happy-technologies-llc/quick-reference

ITSM Quick Reference

Overview

A quick reference card for common ITSM operations in ServiceNow. Keep this handy for fast lookups of state values, priority matrices, and common query patterns.

• What problem does it solve? Quick lookup for common ITSM values and operations
• Who should use this skill? Anyone working with incidents, changes, or problems
• What are the expected outcomes? Faster development with fewer documentation lookups

Procedure

Incident Operations

Quick Actions

| Action | MCP Tool | Key Parameters | |--------|----------|----------------| | List incidents | SN-List-Incidents | query, limit | | Create incident | SN-Create-Incident | short_description, caller_id, category | | Update incident | SN-Update-Incident | sys_id, field updates | | Get incident | SN-Get-Incident | sys_id | | Close incident | SN-Close-Incident | sys_id, resolution_code, resolution_notes | | Assign incident | SN-Assign-Incident | sys_id, assigned_to, assignment_group | | Add work notes | SN-Add-Work-Notes | sys_id, work_notes | | Search incidents | SN-Search-Incidents | Natural language query |

Create Incident

Tool: SN-Create-Incident
Parameters:
  short_description: Unable to access email
  description: User reports Outlook not connecting to server
  caller_id: <user_sys_id>
  category: software
  subcategory: email
  impact: 3
  urgency: 3

Close Incident

Tool: SN-Close-Incident
Parameters:
  sys_id: <incident_sys_id>
  resolution_code: Solved (Permanently)
  resolution_notes: Restarted email service and cleared user cache
  close_notes: User confirmed email is working

Assign Incident

Tool: SN-Assign-Incident
Parameters:
  sys_id: <incident_sys_id>
  assigned_to: <user_sys_id>
  assignment_group: <group_sys_id>

State Values

Incident States

| Value | Label | Description | |-------|-------|-------------| | 1 | New | Newly created, not yet triaged | | 2 | In Progress | Work has started | | 3 | On Hold | Waiting for external input | | 6 | Resolved | Solution implemented, pending verification | | 7 | Closed | Verified and closed | | 8 | Canceled | Canceled (not applicable) |

Change Request States

| Value | Label | Description | |-------|-------|-------------| | -5 | New | Draft state | | -4 | Assess | Assessment phase | | -3 | Authorize | Awaiting authorization | | -2 | Scheduled | Approved and scheduled | | -1 | Implement | Implementation in progress | | 0 | Review | Post-implementation review | | 3 | Closed | Successfully completed | | 4 | Canceled | Change canceled |

Problem States

| Value | Label | Description | |-------|-------|-------------| | 1 | New | Newly identified | | 2 | Assess | Under assessment | | 3 | Root Cause Analysis | Investigating root cause | | 4 | Fix in Progress | Working on permanent fix | | 5 | Resolved | Root cause addressed | | 6 | Closed | Verified and closed | | 7 | Canceled | Problem canceled |

Change Types

| Value | Label | Description | |-------|-------|-------------| | standard | Standard | Pre-approved, low risk | | normal | Normal | Requires CAB approval | | emergency | Emergency | Expedited approval process |

Priority Matrix

Impact x Urgency = Priority

| | Urgency 1 (High) | Urgency 2 (Medium) | Urgency 3 (Low) | |-----------|------------------|---------------------|------------------| | Impact 1 (High) | Priority 1 (Critical) | Priority 2 (High) | Priority 3 (Moderate) | | Impact 2 (Medium) | Priority 2 (High) | Priority 3 (Moderate) | Priority 4 (Low) | | Impact 3 (Low) | Priority 3 (Moderate) | Priority 4 (Low) | Priority 5 (Planning) |

Priority Values

| Value | Label | SLA Target | Description | |-------|-------|------------|-------------| | 1 | Critical | 1 hour | Business critical, widespread impact | | 2 | High | 4 hours | Significant business impact | | 3 | Moderate | 24 hours | Limited business impact | | 4 | Low | 72 hours | Minor inconvenience | | 5 | Planning | No SLA | Future enhancement |

