Blocking tasks

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 3 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 Blocking tasks

    Blocking tasks are integral to managing customer service cases in ServiceNow. They represent obstacles preventing case resolution, such as awaiting customer feedback or open related task records. When agents perform specific actions, blocking tasks are created or resolved, which updates the case’sAction Statusand impacts how cases are monitored and progressed.

    Show full answer Show less

    Actions Creating and Resolving Blocking Tasks

    Certain agent actions trigger the creation of blocking tasks, including:

    • Setting the case state to Needs More Information.
    • Associating related records such as Problem, Request, Change, Incident, Case task, or Work order to the case.

    Blocking tasks are resolved when:

    • The customer provides requested information.
    • A fix or workaround is linked to a related problem record.
    • Related records like Problem, Request, Change, Incident are resolved.
    • Related case tasks or work orders are closed or cancelled.

    Needs Attention Field

    The Needs Attention field on the Case form signals that a case requires further action. It activates automatically when a blocking task is resolved, when someone other than the case owner comments on the case, or when a work note is added to a child case of a major case. Agents and managers can also manually enable this field to indicate that additional information is needed. Only the assigned agent, customer service manager, or admin can disable it.

    When requesting additional information multiple times, agents should clear the Needs Attention field before making a new request to ensure accurate status updates.

    Case Action Status and Major Issue Management

    In scenarios involving major issue management, the Needs Attention field is enabled when customers comment or agents add work notes on cases that are children of a major case, helping highlight attention needed on significant issues.

    Blocked By Related List and Blocking Reasons

    Blocking tasks appear in the Blocked by related list on the Case form with assigned reasons such as:

    • Need information from the customer
    • Need task resolution
    • Need PRB workaround
    • Other

    Agents can modify the blocking reason if necessary, for example changing it to "Need PRB workaround" when a problem is associated with the case. When resolved, details about who unblocked the task and when are recorded.

    Data Management

    Blocking tasks are stored in the Blocked By table [snactionstatusblockedby]. Entries related to closed blocked records are automatically removed six months after closure, helping maintain system performance and data relevancy.

    Certain agent actions trigger case flows which create and resolve the blocking tasks for customer service cases. These tasks determine the case action status.

    When an agent performs certain actions, such as asking a customer for more information or associating a problem with a case, the system:
    • Adds a blocking task to the case. This task appears on the Case form in the Blocked by form section.
    • Updates the Action Status field on the Case form and Case list.
    Note:
    A blocking task is something that prevents an agent from making progress toward case resolution. For example, a case might have one or more open related task records or be waiting for customer feedback.
    Additionally, there are actions that resolve these blocking tasks, such as the customer responding to an agent’s question or an internal user resolving a problem task. When one of these actions occur, the system:
    • Updates the status of the blocking task on the Case form.
    • Updates the Action Status field on the Case form and Case list.
    • Enables the Needs Attention field on the Case form.

    Actions that create blocking tasks

    The following actions create blocking task for customer service cases:
    • The agent sets the state of the case to Needs More Information.
    • The agent associates one of the following to the case:
      • Problem
      • Request
      • Change
      • Incident
      • Case task
      • Work order

    Actions that resolve blocking tasks

    The following actions resolve the blocking tasks for customer service cases:
    • A customer provides the requested information.
    • A fix or a workaround is associated with a related problem record.
    • A related problem, request, change, or incident record is resolved.
    • A related case task or work order is closed or cancelled.

    Needs attention field

    When the Needs attention field on the Case form is enabled, the Action Status column on the Case list displays a blue indicator.

    The Needs attention field is enabled automatically when:
    • A blocking task for a case is resolved.
    • A customer or someone other than the case owner comments on a case.
    • A work note is added to a case that is a child of a major case.

    Customer service agents and managers can manually enable the Needs attention field if information is required from customers or internal users. This field can be disabled only by the agent assigned to the case or by the customer service manager or admin.

    Requesting additional information from a customer

    When an agent requests additional information from a customer, the system enables the Needs attention field and sets the Action status field to Needs attention.

    If an agent needs to request additional information from a customer for a second time on the same case, be sure to clear the Needs attention field on the Case form before requesting the information. This ensures that the status updates correctly.

    Case action status and major issue management

    When using the case action status feature with major issue management, the following actions enable the Needs attention field for a major case:
    • A customer provides comments for a case that is a child of a major case.
    • An agent adds a work note to a case that is a child of a major case.

    Blocked by related list

    Blocking tasks that are created for a case are added to the Blocked by related list. Each blocking task is assigned one of the following blocking reasons:
    • Need information from the customer
    • Need task resolution
    • Need PRB workaround
    • Other
    Note:
    When a problem is associated with a case and a blocking task is created, the blocking reason is set to Need task resolution. If necessary, the agent can change this reason to Need PRB workaround.
    When a blocking task is resolved:
    • The Unblocked By field displays the user who performed the unblocking action.
    • The Unblocked On field displays the date that the blocking task was resolved.

    Blocking Tasks table

    Records that have the blocking tasks are stored in the Blocked By table [sn_action_status_blocked_by]. Records are periodically removed from this table. Six months after a blocked record is closed, the entries in the Blocked By table related to the blocked record are removed.