- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
‎08-04-2025 01:01 AM
During an evaluating session prior to update we receive a warning about some articles that have an inactive author.
I suppose that an active author is required for proper maintenance, but what about ownership group? Set an active ownership group with an inactive author is correct or the active author is mandatory?
Solved! Go to Solution.
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
‎08-05-2025 07:56 AM
You’re on the right track by distinguishing between author and ownership group, but let’s clarify how they are treated in ServiceNow Knowledge Management — especially during evaluation and upgrades.
Definitions
- Author (kb_knowledge.author):
- This is usually the person who originally created the article.
- It’s a reference to a user (sys_user) record.
- ServiceNow still treats this as an important field during evaluations and upgrades (e.g., validating article ownership, permissions, notifications).
- If the author is inactive, it can trigger warnings because:
- Notifications or assignments may fail.
- Responsibility for updates is ambiguous.
- Ownership group (kb_knowledge.ownership_group):
- This is the group responsible for maintaining the article after publication.
- It’s essential for workflows like article review, retirement, and approvals.
- It can override the importance of the individual author in long-term article lifecycle.
- The group must be active and have members who can act on workflows.
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
‎08-04-2025 03:01 AM
Technically, yes the system will still function. But best practice is:
- Always have an active author.
- Always set an active ownership group.
- If the author is inactive, consider:
- Reassigning to a new active user (especially if using article feedback, review, or approval workflows).
- Or rely more on the ownership group for future maintenance and update cycles.
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
‎08-05-2025 02:59 AM
I considered the author field as the original creator of the article and the ownership group as the current owner but from your answer @Rafael Batistot I deduce that the author field should be also used as the current owner of the article. Is this correct?
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
‎08-05-2025 04:47 AM
Hi Gianluca,
The Author field will always be the person who created the Knowledge article (Out of the box behaviour). So if you have a dedicated Knowledge management team, these people could be listed as the authors for all the articles if they have added them to the Knowledge Base. There is the Contact field, which should be used for the current owner/SME for the article. If using Ownership Groups then that field should also be the current owners of the article.
Regards,
Eoghan
🌟 ServiceNow Rising Star 2024
If you found my reply helpful, please consider clicking Helpful or Accept as Solution to assist others in the community!
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
‎08-05-2025 07:14 AM
But what happens when the person who created the knowledge article became not active?
