Skip to page contentSkip to chat
ServiceNow support
    • Community
      Ask questions, give advice, and connect with fellow ServiceNow professionals.
      Developer
      Build, test, and deploy applications
      Documentation
      Find detailed information about ServiceNow products, apps, features, and releases.
      Impact
      Accelerate ROI and amplify your expertise.
      Learning
      Build skills with instructor-led and online training.
      Partner
      Grow your business with promotions, news, and marketing tools
      ServiceNow
      Learn about ServiceNow products & solutions.
      Store
      Download certified apps and integrations that complement ServiceNow.
      Support
      Manage your instances, access self-help, and get technical support.
SLA condition evaluation - Support and Troubleshooting
  • >
  • Knowledge Base
  • >
  • Support and Troubleshooting (Knowledge Base)
  • >
  • SLA condition evaluation
KB0547389

SLA condition evaluation


3381 Views Last updated : Aug 22, 2022 public Copy Permalink
KB Summary by Now Assist

Issue

This article expands on some of the details for SLA condition evaluations.

SLA definitions

The SLA Definitions contain conditions that control when an SLA record is:

  • Created for a particular task
  • Updated as it moves through its lifecycle to completion

See Understanding SLA Conditions (KB0547356) for more information. See product documentation for more descriptions of SLA definitions.


Note:
 The SLA engine uses the Stage field to represent the state for SLA records.

Evaluating conditions

The SLA engine does two passes to evaluate SLA definitions and their conditions based on a task. The SLA engine checks:

  • Pass 1: SLA definitions that do not have active SLA records associated to the task
  • Pass 2: All active SLA records associated to the task

Pass 1: Checks the SLA definitions that do not have active SLA records associated to the task

The SLA engine determines if the SLA definition applies to the task and if it needs to create a SLA record. If it needs to create the SLA record, it also needs to decide the stage of the SLA record (In Progress or Paused).

- Condition checks:

  1. If the Start condition is true and the Stop condition is true, do nothing. The SLA would be measuring nothing, as the Stop condition overrides the Start condition, so do not create an SLA record.
  2. If the Start condition is true and the Stop condition is false, create a new SLA record for this task, using the SLA definition. Set the SLA record and set it to the In Progress stage.
  3. If the Pause condition is true, immediately pause the new SLA record.

Pass 2: Checks all active SLA records associated to the task

The engine determines if the SLA records are changing stage.

- Condition checks:

  1. If the Stop condition is true, change the SLA stage to Completed.
  2. If the Start condition is false and the Stop condition is false, the SLA changes to Cancelled. (The definition did apply, but does not apply any longer and was not properly finished, so it is Cancelled.)
  3. If the Pause condition is true and the SLA stage is In Progress, pause the SLA.
  4. If the Pause condition is false and SLA stage is Paused, unpause the SLA.   

Related Links

  • Troubleshooting service level agreements (SLAs)
  • Understanding SLA times: actual elapsed time and business elapsed time (KB0547270)
  • Understanding SLA Conditions (KB0547356)

The world works with ServiceNow.

Sign in for more! There's more content available only to authenticated users Sign in for more!
Did this KB article help you?
Did this KB article help you?

How would you rate your Now Support digital experience?

*

Very unsatisfied

Unsatisfied

Neutral

Satisfied

Very satisfied

Very unsatisfied

Unsatisfied

Neutral

Satisfied

Very satisfied

What can we improve? Please select all that apply.

What are we doing well? Please select all that apply.

Tell us more

*

Do you expect a response from this feedback?

  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy statement
  • GDPR
  • Cookie policy
  • © 2025 ServiceNow. All rights reserved.