Create a flow

Automate the workflow for the employee travel request application by creating a flow.

Before you begin

Role required: admin or flow_designer

About this task

The second phase in adding logic and automation to the employee travel request application is to create a flow. The flow that we create automates the workflow for the application after an employee travel request is created.

Phase 1		Build a decision table
Phase 2		Create a flow

For more information about flows, see Building flows.

Use the following tutorial to create a flow for the employee travel request application.

Table 1. Video sections

Timestamp	Section
0:09	Add a flow to your application.
0:14	Build the flow from scratch.
0:17	Enter a unique name and description for the flow.
0:22	Continue setting up your flow.
0:25	Create a trigger.
0:41	Add an Ask for Approval action.
1:09	Add If flow logic.
1:25	Integrate decision tables.
1:48	Duplicate repeating actions.
2:17	Add an Update Record action.
2:38	Add Else flow logic.
2:50	Add a Send Email action.
4:14	Add End Flow flow logic.
4:19	View your flow as a diagram.
4:22	Save your changes.

Procedure

1. Navigate to All > App Engine > App Engine Studio.
2. Open the employee travel request application.
3. On the application dashboard, select + Add next to Logic and automation.
4. Select Flow, then select Begin.
5. Select Build your flow from scratch.
   You can also choose to build your flow with Now Assist. For more information, see Create a flow with Now Assist.
6. Define the properties of the flow.
   1. In the Name field, enter Approvals workflow.
   2. In the Description field, enter Approval workflow for managers and regional heads.
   3. Select Continue.
7. Select Edit this flow to continue setting up your flow.
8. Add triggers to the flow.
   Note:

   A trigger specifies when to run the flow. When the trigger conditions are met, the system runs the flow using the data provided by the trigger.
   In our tutorial, we create a trigger that runs the flow whenever an employee submits a travel request.
   1. In the Trigger section, select + Add a trigger.
   2. In the Trigger field, select Record > Created.
      For more information about trigger types, see Workflow Studio flow trigger types.
   3. In the Table field, enter the name of the travel request table and select it from the list.
   4. Select Done.
9. Add actions, flow logic, and sublows to the flow.
   Note:

   You can add actions, flow logic, and subflows to enable your flow to perform desired actions. For example, you can create an action that enables your application to send emails automatically.
   In our tutorial, we add several actions and branches of flow logic to automate the employee travel request process. The following diagram demonstrates the flow that we create in our tutorial.

   

   Instructions for adding the actions and flow logic demonstrated in the tutorial are outlined in the following topics.

10. Optional: See how your flow appears as a diagram by toggling the switch next to View.
11. Select Save to save your changes.

Result

You have created a flow that will automate the end-to-end workflow for the employee travel request application.

What to do next

Continue building the flow for the employee travel request application. Proceed to the next step: Add an Ask for Approval action.

Add an Ask for Approval action

Request approvals for any record by adding the Ask for Approval action to your flow.

Before you begin

Role required: admin or flow_designer

About this task

The Ask for Approval action is a ServiceNow Core action template that enables you to request approvals easily. You can specify which records require approval and assign users to approve or reject the record.

In our tutorial, we use the Ask for Approval action to request approvals from both managers and regional head for employee travel requests. This procedure outlines the Ask for Approval action that routes to the manager. The procedure for creating the Ask for Approval action that routes to the regional head is outlined in Duplicate repeating actions.

For more information about the Ask for Approval action, see Ask for Approval action.

Procedure

1. At the correct location in your flow, select + Add an Action, Flow Logic, or Subflow.
   In our tutorial, the Ask for Approval action that routes to the manager occurs just after the trigger. To see where the Ask for Approval action occurs in the tutorial flow, see the diagram in Create a flow.
2. Select Action.
3. From the ServiceNow Core options, select Ask for Approval.
4. Choose from one of the following options to connect the action to the appropriate trigger.
   Note:

   Some flows have multiple triggers, so you must specify which trigger corresponds to the action.
   In our tutorial, we add the travel request record trigger to the Record field, so that the action runs whenever an employee submits a travel request.
   • To add your trigger within the Ask for Approval dialog, select the Data Pill Picker (), then select the trigger from the list.
   • To add your trigger from the Data panel, drag the data pill that contains the trigger into the Record field.
   
