Workflow Automation CoE > Playbooks> Getting Started with Playbooks
What are Playbooks?
Playbooks, built in Workflow Studio, promote your subflows and flow actions to a new level by driving cross-enterprise and cross-departmental workflows. Together with Playbook Experience, you can expose your playbook, the expected next steps, and all relevant information directly to the end-user for increased efficiency and process transparency. With optional, ad-hoc activities you can make your processes flexible to meet any unexpected needs.
What happened to Process Automation Designer?
With the introduction of Workflow Studio in the Washington DC Release, all workflow automation types can be developed in a unified builder experience. At the same time, we are renaming Process Definitions to Playbooks to reduce friction and streamline communication.
Who can use Playbooks?
Playbooks are designed to be usable by developers of all skill levels while encouraging collaboration. Business Process Owners can map out their process with placeholder and pre-made activities while more experienced developers connect the pieces by passing data between the different activities and throughout the process lifecycle. Additionally, they can create new, custom activity definitions based on flows, subflows, or actions to cover specific business process needs.
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When do I use Playbooks over Flows?
First, Playbooks do not replace Flows, instead, it leverages them as the action plan behind each activity.
Flows are ideal for creating targeted automation that solves for a specific business case. Examples include updating a record from a certain trigger, processing an inbound email, running SLA automation, or fulfilling Service Catalog requests.
Playbooks are great for creating multi-stage, multi-activity workflows that cross departments or enterprises. Examples include onboarding a new employee which involves workflows across IT, Facilities, HR, and Finance.
How do I get started with Playbooks?
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Step 1: Documentation
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Step 2: Training
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Step 3: Guidance & Best Practices |
Step 4: Further Resources
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Step 1: Documentation 
To familiarize yourself with the complete spectrum of Playbook features and the newest enhancements in a given release, ServiceNow Docs is the place to go.
Release Highlights
Yokohama
Playbooks in Workflow Studio release notes
- Add custom translations for playbooks.
- Restart playbook activities that have ended in error.
- Create a checklist directly in the side panel without needing a checklist template.
- Create Playbook Variants for similar but different use cases without duplicating playbook definitions. Re-evaluate variant record conditions on playbook restart.
- Edit triggers when you duplicate a playbook, in a variant, etc.
Xanadu
Playbooks in Workflow Studio release notes
- Get recommendations on which activities to replace placeholder activities with.
- Preview and modify your text directions before generating your playbook outline with Now Assist.
- Collect custom responses from an end user, without requiring an existing table or fields.
- Better manage access to your playbooks and playbook components.
Washington
Playbooks in Workflow Studio Release Notes
- Processes are now called Playbooks in both the builder and in Playbook Experience.
- Open the Playbooks builder in Workflow Studio. Workflow Studio enables workflow owners to author, configure, and monitor playbooks, flows, subflows, actions, and decision tables in one place.
- Restart your entire playbook, or restart from a specific activity or stage.
- Use dynamic inputs to configure your activity to show a certain set of fields based on the value of another input, such as a selected catalog item, selected decision table, or a REST API response.
Playbook Experience Release Notes
- Added the function to restart a playbook from the beginning, from certain stages, or from certain activities if restart is enabled and defined in the Workflow Studio process design environment.
- Added to support using playbooks in Portal
- Added Next Activity and Previous Activity client actions for the focused activity viewer and for layouts using focused activity viewer.
- Apply reflow to out-of-the-box standalone and custom layout playbook components so that the UI adjusts when you resize your window or zoom.
- Added form sections to playbook forms.
- Added new mobile playbooks events.
Step 2: Training 
ServiceNow University Learning Paths and Courses
Start by completing the training on ServiceNow University (formerly known as NowLearning), check out the available learning paths here:
Knowledge
CreatorCon is a special program of sessions and training that runs every year during our Knowledge conference. Every year, we get access to new great presentations and courses about our Workflow Automation Products.
Developer Program
Next, request a Personal Developer Instance (PDI) to practice what you learned.
Step 3: Guidance and Best Practices 
Whether you’re a first-time implementer or an experienced developer, if you’re only just starting to use the Workflow Automation products, or are looking to migrate off your legacy tech stack, the following resources will help you understand how to best approach using Process Automation Designer and Playbooks.
Center of Excellence
NEW! Learn how to determine access to Playbooks, the features, and access at runtime
CoE/Securing Workflow Automation Products
CoE/Custom Playbook Activities
FAQ
Platform Academy
We have also been covering Playbooks topics in our Platform Academy. These include sessions on best practices, guidance, performance, debugging, error handling, and migration use cases.
July 7th, 2022 - Getting Started with Process Automation Designer
August 4th, 2022 - Getting Started with Playbook Experience
November 8th, 2023 - Securing Workflow Automation Products
November 30th, 2023 - Updates for Playbook Experience
December 7th, 2023 - Updates for Process Automation Designer
Workflow Academy
Custom Playbook Activities - Workflow Academy #4 (April 11th, 2024)
Configuring Playbook Experience - Workflow Academy #07 (July 11th, 2024)
Embedding Playbooks - Workflow Academy Shorts #07 (Aug 8th, 2024)
Now Assist for Workflow Automation - Workflow Academy Q3 webinar (Sept 12th, 2024)
Collect Data in Playbooks - Workflow Academy #10 (Oct 10th, 2024)
Getting Started with Playbooks in Xanadu - Workflow Academy #11 (Nov 14th, 2024)
Looping in Workflows (Restart Playbooks) - Workflow Academy #12 (Dec 19th, 2024)
Best of Workflow Automation in 2024 - Workflow Academy #13 (Feb 13th, 2025)
White Paper
Process Automation Designer and Playbook Experience Whitepaper (Now Create)
Use Cases
Article: Getting Started with Now Assist Playbook Generation (Author: Robert Ninness, Release Xanadu)
Article and Video: Adding a Playbook Record Page Tab to a Workspace Record (Author: Arnoud Kooi, Release Tokyo)
Article: Make an activity optional in Process Automation Designer (Author: Lisa Holenstein, Release San Diego & Tokyo)
YouTube
Generate a Playbook with Now Assist
Step 4: Further Resources 
Developer Program
In addition to PDIs and courses, the developer program publishes blogs, podcasts, and videos about our Workflow Automation products.
Creator Toolbox
Mastering Playbook Localization in Yokohama
Mastering Playbook Variants in ServiceNow Yokohama
Now Assist Playbook Generation in Xanadu
Order Guide Sequencing in San Diego
Playbooks in Rome
Live Coding Happy Hour
Process Automation (PAD) for Meetups - Live Coding Happy Hour for 2020-09-18
Building Playbooks in Rome Part 1 - Live Coding Happy Hour for 2021-08-19
Building Playbooks in Rome Part 2 - Live Coding Happy Hour for 2021-09-02
Process Automation Designer Optional Activities - Live Coding Happy Hour for 2023-03-17
TechNow
TechNow Ep 80 | Process Automation Designer/Playbook Part 1 (Release: Paris)
TechNow Ep 81 | Process Automation Designer/Playbook Part 2 (Release: Paris)
Blog
Blog | What’s New in Process Automation Designer (PAD) for Vancouver
Community Content
Our greatest asset is YOU. Our ServiceNow community has a wide array of amazing ServiceNow developers, practitioners, admins, and content creators. Thank you!
Platform: Process Automation Designer & Playbooks || Knowledge & Troubleshooting Resources (Author: Maik Skoddow)
Leveraging Arbitrary Data in Playbooks with Process Automation Designer (Author: Zachary Gumm, Release Quebec)
Playbooks for Portals (Author: Jagjeet Singh, Release: Washington DC)
