Checklist Task activity

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Checklist Task activity

    The Checklist Task activity in ServiceNow playbooks prompts agents to complete all items in a task checklist. It is designed to streamline task management by associating checklist items with a specific owner and task record, ensuring agents follow a defined set of steps before progressing.

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    Key Features

    • Availability: This activity is a common activity accessible to users with admin, playbook.admin, or pdauthor roles for inclusion in playbooks.
    • Core Inputs: You configure the Checklist Owner, Checklist Items, and Checklist Name to define who is responsible and what the checklist entails.
    • Scheduling and Conditions: Supports flexible start rules for activities and stages, including triggers when the playbook or stage starts, after specific stages or activities, or with an optional delay.
    • Skip Options: Agents can be allowed to skip the checklist activity based on role or assignment, configurable via the Can Skip option and specifying who may skip it.
    • Task Association: The checklist can be linked to a specific task record, making the checklist visible on that task and maintaining its state across playbook runs. If no task is specified, a new private task is created per run.
    • SLA Visibility: Optionally displays SLA countdown details related to the task for better time management.
    • Outputs: Provides a reference to the checklist task record that updates upon activity completion, enabling integration with subsequent activities in the playbook.
    • UI Configuration: Offers properties to control how the activity appears during playbook execution for improved user experience.

    Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

    ServiceNow customers can use the Checklist Task activity to enforce structured workflows by prompting agents to complete predefined checklists linked to tasks. This ensures consistent task execution, improves accountability through ownership assignment, and enhances visibility with task and SLA integration. The flexibility in scheduling and skip permissions allows tailoring the checklist behavior to fit various operational scenarios, making it easier to manage complex processes within playbooks efficiently.

    Prompt an agent to complete all items in a task checklist.

    The key inputs for this activity are the Checklist Owner, Checklist Items, and Checklist Name fields under the Inputs section.

    Roles and availability

    This activity is available as a common activity. Users with the admin, playbook.admin, or pd_author can add this activity to a playbook.

    Common properties

    These properties are common to all to activities in Playbooks.

    Open the activity properties panel and configure your activity to add values for the following inputs. If the input value varies, use the pill-picker to show where to get the value. To learn more about the pill-picker, see .
    Input Type Description
    Label String Title to display as activity and playbook card.
    Description String Information to display about activity usage or outcome.
    Run condition Condition Builder Conditions that must be met to run an activity or stage. You can use data from prior activities to build conditions.
    Note:
    Select Show additional options to see this field.
    Start Rule Choice Under Schedule > Start Rule, select a start rule for when your stage should start running:
    • When process starts: Your stage starts running as soon as the playbook starts.
    • After specific stages: Your stage starts running after specified stage(s) have finished running.
    Under Schedule > Start Rule, select a start rule for when your activity should start running:
    • When stage starts: Your activity starts running as soon as its stage starts running. Your stage starts running when your playbook is triggered.
    • After specific activities: Your activity starts running after specified activities have finished running.
    Start with delay True/False Option to wait for a duration of time before running an activity or stage. When enabled, this input displays the Start with delay input properties.
    Note:
    Select Show additional options to see this field.

    Inputs

    After configuring the required inputs for your activity, you can also choose to configure additional inputs. In the side panel, select Show additional options to display these advanced inputs. For more information, see Activity experience.
    Input Type Description
    Skip Assignment Group Reference.Group [sys_user_group] Group that is allowed to skip this activity when Can Skip is enabled.
    Note:
    If Can Skip is enabled, and you do not specify a Skip Assignment Groupor Skip Assigned To, all users will be able to skip this activity.
    Skip Assigned To Reference.User [sys_user] User that is allowed to skip this activity when Can Skip is enabled.
    Note:
    If Can Skip is enabled, and you do not specify a Skip Assignment Groupor Skip Assigned To, all users will be able to skip this activity.
    Checklist Owner Reference.User [sys_user] The user who owns this checklist.
    Checklist Items String The items you want display in your checklist.
    Checklist Name String The name to display for the checklist.
    Task Reference.Task [task]

    Reference a record to associate with the checklist activity. The checklist is also displayed in the associated task record.

    Note:
    When a specific task record is associated with the checklist, the state of the checklist does not change if you run the playbook again. When you don't provide a specific task record, a new private task record is created for each run.

    Checklist in a task record
    Show SLA True/False Option to show SLA countdown details for the task.
    Note:
    Select Show additional options to see this field.
    Can Skip True/False Option to allow agents to skip the checklist and to continue through the playbook.

    Additional properties

    Move stuff here.

    Outputs

    These outputs can provide data to other activities in your playbook. You can access this data as activity inputs when you configure your activity:
    Output Type Description
    Checklist Task Reference.Task [task] Task record that updates when this activity completes.

    UI Layouts

    Set properties for how the activity renders during a playbook run.