Order routing based on priority using Advanced Work Assignment

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Order routing based on priority using Advanced Work Assignment

    Advanced Work Assignment (AWA) in ServiceNow automates the routing and assignment of customer orders (order tasks) to agents based on priority, availability, capacity, and skills. This feature helps ensure that orders are efficiently directed to the right agent categories for fulfillment. Agents receive their assignments directly in their Agent Workspace inbox, streamlining task management and improving responsiveness.

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    Key Features

    • Service Channel: Defines specific types and scopes of work for agents. The Order Service Channel, used for order tasks, must be manually enabled as it is disabled by default.
    • Agent Presence State: Agents indicate their availability status (Available, Away, Offline) within their Workspace Inbox. To receive work through the Order Service Channel, agents must move this channel to their selected list when Available.
    • Queues: Work items are organized into queues based on defined criteria such as customer status or region. Queues help focus on specific support types like VIP customers or critical cases. Groups assigned to queues handle incoming work items.
    • Assignment Rules: Criteria that determine how work items are distributed to qualified agents within assignment groups. Demo assignment rules are available for reference.
    • Agent Capacity and Availability: Controls the number of active work items an agent can handle and whether they are available to receive new work. AWA uses these factors to assign tasks appropriately.
    • Inbox Layout: Configurations define the fields visible to agents in their inbox related to the service channel. The Default Order Layout is provided as a reference and can be customized.
    • Role Requirement: All fulfillment agents must have the awaagent role to participate in AWA routing and assignments.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    By implementing AWA for order routing, customers can expect:

    • Automated, priority-based distribution of orders to the most suitable agents, improving operational efficiency.
    • Visibility for agents to manage their workload effectively via Agent Workspace.
    • Flexibility in configuring queues and assignment rules to match business needs and customer priorities.
    • Enhanced workload balancing through agent capacity and availability management.
    • Streamlined activation and configuration steps, with demo components provided for quick setup and reference.

    AWA can be used to automatically route customer orders based on priority to specific agent categories.

    Use AWA to automatically assign work items (order tasks) to your agents based on their availability, capacity, and skills. AWA pushes work to qualified agents using work item queues, routing conditions, and assignment criteria. Agents can view their assignments in their Agent Workspace inbox. The following diagram shows how AWA routes different types of orders to different fulfillment agents.

    Note:
    All fulfillment agents must have the AWA agent (awa_agent) role.

    Infographic displaying the routing orders process using AWA. For the image description, refer to the text that follows.
    The following configurations are required for AWA:
    • Service channel: It is a means of assigning a specific type and scope of work to agents. The Order Service Channel is available with the base system for order tasks. The Order Service Channel is in a disabled state by default and must be manually activated.
    • Agent presence state: Availability states that agents use to indicate whether they can receive work or are offline or away. Agents set these states in their Workspace Inbox. The default presence states are Available, Away, and Offline. After the Order Service Channel is enabled, the Available presence state value shows the Order Service channel the customer has to move the order service channel to the selected list to receive the work.
    • Queue: A queue stores a specific type of work item for a service channel. AWA admins can create queues that focus on certain types of support in the channel, such as VIP customers or critical cases. AWA routes work items to queues based on specific conditions or requirements that you define, such as customer status, or region. Groups assigned to each queue handle the incoming work items. Once work items are placed in a queue, AWA can then assign items to available agents based on assignment rules and agent availability and capacity. Demo queues that can be used as a reference are available with the base system.
    • Assignment rule: Criteria that determines how work items are pushed to the appropriate agent in a qualified assignment group. A demo assignment rule that can be used as a reference is available with the base system.
    • Agent capacity: The maximum number of work items on a particular service channel that an agent may actively work on at one time.
    • Agent availability: States that indicate agent presence and whether the agent is available for work or is busy or offline. AWA uses the agent availability state to determine if an agent is able to receive work.
    • Inbox layout: A configuration tied to a service channel that defines which fields of a record representing a work item are shown in agent inboxes. A layout defines what the agent sees in Agent Workspace. The Default Order Layout is available with the base system and can be used as a reference to create a new layout.

    For more details, see Advanced Work Assignment