Common Encoded Queries

Incident Queries

| Description | Encoded Query | |-------------|---------------| | Active incidents | active=true | | P1 incidents | priority=1 | | P1 or P2 incidents | priority=1^ORpriority=2 | | Unassigned incidents | assigned_toISEMPTY | | Assigned incidents | assigned_toISNOTEMPTY | | Created today | sys_created_onONToday@javascript:gs.beginningOfToday()@javascript:gs.endOfToday() | | Created last 7 days | sys_created_on>=javascript:gs.daysAgoStart(7) | | New state | state=1 | | In Progress | state=2 | | Resolved or Closed | state=6^ORstate=7 | | Not Closed | state!=7 | | My incidents | assigned_to=javascript:gs.getUserID() | | My team's incidents | assignment_group=<group_sys_id> | | Contains text | short_descriptionLIKEnetwork | | Starts with | numberSTARTSWITHINC00100 | | Category is network | category=network | | Ordered by priority | ORDERBYpriority | | Ordered by created (newest) | ORDERBYDESCsys_created_on |

Change Request Queries

| Description | Encoded Query | |-------------|---------------| | Emergency changes | type=emergency | | Normal changes | type=normal | | Standard changes | type=standard | | Scheduled changes | state=-2 | | Changes this week | start_dateONThis week@javascript:gs.beginningOfThisWeek()@javascript:gs.endOfThisWeek() | | High risk changes | risk=1 | | Pending approval | state=-3^approval!=approved |

Problem Queries

| Description | Encoded Query | |-------------|---------------| | Open problems | state<6 | | Root cause analysis | state=3 | | Known errors | known_error=true | | Problems with workaround | workaroundISNOTEMPTY | | Related to incidents | related_incidentsISNOTEMPTY |

Field Reference

Common Incident Fields

| Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | number | String | Auto-generated (INC0010001) | | short_description | String | Brief summary (required) | | description | String | Detailed description | | caller_id | Reference | Reporting user | | opened_by | Reference | User who created record | | assigned_to | Reference | Assigned technician | | assignment_group | Reference | Assigned team | | state | Choice | Current state | | impact | Choice | Business impact (1-3) | | urgency | Choice | Time sensitivity (1-3) | | priority | Choice | Calculated priority (1-5) | | category | Choice | Incident category | | subcategory | Choice | Incident subcategory | | work_notes | Journal | Internal notes | | comments | Journal | Customer-visible notes | | resolution_code | Choice | How resolved | | resolution_notes | String | Resolution details | | close_code | Choice | Closure reason | | close_notes | String | Closure notes | | cmdb_ci | Reference | Configuration item |

Common Change Fields

| Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | number | String | Auto-generated (CHG0010001) | | short_description | String | Brief summary | | description | String | Detailed description | | type | Choice | standard/normal/emergency | | state | Choice | Current state | | risk | Choice | Risk level (1-4) | | impact | Choice | Business impact (1-3) | | start_date | DateTime | Planned start | | end_date | DateTime | Planned end | | requested_by | Reference | Requester | | assigned_to | Reference | Change owner | | assignment_group | Reference | Owning team | | cab_required | Boolean | Needs CAB approval | | justification | String | Business justification | | implementation_plan | String | Implementation steps | | backout_plan | String | Rollback procedure | | test_plan | String | Testing steps |

Common Problem Fields

| Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | number | String | Auto-generated (PRB0010001) | | short_description | String | Brief summary | | description | String | Detailed description | | state | Choice | Current state | | priority | Choice | Priority (1-5) | | assigned_to | Reference | Problem manager | | assignment_group | Reference | Owning team | | known_error | Boolean | Is known error | | workaround | String | Temporary workaround | | cause_notes | String | Root cause | | fix_notes | String | Permanent fix | | related_incidents | List | Related incidents | | cmdb_ci | Reference | Configuration item |

