ServiceNow allows you to track Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for incident tasks (iTasks) by leveraging the fact that SLAs can be applied to any record in the Task table or tables that inherit from Task. This functionality helps organizations monitor and manage response and resolution times for specific tasks within incidents.
Setting Up iTask SLA Definitions
- Navigate to SLA Definitions:
• Path: All > Service Level Management > SLA > SLA Definition
• Click "Create New" in the top right corner - Configure the SLA Definition:
• Name: Provide a descriptive name for your SLA
• Table: Select "Incident Task [incident_task]" (critical setting)
• Target Type: Choose either "response" or "resolution" based on your tracking needs
• Duration: Set the time frame for the SLA to be met - Define Conditions
- Examples below:
-
Start Condition example based on Active Incident and Priority
-
-
Stop Condition example based on Assignment group and closure of the incident
-
-
Submit the SLA definition to save it
Note Worthy Articles:
Tracking iTasks SLAs
Once you have an incident and a task created within that incident using related links, you will be able to see the incident task and SLA.
Method 1: Via Incident Task
- Navigate to an incident record
- Create a new incident task using Related Links
- After submitting the task, click "Show SLA Timeline" to view SLA progress
Method 2: Via Task SLA Table
- Navigate to the Task SLA table
- Filter by your specific SLA definition
- Create dashboards to monitor breached or achieved SLAs
Note Worthy Articles:
-
Create an Incident Task (iTask)- https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/zurich-it-service-management/page/product/incident-management...
-
Synchronization between an incident and its incident tasks- https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/zurich-it-service-management/page/product/incident-management...
Alternative: SLA Breakdowns
If you're not using iTasks but still need to track time spent by different assignment groups. In ServiceNow, an SLA breakdown for incidents is a feature that provides detailed visibility into how the time for a Service Level Agreement (SLA) is spent across different assignment groups or users during the lifecycle of an incident. By defining an SLA Breakdown on an incident SLA definition, organizations can generate reports to analyze the duration each team contributes to resolving an incident, helping to identify bottlenecks, pinpoint areas needing improvement, and understand reasons for SLA breaches.
- Use SLA Breakdowns to gain visibility into how SLA time is distributed
- This helps identify bottlenecks and improvement areas
- Configure SLA Breakdown Definitions to generate reports on team contribution
Best Practices
- Align SLA definitions with organizational service commitments
- Regularly review SLA performance metrics
- Use dashboards to visualize SLA compliance trends
- Consider implementing escalation paths for at-risk SLAs
