Demand tasks

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Demand tasks

    Demand tasks in ServiceNow's Zurich release are units of work created within a demand to break down initial planning activities before converting that demand into a project, change, enhancement, or defect. These tasks help delegate activities for assessing demand feasibility, but differ from project tasks in terms of scheduling and workflow impact.

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    Key Features

    • Task Characteristics: Demand tasks do not include planned, actual, or original dates; instead, they have a due date that targets task completion without affecting demand workflow. Nested demand tasks and task constraints (like Start ASAP or specific start dates) are not supported. Execution types such as Agile, Waterfall, or Hybrid are also not applicable.
    • Resource Assignment: Resources can be assigned using Assigned to, Additional Assignee list, and Assignment Group fields. However, resource assignments created at the demand task level are not transferred to the eventual work entity (e.g., project) created from the demand. Time spent on demand tasks should be submitted via time cards under the demand, not linked to future work entities.
    • Time and Cost Tracking: Resources assigned to demand tasks can submit time cards reflecting actual effort, which, along with hourly resource rates, default labor rates, or system properties, determine the actual cost. These actual costs and efforts roll up to the associated demand for accurate tracking.
    • Additional Work Items: Depending on the demand task category and user role, the demand task form enables adding cost plans, resource assignments, benefit plans, and risks to the demand, supporting comprehensive demand planning and management.

    Practical Impact for ServiceNow Customers

    By using demand tasks, customers can effectively segment and delegate early planning activities within demands without complicating schedules or workflows. This enables better assessment of feasibility and resource planning while maintaining clear separation between demand-level and project-level work. Time and cost tracking remain accurate and aligned with demand management processes, facilitating better cost control and reporting.

    A demand task is a unit of work, created within a demand, to break down initial planning activities before converting the demand into a project, change, enhancement, or defect.

    You can create a demand task from the Demand Tasks related list to delegate activities that are helpful for assessing demand feasibility. Demand tasks differ from project tasks in the following aspects:

    • Planned dates, actual dates, and original dates are part of project tasks not demand tasks.
    • The due date indicates the date on which the task is targeted for completion and doesn’t affect the demand workflow. Project tasks, however, affect the project completion dates if the planned dates and actual dates are changed.
    • Don’t support the creation of nested demand tasks.
    • Don’t support task constraints such as the settings Start ASAP and Start on a specific date.
    • Don’t support an execution type such as Agile, Waterfall, or Hybrid.

    Resource assignment

    Assign resources for a demand task using the Assigned to, Additional Assignee list, and Assignment Group fields. Don’t create and use resource assignments to allocate resources or groups to a demand task or submit the time spent on the demand. If you associate a resource assignment with a demand task, the associated resource plan isn’t transferred to the work entity created from that demand.

    The resource assignments aren’t associated with the demand by default. Make sure that you don’t use the resource assignments that you created for the future work entity created from the demand to submit the time spent on a demand.

    When you submit a time card for a demand, the time and cost incurred aren’t transferred to the work entity created from the demand. The time and cost remain within the demand as the demand cost and effort.

    Resources assigned to a demand task can submit the time spent on it using a time card. For more information, see Submit a time card for a demand task.

    Actual cost and effort for a demand task

    The actual effort of the work performed on the demand task is derived from the time card. The actual cost is derived from the hourly resource rate defined in the rate model, default labor rate, or default system property. The actual cost and effort for a demand task are then rolled up to derive the actual cost and effort for the associated demand. For more information, see Actual cost and effort calculation for a demand and demand task.

    Add work items to a Demand

    Based on the selected demand task category and role assigned to you, you can use the demand task form to: