ITIL Task Management Manual

Quick Overview of Task

Task management is the process of managing a task through its life cycle. ITIL Task Management is currently set up to link task records to Incidents, Problems, and Changes, and is also set up to create Tasks that are completely independent.

The Task list allows you to create and manage tasks as well as monitor task statuses. To access all existing tasks, navigate to Helpdesk > Tasks.

The Task list page contains the following fields and functions:

1. Filters: Sort existing tasks by status, assignee, author, date when the task was created or updated, and other criteria. The status filter is applied by default.
2. Column Customization: Located in the upper right corner of the "Tasks" table, click the column customization icon to show/ hide columns in the table view and manage their order.
3. Status list: Task statuses indicate which phase a task is currently in. Task statuses let you define and communicate the overall progress of tasks.
4. Task table: Task view with many management options.

The Task detail page allows you to review and take action on a task. Each task contains the following sections:

1. Toolbar: A strip а control buttons that let you perform various actions on a task.
2. Title bar: Shows basic task details including the title of the task.
3. Task Information: Shows general details of the task such as Status, Priority, % Done, Assignee, Requester, Due By Date, and Closed Date.
4. Description: Contain a detailed description of a task.
5. Subtickets: The table of subtickets. Click the plus icon to create a subticket for a task to either split the task into smaller chunks or to allow various aspects of a task to be assigned to different people.
6. History: Includes any change that might have been made to the task. It includes comments made, changes to status, priority, assignment, or root cause, and any subtickets that have been created.
7. Time tracking: Tracks time spent on the incident. Click the collapse arrow icon on the right to open the Time tracking section. From here, you can see a list of watchers added to an incident. You also have the option to add users as watchers or delete them by clicking Add or relatively.

Task statuses

There are 5 task statuses. The table below contains the statuses list and their short description:

Status title	Short description
New	It means that a task is created and assigned to nobody
Assigned	It means that a task is assigned to a VNC Support Consultant
Completed	The task is ended successfully
Closed	When the task is completed, you can close it
Cancelled	It means that a task is canceled

Create a task

1. Navigate to Helpdesk > Tasks.
2. Click the NEW TASK button.

3. Fill in all required fields and any other fields that you want:

   • In the Subject field, type the name of the task.
   • From the Project dropdown, you can change the project you want to add a task to.
   • From the Customer dropdown, select a required customer.
   • From the Requested for dropdown, select a user from your organization.
   • From Planned start date dropdown, select the earliest possible date you can begin working on a task.
   • From the Due date dropdown, select the date when you would ideally like to have the task completed.

4. Enter a detailed description of a task.

5. In the Priority field, set the priority to Immediate, Urgent, High, Normal, and Low.
6. Click Create.

Add an attachment to a task

You can add an attachment to a task only if it has "New" and "Assigned" status and it is accessible in the respective tab.

1. Navigate to Helpdesk > Tasks.

2. Open the task to which you want to add an attachment.

   • You can also add an attachment when you create a new task.

3. Click the kebab menu icon.

4. Select Add attachment from the dropdown menu.
5. Select a required file/ image from your computer.
6. Click Submit.

Download attachments in a task

1. Open a task.
2. Under the Attachments section, hover the pointer over a file/ image you want to download and click the download icon .
3. (Optional) You can download all of the attachments at once. Click the download icon in the upper right corner of the Attachments section.

Delete attachments in a task

The deletion process is non-reversible and hence must be exercised with caution.

1. Open a task.
2. Under the Attachments section, hover the pointer over a file/ image you want to download and click the trash bin icon .

Add a watcher to a task

You can also add watchers to make sure they are informed of important problem updates.

You can also add watchers while creating a task.

1. Navigate to Helpdesk > Tasks.
2. Open the task to which you want to add a watcher.
3. Click the sidebar icon .
4. Under the Watchers section, click Add.
5. Search for and select a user you want to assign as a watcher.
6. Click the Add button.
7. To remove a watcher from a problem, click the trash bin icon next to the respective watcher.

Assign a task

You can add an assignment to a problem only if it has "New" or "Assigned" status and it is accessible in the respective tab.

You can add an assignment to a task to either split the issue into smaller chunks or allow various aspects of an issue to be assigned to different people.

