Create a collaboration thread in an exercise

Create a collaboration thread from an exercise and send an email to its recovery teams to coordinate a response.

Before you begin

Role required: sn_bcm.manager

An administrator must configure at least one active email account and enable the Email sending enabled and Email receiving enabled system properties before you can send or receive collaboration emails. For more information, see Configure email for collaboration threads.

Sending email from a collaboration thread also requires the platform email_composer role. This role is granted automatically to sn_recovery.event_manager; users with other roles may need it granted separately.

Procedure

In the List view, navigate to Exercises and select the crisis event in the list.
In the Collaboration threads tab of the event, select New.

The Create New Collaboration Thread form is displayed.

[Omitted image "cm-create-collab-thread.png"] Alt text: Create New Collaboration Thread form with name, state, recovery teams, impacted assets, and description fields.
On the form, fill in the fields.

For descriptions of all these fields, see Create Collaboration thread form.
1. Add the name of the thread in the Name field, add Description, and select one or more Recovery teams.
2. Check the activated plan and impacted assets for the event.
  
  The Impacted assets field only lists assets that are already associated with the parent crisis event, for example, through an activated plan. If no assets appear, add the plan or asset to the event first. You can then select them from the Impacted assets field.
  
  The following example shows an activated plan added to the event. Selecting View progress shows the progress tracker processing the activated plans. Assets added from the activated plan to the event are displayed in the Assets tab as shown in the example.
  
  [Omitted image "acti-plan-f-event-prog-tra.png"] Alt text: Progress tracker.[Omitted image "acti-plan-added-to-the-event.png"] Alt text: Plan added to the event.
3. Add Impacted assets to the collaboration thread.
4. Select Save.
The collaboration thread record is created in the Open state.

Saving the record also sends an automatic notification email to the members of the selected recovery teams, letting them know the thread was opened. This system-generated email appears in the Emails tab along with any email that you send later with Compose email.
On the Action items tab of the collaboration thread, select New to track follow-up work assigned during the coordination effort.
1. Fill in the Short description, Description, and Type fields, assign the action item, and select Save.
[Omitted image "cm-collab-thread-create-action-item.png"] Alt text: Create New Action item form with short description, description, type, and assignment fields.
On the Emails tab of the collaboration thread, select Compose email.

Verify that email sending option is enabled for the inbound and outbound emails as shown in the example.

[Omitted image "cm-collab-email-config-email-properties-config.png"] Alt text: Email Properties page with outbound and inbound email configuration sections.

Note: For setting up email properties in the instance, see Configure email for collaboration threads.

For more information on the Email Properties configurations in the ServiceNow AI Platform, see Email properties.

The email panel opens with the To field populated from the members of the recovery teams that you selected. The Subject and body fields are populated with default text from the Collaboration Thread Default email template, which names the crisis event.

The To field also includes the members of any groups linked to the recovery teams, including their nested sub-groups. Only active users are included, and duplicate addresses are removed.

You can also open the same email panel by selecting the Email option next to Work notes in the activity panel of the collaboration thread record.

[Omitted image "cm-collab-compose-email-two-ways.png"] Alt text: Collaboration thread record with the Compose email button and the Email option next to Work notes in the activity panel. [Omitted image "cm-collab-email.png"] Alt text: Email panel with subject and body text populated from the collaboration thread email template.
Add or remove recipients in the To, Cc, or Bcc fields, and edit the Subject or body text.
Select Send.

The email is sent and is added to the Emails tab of the collaboration thread. The activity feed of the collaboration thread and of its parent crisis event both show that the email was sent.
To discard the email without sending it, select the delete icon instead of Send.
To view a sent or received message, select it in the Emails tab of the collaboration thread.

The email preview screen opens, showing the message and any attachments. Each row in the Emails tab shows a Status of Processed or Error for the message.

[Omitted image "cm-collab-email-shown-in-tab-state-column.png"] Alt text: Emails tab with subject, recipient, body text, created, and status columns.
To reply to or forward a message, select Reply or Forward on the email preview screen, add any attachments, and select Send.

[Omitted image "cm-collab-tab-email-replied-from-thread.png"] Alt text: Email preview screen with Reply, Reply all, and Forward options and an attachment.

Note: An inbound reply is captured automatically and shown in the Emails tab and in the activity feed. Attachments sent or received through email appear under Email Attachments, separate from the record's Attachments tab, which holds only files attached directly to the record.

[Omitted image "cm-collab-email-sent-frm-outl-recd-in-collab-emails-tab.png"] Alt text: Emails tab showing an inbound reply received alongside the outbound collaboration thread email. [Omitted image "cm-collab-email-atch-tab.png"] Alt text: Email Attachments tab listing a file attached through a collaboration email.
Review and track all collaboration thread details in the Activity panel of the event.

To generate a report of the record in Microsoft Word format, select More (...), choose Generate MS Word, choose one of the following templates, and select Generate.

[Omitted image "default-event-word-temp.png"] Alt text: Default template.[Omitted image "default-event-word-temp-w-collab-blk.png"] Alt text: Default template with a block.

Choice	Description
Event Word template	Generate Microsoft Word report with default template. Collaboration thread details are shown in a tabular format with the default template.
Event Word template with collab-Block	Generate Microsoft Word report with collaboration block. Collaboration block with action items related to that collaboration detail are shown in a tabular format.

[Omitted image "collab-thread-in-pdf.png"] Alt text: Default template.[Omitted image "collab-thread-as-a-block.png"] Alt text: Block.

For enabling addition of a collaboration block in the Microsoft Word document, see Add a collaboration block to the Word template.

To generate a report of the event in PDF format, select More (...) and then choose Generate PDF and check collaboration thread details in the PDF.

Parent Topic:Structured workflows for exercises

Create a collaboration thread in a crisis event

Create Collaboration thread form

title	Create a collaboration thread in an exercise
description	Create a collaboration thread from an exercise and send an email to its recovery teams to coordinate a response.
locale	en-US
canonical_url	https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/governance-risk-compliance/comp-email-collab-thread-event.html
release	brazil
topic_type	task
last_updated	2026-09-10
reading_time_minutes	6
breadcrumb	Structured workflows for exercisesManageBusiness Continuity ManagementGovernanceRiskand Compliance