Playbook variants

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 1 minute to read

    • Use one playbook for multiple scenarios.

    Create different variations on top of a base playbook for multiple use cases instead of duplicating and modifying playbooks, or relying on one-time workarounds that use complex run conditions and branching.

    Consider using playbook variants if you have similar business processes that change based on specific factors. For example:
    • Processes and requirements for different locations (regions, countries, municipalities, organizations, etc.).
      • Banking SLAs differ by region, USA is 30 days and EMEA is 45 days with potential for further variation by country.
      • Card disputes with variance by network: Visa, Mastercard, Discover, etc.
    • Managing hiring flows that vary by industry, department, and job titles.
    • Business processes and requirements for different users and roles.
    • Business processes and requirements for different kinds of applications, such as licenses and permits for different kinds of businesses, etc.

    To get started, see Create a playbook variant.

    General Guidelines

    Create, run, troubleshoot, and monitor your playbook variants more effectively. Use these guidelines to optimize the performance of your playbook variants.

    Evaluate your variants
    By default, the variants are evaluated at the start of the playbook, from the top down at every level. The first variant that meets the trigger conditions will run. However, you can choose to evaluate the variants after certain activities are complete. You can leverage the output generated in the completed activities to decide which variant to run. This gives you more flexibility in designing the playbook and its variants.
    Pay attention to property overrides
    As you make changes to your variants, related activity configurations that are inherited from parent variants (such as start rules or display order) may be overridden. The overridden link and label appear next properties that are no longer synced with the parent variant or playbook.
    Overridden start rule activities
    Check all properties to ensure they are still configured as you want them. Re-sync properties to be the same as in the parent, if needed.
    Don't create variants if you want to change stage properties
    Stage overrides are not currently supported in playbook variants.