---
sourceDocument: Zurich IT Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/zurich/it-service-management

 Release :

    - zurich

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Zurich IT Service Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itsm

bundleId :

    - itsm

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Problem Management in Service Operations Workspace

# Problem Management in Service Operations Workspace {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Zurich  
Updated July 31, 2025  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read
Summarize  
![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) Summarized using AI  
This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.  

## Summary of Problem Management in Service Operations Workspace

Problem Management in Service Operations Workspace enables you to identify and address the root causes of recurring or major incidents, preventing future occurrences.
It allows you to manage problems through their entire life cycle, share workarounds or fixes with related incidents, and create known error articles to reduce incident volume.
Show full answer Show less  
The Problem record interface includes several tabs for comprehensive management:

* **Overview tab:** Displays summary, analysis, resolution details, problem and fix tasks, impact, and work notes. It is configurable via the Service Operations Workspace Admin Center.
* **Details tab:** Shows detailed problem information and allows adding work notes. All fields from the Problem form in ServiceNow AI Platform are available here, but the State field is read-only.
* **Problem Tasks tab:** Lists problem tasks created to engage other teams to help identify fixes.
* **Fix Tasks tab:** Displays fix tasks, which are configured as change requests in Service Operations Workspace.
* **Related Records tab:** Shows related incidents, affected CIs, outages, and knowledge articles, with options to add, create, or remove records.
* **Contextual Side Panel:** Provides access to Agent Assist for searching relevant records and performing actions.

## Key Features

* Create and manage problems to investigate root causes of incidents and provide permanent fixes.
* Configure UI elements and shortcuts such as creating defects, enhancements, and improvement initiatives directly from the workspace.
* Use Problem Management models to tailor problem processes for specific scenarios.
* Create and assign problem tasks to engage other teams or agents for collaborative resolution.
* Link related incidents, affected configuration items, outages, and knowledge articles to problems for holistic management.
* Access Agent Assist for contextual support and knowledge during problem investigation.

## Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

* Streamline root cause analysis by consolidating problem-related information and tasks in a single workspace.
* Improve incident deflection and resolution efficiency by sharing workarounds and known error articles.
* Enhance collaboration across teams with problem and fix tasks, and integration with Agile Development and Continual Improvement Management.
* Maintain consistency and control over problem data through configurable UI and read-only state fields.
* Leverage integrated tools such as Agent Assist to accelerate problem resolution and knowledge discovery.  
When you have recurring incidents or a major incident, you can create a problem to identify the root cause of the incidents and help prevent them from happening again. Use Service Operations Workspace to manage problems through their life cycle, share workarounds or fixes with related incidents, and create known error articles to help deflect incidents.  
Figure 1. Problem record in Service Operations Workspace

## Overview tab {#problem-sow__section_uym_vqx_ccc}

This tab displays the following information about a problem:

* Summary
* Analysis information
* Resolution information
* Problem tasks and fix tasks
* Impact
* Work notes
{#problem-sow__ul_swm_ptq_5sb}

You can configure the problem record overview tab and its UI elements in the Service Operations Workspace
Admin Center. For more information, see [Manage configurations in Service Operations Workspace for ITSM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/SJQVdWtudq0mFEyNlIeIxA "From a single page, quickly access and manage the customizations in Service Operations Workspace (SOW) for ITSM, access additional plugins that extend the Service Operations Workspace for ITSM capabilities, and access ServiceNow help.").  
You can optionally enable the following shortcuts, accessible from both the header and Tasks (problem and fix) drop-down menus:

* Create defect (for more information and requirements, see [Agile Development 2.0](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=agile-landing-page&version=zurich&pubname=zurich-it-business-management&ft:locale=en-US))
* Create enhancement (for more information and requirements, see [Agile Development 2.0](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=agile-landing-page&version=zurich&pubname=zurich-it-business-management&ft:locale=en-US))
* Create improvement initiative (for more information and requirements, see [Continual Improvement Management](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/S1VlaMEJjJSTXLriNsifYw "The ServiceNow Continual Improvement Management (CIM) application enables you to request improvement opportunities, and implement phases and tasks to meet performance goals, track progress, and measure success."))
{#problem-sow__service-operations-workspace-itsm-rn_ul_df1_xdz_tbc}

For all other configuration options, see [Configuring Problem Management in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/rxKc8VDuakOsVQRTLnuIFw "Configure the features of Problem Management to manage problems and problem tasks in Service Operations Workspace").

## Details tab {#problem-sow__section_ans_3xv_5sb}

This section displays the detailed information of a problem. For information about fields in
this section, see [Create a problem in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/20TdQJf0CMqiMNM6F2PvVw "Investigate the root cause of recurring incidents or a major incident. Provide a permanent fix to help prevent them from happening again.").

From the Compose section, you can add work notes for the problem.

All fields that are available on the Problem form in ServiceNow AI Platform are available in
Service Operations Workspace. However, on the problem form in Service Operations Workspace, the State field is read-only.
For information about state transitions of a problem, see [Life cycle of a problem](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/AgXomf4FqVa4wxLqA6pZvA "Problem Management is responsible for managing the life cycle of underlying problems. State transition of a problem guides you through the stages of a problem life cycle, from creation to closure.").

For information on how you can configure fields in this tab, see [Configuring Problem Management in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/rxKc8VDuakOsVQRTLnuIFw "Configure the features of Problem Management to manage problems and problem tasks in Service Operations Workspace").

