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Schedules & Task SLAs

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In this lesson, you will learn:

  • How schedules decide which hours count on an SLA
  • What a task SLA is
  • How to read a task SLA’s stage and progress

1 Which hours count?

SNWR’s service desk works Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 6 PM. If a Priority 3 incident is logged at 5 PM on Friday, should the clock keep running all weekend? Probably not! 🌙

A schedule tells the SLA which hours count.

Key term: Schedule

A set of working hours, like “8-6 weekdays” or “24×7”. The SLA clock only runs during those hours.

The same 8-hour SLA with two schedules. With a 24x7 schedule, an incident logged Friday at 5 PM is due Saturday at 1 AM. With an 8 to 6 weekdays schedule, the clock runs only 1 hour on Friday, pauses over the weekend, and continues Monday morning, so it's due Monday at 3 PM.
Figure 1. Same SLA, different schedules, very different due times.
Schedule Good for
24×7 Critical services that must always work, like P1 incidents
8-5 or 8-6 weekdays Normal requests and lower priorities

📝 Note: Schedules can also skip holidays. Admins manage them in System Scheduler > Schedules.

2 Task SLAs

An SLA definition is the rule. When a task matches the rule, ServiceNow creates a task SLA: the actual running clock for that one task.

Key term: Task SLA

One SLA clock attached to one task. Stored in the task_sla table, and shown in the Task SLAs related list.

Field What it shows
Stage In progress, Paused, Completed, Cancelled
Has breached True if the time ran out
Business elapsed % How much of the allowed time is used, counting only schedule hours
Breach time When the SLA will breach if nothing changes

💡 Good to know: The progress bar changes color as time runs out, often green, then yellow, then red. Agents use it to pick which ticket to work on next.

⭐ Remember: SLA definition = the rule. Task SLA = the running clock on one task.

3 Let’s try it: watch the clock

  1. Open the P1 incident you made in Lesson 21.2. Find the Task SLAs related list.
  2. Look at the Stage, Business elapsed %, and Breach time.
  3. Set the incident to On Hold. Refresh. Did the stage change to Paused?
  4. Open System Scheduler > Schedules. Find a weekday schedule and look at its hours.

4 Quick recap

  • A schedule decides which hours count on an SLA
  • 24×7 counts every hour. Business schedules skip nights and weekends
  • A task SLA is the running clock on one task (task_sla)
  • Key fields: Stage, Has breached, Business elapsed %, Breach time

5 Check yourself

Think of your answer first. Then tap to check.

1 Which schedule would you use for a P1 SLA on a service that must always run? Show answer

24×7.

2 What’s the difference between an SLA definition and a task SLA? Show answer

The definition is the rule. The task SLA is the running clock on one specific task.

3 An incident is On Hold. What stage is its task SLA in? Show answer

Paused (if On Hold is a pause condition).

Nice work! You finished this lesson. 🎉

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