Mastering Playbook Variants in ServiceNow Yokohama

[Kristy Merriam]

As businesses evolve, so do their workflows. Until now, organizations using ServiceNow often had to duplicate playbooks to account for minor process variations, which has led to unnecessary complexity and maintenance overhead. Enter Playbook Variants, a game-changing feature in the Yokohama release that eliminates redundancy while keeping workflows dynamic.

What Are Playbook Variants?

Playbook Variants allow developers to define a base playbook containing all core activities and then create child variants that introduce slight modifications. This means:

• No more duplicate playbooks for small process changes
• Dynamic workflows based on conditions like geography, job role, or asset category
• Seamless runtime experience, where end-users don’t need to worry about which variant is running

Real-World Use Cases

ServiceNow customers in aerospace, financial services, and HR are already benefiting from Playbook Variants:
🔹 Supplier Qualification (Aerospace) – Different approval steps for various materials, but a shared base process.
🔹 Client Onboarding (Financial Services) – Varying steps based on customer segment and required services.
🔹 Recruitment Workflows – Different interview processes for individual contributors vs. managers, without creating multiple playbooks.

Key Features

With Playbook Variants, developers can:
✅ Define Parent & Child Playbooks – One base process, multiple variants
✅ Modify Activities – Add new steps without altering the parent
✅ Set Dynamic Start Rules – Adjust conditions for when activities begin
✅ Control Display Order – Ensure correct execution sequencing

Getting Started

To start using Playbook Variants:

• Ensure you're on Xanadu (November 2024) or Yokohama
• Install the latest Workflow Studio version (20 6.2 for Xanadu, 20 7.1 for Yokohama)
• Follow the Workflow Academy tutorials or attend Knowledge 2025 for hands-on training

 

What’s Next?

Upcoming enhancements include:
🚀 Mid-Process Variant Evaluation – Choose a variant later in the workflow
🚀 Deeper Customization – Override forms and create more complex hierarchies
🚀 Permission-Based Variant Editing – Assign process owners to specific variants

Playbook Variants are set to revolutionize process automation on the ServiceNow platform. Ready to try them out? Let us know your thoughts!