Create target form

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    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 Create target form

    The Create target form in ServiceNow enables you to define either quantitative or qualitative targets to track progress toward specific goals. This form is essential for managing goal achievement by setting measurable objectives, tracking progress, and assigning ownership and contributors.

    Show full answer Show less

    Key Features

    • Target Details: Define the target's Name, associate it with a Goal, and provide a Description.
    • State Management: Set the target's State from options including Draft, In Progress, Approved, Complete, Pending, Achieved, and Not Achieved.
    • Progress Calculation: The system automatically calculates the Progress percentage based on whether the target is set to maximize or minimize values, using specific formulas to measure completion relative to base and target values.
    • Status Indicators: Use Status values—Green (on track), Yellow (needs improvement), and Red (needs immediate attention)—to visually monitor target progress.
    • Impact on Goal: Assign a numerical impact value (from No impact to Maximum) to indicate this target’s importance to its parent goal. This feature is enabled by the sngf.weightedaverageenabled system property.
    • Ownership and Contributors: Specify the Owner responsible for the target and any Contributors involved in achieving it.
    • Duration Settings: Define the Start date and End date for the target, defaulting to the current quarter’s timeline.
    • Metrics Configuration: Set the Unit of measure from predefined types, along with the Base value (current state), Actual value (updated progress), and Target value (objective to reach). The Type field distinguishes whether the goal is to maximize or minimize the measure, affecting progress calculation.
    • Review Cycle: Define how often the target’s actual value should be updated (e.g., Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly), specify a Review date, and add a Remark for business justification during updates.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Effectively track and manage goal progress with clear, quantitative metrics and qualitative states.
    • Use automated progress calculations tailored to goal direction (maximize or minimize) to get accurate completion percentages without manual effort.
    • Leverage status indicators to quickly identify targets needing attention or improvement, enabling proactive management.
    • Assign impact levels to prioritize targets relative to their parent goals, improving focus on critical objectives when weighted averages are enabled.
    • Set clear ownership and collaboration roles to ensure accountability and involvement from relevant users.
    • Schedule and enforce regular review cycles to maintain up-to-date tracking and business justification for progress changes.

    Use the Create target form to create a quantitative or qualitative target for your goal.

    Table 1. Create target form fields
    Field Description
    Name Name of the target.
    Goal Goal that this target tracks.
    Description Description of the target.
    State The state of the target. The available options are:
    • Draft
    • In Progress
    • Approved
    • Complete
    • Pending
    • Achieved
    • Not Achieved
    Progress Percentage of target that is complete. This value is calculated automatically.

    If the Type field is set to Maximize, then the progress value is calculated using the following formula.

    Progress = (Actual value - Base value) / (Target value - Base value) x 100

    If the Type field is set to Minimize, then the progress value is calculated using the following formula.

    Progress = (Actual value - Target value) / (Base value - Target value) x 100
    Status
    Status to indicate the target progress. The available options are:
    • Green: Indicates that the target is on track.
    • Yellow: Indicates that the target needs improvement.
    • Red: Indicates that the target needs immediate attention.
    Impact on goal

    A numerical value that represents the importance of this target to its parent goal. By default, the value is (1) Neutral.

    The available options are:
    • (0) No impact
    • (1) Neutral
    • (2) Moderate
    • (3) High
    • (4) Very high
    • (5) Maximum
    Note:
    This field is available only when the sn_gf.weighted_average_enabled system property is set to Yes.
    Owner Owner of the target.
    Contributors Users who contribute to achieving the target.
    Table 2. Duration section form fields
    Field Description
    Start date Start date for the target. By default, the start date of the current quarter is populated.
    End date End date for the target. By default, the end date of the current quarter is populated.
    Table 3. Metrics section form fields
    Field Description
    Unit of measure Measure type for the specified value. The available measure types are stored in the Units [sn_gf_units] table.
    Base value Base value of the target. The base value can also be considered as the present or current value.
    Actual value Actual value of the target at a given time. This field is available only when the Type field is set to Maximize or Minimize.
    Type Target type that shows the direction of achievement. The available options are:
    • Maximize: The direction of the progress is toward the Target value from the Base value. The base value must be less than the target value.
    • Minimize: The direction of the progress is toward the Target value from the Base value. The target value must be less than the base value.
    Target value Target value of the target. This value is the goal that your team wants to reach. This field is available only when the Type field is set to Maximize or Minimize.
    Review frequency Option to specify how frequently should the owner or contributor be updating the actual value of the target.
    The available options are:
    • Daily
    • Weekly
    • Fortnightly
    • Monthly
    • Quarterly
    • Yearly
    Remark Remark entered for business justification when updating the target.
    Review date The date on which the target is to be reviewed.