Playbook layout and features

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 5 minutes to read
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    Summary of Playbook layout and features

    The playbook in Customer Service Management (CSM) provides a structured interface for agents to efficiently complete case-related activities. It includes key elements such as the stage picker, activity picker, and activity viewer, all designed to guide agents through stages and activities within a case. The layout and presentation of playbook features are controlled through UI Builder record pages, supporting both horizontal and vertical orientations.

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    Key Features

    • Playbook Name: Displayed prominently in the page header for easy identification.
    • Stage Picker: Shows either a horizontal or vertical view of playbook stages, indicating progress with icons (check mark for complete, pen for current, lock for locked stages). Horizontal displays stages across the top; vertical shows them in a side panel.
    • Activity Picker: Lists activities for the selected stage with indicators for status—Complete, In Progress, Pending, or Skipped. Activities can be expanded or collapsed depending on the stage picker orientation.
    • Activity Viewer: The main workspace where agents complete activities. It displays detailed activity cards which can include forms, tasks, SLAs, attachments, and checklists.
    • Playbook Activity View: Configurable by administrators via UI Builder to show either a focused or stacked layout, affecting how stages and activities are displayed.
    • Navigation: Agents navigate stages and activities according to role-based access and security; they open directly to the current stage and activity and can move freely among available activities.
    • Keyboard Navigation Support: Agents can use Tab, arrow keys, and Enter to navigate and interact with playbook elements efficiently.
    • Filtering Activities: Agents can filter activities by their status (Complete, In Progress, Pending, Skipped) to focus on relevant tasks.
    • Visibility Configuration: Administrators can control visibility of stages and activities, including pending items and those restricted by user access, via the Playbook Experience record settings.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    This playbook layout enables agents to systematically progress through case resolution stages with clear visibility of their progress and assigned tasks. The configurability of the layout and activity views allows organizations to tailor the agent workspace to their processes. Role-based access and visibility controls ensure that agents see and work only on relevant stages and activities, improving security and efficiency. Keyboard navigation and filtering enhance usability, making day-to-day case management smoother and more productive.

    A playbook includes several features that agents use to complete activities and resolve cases, including the playbook stage picker, activity picker, and activity viewer. Record pages created in UI Builder determine how these playbook features are displayed in CSM Configurable Workspace.

    UI Builder page templates and record pages that include horizontally and vertically oriented playbooks are available with the Playbooks for Customer Service Management application [com.sn_csm_playbook].

    For more information about using these record pages, see the following topics:
    Figure 1. Playbook with horizontal stage picker
    Playbook with horizontal stage picker and playbook features highlighted. Descriptions of each feature are included in the following table.
    Table 1. Playbook layout and features
    Callout Playbook feature Description
    1 Playbook name The name of the playbook appears in the page header.
    2 Stage picker Playbooks include either a horizontal or vertical stage picker, which gives the agent a complete view of the playbook and where they are within the playbook.
    • The horizontal stage picker displays the playbook stages across the top of the record page below the page header. Select a stage to see the activities in the activity picker.
    • The vertical stage picker displays the playbook stages and activities on the side of the record page. Select a stage to expand the stage and display the included activities.
    3 Activity picker The activity picker displays the activities for the current stage. Each activity has an indicator that shows the activity state:
    • Completed
    • In progress
    • Remaining

    With the horizontal stage picker, you can expand or collapse the list of activities for the current stage.

    With the vertical stage picker, you can expand each stage to see the activities within that stage.

    Selecting an activity displays the details in the activity viewer.
    4 Activity viewer The activity viewer displays the selected activity. This is the main work area where an agent performs the work necessary to complete the current activity.
    5 Activity cards Activity cards display the details about the current activity in the activity viewer. Depending on the type of activity, the activity cards can display information such as form data, task status, SLA timers, or attachments.

    Agents use the cards to complete the work for each activity, such as filling in forms, completing checklists, completing tasks, or adding attachments.

    Playbook activity view

    The activity view determines how the stages and activities are displayed in the playbook.
    • Focused: Displays the stages and activities in the playbook lifecycle panel and the current activity in the playbook work area.
    • Stacked: Displays the stages in the playbook lifecycle panel and cards for each of the activities in the current stage in the playbook work area.

    The system administrator can configure the playbook activity view in UI Builder. For more information, see Select a playbook activity view.

    Playbook stages

    Playbooks contain one or more stages and stages contain one or more activities. The current stage in a playbook is highlighted and the activities in that stage appear in the activity picker.

    The stages in the stage picker include icons that indicate the stage status:
    • A check mark Check mark image. indicates that the stage is complete.
    • A pen icon Pen image. indicates the current stage.
    • A lock icon Lock image. indicates that a stage is locked and can’t be started until the previous stage is complete.
    There are two versions of stage picker: horizontal and vertical.
    • The horizontal stage picker displays across the top of the UI and shows persistent information in the left panel. With the horizontal stage picker, you can expand or collapse the list of activities for the current stage.
    • The vertical stage picker displays in the left panel. With the vertical stage picker, you can expand each stage to see the activities within that stage.

    Playbook activities

    Activities are the individual tasks that an agent needs to complete in order to complete a playbook stage. The activity picker displays the activities for the current playbook stage. Each activity in the activity picker has an indicator that shows the activity state:
    • Complete (circle icon with green check mark symbol)
    • In Progress (purple filled circle icon with white pencil symbol)
    • Pending (circle icon with purple lock symbol)
    • Skipped
    Selecting an activity displays the details of that activity in the activity viewer.

    Navigating playbook stages and activities

    Agents can use the stage picker and activity picker to navigate between stages and activities as assigned roles or activity security configurations permit. For example, activities such as case tasks can be assigned to different users. A user with the case task agent role can only see the case tasks that are assigned to them.

    When an agent opens a record that uses a playbook, it opens to the current stage and highlights the current activity. For stages with multiple activities, the current activity is the first available activity. An available activity is an activity that has a state other than Complete.

    When an agent selects an available activity, it becomes the current activity. An agent can navigate stages and activities in any order as long as there is at least one available activity to select.
    Note:
    The playbook configuration determines the visibility and accessibility of pending stages and activities. For more information, see Configure playbook stage and activity visibility.

    Using keyboard navigation in a playbook

    Use the following keyboard keys to navigate playbook stages and activities.
    • Tab key: Use the Tab key to initiate navigation and move between stages, activities, and the playbook work area.
    • Arrow keys: Use the left, right, up, and down arrow keys to navigate the fields on a playbook activity card.
    • Enter key: Press the Enter key to select buttons on a playbook activity card.

    Filtering playbook activities

    Agents can filter playbook activities and see those activities that match the filter conditions.
    • To filter playbook activities, select the filter icon (playbook header filter icon.) and select one or more of the following states:
      • Complete
      • In Progress
      • Pending
      • Skipped
    • To clear the filter, select the filter icon again and remove the selections.

    Configuring stage and activity visibility

    Users with the admin role can configure the visibility of playbook stages and activities, including:
    • Showing or hiding stages and activities that are pending.
    • Showing or hiding stages and activities where a user does not have access.

    The administrator configures these settings in the Playbook Experience record. For more information, see Configure playbook stage and activity visibility.