Assigning knowledge workflows to an OT knowledge base

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Assigning knowledge workflows to an OT knowledge base

    This content explains how ServiceNow customers can assign different Knowledge Management workflows to Operational Technology (OT) knowledge bases, specifically for managing the publishing and retiring of knowledge articles. It highlights the use of default workflows tailored for OT knowledge bases and details how approval processes and notifications are handled.

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    Key Features

    • Default Knowledge Management Workflows: Several workflows are available for OT knowledge bases, including:
      • Knowledge - Approval Publish: Requires manager approval before publishing. Articles move through states such as In Review, Scheduled, Published, or revert to Draft if rejected. Notifications are sent based on ownership group settings.
      • Knowledge - Approval Retire: Requires manager approval to retire articles. Articles remain Published if rejected. Notifications follow the same ownership group logic.
      • Knowledge - Instant Publish: Publishes drafts immediately without approval or on a scheduled date.
      • Knowledge - Instant Retire: Retires published articles immediately without approval.
      • Knowledge - Publish and Retire Subflows: These subflows move articles to Published or Retired states and can be incorporated into custom workflows.
    • Approval Configuration: The getApprovers() function in the KBWorkflow script include allows customization of who can approve or reject articles.
    • Email Notifications: Email notifications can be sent to approvers and authors regarding approval requests and outcomes. Notification recipients depend on whether ownership groups are enabled.
    • Enabling Notifications: The property glide.knowman.enableapprovalnotification controls email notifications for approval workflows. It is enabled by default starting with the New York release. For earlier releases, administrators need to create and set this property to true.

    Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers

    By assigning appropriate workflows to OT knowledge bases, customers can streamline knowledge article lifecycle management with tailored approval and publishing processes. Configuring approvers and enabling notifications helps ensure that stakeholders are informed and involved appropriately. This setup enhances governance and communication around knowledge content publishing and retiring within Operational Technology environments.

    You can assign different Knowledge Management workflows to each Operational Technology (OT) knowledge base for the publishing and retiring processes.

    Knowledge workflow overview

    You can use the default Knowledge Management workflows in the following table for Operational Technology Knowledge Management and apply them to OT knowledge bases.
    Note:
    For the workflows that require approval, you can configure which users can approve or reject by editing the getApprovers() function in the KBWorkflow script include.
    Table 1. Default Knowledge Management workflows
    Workflow Description
    Knowledge - Approval Publish Requests approval from a manager of the knowledge base. Articles in approval have a state of In Review before moving to a Published state after approval. If they're set to publish later, they’re moved to a Scheduled state. If the manager rejects the request, the workflow is canceled and the article remains in the Draft state.

    If theownership groups option is enabled, email notifications with a link to the article are sent to the ownership group members for approval.

    If the ownership groups option isn't enabled, email notifications with a link to the article are sent to the knowledge base managers for approval.

    A notification is also sent to the authors or the revisers of the articles to inform them that their article has been approved or rejected.

    To turn on the approval email notifications, set the glide.knowman.enable_approval_notification property to true.

    Note:
    Only the active user receives the notifications.
    Knowledge - Approval Retire Requests approval from a manager of the knowledge base before moving the article to the retired state. If any manager rejects the request, the workflow is canceled and the article remains in the Published state.

    If the ownership groups option is enabled, email notifications with a link to the article are sent to the ownership group members for approval.

    If the ownership groups option isn’t enabled, email notifications with a link to the article are sent to the knowledge base managers for approval.
    Knowledge - Instant Publish Immediately publishes a draft article without requiring an approval, or publishes on the scheduled publish date if set to publish later.
    Knowledge - Instant Retire Immediately retires a published article without requiring an approval.
    Knowledge - Publish Knowledge Subflow that moves the knowledge article to the Published state. You can use this subflow when defining your own workflow.
    Knowledge - Retire Knowledge Subflow that moves the knowledge article to the Retired state. You can use this subflow when defining your own workflow.

    Email notifications for approval workflows

    You can send email notifications for approval workflows.
    • Notify approvers about the knowledge articles submitted for their approvals.
    • Notify authors about the approval status of their knowledge articles
    To send email notifications for approval workflows, enable the Send notification to approvers and authors in article approval workflow property (glide.knowman.enable_approval_notification). Beginning with the New York release, the property is enabled by default. Existing customers on release versions prior to the New York release can enable this property to send email notifications. Disable any custom notifications for article approvals before enabling this property. If the glide.knowman.enable_approval_notification property isn’t available, an administrator can create the property and set its value to true. For more information, see Knowledge Management properties.