Dev.to
7/12/2026

Case lifecycle and record types in Service Cloud
Short summary
An experienced Service Cloud consultant argues that case lifecycle and record type design are the most critical—and most botched—decisions in any implementation. Status picklists should stay under nine values, each mapping to a genuine operational handoff. The 'Waiting on Customer' status is essential for accurate SLA tracking, and validation rules should enforce legal state transitions. Closed cases must remain terminal to preserve audit integrity and first-contact-resolution metrics.
- •Keep case statuses to 7-8 values, each representing a real operational handoff
- •Always include 'Waiting on Customer' status with SLA milestone pausing configured
- •Enforce legal transitions with validation rules; keep Closed terminal to protect audit trails
Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.
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