CSA Doubts

[DheerajS1805]

1. Knowledge Article Lifecycle
What exactly controls the publishing and retiring of knowledge articles?
Is it the workflow assigned to the knowledge base, or does the state lifecycle or approval definitions play a role too?

2. Copying a Report Safely
While using the Report Designer, what is the best practice for making a copy of an existing report before modifying it?
Is "Insert and Stay" the correct approach, or are there other recommended methods?

3. Impersonation Restrictions
If a user has the impersonator role, are there specific types of users they cannot impersonate?
For example, are roles like Security Incident Response, HR Admin, or Scoped Admin roles restricted from impersonation?

[mayankkumar · Accepted solution]

Hi @DheerajS1805,
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers to your questions: -

1. Knowledge Article Lifecycle

The lifecycle of a knowledge article is influenced by a few key components:

• Knowledge Base Workflow:
  If a workflow is attached to the knowledge base, it becomes the central mechanism managing the article’s journey—moving it from Draft to Review, then to Published or Retired, based on conditions and approvals defined in the workflow.

• Article State:
  Each knowledge article has a state field (Draft, Published, Retired, etc.) which indicates its current phase. The workflow updates this field during transitions.

• Approvals:
  If approval steps are configured (either via workflow or manually), those define which users or groups need to approve an article before it progresses to the next state.

In summary, it's a coordinated effort between the workflow, state lifecycle, and any approval requirements that drives the publishing and retiring process.

---

2. Copying a Report Safely

When working in the Report Designer, it’s always a good idea to avoid modifying original reports directly. Instead, to safely create a working copy:

• Use the “Insert and Stay” option. This duplicates the current report and keeps you on the new version for editing. It’s a simple and safe way to avoid impacting existing reporting.

• You can also use right-click > Insert from the report list view or look for a “Save As” button if available in your UI.

Bottom line: Always work on a copy—this keeps your changes isolated and prevents unintentional updates to live reports.

---

3. Impersonation Restrictions

Even if a user has the impersonator role, there are certain accounts that cannot be impersonated, typically due to privacy, data sensitivity, or scoped access restrictions.

Examples include:

• HR roles (e.g., HR Admins)

• Security roles (e.g., Security Incident Response roles)

• Scoped application admins
  These roles often involve access to sensitive or confidential information, and ServiceNow restricts impersonation to uphold security and compliance.

Standard roles like ITIL users, developers, and typical end users can be impersonated without issue. Further restrictions can also be enforced using ACLs or domain separation settings if your instance is configured that way.

---

Hope this clears things up!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If this helped, please consider marking it as Helpful and Accept as Solution so it can benefit others too.
Let me know if you'd like further detail on any of the topics.

Best regards,
Mayank

[Shubham_Jain]

@DheerajS1805 

1. Knowledge Article Lifecycle in ServiceNow

The publishing and retiring of knowledge articles is controlled by a combination of:

Workflow Assigned to the Knowledge Base

• This is the primary controller of the article lifecycle.
• The workflow defines states like Draft, Review, Published, and Retired.
• It handles approvals, transitions, and notifications.

State Lifecycle

• The state field (e.g., Draft, Published, Retired) reflects the current status of the article.
• The workflow updates this field as the article progresses.

Approval Definitions

• If the workflow includes approval steps, these definitions determine who must approve the article before it moves to the next state.

2. Copying a Report Safely in Report Designer

The best practice for copying a report before modifying it is:

Use "Insert and Stay"

• This creates a new copy of the report with all settings intact.
• You can then rename and modify it without affecting the original.

 Other Options:

• Use "Save As" if available (in some UI versions).
• Clone the report from the list view by right-clicking and selecting Insert.
• Avoid editing the original unless you're sure — always work on a copy for safety.

3. Impersonation Restrictions in ServiceNow

Yes, there are restrictions on impersonation, even if a user has the impersonator role:

 Restricted Roles Include:

• Security Incident Response roles (e.g., sn_si.admin)
• HR roles (e.g., sn_hr_core.admin)
• Scoped Admin roles (e.g., x_app.admin)

These roles often have domain separation or sensitive data access, and ServiceNow restricts impersonation to protect privacy and security.

What You Can Do:

• Impersonate standard users, ITIL users, and most non-sensitive roles.
• Admins can configure impersonation restrictions via Access Control Rules or Domain Separation settings.

[Dnyaneshwaree]

Hello @DheerajS1805,

 1. mainly Workflow but from workflow calls state lifecycle or approvals to control the publishing and retiring of knowledge articles.

2. Yes, we can use "Insert and Stay" to copy a Report

3. Yes, some roles may restricted from impersonation.

[mayankkumar · Accepted solution]

Hi @DheerajS1805,
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers to your questions: -

1. Knowledge Article Lifecycle

The lifecycle of a knowledge article is influenced by a few key components:

• Knowledge Base Workflow:
  If a workflow is attached to the knowledge base, it becomes the central mechanism managing the article’s journey—moving it from Draft to Review, then to Published or Retired, based on conditions and approvals defined in the workflow.

• Article State:
  Each knowledge article has a state field (Draft, Published, Retired, etc.) which indicates its current phase. The workflow updates this field during transitions.

• Approvals:
  If approval steps are configured (either via workflow or manually), those define which users or groups need to approve an article before it progresses to the next state.

In summary, it's a coordinated effort between the workflow, state lifecycle, and any approval requirements that drives the publishing and retiring process.

---

2. Copying a Report Safely

When working in the Report Designer, it’s always a good idea to avoid modifying original reports directly. Instead, to safely create a working copy:

• Use the “Insert and Stay” option. This duplicates the current report and keeps you on the new version for editing. It’s a simple and safe way to avoid impacting existing reporting.

• You can also use right-click > Insert from the report list view or look for a “Save As” button if available in your UI.

Bottom line: Always work on a copy—this keeps your changes isolated and prevents unintentional updates to live reports.

---

3. Impersonation Restrictions

Even if a user has the impersonator role, there are certain accounts that cannot be impersonated, typically due to privacy, data sensitivity, or scoped access restrictions.

Examples include:

• HR roles (e.g., HR Admins)

• Security roles (e.g., Security Incident Response roles)

• Scoped application admins
  These roles often involve access to sensitive or confidential information, and ServiceNow restricts impersonation to uphold security and compliance.

Standard roles like ITIL users, developers, and typical end users can be impersonated without issue. Further restrictions can also be enforced using ACLs or domain separation settings if your instance is configured that way.

---

Hope this clears things up!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If this helped, please consider marking it as Helpful and Accept as Solution so it can benefit others too.
Let me know if you'd like further detail on any of the topics.

Best regards,
Mayank

[Dr Atul G- LNG]

Hi @mayankkumar 

Looks like a ChatGPT-generated answer. Can you share a screenshot of it?

• You can also use right-click > Insert from the report list view or look for a “Save As” button if available in your UI.

• I’m unable to find it in my PDI. Additionally, the legacy reporting module has been deprecated and is no longer available.