Advanced Instruction activity

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Advanced Instruction Activity

    The Advanced Instruction activity enables the creation of detailed guidance for end users through various playbooks. It is accessible to users with the admin, playbook.admin, or pdauthor roles, allowing them to incorporate this activity into their playbooks effectively.

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    Key Features

    • Inputs: Configure inputs via the activity properties panel, including:
      • Label: Title displayed on the activity and playbook card.
      • Description: Information regarding the activity’s usage or outcome.
      • Run Condition: Utilize the Condition Builder to define conditions for executing the activity.
      • Start Rule: Choose when to initiate the activity or stage, either at the start of the playbook or after specific activities.
      • Start with Delay: Option to set a delay before the activity begins.
      • Wait for User Input: Pause the playbook until user action is taken.
    • Advanced Inputs: Additional configurations available include:
      • Assignment Group: Designate a group responsible for the task.
      • Assigned To: Specify an individual user for task completion.
      • Tagline and Footer: Customizable headers and footers for end-user visibility.
    • Outputs: Data outputs can be utilized in subsequent activities, providing references to the task associated with the activity.

    Key Outcomes

    By utilizing the Advanced Instruction activity, ServiceNow customers can enhance user experience by providing clear guidance and structured workflows within their playbooks. This functionality ensures that users have the necessary information at their fingertips, contributing to smoother task completion and improved efficiency in operational processes.

    Display detailed instructions to guide end users through your playbook.

    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.

    Inputs

    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 Dot-walking examples.
    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.
    Title String Title displayed to end users.
    Description String Details to display in the message to end users.
    Wait for user input Choice Option to pause the playbook until the end user manually completes or skips the activity. Only users with the playbook.admin role can edit this field. By default, the activity waits for user action or data before it completes.

    Advanced 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
    Assignment Group Reference.Group [sys_user_group] Group responsible for completing the task associated with the activity.
    Note:
    Select Show additional options to see this field.
    Assigned To Reference.User [sys_user] User responsible for completing the task associated with the activity.
    Note:
    Select Show additional options to see this field.
    Tagline String Header tagline to display to end users.
    Footer String Footer text to display to end users.
    Note:
    Select Show additional options to see this field.

    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
    Record Reference.Task [task] Reference to the record associated with the activity.