> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.flashduty.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Action Items and Follow-Ups

> Use action items to track work that needs to be done during incident handling, and convert them into follow-ups linked to post-incident reviews

## Overview

Action items are for tracking specific work that needs to be done during incident handling — things like "scale up the database connection pool" or "roll back the latest release". The **Actions** panel on the right side of the incident overview page manages all action items for the current incident, and each item supports a title, a description, and multiple assignees.

An action item can be converted into a **follow-up**, which then enters the post-incident review process. Follow-ups share the same work-item model as action items (same fields and statuses); the difference is that follow-ups belong to a post-incident review: when you convert or create a follow-up and the incident already has a postmortem report, the system automatically links it to that report, and it is then maintained in the report's **To-dos** block.

## Creating and Editing Action Items

### Create

In the **Actions** panel on the right side of the incident overview page, click **Add an action item** (or **Add** when the panel already contains items) and fill in the following fields in the dialog:

| Field           | Required | Description                                                                |
| :-------------- | :------: | :------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Title**       |    Yes   | A brief description of the work to be done, up to **512** characters       |
| **Description** |    No    | Additional details about what needs to be done, up to **65535** characters |
| **Assignees**   |    No    | Search and multi-select from account members; no limit on the number       |

Once created, the action item appears in the panel and an "action created" event is recorded on the incident timeline. Members assigned as assignees receive a personal notification prompting them to follow through (sent by email by default; you can adjust notification channels in [Personal Settings](/en/on-call/configuration/personal-settings)).

### Edit and Delete

* Members with incident update permission can click the item title, or use **Edit** in the **More** menu, to change the title, description, or assignees
* Newly added assignees also receive a personal notification; removing an assignee does not trigger a notification
* **Delete** in the **More** menu requires confirmation; deletion cannot be undone

## Status Transitions

Each action item's status is managed through its checkbox and the **More** menu:

| Action                              | Effect                                                                      |
| :---------------------------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Check the checkbox                  | Marks the item as **Completed**; the entry is displayed in a muted style    |
| Uncheck the checkbox                | **Cancel completion**, returning the item to the open state                 |
| **More** → **Mark as won't do**     | Marks the item as **Won't do**; the title is displayed with a strikethrough |
| Click the X icon on a won't-do item | Reopens the action item                                                     |

The **More** menu also provides **Mark as completed** and **Cancel completion** shortcuts. Status changes are likewise recorded on the incident timeline.

## Converting to Follow-Ups and Linking to Postmortems

When you decide during handling that an action item needs continued follow-through, you can convert it into a postmortem follow-up:

* After conversion, the action item becomes a follow-up in place (the work-item type changes from Action to Follow-up) and enters the review process
* If the incident already has a postmortem report at that point, the converted follow-up is **automatically linked** to that report
* If no postmortem exists yet, the follow-up stays unlinked; once a postmortem is created, all unlinked follow-ups under the incident can be linked (bound) to it in bulk

Once linked, follow-ups can be edited, completed, or deleted in the report's **To-dos** block, and related operations are recorded on the incident timeline (for example, "follow-up linked to post-incident review"). For writing and publishing postmortems, see [Create and Edit Postmortems](/en/on-call/post-mortem/create-edit-post-mortem).

## Permission Model

Access to action items and follow-ups follows these rules:

| Role / scenario                                             | Capability                                                                                                                        |
| :---------------------------------------------------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Members with incident update permission (`incident:update`) | Create, edit, delete action items, and perform any status transition                                                              |
| Action item assignees                                       | Even without incident update permission, assignees can mark their own items as **Completed** (they cannot edit content or delete) |
| Postmortem follow-ups                                       | Require edit permission on the corresponding postmortem report                                                                    |

In addition, reading and writing action items are constrained by the incident's **collaboration space**: only account owners, account admins, and members who can access the incident's collaboration space may operate on them. Incidents created manually without a collaboration space remain visible account-wide, and all account members can access them. This matches the access rules of the incident itself.

## Closed Incidents

Once an incident is closed, the Actions panel becomes read-only:

* You cannot create, edit, or delete action items, nor change their status (the UI hides the add button and action entries, and the backend also rejects creating action items for closed incidents)
* You can only view existing action items for reviewing how the incident was handled

If action items remain unfinished when closing an incident, consider finishing them or converting them into follow-ups before closing.

## Further Reading

* [Search and View Incidents](/en/on-call/incident/search-view-incident): learn about action-item and follow-up events on the timeline
* [Create and Edit Postmortems](/en/on-call/post-mortem/create-edit-post-mortem): use follow-up items in postmortem reports
* [Personal Settings](/en/on-call/configuration/personal-settings): configure collaboration notifications such as work-item assignment