--- sourceDocument: Australia Customer Service Management sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/customer-service-management Release : - australia ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Australia Customer Service Management ft:clusterId : - csm bundleId : - csm workflow : - Customer and Industry --- # Case management # Case management for Customer Service Management {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Australia Updated March 12, 2026 ![](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 Case management for Customer Service Management Case management in Customer Service Management enables your organization to effectively handle customer requests and issues by creating, routing, and resolving cases. It supports agents with tools to evaluate cases, communicate with customers, address inquiries, and drive resolutions. This process enhances customer engagement, categorization, workload assignment, and reporting across multiple communication channels such as email, phone, and chat. Show full answer Show less ## Key Features * **Case workflows:** Automate and streamline the steps and tasks involved in closing cases, improving process efficiency and accelerating resolution. Workflows enable task tracking and process simplification. * **Case types:** Define distinct data sets and processes tailored to different departments, products, or business units, allowing customized support flows for various customer service scenarios. * **Service definitions:** Link products and services to case types, enabling quick access for agents and customers to relevant case options based on the customer's needs or purchased products. * **Playbooks:** Provide agents with step-by-step visual guidance to resolve specific case types, digitizing and automating complex processes to enhance agent productivity and customer satisfaction. * **Major issue management:** Facilitate proactive management of widespread issues affecting multiple customers by identifying affected parties, creating cases, notifying customers, and managing issue resolution collectively. * **Customer project management:** Manage long-term and complex customer projects by tracking issues, resolutions, and associated costs, helping reduce inbound calls and improve overall customer experience. ## Key Outcomes By implementing case management with these features, ServiceNow customers can expect streamlined customer service operations, faster case resolution, improved communication, and enhanced customer satisfaction. The system supports proactive issue handling and efficient management of both routine and complex customer interactions, ultimately reducing operational costs and improving service quality. Manage customer requests and issues by creating cases, routing cases to agents and groups, and working toward resolution. With case management, you can provide your agents with the tools they need to evaluate cases, communicate with customers, answer questions, and resolve issues. ## Getting to know the case management process {#csm-case-management__section_sck_2sl_swb} Case management refers to the business processes and activities designed to evaluate and address customer issues and requests while managing the overall customer experience through effective communication. Case management enables you to engage with customers, categorize and route cases, assign work to agents, and manage cases through resolution and reporting. Case management starts with case creation as customers reach out through a number of communication channels including email, phone, and chat. The following diagram shows the case management process. Figure 1. High-level process flow for the case management process Use the following features with the Customer Service Management application to manage the cases for your customers: * Case workflows * Case types * Service definitions * Playbooks * Major issue management * Customer project management {#csm-case-management__ul_gnl_ncw_qwb} ## Case workflows {#csm-case-management__section_gfx_rdv_xvb} A case workflow is a series of steps and tasks that are involved in closing a case. By using a case workflow, you can automate systems to simplify your processes, track task completion, and accelerate case resolution. To learn more about case workflows, see [Configure proactive case flows](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/wXrgMp3GD9ZghP26MXYqaQ "Automate workflows for proactive case creation to improve your operational efficiency and respond to customer issues faster."). ## Case types {#csm-case-management__section_wgl_tdv_xvb} A case type is a collection of data and processes that are needed to resolve a specific type of issue. For example, case types are needed when a company has different processes for supporting customers across multiple departments, business units, or products. By using a case type, you can separate these processes through case applications that support each process. To learn more about case types, see [Customer Service Case Types](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/dxLbwM6czaLfiSFdYZJK3g "A case type defines the processes and data for resolving a specific type of customer issue. Use case types to create and configure the customer service case types your organization needs."). ## Service definitions {#csm-case-management__id_tyl_scw_qwb} A service definition refers to a specific type of service request that your agents can offer to customers for a case type. Service definitions establish a connection between the products, services, and case types so agents and customers can quickly access the relevant case types by the customer or product. To learn more about the service definitions, see [Service definitions](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/NTD0DOD_BBbcYjERTS2Uqw "Use service definitions to create connections between products, services, and case types. Customers can use these definitions to quickly discover and request the services they need. Agents can use these definitions to create cases of the correct type to support those service requests."). ## Playbooks {#csm-case-management__section_q5s_vdv_xvb} Playbooks provide agents with a visual guide, including step-by-step guidance for the various tasks that the agents can use to resolve the specific type of customer service cases. A playbook helps to improve agent productivity and your customer experience by digitizing and automating complex customer service processes. To learn more about playbooks, see [Playbooks in Customer Service Management](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/w5tW~jAkHEvtMzEJ2Vo8QQ "Playbooks provide customer service agents with step-by-step guidance for resolving specific types of cases. Agents can follow a playbook in CRM Workspace and complete guided activities to resolve customer issues."). ## Major issue management {#csm-case-management__section_gl5_xdv_xvb} With major issue management, you can efficiently manage your customer communication and resolution process for a major issue that impacts multiple customers. By identifying other affected customers who haven't reported the issue, you can proactively create cases, notify the affected customers, and manage all the issues until resolution. To learn more about major issue management, see [Major issue management overview](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/g3Keo2X~6wmz7tBlXnjvRw "Major issue management enables customer communication for issues that impact a wider audience. Use this application to proactively identify impacted customers, provide information to these customers, and manage the resolution process."). ## Customer project management {#csm-case-management__section_uzw_zdv_xvb} With customer project management, your company can track and manage long-term complex projects, resolve issues, and track the cost of serving customers on complex projects. Customer project management helps your company to improve the customer experience, reduce inbound calls, and lower costs. To learn more about customer project management, see [Integrate with Customer Project Management](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/oHWSSTYAmlNv9wXjBZfxsQ "Use the Customer Service Management Guided Setup to configure Customer Project Management.").