## Problem Tasks tab {#problem-sow__section_b3d_nzv_5sb}

This section displays problems tasks associated with this problem. Problem tasks are created
when you need help from other teams to identify a fix for the problem. For information about
creating a problem task, see [Create a problem task in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/VfHwQVYpXDj2~SQuygmDdQ "When you need to engage another team or agent for help, create and assign a problem task.").

## Fix Tasks tab {#problem-sow__section_edw_nzv_5sb}

This section displays fix tasks associated with the problem. In Service Operations Workspace, only change requests are configured as fix tasks. For information about the List of related task records (comma-separated) to track as fixes for this Problem property where the fix tasks are configured, see [Configure properties for Problem Management in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/VPWPqOlFRT9oOp07iPBS_A "Configure the properties used to control process-related features, such as creating a problem task on a closed problem and re-analyzing a closed or a canceled problem.").

## Related records tab {#problem-sow__section_uht_4zv_5sb}

This section displays the following records related to the problem. You can add a record, create a record, or remove it from the problem.

* Incidents
* Affected CIs
* Outages
* Knowledge attached from Agent Assist
{#problem-sow__ul_e4d_l1w_5sb}

## Contextual side panel {#problem-sow__section_lmm_z1w_5sb}

From this section, you can access Agent assist and search for relevant records
and perform the required actions.

For more information about Problem Management, see [Problem Management](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/mr67ZQHVZwK2dkcZOKGZBw "The ServiceNow Problem Management application helps you identify the cause of errors in the IT infrastructure that are reported as occurrences of related incidents.").
* **[Create a problem in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/20TdQJf0CMqiMNM6F2PvVw)**   
  Investigate the root cause of recurring incidents or a major incident. Provide a permanent fix to help prevent them from happening again.
* **[Work on a problem in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/be40QSleE6uYaQGdl7D0UQ)**   
  Manage problems and problem tasks through their life cycle, share workarounds or fixes with related incidents, and create known error articles to help deflect incidents.
* **[Problem Management models in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/TrplFvFUY0yg_5jFNxZIXQ)**   
  You can use Problem Management models to tailor processes for specific use cases.
* **[Create a problem task in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/VfHwQVYpXDj2~SQuygmDdQ)**   
  When you need to engage another team or agent for help, create and assign a problem task.
* **[Work on a problem task in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Ltu65U0vzDLxpdT0X9tsbA)**   
  Manage problems and problem tasks through their life cycle, share workarounds or fixes with related incidents, and create known error articles to help deflect incidents.
* **[Problem Management in Service Operations Workspace reference](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bk5dVE0cFy1s_PqA4euULQ)**   
  Reference topics provide additional information about Problem Management in Service Operations Workspace.

**Related concepts**   

* [Knowledge Management in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/9dICYUFvnPb9LAwZgc4HSg "Knowledge articles provide agents with information such as self-help, troubleshooting, and task resolution.")
* [Major Incident Management in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/dIWrqeKbFe0TywUnWZZRJA "Create and manage major incidents in Service Operations Workspace.")
* [On-Call Scheduling in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/mXnahNqI5fKiX8PxvzmtxA "Use On-Call Scheduling in Service Operations Workspace to view and manage your shifts and schedules.")
* [Recommendation Framework in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/dNUQBv1vUX9mfZZWV1hdUw "An agent can view dynamic and contextual recommendations and perform a relevant action.")
* [Recommended Actions for ITSM in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/3Z0FoLDC4QDolraW89pqcw "Get guidance-based or field-level recommendations for records in Service Operations Workspace.")
* [ServiceNow integrations with Microsoft Teams in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/EjMqLQeDlHfqA19ZiuLsvQ "You can create a connected experience for users in Service Operations Workspace through ServiceNow integrations with Microsoft Teams.")
* [Service Level Management in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Jlhe9GSnjIttRUVdY26jTA#slm-sow "You can access the service level agreement (SLA) information for an incident on the Service Operations Workspace landing page and incident record page.")
* [Walk-up Experience management in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/5v8zdsUb0kfdL_qZQrDFWQ "Manage your Walk-up interactions and queues in Service Operations Workspace.")
* [Collaboration in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Abpyl__X3gtcVJsoFyse6A "Collaboration services provide a way to communicate and collaborate in real time to resolve the incidents. You can initiate a chat or make conference calls using a service provider to communicate with stakeholders.")
* [Computer Telephony Integration in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/sz7Z4C__l6Jr7Lc3IoMx~Q "Service Operations Workspace provides an agent (with the sn_openframe_user role) to receive inbound calls and place outbound calls using the Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) interface.")
* [Universal Request in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/KkmKWo6~7QjBXbvF9MSK_w "The Universal Request is a task that a requester creates from any of the sources that include: Agent Workspace, Service Operations Workspace, or using a Virtual Agent chat.")
* [Universal Task in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/yZ6FkbTZqW7eqGI4F8S8Cw "Agents can use the Universal Task application to create tasks for employees and to manage the request resolution.")
* [Resetting password using Service-desk assisted Password Reset in Service Operations Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/kGYFDJBB0enQzTXCsyPwmQ "The Password Reset for Service Operations Workspace application enforces strong and secure passwords by enabling end users to reset or change their passwords by requesting the service desk agent.")