Workflow properties

Release version: Xanadu

Updated August 1, 2024

6 minutes to read

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Summary of Workflow properties

Workflow properties in ServiceNow allow you to configure key settings such as the application scope, start conditions, schedule, inputs, stages, and runtime metrics for workflows. You can also view metadata including the workflow author, version, and history. These properties ensure workflows run under the right conditions, on the correct tables, and provide insights into their execution performance.

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Key Features

Name and Table: Assign a unique name and specify the table the workflow operates on. Selecting 'Global' runs the workflow across all tables in the scope.
Conditions: Define precise triggers for when a workflow should start based on record conditions. Options include running workflows only if no others have matched or using scripts to start workflows.
Inputs: Manage input variables for activities within the workflow, including data types and default values.
Activities: Configure activity pinning to control automatic updates of custom activities and set a maximum activity count to prevent infinite loops.
Application Scope: View and restrict workflows to specific application scopes or allow access across all scopes.
Schedule: Create schedules using user-specified or relative durations, specifying expected run times and time zones.
Stages: For workflows on tables with stages, customize stage names, order, duration, rendering, and values to track progress.
Estimated Runtime (ERT): Enable and configure estimated run times to monitor workflow performance, detect deviations, and identify errors. The system tracks actual runs versus estimates to improve accuracy.

Practical Benefits

By configuring workflow properties, ServiceNow customers can precisely control when and how workflows execute, ensure proper application and data scope, and monitor workflow efficiency. Scheduling and stage settings enhance visibility into workflow progress, while estimated runtime metrics help proactively identify and troubleshoot performance issues. Activity pinning protects customizations from unintended updates, maintaining workflow stability.

In the properties of a workflow, you can configure settings such as its application scope, start conditions, schedule, inputs, stages, and run time metrics. You can also view information such as the workflow author, version, and history.

When you create a new workflow, the following fields are available in the dialog box:

Name
Table
Description
If condition matches
Condition

If you click Diagrammer view, in Related Lists, the following UI sections are available in the dialog box:

General
Conditions
Inputs
Activities
Application
Schedule
Stages
Estimated Runtime

General


Field	Description
Name	A name to identify the workflow.
Table	The table for the workflow to run on. Workflows that run on specific tables can still interact with other tables. Select Global [global] to run the workflow on all tables. Note: The list shows only tables and database views that are in the same scope as the workflow. Also, all users who edit the workflow must have access to the necessary tables and domains.
Checked out	[Read-only] When the workflow was checked out. Automatically set by the Checkout action in the workflow menu.
Checked out by	[Read-only] The user who has this workflow checked out. This value is automatically set by the Checkout action in the workflow menu.
Published	[Read-only] Check box to indicate whether the workflow has been published. Automatically set by the Publish action in the workflow menu.
Description	The purpose of the workflow.

Conditions

Create conditions to trigger the workflow. The Conditions section does not appear if you select a table, such as sc_req_item, that does not require a condition.


Field	Description
If condition matches	When the condition evaluates to true, the workflow launches an active context: None: The workflow is not automatically started by the workflow engine. To run this workflow, write a script to start the workflow. Run the Workflow: The default value. The workflow engine starts the workflow if the information in the Condition field matches a record that is inserting into the table. Run if no other workflows match yet (deprecated): The workflow only runs if no other workflows are running on the execution thread that started this workflow. Avoid using. Run if no other workflows matched: The workflow only runs if no other workflows are running on a specific record. For example, there are four workflows inserted into the Incident table, which have a condition such as short_desc contains test. A new workflow, which has If condition matches is set to Run if no other workflows match yet, only runs if none of the four workflows have started running on the Incident record.
Condition	A condition builder for specifying workflow conditions that trigger the behavior selected from the If condition matches list.
Order	Numeric value that determines the order of the workflow, relative to other workflows. Workflows are evaluated in order from the lowest order number to the highest. A workflow runs if it is the first to match conditions.

Inputs

The Inputs section lists all the activities in the current workflow that input data, the data type, and the default value. The Inputs section is only available after a workflow has been created. To create a variable, click New.


Field	Description
Label	Displayed column label. Localized depending on user locale.
Reference	Input field from another table.
Type	Data type. For example, integer or string.
Default value	Value used if you do not provide a value.

Activities

The Activities section enables you to set activity pinning and maximum activity count.


Field	Description
Activity pinning	List of options that control updates to custom activities at the workflow level. Pinning protects custom activities from being updated automatically when downloaded from the ServiceNow Store. For more information, see Workflow activity pinning. The possible options are: Set by activity: Allows all activities in the workflow to use their own pinning settings. This is the default pinning option. Pin all activities: Pins all activities in the workflow to their current version. Unpin all activities: Allows all activities in the workflow to be updated.
Max activity count	The maximum number of activities performed by the workflow. This value is used to prevent infinite loops and is set to 100 by default. When the stated maximum count is reached, the workflow is canceled. If this field is blank, the maximum count is set to -1, and the workflow is canceled.

Application

The Application section enables you to see application scope and scope restrictions.


Field	Description
Application	[Read-only] Scope of this activity. For more information, see Application Scope.
Accessible from	Scope restrictions for this workflow. Possible settings are: All application scopes: Workflow is accessible to all application scopes. This application scope only: Workflow access is limited to the scope named in the Application field. For more information see Workflow scope.

Schedule

Use the Schedule section to create a schedule for this workflow using the schedule builder.


Field	Description
Delivery based on	The schedule type for this workflow. Possible types are: User-specified duration: Duration based on a user-specified value. This is the default schedule type. Relative duration: Duration calculated from a preconfigured schedule, such as 8-5 weekdays.
Expected time	User-defined interval. This field is visible when the schedule type is User-specified duration.
Schedule	Preconfigured schedule that determines when this workflow runs.
Timezone	Time zone for this instance.

Stages

The Stages section appears if you select a table with Type = Workflow.


Field	Description
Stage	Displays the workflow stage progress on the selected table. Optionally, select Stage rendering and Stage order schemes to customize the appearance of the stage field. The default values cover typical scenarios.
Stage rendering	The renderer to use when displaying stage icons on a form or list view. For more information about renderers, see Workflow stage renderers.
Stage order	The order of workflow stages when you view a workflow field in a list. Select Computed to let the workflow engine compute the stage order from the order of execution in the workflow. Select User Specified to use the Order field from that Workflow stages.
Name	The name of the stage as it appears in workflow fields..
Duration	Time allocated for the specific stage.
Order	The order of workflow stages when you view a workflow field in a list. Select Computed to let the workflow engine compute the stage order from the order of execution in the workflow. Select User Specified to use the Order field from that Workflow stages.
Value	The value of the stage when it is referenced from elsewhere in the system, such as in a script.

Estimated Runtime

The Estimated Runtime section opens the controls for configuring the ERT for the workflow. Core workflows included in the base system are not configured for estimated run time by default. All new workflows are configured with default ERT values automatically. You can edit existing run time estimates or configure new ones for any existing workflow. For details about how estimated run times are configured and calculated, see Workflow run time metrics.


Field	Description
Requires ERT	Check box to indicate that this workflow requires an estimated runtime configuration. You can use the ERT calculations to determine if workflows are running longer or shorter than expected and to identify errors in workflow processing. By default, new workflows require an ERT.
Estimated Run Time	The initial estimate for the workflow's run time.
Number of data points	[Read only] The number of times the system has compared the estimated run time to an actual run time result.
Outlier Percentage Threshold for ERT	[Required] The percentage deviation from the estimated run time that identifies an outlier workflow run time. The system uses a default value of 20. For more information, see Outlying workflow run times.