_health_task form.
* Display:
* A static text: "Need help? Click here for step-by-step remediation guide"
* Or, dynamically link to a knowledge article (KB).
* Use dynamic data: if task type = orphan → show "orphan remediation KB", etc.
This keeps the logic configurable:
* You update the KB article → teams see latest instructions.
* No update set needed for text changes.

Option 2: Add related list / knowledge context
* Enable the Knowledge context widget on the task form.
* Configure it to search articles tagged with "cmdb health" + task type.
* Remediators see contextual articles.

Option 3: Add remediation instructions as part of the task generation
* Modify the CMDB Health schedule rule to:
* Populate a remediation_instructions field (custom field) with template text.
* This text could include:
* Steps
* Link to a KB
* Then show this field on the task form.

Works well when task types are limited and instructions don't change often.

How to do form annotation (simple):
1. Go to form layout → annotations.
2. Add a field of type "Annotation".
3. Use text:
<p>Need help? <a href="/kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KB0012345" target="_blank">Click here for remediation guide</a></p>
Or make dynamic:
* Use a UI macro to pick KB based on task type (task.type).

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Thank You
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