Playbooks

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Playbooks

    Playbooks are a key feature within ServiceNow's Workflow Studio, providing a streamlined environment to author, configure, and monitor playbooks alongside flows, subflows, actions, and decision tables. Accessible via Process Automation > Workflow Studio, the interface defaults to Playbooks but allows easy navigation to other workflow components.

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    Key Features

    • Playbooks Builder: Comprises three main areas:
      • Main header: Displays playbook status and activation, allows toggling between Diagram and Board views, undo/redo actions, error navigation, and toggling optional activities. It also supports testing, activation, previewing the Playbook Experience, and accessing playbook properties such as name, description, restart behavior, and trigger settings.
      • Design space: Enables building playbooks in Diagram or Board view, organizing activities into stages that represent steps in a business process. Activities can automate tasks on the ServiceNow AI Platform, like creating/updating records or running background actions. Note that Decision activities are only in Diagram view, and Optional activities only in Board view.
      • Side panel: Allows configuration of activities and stages, including naming, descriptions, start rules, restart behaviors, input definitions, and runtime rendering properties.

    Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

    Playbooks enable customers to visually design and automate complex business processes with granular control over each step (activity) and stage. The integration with the ServiceNow AI Platform extends automation capabilities, improving operational efficiency. The flexible design views and detailed configuration options in the side panel help tailor playbooks to specific organizational needs. Testing and activation features ensure reliable deployment and runtime behavior.

    Playbooks are a component in Workflow Studio. Workflow Studio gives you a streamlined way to author, configure, and monitor playbooks, flows, subflows, actions, and decision tables in one place.

    Workflow Studio landing page

    You can view the Workflow Studio landing page by navigating to Process Automation > Workflow Studio. The landing page opens to Playbooks by default, but you can easily navigate to flows, subflows, actions, and decision tables. For more information on Workflow Studio, see Workflow Studio.

    Playbooks builder

    The builder for Playbooks consists of the main header, design space, and side panel.

    Main header
    The main header displays information about the playbook that you're currently designing. In the main header, you can:
    • See the status and activation state of your playbook.
    • Toggle between Diagram and Board view.
    • Undo or redo your actions.
    • See and navigate to your errors via the error tray.
    • Turn Optional activities on or off.
    • Test and activate your playbook so that it runs as expected when triggered. You can also preview the Playbook Experience during testing. For more information, see Playbook statuses and activation states.
    • In the More actions menu, you can also deactivate or duplicate your playbook.
    • Also in the More actions menu, access the properties of your playbook. You can add or edit the name or description for your playbook, enable playbooks to restart, and edit the behavior of your trigger. For more information, see Process definition properties.
    Design space
    Build your playbooks in either Diagram or Board view. You can perform most of the same functions in either view.
    Note:
    Decision activities are not available in Board view, and Optional activities are not available in Diagram view.
    Organize activities into stages to design your playbook.
    • An activity represents one step within your overall business process. An activity can automate operations on the ServiceNow AI Platform, such as creating or updating records, displaying record information, and running automated actions in the background.
    • Organize a set of activities into stages within your business process.
    For more information, see Stages and activities.
    Side panel
    The side panel lets you configure your activities, and stages. In the side panel, you can:
    • Add or edit the name and description for your stage or activity.
    • Define the start rule for your stage or activity.
    • Define what your activity or stage does when restarted.
    • Add or edit the inputs for your activity.
    • Define additional properties for how your activity renders during runtime.

    For more information on creating a playbook, see Getting started with Playbooks.