Milestone Actions configure inside an Entitlement Process. The pattern: define the milestone, set its target time and trigger criteria, then attach Success, Warning, and Violation actions.
- Open the Entitlement Process
Setup, Service Setup, Entitlement Processes. Open an existing process or create a new one. Inside the process, the Milestones section lists each milestone the cases on this process must hit.
- Define the milestone
For each Milestone, configure name (First Response, Resolution, Escalation), Order, MilestoneType (which defines the field that flips to mark completion), TargetDate criteria, and StartDate criteria. Save before adding actions.
- Add Success Actions
From the Milestone detail, click Add Time-Dependent Action under Success Actions. Pick the action type: Email Alert, Field Update, Outbound Message, Task, Flow. Configure the action and save.
- Add Warning and Violation Actions
Same pattern. For Warning, set the offset (-15 minutes, -75% of target time). For Violation, the action fires at the target time. Most production deployments configure multiple actions per type (email rep, email manager, update field).
- Test on a sample case
Create a test case linked to an Entitlement that uses this process. Verify the milestone timer starts, the Warning fires at the right offset, the Violation fires on time, and the Success fires when the milestone is completed.
Success (on completion), Warning (offset before target), Violation (at or after target). Each set supports multiple actions.
Email Alert, Field Update, Outbound Message, Task, Flow. Flow is the most flexible; legacy types are simpler for specific common cases.
Configurable in minutes or as a percentage of target time. Common patterns: 15 minutes before, 25% of target remaining, 50% of target remaining.
Defined on the Entitlement, applied to milestone timers. 24x7 or business-hour-aware. Affects all action timing.
- Milestone timers respect Business Hours, not wall-clock. A 4-hour milestone over a weekend does not violate until the next business day.
- Completing a milestone cancels pending Warning and Violation actions for that milestone. The platform handles this automatically.
- Action limits apply per Entitlement Process. Too many actions per milestone can hit governor limits during peak case volume.
- Field Updates fired by Milestone Actions can recursively trigger flows on the Case. Audit downstream automation for unintended loops.
- Legacy action types (Workflow Email Alert, Workflow Field Update) are still supported but feature-frozen. New work should default to Flow actions.