--- sourceDocument: Australia IT Service Management sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/it-service-management Release : - australia ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Australia IT Service Management ft:clusterId : - itsm bundleId : - itsm workflow : - Technology --- # Communicating about incidents and major incidents # Communicating with stakeholders about incidents and major incidents in SOW {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Australia Updated March 12, 2026 ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 3 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 Communicating with stakeholders about incidents and major incidents in SOW The Communicate tab in Service Operations Workspace (SOW) enables ServiceNow customers to efficiently create, manage, and track communications with stakeholders during incidents and major incidents. It centralizes communication tasks and supports multiple channels to ensure timely and clear updates throughout incident lifecycles. Show full answer Show less ## Key Features * **Group Communications:** Organize communication tasks by communication plan or completion status (Overdue, Upcoming, Completed, Skipped) to prioritize and manage messaging effectively. * **Filtering:** Filter communication tasks by specific communication plans for targeted management. * **Compose Messages:** Create communication messages using email, SMS, Microsoft Teams, Slack, or DEX Desktop Assistant (supported in SOW version 7.0+ on Yokohama release or later with DEX 2.5.0+). * **Manage Recipients:** Add users or user roles as recipients to ensure the right stakeholders receive communications. * **Create Ad Hoc Communication Tasks:** Authorized users (majorincidentmanager role or iaadmin and itil roles) can create new communication tasks as needed during incident phases. * **Manage Announcements:** Major incident managers can create and manage announcements to broadcast messages to Service Portal users, keeping them informed about ongoing major incidents. * **View and Collaborate:** Access detailed Incident Communication Task (ICT) records, initiate calls or chats via the Collaborate tab, and add communication channels like DEX Desktop Assistant from related records. * **Task Lifecycle Actions:** Start, close, or snooze communication tasks to manage timing and status. Closing tasks moves them to Completed or Skipped based on whether communications were sent and task frequency. ## Practical Benefits * Streamlines stakeholder communication workflows during incidents and major incidents within SOW. * Supports multiple communication channels to fit diverse stakeholder preferences and organizational tools. * Improves communication task tracking and prioritization via grouping and filtering options. * Allows dynamic management of recipients to tailor communication reach efficiently. * Enables broadcasting important incident updates directly on the Service Portal, increasing transparency and user awareness. * Facilitates collaboration among incident responders through integrated call and chat features. Use the Communicate tab to create and manage all communications with stakeholders during the various phases of an incident or a major incident. The Communicate tab contains the following options to create and manage communications: Group By : Group communication tasks the following ways: * Communication plan -- The communication tasks that are associated with a particular communication plan are grouped. * Completion status - The communication tasks are grouped based on the completion status and due dates. You can choose to list the tasks from the following group sections: * Overdue -- Communication tasks with past due dates. * Upcoming -- Communications tasks with an upcoming due date. * Completed -- Communication tasks that are completed. * Skipped -- Communication tasks that are skipped. {#communicating-with-stakeholders-sow__ul_zjw_mxn_hbc} {#communicating-with-stakeholders-sow__ul_yjw_mxn_hbc} Filter by communication plan : Filter the communication task by a communication plan. Compose : Compose a communication message, such as an email, DEX Desktop Assistant, SMS, Microsoft Teams, or Slack message. For more information on DEX Desktop Assistant, see [Use DEX Desktop Assistant](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/waaSlg5432VQGuLOv36HaQ "Use DEX Desktop Assistant to get quick access to self-service and diagnostic tools, notifications about outages and announcements, and support resources."). Note: DEX Desktop Assistant is supported as a channel in Major Incident Management in SOW only if the following conditions are met: * SOW must be version 7.0 or later. * The instance must be on Yokohama release or later. * DEX must be version 2.5.0 or later. {#communicating-with-stakeholders-sow__ul_fqj_vbf_c2c} Manage recipients : Add and manage recipients for a communications task. You can add a user role and a user in the recipient list. You can also access this option by selecting the More actions (![More action icon]()) icon on the communication task and then selecting Manage recipients. New Communication : Create a communication task. This option is available only to the following users: * User with the major_incident_manager role * User with both the ia_admin and itil roles {#communicating-with-stakeholders-sow__ul_dcq_txn_hbc} Manage announcements : Create and manage an announcement to broadcast messages for Service Portal users to keep them informed about the ongoing major incident. View Record : View detailed information about the incident communication task (ICT) record. Select the More actions (![More action icon]()) icon on the communication task and then select View record. From the ICT record, you can do the following actions: * Initiate a call or chat from the collaborate tab on the side panel using the Collaborate (![Collaborate icon]()) icon on the contextual side panel. For more information, see [Collaborate with stakeholders during a major incident](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/wjWGcjBxpyk59PLPSjzpXw "Collaborate with the required stakeholders during the various phases of a major incident to discuss and resolve the incident quickly. You can initiate a chat or make conference calls using a service provider to communicate with stakeholders."). * Add collaboration channels from the Communication Channel related list of the Related records tab. * Add communication channels such as DEX Desktop Assistant from the Communication Channel related list of the Related records tab. {#communicating-with-stakeholders-sow__ul_sqy_yt2_zdc} Close : Close the communication task. Select the More actions (![More action icon]()) icon on the communication task and then select Close. The communication task is then moved to either the Completed or Skipped section of the Communicate tab based on the following scenarios: * If a communication task has the Frequency field set to Recurring and at least one communication has been composed and sent, selecting Close moves the communication task to the Completed section. * If a communication task has the Frequency field set to One time or Recurring and no communication has been composed and sent, selecting Close moves the communication task to the Skipped section. {#communicating-with-stakeholders-sow__ul_z31_1yn_hbc} Start : Start the communication task with the Pending status. Select the More actions (![More action icon]()) icon on the communication task and then select Start. Snooze : Increase the Due in time for a communication task. Select the More actions (![More action icon]()) icon on the communication task and then select Snooze. Note: When the Snooze option is used for communication task grouped under overdue or skipped, the task is moved to the upcoming section of the group. * **[Compose communications for incidents and major incidents](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/ssvTjQEupI2Z6RjYChfTBg)** Compose communication messages for incidents and major incidents using communication channels such as email and SMS. * **[Manage recipients in a communication task](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/R8bBUXXgEb2g_5C93XZFCA)** Manage the recipients list for a communication task to create flexible and effective communication with the required stakeholders. * **[Create an adhoc communication task](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/o~juPo~zgnRuJsWa3DMbsg)** Create an adhoc communication task as required during the various phases of an incident in Major Incident Management. * **[Manage an announcement for communicating about major incidents](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/FeoZSoI4QiYsm8iBzLD69g)** Create and manage an announcement to broadcast messages for Service Portal users to keep them informed about the ongoing major incident. Major incident managers can create and deploy announcements from Service Operations Workspace (SOW).