Mandatory fields & intent of certification tasks vs. other tasks

[Karen_K]

Is it possible to make a field in a certification task required? We have a lot of users who complete certifications leaving some fields blank. (Blank fields are the result of fields not being required while a business app is in non-prod, but then are required when the business app moves to prod. Currently, our certification tasks trigger for only business apps in prod.)

My team is interested in generating a certification task for individual business applications as they move from non-prod to prod. The certification task would be assigned to one individual and would trigger one-off as the status of the business app changes to a prod status.

Would you please explain how a certification task varies from a 'regular' task? And can a regular task be assigned to individuals? 

[pavani_paluri · Accepted solution]

Hi @Karen_K ,

Certification tasks = part of ServiceNow’s data certification framework. They come in bulk (campaigns), less flexible, harder to customize.

Regular tasks = normal ServiceNow tasks (like incidents, change tasks, or custom ones). Very flexible. You can assign them to one person, add required fields, and control them with UI Policies.

When a business app moves to Prod,A task goes to one person,

And you want to force certain fields to be filled, It’s easier to use a regular task (custom task) instead of a certification task.

You can tTrigger the task creation when status = Prod.Assign it to the app owner.

Use UI Policies to make fields required.

Certification task = rigid, campaign-driven.

Regular task = flexible, assignable, can enforce required fields.

For your case → use a regular task.

Mark it helpful if this helps you to understand. Accept solution if this give you the answer you're looking for

Kind Regards,

Pavani P

[pavani_paluri · Accepted solution]

Hi @Karen_K ,

Certification tasks = part of ServiceNow’s data certification framework. They come in bulk (campaigns), less flexible, harder to customize.

Regular tasks = normal ServiceNow tasks (like incidents, change tasks, or custom ones). Very flexible. You can assign them to one person, add required fields, and control them with UI Policies.

When a business app moves to Prod,A task goes to one person,

And you want to force certain fields to be filled, It’s easier to use a regular task (custom task) instead of a certification task.

You can tTrigger the task creation when status = Prod.Assign it to the app owner.

Use UI Policies to make fields required.

Certification task = rigid, campaign-driven.

Regular task = flexible, assignable, can enforce required fields.

For your case → use a regular task.

Mark it helpful if this helps you to understand. Accept solution if this give you the answer you're looking for

Kind Regards,

Pavani P

[Karen_K]

This confirmed my beliefs and was very helpful!

I do still have confusion as to whether a field can be made required in a certification task. I have heard conflicting information among my team's developers. 

[Bobby Campbell · Accepted solution]

To make a field required on a certification, just uncheck the box to allow empty field values. This will mean that the field is mandatory, since it cannot be blank. In our case, we had to make sure that the fields we choose to certify, have valid choices in 100% of the cases.

We are going to be doing something similar to what you describe. We're calling it a Day One Certification, and are working on a way to trigger it as part of the change the moves the CI to production. We should be able to assign it to the CI Owner or the CI Owner Group. We don't yet use Owner Groups, but are working toward it.

[Karen_K]

Thank you! Your response is apprecaited!