Transforming External Audit Logs into ServiceNow Automated Workflows

[syedjaffery]

Introduction

Workflows play a crucial role in automating business processes, orchestrating data flows, and integrating enterprise applications. They enable organizations to streamline operations, reduce manual effort, and enforce business logic across complex systems.

Despite their ubiquity, workflow creation remains a challenging task, often requiring users to manually configure processes through low-code platforms or visual programming environments. While low-code platforms and visual editors lower the barrier compared with traditional programming, those tools still require deep knowledge of system logic, data dependencies, and execution rules.

“Customers with big investments and other platforms hesitate to migrate because of the time and effort required.” — Kush (Nirankush Panchbhai)

Possibly a more practical and higher-fidelity alternative is to generate structured workflows from process maps.

What is this guide?

This guide provides a comprehensive approach to leveraging ServiceNow’s Process Mining capabilities to transform external audit log data into actionable Playbooks and Workflows. It covers the end-to-end process of:

1. Importing external datasets into ServiceNow Process Mining from various external systems
2. Analyzing and visualizing the audit log patterns and processes
3. Exporting insights directly to ServiceNow Playbooks for automated response
4. Creating workflows that respond to identified patterns in your audit data

The guide bridges the gap between raw audit log data from external systems (such as security tools, databases, or third-party applications) and ServiceNow’s powerful automation capabilities, enabling organizations to create intelligent, data-driven security and operational responses.

Why use this approach?

“From Legacy Chaos to Process Excellence”:

Your organization has decades of valuable process data locked away in legacy systems. SAP logs here, Oracle databases there, custom applications everywhere. Each audit trail tells a story, but you can’t read the book because the pages are scattered across different libraries. Today, we’re changing that game entirely.

A more practical and higher-fidelity alternative is to generate structured workflows from process maps that are produced by process mining applied to audit logs from external and legacy systems. Process mining-derived maps represent observed, end-to-end execution traces (events, timestamps, and case identifiers) captured across heterogeneous platforms. Using those maps as the source input reduces ambiguity compared with free-form sketches, because the maps reflect actual behavior and event.

Getting Started

Roles Required

Process Mining Roles Required:

• sn_process_optimization_analyst
• sn_process_optimization_power_user

OR

• sn_process_optimization_admin

Now Assist Roles:

• now.assist.creator
• playbook.write

Skills Activation Required

Playbook Generation

Step by Step Guide

Step	Description	Screen View
Generate Playbook For External Audit Data
1	Navigate to Workspaces > Process Mining Workspace.
2	On the left of the page, select the External data integration icon.
3	Provide a name for your dataset. Select Create dataset.
4	The Import Data tab is displayed. The Import Data tab displays the list of columns that are automatically added to the table.
5	Select Next. The next page enables you to add custom fields to the audit table. The custom fields form as breakdown filters when viewing the process graph.
6	Select Add a custom field. Provide a name, and select the type: String: Max 4000 characters Boolean Datetime Date Decimal: Max 20 characters Integer: Max 20 characters Reference: Select a reference table and field
7	Select Create import table. Optionally, go back to add or remove additional fields.
8	Select Import using Integration Hub. Tip: Copy the table name from the box above the button.
9	A confirmation window is displayed. Select Proceed to Integration Hub. Integration Hub opens. Create new integration.
10	Provide a name and description. In Application, select Process Mining for external data. Select Save & continue.
11	Select the Source Type: a File or Spoke.
12	Upload the file & select Map to target on the left bar.
13	Select Add a table.
14	Provide the target table name (from step 8). Example: sn_po_extdata_import_employee_contract_creation
15	Select Automap to map fields automatically. Select Save.
16	Select Schedule imports on the left bar. Run the import for the first time.
17	Go to the Import data tab. Select Yes, my data import is complete, then Next.
18	Select Confirm and continue after verifying your data.
19	After the record table is created, a tab opens displaying details of the audit and record tables.
20	Open an imported dataset, and select Create project.
21	Select Yes on the confirmation message.
22	You’ll be taken to the Scope your analysis page. Create a project and mine it.
23	Select the Analyst workbench. Select a variant to analyze from the Variants tab.
24	Select Create playbook. Fill the form: Provide an intuitive name Select Attach snapshot Select Generate Workflow Studio opens with the generated playbook.
25	Click on Open.
26	This takes you to Workflow Studio to generate a Workflow.
27	View the Workflow in Playbooks.