Important: As of the Yokohama 26.1 release, this activity is deprecated in the activity picker and replaced by the Questionnaire activity, which does not require creating a data definition. However, existing uses of Collect User Data continue to function.

If you have an existing table for storing data, the recommended alternative is the User Form activity.

Key Features

• User Form for data collection: Requires a predefined data definition in the sysflowdatadefinition table, where you specify the data agents or fulfillers collect.
• Role access: Available as a common activity. Users with admin, playbook.admin, or pdauthor roles can add this activity to playbooks.
• Conditional execution: Supports run conditions based on prior activity data and flexible start rules for activities and stages (e.g., start when stage starts, after specific activities or stages).
• Assignment controls: Use Assignment Group and Assigned To fields to restrict who can submit, view, or edit collected data during the playbook run. Defaults map to the trigger record’s assignment fields.
• Wait for user input option: Allows pausing the playbook until the user completes or skips the activity (editable only by playbook.admin role).

Practical Use Cases

• Collect information such as shipping addresses during a process and reference this data later, for example, to generate shipping labels.
• Gather yes/no responses to guide subsequent playbook actions based on user input.

Inputs and Outputs

• Inputs: Besides common activity inputs such as label, description, run conditions, and scheduling, the critical input is the User form for data collection, which defines what data to gather.
• Outputs: Provides a reference to collected data via the Record output, allowing subsequent activities to access the data through dot-walking using the pill-picker.

Why It Matters

This activity simplifies user data collection during playbook execution without requiring database table creation or external data management. It enables dynamic workflows that respond to user input, enhancing playbook flexibility and automation.

What to Expect

While still functional in existing playbooks, users creating new activities should migrate to the Questionnaire activity for improved ease of use and reduced configuration overhead. The Collect User Data activity ensures controlled access to data collection steps within playbooks and provides seamless integration with subsequent playbook logic.