1. Navigate to Helpdesk > Tasks.
2. Open a task.
3. Click the ADD ASSIGNMENT button.
4. From the Role dropdown menu, specify a role.
5. From the Assign to dropdown menu, specify a user account.
6. (Optional) Add a note and make it internal by checking the box next to Internal Notes.
7. (Optional) Under the Attachments section, click the plus icon and select the images/ files you want to add.
8. Click Submit.

Add a note to a task

You can add a note to a task only if it has "New" or "Assigned" status and it is accessible in the respective tab.

1. Navigate to Helpdesk > Tasks.
2. Open the task to which you want to add a note.
3. Click the kebab menu icon.
4. Select Add note from the dropdown menu.
5. In the Notes box, type your comment.
6. Under the Attachments section, click the plus icon and select a required file/ image from your computer.
7. Click Submit.

Mention your teammates

If you need someone to know about a note, you can mention them in it. Type @ followed by their name, then choose the right user account from the list. The user you mention will be notified about your note and can quickly jump to the task to see what's happening.

Make a note private

If your note is only meant for a specific group or project role, you can make your note private by checking the box next to Private notes.

Quote a note

If you want to respond to a specific note rather than just leave a new note directly at the bottom of a task, you can create a note thread for this purpose.

1. In the upper right corner of the note you want to respond to, click the quotation mark .
2. Click into the text box at the bottom of this note thread and start creating your response.
3. Click Submit.

Edit a note

You can edit an existing note you wrote on a task.

1. In the upper right corner of the note you want to edit, click the pencil icon .
2. Make your changes.
3. Click Save.

Add a subticket to a task

Using this option you can assign different tickets to different specialists. If a task involves multiple specialists' work, then the specialist who receives the task (owner of the task) can assign different subtickets to different specialists.

1. Navigate to Helpdesk > Tasks.
2. Open a task.
3. Under the Subtickets section, click the plus icon.

4. In the New task page, fill in all required fields and any other fields that you want:

   • In the Subject field, type the name of the task.
   • From the Project dropdown, you can change the project you want to add a task to.
   • From the Customer dropdown, select a required customer.
   • From the Requested for dropdown, select a user from your organization.
   • From the Planned start date dropdown, select the earliest possible date you can begin working on a task.
   • From the Due date dropdown, select the date when you would ideally like to have the task completed.

5. Enter a detailed description of a task.

6. Click Create.

Update a task

You can update a task only if it has "New" or "Assigned" status and it is accessible in the respective tab.

1. Navigate to Helpdesk > Tasks.
2. Open a task.
3. Click the UPDATE button.
4. In the Notes section, enter your comment.
5. Under the Attachments section, click the plus icon to attach a file/ screenshot.
6. Click SUBMIT.

Log time on a task

VNCproject makes it easy for you to keep track of time spent on your tasks. This will let you compare your original estimate with how long it took to resolve the task.

1. Navigate to Helpdesk > Tasks.
2. Open a task.
3. Click the LOG TIME button.
4. Fill in the Hours and Comments fields.
5. Click CREATE.

Cancel a task

You can cancel a task only if it has "New" or "Assigned" status and it is accessible in the respective tab.

1. Navigate to Helpdesk > Tasks.
2. Open a task.
3. Click the CANCEL button.
4. In the Notes section, enter your comment.
5. Under the Attachments section, click the plus icon to attach a file/ screenshot.
6. Click SUBMIT.

You can check the task in the Cancelled tab.

Complete a task

1. Navigate to Helpdesk > Tasks.
2. Open a task.
3. Click the COMPLETE button.
4. In the Notes section, enter your comment.
5. Under the Attachments section, click the plus icon to attach a file/ screenshot.
6. Click SUBMIT.

Close a task

When you have completed a task, you are ready to close it.

1. Navigate to Helpdesk > Tasks.
2. Open a task.
3. Click the CLOSE button.
4. In the Notes section, enter your comment.
5. Under the Attachments section, click the plus icon to attach a file/ screenshot.
6. Click SUBMIT.

Reopen a task

You can reopen a task only if it has "Completed", "Closed", or "Cancelled" status and it is accessible in the respective tab.

If you are not satisfied with the resolution of your task, you reopen the task record for further investigation.

1. Navigate to Helpdesk > Tasks.
2. Open a task.
3. Click the REOPEN button.
4. In the Notes section, enter your comment.
5. Under the Attachments section, click the plus icon to attach a file/ screenshot.
6. Click SUBMIT.