Set up Playbooks for Portals

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read

    • Set up Playbooks for Portals to provide end users with the playbook experience on your service portal.

    Overview of Playbooks

    Playbooks guide users through complex processes and enable them to save their progress and resume their work when convenient. They can also get the information that they need for each stage of the flow and its associated activities with the Customer Service Management (CSM) playbooks on service portals.

    You can activate Playbooks for Portals if you have the admin role. The base system is delivered in an inactive state. You must activate it in the Playbooks (PAD) for the user to see it.

    Plugins required:
    • Playbooks for Customer Service Management: sn_csm_playbook
    • Playbook Experience: sn_playbook_exp
    • Case Playbook for Onboarding: sn_onboarding (required if you need the out of the box playbook experience)
    • Case Playbook for Product Support: sn_product (required if you want to use the product case playbook and record generator)

    Plugins are available from the ServiceNow® Store. For more information, see Playbook plugins.

    Summary of steps for setting up Playbooks for Portals

    You can set up Playbooks for Portals using the following high level steps.

    1. Activate guided onboarding in the playbook content items. For more information, see Activate guided onboarding in Playbook content items.
    2. Define your process using Workflow Studio. See Create a playbook for more information.
    3. Activate the draft state in the onboarding case type state. For more information, see Activate the draft state in the onboarding case type state.
    4. Activate the record generator. For more information, see Activate the Record Generator.
    5. Set up ACLs (Access Control Lists) to provide the appropriate read, write, and create permissions for users. See Explicit Roles in CSM for more information.
      Note:
      Add write and create roles with a condition based on "State=draft" so that users can only edit the fields in the draft state.
    6. Create a Playbook Content Item so that users can navigate to the Playbook experience. See for more information.
    7. Set up a redirection widget so that users are redirected to the playbook intake experience once the state changes from "draft" to "new." See for more information.
    8. Add a Process tab to the Portal so that users can see where they are in the Playbook process. See for more information.

    Activate the draft state in the onboarding case type state

    Portal user can save a case during the intake process and continue at a later time​ with the draft state.

    About this task

    Activate a draft state for the onboarding case type so that the case remains in the draft state during the intake stage until the case is submitted.

    Before you begin

    Role required: admin

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to All > sys_choice.list.
    2. Select the record with Table name - sn_onboarding_case with the Element field value as state, and the Label field name as Draft.
    3. Select Edit.
    4. Clear the Inactive check box.
    5. Select Update.
    6. Navigate to System Definition > Scheduled Joband search for sys_id - ba5ba3d8944e7110f87759453e4c7084 or Name - Update My Lists URL for draft cases.
    7. Select Execute Now.
      This action excludes the Draft cases from the list filter on the My List tab on the initial page load.

    Activate the Record Generator

    Activate the record generator to the portal case and display the new guided playbook to the user. Portal user can navigate through the playbook steps to complete the case intake.

    Before you begin

    Role required: admin

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to All > Playbook Experience > Record Generators.
    2. In the list, select the Table name - sn_onboarding_case with Process Definition name - Onboarding with Self-Service.
    3. Select Edit.
    4. Select the Active check box.
    5. Select Update.

    Activate a new onboarding playbook with self-service

    Activate a new onboarding playbook with self-service in Playbooks (PAD) to ensure that the new playbook is visible.

    Before you begin

    Role required: admin

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to All > Process Automation Designer.
    2. On the Processes tab, select the label Onboarding with Self-Service.
    3. From the More actions menu, select Activate.
      Verify that the previous PAD process is deactivated.

    Activate guided onboarding in Playbook content items

    Activate guided onboarding in playbook content items and verify that the new content item launches the playbook record generator that is associated with it.

    Before you begin

    Role required: admin

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to All > Playbook Experience > Playbook Content Items.
    2. Select New Guided Onboarding Request.
    3. Select Edit.
    4. Select the Active check box.
    5. Select Update.