Target form

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 6 minutes to read
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    Summary of Target form

    The Target form in ServiceNow is used to track and measure the progress of goals within the Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) framework. It becomes available upon installing the Goal Framework for SPM application and offers fields to define target specifics, progress metrics, ownership, and automation options. ESG Workspace and Strategic Planning users may need to configure form layouts to access all relevant fields.

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    Key Features

    • Target Identification and Status: Fields such as Name, associated Goal, Description, State (Draft, In progress, Approved, Complete), and Status (Red, Yellow, Green) help define and monitor the target.
    • Progress Calculation: Progress is automatically calculated based on the target Type (Maximize or Minimize) using specific formulas that compare actual, base, and target values. Weighted progress calculations are available when enabled via system properties.
    • Impact on Goal: Allows setting the relative importance of a target to its goal using a numerical scale from No impact (0) to Maximum (5), considering sub-goals if present. This is available when weighted averages are enabled.
    • Ownership and Contributors: The form captures the target owner and contributors, defaulting to the goal's contributors for collaboration.
    • Duration Management: Start and end dates default to those of the associated goal but can be customized per target.
    • Metrics Configuration: Includes Unit of measure (quantitative like %, $, Days or qualitative Yes/No), Type (Maximize, Minimize, Milestone), Start (Base) value, Final target value, Baseline reference, and Actuals to date.
    • Check-in and Tracking: Users can set check-in frequency (daily to yearly) to break down targets into smaller periods, enabling focused updates and management. Target value distribution can be cumulative or non-cumulative.
    • Confidentiality Controls: For ESG Workspace users, targets can be marked confidential, restricting access to specified groups and users with appropriate roles while still contributing to overall goal progress.
    • Comments and Collaboration: Enables detailed comments to support team collaboration.
    • Target Automation: Allows automatic updating of actual values by selecting a data source table and relevant variables, such as Benefit Plans, facilitating efficient progress tracking. This feature requires specific plugins like PPM Standard.

    Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

    ServiceNow customers can use the Target form to precisely define measurable objectives aligned to strategic goals, monitor real-time progress, and involve key stakeholders. The form supports both quantitative and qualitative targets with flexible tracking periods, enabling granular oversight and timely updates. Confidentiality options ensure sensitive targets are accessible only to authorized users while maintaining aggregate goal metrics. Automation capabilities reduce manual data entry by integrating with other data sources, improving accuracy and efficiency in performance management.

    By leveraging these features, customers can enhance strategic planning, ensure accountability, and drive goal achievement through continuous visibility and collaboration within the ServiceNow platform.

    Use the Target form to track and measure the progress of the goals.

    Some of the fields on the form is available when the Goal Framework for SPM application is installed.

    Note:
    For ESG Workspace and Strategic Planning users, to view the other fields that aren't added to the default view or your custom form view on the form in the workspace, configure the default or custom form layout. For information on how to configure the form layout, see Configuring the form layout.
    Table 1. Target form
    Field Description
    Name Name of the target.
    Goal Name of the associated goal. This field is auto-populated when creating a target from the Targets related list on the Goal form.
    Description Brief description of the target.
    State State of the target. The state can be Draft, In progress, Approved, or Complete.
    Status Status of the target. The status can be Red, Yellow, or Green.
    Progress Percentage of target execution that is complete. The value is calculated automatically.

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

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

    For more information on how the progress value is calculated when weight scale is defined, see progress value calculation.
    Impact on goal A numerical value that represents the importance of the target relative to the other targets of the goal. If there are any sub-goals present, they are also considered for relative weights and consequent progress calculation. 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. By default, the name of the user creating the target is populated.
    Contributors Users who contribute to the achievement of the target. By default, the contributors of the associated goal are populated.
    Table 2. Duration section of the Target form
    Field Description
    Start date Start date for the target. By default, the start date of its associated goal is populated.
    End date End date for the target. By default, the end date of its associated goal is populated.
    Table 3. Metrics section of the Target form
    Field Description
    Unit of measure Measure type for the specified value. Usage of the measure such as cost, time, and rate. The available measure types are stored in the Units [sn_gf_units] table. Unit of measure defines the type of the target as qualitative or quantitative. The available unit of measures for quantitative target are #, $, %, and Days. The available unit of measure for qualitative target is Yes/No.
    Type Target type that signifies the direction of achievement.
    • Maximize: The direction of the progress is toward the target value from the base value where 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 where the target value must be less than the base value.
    • Milestone: Fixed type. Only the qualitative target values are allowed (that are set in the Unit of measure field for the target) to capture the achievement of the target. The Milestone option is applicable only for qualitative targets.

