Activity definition form

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Activity definition form

    The Activity Definition form in ServiceNow allows you to report on specific steps within your business processes by defining how changes in data fields are visualized on process graphs. This form helps you track and analyze activities based on field values, timestamps, and relationships between parent and child records, providing deeper insights into your process flows.

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    Key Features

    • Field Selection: Choose the table field or column whose data you want to visualize in the process graph.
    • Type of Values to Mine:
      • Field Values (Default): Standard selection showing field changes.
      • Date Time: Uses actual record timestamps instead of audit history, shown as grouped nodes.
      • Compound: Represents changes in multiple field values as a single node.
      • Child Attached: Shows when a child record is attached to a parent (available in parent table configuration).
      • Parent Attached: Shows when a parent record is attached to a child (available in child table configuration).
    • Display Name: Optionally specify a custom name for the activity that appears on the graph; defaults to the field name if left blank.
    • Choose Activity Values: Filter the mined data to specific values within the selected field, enabling focused analysis (e.g., specific assignment groups).
    • Group Activities: Option to consolidate sequential changes into a single grouped change on the process map. This simplifies visualization by showing a single change event instead of multiple sequential changes.
    • Grouped Activities Name: Customize the name for grouped changes that will display on the visualization.
    • Activity of Interest: Controls whether the field changes appear in the analyst workbench. When selected, changes are excluded from the workbench but remain usable in contextual conditions for transitions or findings.
    • Include Empty Start Node: Adds an empty node to the process graph when the selected field is empty at record creation, helping visualize initial states.

    Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

    By configuring the Activity Definition form, customers can tailor process maps to reflect critical business process steps accurately, including granular field changes, timestamps, and record relationships. Grouping activities helps simplify complex change histories for clearer visualization. Filtering by specific values focuses insights on relevant segments of your data. Additionally, controlling visibility in the analyst workbench allows for customized analysis workflows. Overall, this form enhances your ability to monitor, analyze, and optimize your business processes through detailed and customizable visual reporting.

    Use the Activity Definition form to report on steps that occur within your business process.

    Table 1. Activity Definition form
    Field Specify the field or column from the table whose data you want to view in the process graph.
    Type The type of values you want to mine.

    You have the following values:

    • Field Values (Default): This is the default selection. This option is available whenever you create an activity definition.
    • Date Time: Uses date time value from the actual record rather than the audit history and is displayed as a grouped node on the process map.
    • Compound: One node or process graph representing change in the multiple field value from the actual record rather than the audit history.
    • Child Attached: This option is available when you have selected two tables for table configuration and have set a child-parent relationship. This option is available only for the parent table configuration. In the visualization, you will see when the child was attached in the process.
    • Parent Attached: This option creates a node on the child process representing when a parent record was attached to a child.
    Display Name (Optional) Name to display for this activity. If no name is entered, the activity name displays the value provided for Field.
    Choose activity values

    You can choose to mine specific activity values for the selected field.
    Activity values

    This field is available only if you select the Choose activity values field.

    This field provides a list of values for the selected field that you want to mine.

    For example, you have chosen the Incident table. Now, you want to see records that went through Assignment group Service Desk and Assignment group Database. To see this data, you must select Assignment group as the Field and add Service Desk and Database from List of values.
    Group activities If you select to group activities, the process map reflects the group of changes for the activity as one change item. For example, suppose you configure Assignment group to report on and select group activities.
    • Changes to assignment group occur and list in the audit log as: Group A > Group B > Group C.
    • Result: The data in the process map reflects as one change: 'Assignment group changed'.
    If this option is not checked, the process map reflects records of each instance of change individually. Example: You configure Assignment group to report on, but don't select to group activities.
    • Changes to assignment group occur and list in the audit log as: Group A > Group B > Group C.
    • Result: The process map reflects each individual change made, continuing to reflect the changes as is standard from the audit log: 'Change: Group A > Change: Group B > Change: Group C'.
    Figure 1. Changes are grouped
    Show changes as group
    Figure 2. Changes shown as standard
    Changes shown as standard
    Grouped Activities name Auto-generated name for grouped activities, or you can enter a different name for changes to the field that will reflect in the visualization.
    Note:
    This field is only available when the Group activities field is selected.
    Activity of Interest Whether field changes appear in the analyst workbench.
    Note:
    When this option is selected, field changes don’t appear in the analyst workbench, but can still be used in contextual conditions in transitions or findings.
    Include empty start node Includes an empty node on the process graph when the selected activity definition field is empty at the time of record creation.