> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ins-pi.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ins-pi.com/command/the-portal/tasks-and-notifications.md).

# Tasks, Notifications and Approvals

Reference for My Tasks, the notification bell and approvals, the places where Command asks you to act.

Command tells you when something needs you in two places: **My Tasks** in the activity rail, and the notification bell in the top bar. Approvals arrive as tasks, so a change that needs your agreement waits in My Tasks until you decide. This page covers all three.

## What it is

| Place                        | What arrives there                                                                                                                                                                 |
| ---------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **My Tasks**                 | Data-quality work, lifecycle gates, reviews, attestations, assessment requests and approval requests. Your administrator can add other ServiceNow task types.                      |
| **Notifications** (the bell) | Content shared with you or a change to your access, a task assigned to you, an owner or steward notified from an Advisory Report, data-governance digests and assessment requests. |
| **Home**                     | The **My tasks** and **Workspace updates** sections show the most recent of both. See [Home](/command/the-portal/portal.md#home).                                                  |

## When to use it

* Check **My Tasks** to work through what is assigned to you.
* Check the bell to see what changed since your last visit.
* Open an approval task when a change is waiting for your decision.

## How to

### Work a task

1. Click **My Tasks** in the activity rail.
2. Choose **Open**, **Closed** or **All**.
3. Click **Details** on a task to see its fields.
4. Act on it:
   * **Update state** to progress or close it;
   * **Add comment** (visible to the requester) or **Add work note** (internal);
   * **Approve** or **Reject** an approval;
   * **Open task**, **Open page** or **Open record** to go to what the task is about, or **Answer** for an assessment.

<figure><img src="https://414746897-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fx4mE784snR9Eb8oVrk4e%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-009c3cd49dce09c3ba3bb37f6b53d7a70521f8ec%2Fcommand-mytasks-assessment.png?alt=media" alt="The My Tasks panel listing assigned tasks, with an assessment task open in the work area for answering."><figcaption><p>A task opened from My Tasks</p></figcaption></figure>

### Read notifications

1. Click the bell in the top bar. The badge shows how many are unread.
2. Use **Group by** (Date, Sender, None) to arrange them, and **Mark all read** to clear the badge.
3. Use a notification's menu for **Mark as read** or **Mark as unread**, **Remove**, or to open what it is about.

<figure><img src="https://414746897-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fx4mE784snR9Eb8oVrk4e%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-8a5105327920f747994fbefe603a3808529d2a12%2Fcommand-notifications-panel.png?alt=media" alt="The Notifications panel listing workspace updates grouped by date, with Mark all read and an action to open each item."><figcaption><p>The Notifications panel</p></figcaption></figure>

### Approvals

Some changes need a second person's agreement wherever your organisation has set up an approval policy. Today this covers lifecycle phase changes, architecture governance review gates and committing future-state plans.

1. A change that needs approval is held, and the approver gets a task in **My Tasks**.
2. The approver opens the task and clicks **Approve** or **Reject**.
3. On final approval, the change is applied.

## Good to know

{% hint style="info" %}
Assistant recommendations are not approvals. They are advice, and nothing changes until a person acts.
{% endhint %}

* Administrators write approval policies in **Global Settings > Approvals**: who approves (a role, user, group or a field on the record), how many must agree, and under which conditions. A policy is validated and previewed before it is activated.
* Data stewards receive data-quality work as tasks and periodic digests on the bell. See [Data Governance](/command/features/data-governance.md).
* Assessment requests are covered in [Assessments](/command/features/assessments.md); review gates in [Architecture Governance](/command/features/architecture-governance.md).

## Related

* [The Portal](/command/the-portal/portal.md)
* [My Space and sharing](/command/the-portal/my-space.md)
* [Lifecycle](/command/features/lifecycle.md)


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