Create a playbook

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read

    • Enable playbook owners to configure and organize multiple instances of Workflow Studio content into an automated business process on the ServiceNow AI Platform®.

    Before you begin

    • Activate playbooks for your appropriate application.
    • Familiarize yourself with the tables and relationships that your application uses for the playbook that you want to create.
    • Make sure to familiarize yourself with any features that your business uses to automate operations on the ServiceNow AI Platform, such as flows, subflows, and actions.
    • Learn how to get started with ServiceNow® Process Automation.
    • Role required: admin, playbook.admin, or playbook.write.

    About this task

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to All > Workflow Studio > Playbooks.
      The Workflow Studio landing page appears. Playbooks are shown by default, but you can toggle to flows, subflows, actions, and decisions.
    2. In the upper right corner, click New and select Playbook from the drop-down menu.
      The Playbooks builder details screen for a new playbook opens in a new tab.
    3. Fill in the following fields.
      FieldAction
      Playbook name Enter a unique, user-facing name for your playbook. This name appears to agents and fulfillers during runtime of your playbook.
      Description Optionally, enter some descriptive details about your playbook.
      Application Choose an application scope that you want your playbook to run in. Selecting Global lets your playbook run in any application scope. For more information, see Application scope.
      The builder displays in Diagram view by default, but you can select Board view to switch views. Switch between views anytime as you build your playbook.
      Diagram and Board view toggle
    4. Configure your trigger.
    5. Add a stage.
    6. Add an activity.
    7. Keep adding stages and activities according to your manual playbook.
      For an example of how to design an entire digitized process with Playbooks, see Design an automated process.
    8. Optional: If you don't see the activity you need to add in the activity picker, create an activity definition.
    9. Optional: Add a decision activity.
    10. Optional: Add parallel activities.
    11. Optional: Add optional activities.
    12. After you've added all appropriate stages and activities to your playbook, select Activate in the header.
      Activating your playbook publishes it so that it runs when triggered.
      Note:
      If you change your playbook after activating it, the system saves your changes but deactivates your playbook. You must click Activate again to publish any new changes to your playbook. For more information, see Playbook statuses and activation states.

    Result

    When your playbook's trigger conditions are met, your playbook runs. As a result, the system creates a Process Execution record and renders user-facing configurations for Playbook Experience. For an example of how to digitize a manual business process that renders as a playbook, see Design an automated process.

    What to do next

    Set up the Playbook Experience for your agents and fulfillers.