Questionnaire activity

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Questionnaire activity

    The Questionnaire activity in ServiceNow Playbooks enables collecting user inputs during a playbook run without needing to create a data definition or table. It replaces the older Collect User Data activity, designed for scenarios where you do not require storing data in a table, reporting on the data, or using it outside the playbook.

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    Use the Questionnaire activity when you want to gather information temporarily within a playbook run, such as collecting a shipping address or capturing yes/no responses that influence subsequent playbook actions. If you already have a table to store data, prefer the User Form activity instead.

    Roles and Availability

    This activity is available as a common activity. Users with the admin, playbook.admin, or pdauthor roles can add it to playbooks.

    Key Configuration Inputs

    • Label: Title displayed on the activity and playbook card.
    • Description: Information shown about the activity’s purpose or outcome.
    • Run Condition: Conditions that must be met to run the activity or stage, configurable using data from previous activities.
    • Start Rule: Defines when the stage or activity starts, either immediately when the process or stage starts or after specific stages/activities complete.
    • Start with delay: Option to delay the start of the activity or stage.
    • Questionnaire tab: Where you add and edit questions for agents to respond to during the playbook run.
    • Assignment Group and Assigned To: Specify which groups or users can access and edit the collected data. By default, these map to the assignment fields of the trigger record, granting access to assigned users.

    Outputs

    The collected data is stored as a record reference output, allowing subsequent activities in the playbook to access user responses. Using the pill-picker, you can navigate to the collected variables for further use in the playbook workflow.

    Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

    This activity streamlines gathering user input during playbook executions without the overhead of managing data tables or definitions, ideal for temporary data needs within a process. It provides flexibility to:

    • Prompt users with customizable questions during automation runs
    • Control who can view and edit collected data via assignment settings
    • Leverage collected answers to dynamically influence playbook flow

    Overall, the Questionnaire activity simplifies interaction-driven playbooks, improving efficiency and user engagement during automated workflows.

    Collects inputs from a user during a playbook run to use later in the playbook.

    The questionnaire activity replaces the Collect User Data activity, but does not require you to create a data definition. Use the questionnaire activity if:
    • You don't have a table already,
    • You don't need to run reports on the collected data,
    • And you don't need to use the data outside of the playbook.
    If you already have a table to store the collected data, use the User Form activity.

    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.

    During a playbook run, you can use data definitions to potentially:
    • Collect a shipping address, then reference the address when generating a shipping label.
    • Ask the user "yes" or "no" questions, and determine subsequent activities based on the user's responses.

    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 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.

    Questionnaire

    In the Questionnaire tab, you can:
    • Add questions for agents to respond to,
    • Edit existing questionnaires.
    To learn more about adding or configuring questions, see Create a new questionnaire.

    Inputs

    Many of these inputs are common to activities in Playbooks.

    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 for this Process Step Reference.Group [sys_user_group] Assignment group allowed to perform this playbook activity. If you don't set any values for Assignment Group or Assigned To, any user can read and edit the collected data. The Assignment group and Assigned to fields limit who has access to do so. To specify only individual users, use the Assigned To field. The same users do not need to be specified in both fields.
    Note:
    By default, these fields are mapped to the Assignment Group and Assigned To fields of the trigger record. This means that users assigned to work on the parent record have access to submit, view and edit the collected data by default.
    Assigned to this Process Step Reference.User [sys_user] User allowed to perform this playbook activity. If you don't set any values for Assignment Group or Assigned To, any user can read and edit the collected data. The Assignment group and Assigned to fields limit who has access to do so. To specify only individual users, use the Assigned To field. The same users do not need to be specified in both fields.
    Note:
    By default, these fields are mapped to the Assignment Group and Assigned To fields of the trigger record. This means that users assigned to work on the parent record have access to submit, view and edit the collected data by default.

    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.Flow Data Reference to record containing collected data. Use the pill-picker to dot-walk to Outputs > Record > Vars to see all collected data. To learn more about the pill-picker, see Dot-walking examples.