3-Strike Rule for Incident Closure – Business Hours Based

[nameisnani]

We have a client requirement to implement a 3-Strike rule for incidents moved to On Hold – Awaiting Caller.

Requirement

When an incident is updated to On Hold – Awaiting Caller to request additional information or closure confirmation:

1. Strike 1 – Applied if no response is received by the next business day

2. Strike 2 – Applied after one additional business day with no response

3. Strike 3 – Applied after one more business day with no response

4. Auto-Closure – Incident is automatically closed on the next business day after Strike 3 if there is still no response

Business Rules

• Strikes must be applied only during business hours

• If the incident is moved to On Hold – Awaiting Caller outside business hours, strike calculation starts from the next business day

• Weekends and public holidays must be excluded

• Time zone to be considered: AEST

Example Timeline

• Incident moved to On Hold – Awaiting Caller: 9 Feb, 6:00 PM AEST

• Strike 1: 11 Feb, 8:00 AM

• Strike 2: 13 Feb, 8:00 AM

• Strike 3: 17 Feb, 8:00 AM (weekend excluded)

• Incident Auto-Closure: 18 Feb, 8:00 AM

Notifications

• Strike 2 and Strike 3 email notifications must be sent automatically

• Recipients:

  • End User

  • End User’s Line Manager

What is the recommended approach in ServiceNow to implement this accurately considering:

• Business hours & holidays

• Time-zone handling

• Automated strike tracking

• Notifications and auto-closure

can any one please hlep me with implemenation steps . so that i can complete this .

if possible can any one please proivide configuation steps and screenshots for better understanding .

Thanks 

[nityabans27]

Hi @nameisnani ,

Use SLA + Business Schedule + Flow Designer
Do NOT use custom Business Rules for date calculation.

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🔧 Implementation Steps

1️⃣ Business Schedule

• Create AEST Business Schedule

• Time zone: Australia/Sydney

• Working hours only

• Exclude weekends & public holidays

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2️⃣ Custom SLA

Table: Incident
Start:

• State = On Hold

• On Hold Reason = Awaiting Caller

Pause:

• State ≠ On Hold OR caller responds

Schedule: AEST Business Schedule
Duration: 4 Business Days

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3️⃣ SLA Milestones (Strikes)

Day Action

1 Business Day	Strike 1
2 Business Days	Strike 2 → Email
3 Business Days	Strike 3 → Email
4 Business Days	Auto-Close

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4️⃣ Strike Tracking

• Add field u_strike_count (optional)

• Update via SLA milestone actions or Flow

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5️⃣ Notifications

• Trigger emails on Strike 2 & Strike 3

• Recipients:

  • Caller

  • Caller’s Manager

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6️⃣ Auto-Closure

On SLA breach (Day 4):

• State = Closed

• Close code = No response from caller

[nameisnani]

@nityabans27  chatgpt response i tired not worked out for me 

could you please provide me the configuration screenshots