Resolution Codes

Incident Resolution Codes

| Value | Label | |-------|-------| | Solved (Work Around) | Temporary fix applied | | Solved (Permanently) | Root cause addressed | | Solved Remotely (Work Around) | Remote temporary fix | | Solved Remotely (Permanently) | Remote permanent fix | | Not Solved (Not Reproducible) | Cannot reproduce | | Not Solved (Too Costly) | Fix not cost-effective | | Closed/Resolved by Caller | User resolved |

Close Codes

| Value | Label | |-------|-------| | Solved | Resolved successfully | | Closed/Resolved by Caller | User resolved | | Not Solved (Not Reproducible) | Cannot reproduce | | Closed (Cancelled) | Request withdrawn |

Category Reference

Incident Categories

| Category | Subcategories | |----------|---------------| | hardware | cpu, disk, keyboard, memory, monitor, mouse | | software | email, operating system, application | | network | connectivity, dhcp, dns, firewall, vpn | | database | db2, ms sql server, oracle | | inquiry | request, password reset |

MCP Tools Quick Reference

Incident Tools

| Tool | Purpose | Required Parameters | |------|---------|---------------------| | SN-List-Incidents | Query incidents | - | | SN-Get-Incident | Get single incident | sys_id | | SN-Create-Incident | Create incident | short_description | | SN-Update-Incident | Update incident | sys_id | | SN-Close-Incident | Close incident | sys_id, resolution_code | | SN-Assign-Incident | Assign incident | sys_id | | SN-Add-Work-Notes | Add work notes | sys_id, work_notes | | SN-Search-Incidents | NL search | query |

Generic Tools

| Tool | Purpose | Required Parameters | |------|---------|---------------------| | SN-Query-Table | Query any table | table_name | | SN-Get-Record | Get any record | table_name, sys_id | | SN-Create-Record | Create any record | table_name, data | | SN-Update-Record | Update any record | table_name, sys_id, data |

Common Workflows

Triage New Incident

1. Query: SN-Query-Table(table_name: incident, query: state=1^active=true)
2. Review: Check short_description, category, caller_id
3. Categorize: SN-Update-Incident(sys_id: X, category: network, subcategory: connectivity)
4. Prioritize: SN-Update-Incident(sys_id: X, impact: 2, urgency: 2)
5. Assign: SN-Assign-Incident(sys_id: X, assignment_group: <network_team>)

Escalate Incident

1. Update state: SN-Update-Incident(sys_id: X, state: 2)
2. Add notes: SN-Add-Work-Notes(sys_id: X, work_notes: Escalating to L2 per procedure)
3. Reassign: SN-Assign-Incident(sys_id: X, assignment_group: <l2_team>)

Resolve Incident

1. Update: SN-Update-Incident(sys_id: X, state: 6, resolution_code: Solved (Permanently), resolution_notes: Restarted service)
2. Notify: SN-Add-Work-Notes(sys_id: X, work_notes: Resolution confirmed by user)

Close Incident

1. Close: SN-Close-Incident(sys_id: X, resolution_code: Solved (Permanently), resolution_notes: Service restored, close_notes: Verified with user)

REST API Endpoints

Table API

| Table | Endpoint | |-------|----------| | Incident | /api/now/table/incident | | Change Request | /api/now/table/change_request | | Problem | /api/now/table/problem | | Task | /api/now/table/task | | User | /api/now/table/sys_user | | Group | /api/now/table/sys_user_group | | CI | /api/now/table/cmdb_ci |

Common Parameters

| Parameter | Description | Example | |-----------|-------------|---------| | sysparm_query | Encoded query | active=true^priority=1 | | sysparm_fields | Fields to return | number,short_description,state | | sysparm_limit | Max records | 100 | | sysparm_offset | Skip records | 50 | | sysparm_display_value | Display values | all, true, false |

Related Skills

• itsm/incident-lifecycle - Full incident lifecycle management
• itsm/incident-triage - Detailed triage procedures
• itsm/natural-language-queries - Natural language search
• admin/generic-crud-operations - Detailed CRUD operations

References

• ServiceNow ITSM Documentation
• Incident State Flow
• Change Management