States and UI actions for a BCP

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of States and UI Actions for a BCP

    The Business Continuity Plan (BCP) process involves several states, each associated with specific UI actions that guide users through creating and managing the plan. Understanding these states and actions is crucial for effective BCP management in ServiceNow.

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    Key Features

    • Draft: Initiate a business continuity plan by selecting New in the Lists view or navigating to the Planning section to create a BIA. This creates a record in the Draft state where you can enter details across various tabs such as Scope and Recovery teams.
    • In Review: Transition to this state by selecting Submit for review, allowing for evaluation before approval.
    • Pending Approval: Use Submit for approval to move the plan to this state, awaiting final validation.
    • Approved: Once approved, the plan is locked for edits. The Overview tab allows you to track state progression.
    • Archived: Move to this state by selecting Archive. You can revert to Draft starting with BCM release 9.0.x using the Edit button.
    • Additional UI Actions: Include options to generate PDFs, copy documents, visualize 360º relationships, delete, edit, and save the plan.
    • Returned: If rejected, the state changes to Returned, allowing for edits before re-submission.

    Key Outcomes

    By understanding and utilizing these UI actions across various states, ServiceNow customers can effectively create, review, approve, and manage their business continuity plans, ensuring a smoother workflow and adherence to organizational continuity strategies.

    When you create a business continuity plan (BCP), certain UI actions are associated with each state.

    States and UI actions associated with a plan

    UI actions and their associated states for a business continuity plan are described in the table.

    Table 1. UI actions and States associated with a plan
    Updated state of the BCP UI action Description
    Draft

    In business continuity plan record Lists view, select New.

    You can also navigate to the Planning section of the Home page and select Create BIA.

    When you select New in the Create New Plan form or Create BIA in the Home page, a record is created in the Draft state by default.

    On the Details tab, add details of the business continuity plan. Add details on the tabs:
    • Scope
    • Documentation
    • Related plans
    • Recovery teams
    • Loss scenarios
    • Recovery tasks
    In review Select Submit for review.

    When you select Submit for review in the Create New Plan form, the state of the business continuity plan is updated to In review.

    Pending approval Select Submit for approval.

    When you select Submit for approval in the Create New Plan form, the state of the business continuity plan is updated to Pending approval.

    Approved Select Approve.

    When you select Approve in the Create New Plan form, the state of the business continuity plan is updated to Approved. The Overview tab displays the progression of the states for the business continuity plan.

    When the business continuity plan is in the Approved state, you cannot edit it further.

    Archived In the Create New Plan form, select Archive.

    When you select Archive in the Create New Plan form, the state of the business continuity plan is updated to Archived.

    Starting with BCM release 9.0.x, you can revert an archived business continuity plan (BCP) to the Draft state by selecting the Edit button on the form.

    You can perform additional UI actions in the Create New Plan form:
    Generate PDF

    Download the PDF of the business continuity plan for reference. The PDF attachment is available in the Activity panel of the Details tab.

    For information on generating the PDF of a business impact analysis, see Generate BCP reports in PDF or Microsoft Word format.

    Copy
    Save a copy of the PDF of the business impact analysis for future reference as a template.
    360º view
    Visualize the 360º representation of the business continuity plan such as its name, scope, related plans, and related tasks. To view 360º relationships of a business continuity plan, see Visualize 360° relationships for the BCP.
    Delete
    Delete the continuity plan.
    Edit
    Edit the business continuity plan.
    Save
    Save the business continuity plan.
    Returned Select Reject.

    When the BCP is rejected, it is set to Returned. You can edit the business continuity plan in the Returned state.