State Management
Summarize
Summary of State Management
State Management in ServiceNow allows administrators to defineState ModelsandState Transitionsthat govern how records move through predefined states during their lifecycle. This capability is available for all instances and primarily applies to tables extending the task table. It ensures that records follow a controlled workflow by restricting state changes to valid transitions only.
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Key Features
- State Models: These are lists of states representing expected workflows for records in a specific task table. Administrators define the state model name, associate it with the relevant task table, and use conditions to specify when the model applies and how records move between states.
- State Transitions: These define the conditions required for entering or exiting each state within a state model. Using the condition builder, administrators can enforce rules to control which state changes are valid.
- Controlled State Choices: The State field’s choice list dynamically filters allowed states based on the defined transitions, preventing invalid state selections from any source, including user input, scripts, or APIs.
- Example State Models: ServiceNow provides example state models for normal, emergency, and standard change requests. These are disabled by default and should be used only as references for creating new models for custom task tables.
Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers
By defining state models and transitions, customers can:
- Enforce consistent and compliant workflows for task-based records.
- Prevent invalid state changes that could disrupt processes or data integrity.
- Customize workflows for custom applications and tables, such as a reservation system with states like Held, Confirmed, Completed, and Canceled.
- Maintain control over state progression regardless of how state changes are attempted (UI, scripts, web services).
For example, if a record must be in the Confirmed state before moving to Completed, the system restricts other state changes, ensuring adherence to business rules.
State Management enables an administrator to define State Models and State Transitions that control how a record is allowed to transition through a predefined list of states.
An example of a state transition is when the State field in a facilities request is moved from the Assigned state to the Work In Progress state.
State Management is active for all instances.
What is a state model?
A state model is a list of states that describe an expected record workflow through the lifecycle of the record. State models can be defined for any table that extends the task table. State models simplify defining the state transitions allowed for a specific task type.
In the State Model [sys_state_model] table, define the name of the state model and which task table the state model is applied to. Use the condition builder to specify any conditions for applying the state model to records and any required condition for moving between states.
For example, you could define a state model for a new custom application for airline reservations. The custom application has a Reservation Request [reservation_request] table with 4 states: Held, Confirmed, Completed, and Canceled. You could define the state model to target the Reservation Request table, and then define the state transitions for each of the 4 states. When you enable the state model, the choice list for the State field includes only the choices allowed by the conditions in the state transitions.
What is a state transition?
State transitions are a list of conditions for entering or exiting each state defined for a table. In the State Transitions [sys_state_transition] table, use the condition builder to build a list of conditions required for entering or exiting each state.
To prevent users from choosing an invalid state, any attempt to update a record’s state is denied if it violates the state transitions, whether the attempt is through user input, a script, a Web API such as REST or SOAP, or any other source.
State transitions control the choice list for the State field on the target task table and prevent you from choosing any state value that does not adhere to the underlying process or does not meet the defined conditions for the transition.
For example, if the enter condition for the Completed state is State is Confirmed, only records in the Confirmed state can transition to the Complete state. When a record is in the Confirmed state, the only choice in the State field choice list is Completed.