    The Type field becomes read-only with the value populated as Milestone for qualitative targets (when the Unit of measure field is set to a qualitative target value).
    Start value Start value of the target. The start value can also be considered as the present or current value.

    This field becomes read-only when a value is entered in the Actual value field. Clear the Actual value field to update a value in the Base value field.

    This field is available when the Type field is set to Maximize or Minimize.
    Final target value Final target value of the target. The target value should be aspirational and should challenge the teams.

    This field is available when the Type field is set to Maximize or Minimize.
    Baseline reference Past achievement of the target to provide reference for future performance. This value is only for reference purpose and not considered for target progress calculation.
    Actuals to date Actual value of the target at a given time.

    This field is available when the Type field is set to Maximize or Minimize.
    Check-in frequency Option to specify breakdown intervals for the target and how frequently the owner or contributor should update the actual value of the target. Breaking down the target into smaller periods helps you set a target for smaller periods and focus on the specific breakdown targets. The available options are Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, and Yearly. Target breakdowns are automatically created when you set this field to any of the available options other than None. For more details on target breakdowns, see Target breakdowns in Strategic Planning.
    Note:
    The target breakdowns feature isn’t supported for qualitative targets.
    Target value distribution Option to specify the target to be calculated cumulatively or non-cumulatively. The available options are Split equally across the time period (non-cumulative) and Spread linearly across the time period (cumulative).

    This field is available only when the Check-in frequency field is set to any of the available options other than None.
    Remark Remark entered by the user for business justification when updating the actuals.
    Check-in due date Due date that the owner or contributor of the target must update the actual value of the target to.
    Confidential Option to restrict the access for this target record to the specific users populated in the Allowed groups and Allowed users fields.

    This field is available when the ESG Management application is installed and the sn_grc.enable_record_confidentiality property is enabled. This field is applicable only when the Classification field in the goal form of the target is populated as Environmental, Social, or Governance. The required role to configure this field is sn_esg.reader.

    Note:
    Irrespective of the target record set to confidential or not, the target progress value rolls up to its goal for calculating the progress value of the goal.
    Allowed groups User groups who can access the target record. This field is applicable only for the ESG Workspace users.

    Even though a user group is populated in this field, the users can access the confidential record only if the user group has the sn_esg.reader role.

    This field is available when the Confidential field is set to true.
    Allowed users Users who can access the target record. This field is applicable only for the ESG Workspace users.

    Even though a user name is populated in this field, the user can access the confidential record only if the user has the sn_esg.reader role.

    This field is available when the Confidential field is set to true.
    Comments Detailed comments for the target to facilitate collaboration.
    Table 4. Target Automation section of the Target form
    Field Description
    Automate actual value Option to enable the target automation feature for the target.
    Actual value source Target source table that the data is fetched from to auto-update the actual value of the target on the target's review due date.

    This field is available when the Automate actual value field is set to true.

    Variables section of the Target form

    This section appears based on the context variables available in the target source that is selected in the Actual value source field.

    When you select Actual value source as Benefit Plans (predefined target automation script for benefit plans), the Benefit Plan field appears in this section, from which you can select the required benefit plans for automating the actual value of the target.
    Note:
    You can use the Benefit Plans custom script only when PPM Standard (Project Portfolio Management) is installed. If you can't find the benefit plan that you want to select, you can find and select the same from Heisenberg UI by navigate to Enterprise Goal Management > Targets and opening the Target form.