Change request project task relationship

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 4 minutes to read
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    Summary of Change request project task relationship

    This topic explains the relationship between change requests and project tasks in ServiceNow’s Project Management application, detailing how data such as dates, duration, and state synchronize between linked records. Understanding these rules helps you manage projects effectively when change requests are involved.

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    Key Features

    • Inheritance of Dates: The project task link inherits start and end dates from the change request but adjusts the start date to the later of the two when they differ. The end date remains aligned with the change request.
    • Special Date Adjustments: If a change request starts and ends before the project start date, the project task link becomes a milestone with zero duration. When a change request begins during non-work hours, the start time is honored, but duration calculations respect the project schedule.
    • Duration Calculation: The duration of the project task link equals the change request duration, based on planned start and end dates. If no planned dates exist, a default duration of one project day or 24 hours applies.
    • Multiple Change Requests: You can link multiple change requests to a single project task, creating multiple project task links. Their durations roll up to the parent task’s schedule. However, a change request can only link to one project task, and a parent task with child tasks cannot have a direct project task link to a change request.
    • State Synchronization: Changes in the change request state (e.g., Pending, Open, Work in Progress) propagate to the linked project task link and roll up to the parent task and project. Closed states in the change request set the project task link to Closed Complete.
    • Modification Direction: Changes to planned start date, planned end date, and state in the change request propagate to the project task link and parent records. Modifications made in the Project Management application do not affect the change request record.
    • Manual Task Start: Project tasks linked to change requests do not start automatically even if they have a Start ASAP constraint; the project manager must manually update the task state to Work in Progress.
    • Closing Tasks and Change Requests: Closing a project or project task does not automatically close linked change requests; you must manually close them in the change request record.

    Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers

    When managing projects that include change requests, expect start and end dates, durations, and states to synchronize from the change request to the project task link and roll up to parent tasks and projects. You must manually control task progress and closure related to change requests to maintain accurate project status. These rules help maintain alignment between project schedules and change request management while providing clear boundaries on how updates propagate between records.

    The rules that apply to all parent-child tasks also govern the relationship between project task and the project task link.

    Start and end dates

    The project task link inherits start and end dates from the change request. However, the Project Management application adjusts the dates when these situations occur:
    • If the project task and the change request have different planned start dates, the project task link uses the later of the two dates. For example, if the project task starts on October 1 but the change request starts on October 2, the project task link changes to October 2.
    • If the change request has an earlier start date, the Time constraint value for the project task link becomes Start ASAP when the link is created. The end date remains the same as the end date specified in the change request record.
    • If the change request starts and ends before the project start date, the project task link has a duration of zero (0). It also appears as a milestone that occurs when the project starts.
    • If a change request is scheduled to start during non-work time according to the project schedule, the planned start date of the project task link ignores the schedule. It also starts at the time specified by the change request. However, the duration of the project task link does take the schedule into consideration. For example: the project uses the default schedule, which specifies that work hours are Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 17:00 with an hour break from noon to 13:00. A change request with a 13-hour duration starts at midnight. The project task link starts at midnight and continues through the start of the schedule at 08:00. It stops at noon for one hour, and continues from 13:00 until 14:00. The total duration would be 13 hours.

    Project Task Duration

    The duration of the change request determines the duration of the project task link. That duration is rolled up to the parent project task just as all child task durations roll up to parent tasks. The Planned start date and Planned end date in the Change Request form Schedule section are the fields that determine the duration. If there are no planned dates on the Change Request form, the default duration is one project day. The project has a schedule or 24 hours when the project has no schedule.

    Multiple Linked Change Requests

    If you link additional change requests to a project task, additional project task links are created. All become child tasks of the project task. The dates roll up to the parent task. For example, if a linked project task is planned to finish on October 30. You link a new change request scheduled to finish on November 30, a new project task link is created. The parent task planned end date extends to November 30 to cover the duration of both project task links. A change request can only be linked to one project task. It cannot be linked to multiple tasks in the same project or across multiple projects. A project task that has one or more child tasks cannot also have a project task link connecting it to a change request.

    Project Task State

    If the state of a change request changes to Pending, Open, or Work in Progress, the state of the project task link changes accordingly. If the state of the change request changes to any of the closed states, the state of the project task link changes to Closed Complete.

    How Modifications Propagate Between Change Requests and Project Tasks

    Modifications to a linked change request propagate to the project task link. However, the reverse is not true. You cannot modify the change request record from the Project Management application.
    Modifications to the following fields propagate from the change request to the project task link:
    • Planned start date
    • Planned end date
    • State
    These change request settings also roll up to the project task that is the parent of the project task link, and also up to the project record. Consider the following example: a project has not yet been started and all its tasks are in the Pending state. If you changed the state of a linked change request record from Open to Work in Progress, the project task link, its parent task, and the project itself all change to Work in Progress.

    When you start a project, tasks that have Start ASAP as the time constraint and have no other start dependencies start immediately. However, project tasks with linked change requests do not start automatically. The project manager must start the task manually by changing the State field to Work in Progress.

    Modifications made in the Project Management application do not propagate to a linked change request record, so closing a project does not close a linked change. When you successfully implement a change and close the project it belongs to, you must go to the change request record and manually change the state to Closed.