Tasks: Creating and Managing

Tasks can be automatically added to a case through a workflow and can also be manually added from the Action Center. For example, an employee termination workflow might comprise multiple tasks to complete the work: terminate employee benefits, close the employee out of the payroll system, schedule an exit interview, and so on. These tasks would be automated through a workflow. You can also add a task to a case manually through the Action Center.

Adding tasks

To add a task to a case:

From an open case, in the Action Center, expand Tasks.
Click Add Task.
The New Task form opens.
Complete the form. Required fields are marked in red ink.
When ready, click Save.

Send Notification	When a change occurs to the task, notifications are sent to the Owner, Assigned To, and users in the Notifications list. Default is to send notifications. If you want to make an update and do not want to notify anyone, you can clear this field. Then, the system automatically resets this field after a save is complete. To prevent notifications from being sent for specific updates, clear this option.
Owner	Required. Select the user who will own this task. Defaults to the user who creates the task.
Created By	Defaults to the user who creates the task.
Assigned To	Select the user who must complete the task – the user who will actually perform the work.
Status	Defaults to New.
Category	Required. Select the category that fits the task.
Type	When Category is selected, Type becomes available. Select a type: Owner, Influencer, AIG Eligible.
Priority	Required. Select a priority for this task: Critical, High, Medium, Low. This helps the Assigned To person understand the urgency.
Start Date	Required. Start date defaults to the current date and time.
Due Date	Select a Due Date if applicable.
Completed	Completed is auto-filled when the Status changes to Complete.
Completed By	Completed By is auto-filled.
Subject	Required. Provide a meaningful subject for the Assigned To person.
Body	Provide detailed information for the Assigned To person.
Comments	Add helpful comments as the task is updated.
More Info
Private
Delete	Select this option to mark the task for deletion by a scheduled process.
Active	Tasks are active by default. When you clear this option, the task becomes read-only and is removed from any of the task management lists. You can search for inactive tasks.

What happens next

When you save the form, the Assigned To person is automatically notified of the newly assigned task. Additionally, the Owner is notified when there are changes to the task status. Anytime a save occurs, a notification is issued. For example, if the Owner adds a comment, both the Owner and the Assigned To person are notified.

The case owner can also add users. For example, let's say we want to keep the payroll person informed about a terminated employee. We can do this through Notifications.

To add notified users:

From an open task, in the Action Center, expand Notifications.
Click Select Users.
The Select Users list is displayed.
Scroll through the list of users or use Search to locate the user.
When you locate the user, select the Select check box and click Ok. Alternatively, you can double-click the user.

You are returned to the New Task form with the selected user listed under Notifications. Additionally, Notifications now shows a badge counter or an updated counter.

Reassigning tasks

Just like cases, tasks can be reassigned. So if we need to reassign this task from Bill Mitty to Priscilla Ayroll, and ask her to do something, we can change the Assigned To person on the task.

To reassign tasks:

From an open task, in Assigned To, select a user.
In Comments, add a comment to let the newly assigned user understand what they need to do to complete the task.
1. Click(Add).
  The Comments box opens, ready for you to type.
2. When you are done, clickagain.
  The Comment is added.
Click Apply.
The task is now assigned to the new user.

Comments are date and time stamped to provide a running audit of what happened during a task.

Completing tasks

Use the Workflow links in the Action Center when you are ready to mark a task complete.

To mark a task complete:

From an open task, add a comment:
1. Click.
2. Enter your comments about completing the task.
3. Clickagain.
  The comment is added.
In the Action Center, under Workflow, click Complete Task.

The form closes. In the Action Center, the number of active tasks counter is updated, showing one less active task. The badge counter also has an asterisk beside the count, indicating there are archived tasks.

Reactivating a Task

You can reactivate a task after it has been archived.

To reactivate a task:

From the Tasks list, click More.
The Standard Filters dialog opens.
For Show, click Archived and then click Search.
The archived tasks are displayed with italics and bold.
Locate the targeted task and click or (Jump) or Edit.
The Task form opens.
In the Action Center, under Workflow, click Reactivate.
The task is now reactivated.