5. Set the rules for the action.
   Note:

   Rules determine which users can approve or reject requests, and what happens after approval or rejection. For more information about the rules available for the Ask for Approval action, see Ask for Approval action.
   In our tutorial, we configure the rules for the Ask for Approval action to send travel requests to the manager of the user who submitted the request. The manager can then approve or deny the request.
   1. Select the Approve field, then select Approve or Reject from the list.
   2. Select the -Choose approval rule field, then select All users approve or reject.
   3. Choose which users or groups can complete the approval actions using the Data Pill Picker (), the add user icon (), add group icon (), the add manual approvers icon (), or by dragging data pills from the Data panel into the field.
      In our tutorial, we want the Ask for Approval action to route to the manager of the user who submitted the travel request. So we select Trigger - Record Created > Travel request Record > Opened by > Manager.

      

      The second Ask for Approval action, which you create in Duplicate repeating actions, routes the approval to the regional head.

6. Select Done.
7. Select Save.

What to do next

Proceed to the next step: Add If flow logic.

Add If flow logic

Use If flow logic to direct your flow to perform actions based on specific conditions.

Before you begin

Role required: admin or flow_designer

About this task

Add If flow logic to your flow to have your application perform actions only when certain criteria are met. If flow logic creates a specific path, or branch, within a flow that runs only when the conditions are met.

In our tutorial, we use If flow logic to define what the application does if a travel request has been approved. For example, if a travel request has been approved by the regional head, the State of the travel request record should be changed to Closed complete.

There are two instances of If flow logic in the flow in the app creation tutorial: One that represents manager approval and another that represents regional head approval. This procedure covers creating the branch that represents manager approval. You can use this procedure to create the branch that represents the regional head approval and adjust the Column label and Condition field values accordingly.

For more information about using If flow logic, see If flow logic.

Procedure

1. At the correct location in your flow, select + Add an Action, Flow Logic, or Subflow.
   The If flow logic that represents manager approval occurs just after the first Ask for Approval action. To see where If flow logic occurs in the tutorial flow, see the diagram in Create a flow.
2. Select Flow Logic.
3. Select If.
4. Optional: In the Condition label field, enter a description to describe the conditions that the branch represents.
   In our tutorial, we enter Manager Approved, as this branch represents that a manager has approved the travel request.
5. Select the condition under which the branch runs using the Data Pill Picker () or by dragging the data pill from the Data panel into the Condition 1 field.
   Note:

   The condition is the data container that the flow evaluates when determining whether to run the branch. You can define one or multiple conditions in If flow logic.
   In our tutorial, we want this branch of the flow to represent what happens if a manager has approved a travel request, so we set the condition to Approval State.

   

6. Define the condition state that enables the branch to run by selecting the fields beside Condition 1, then choosing the appropriate values.
   Note:

   The condition state is the actual value of the condition that defines when the branch should run.
   In our case, this branch should run when a travel request has been approved by a manager. So we set the condition state to is and Approved.
7. Select Done.
8. Select Save.

Result

By default, If flow logic has no output. It simply evaluates whether a condition is met or unmet. To have your flow complete actions when the conditions in the If flow logic are met, you must add branching actions or flow logic.

What to do next

Proceed to the next step: Integrate decision tables.

Integrate decision tables

Integrate decision tables into your flow using Make a decision flow logic.

Before you begin

Role required: admin or flow_designer

About this task

Make a decision flow logic enables you to integrate decision tables within flows easily. Make a decision flow logic runs the decision table and returns results, which can be displayed as branches in the flow or data pills in the Data panel.

In our tutorial, employee travel requests are sent to the regional heads after receiving manager approval. We use Make a decision flow logic to connect the flow to the regional head decision table and retrieve the correct regional information.

For more information about Make a decision flow logic, see Make a decision flow logic.

Procedure

1. At the correct location in your flow, select + Add an Action, Flow Logic, or Subflow.
   We add Make a decision flow logic beneath the branch of If flow logic that represents manager approval. To see where we add Make a decision flow logic in the tutorial flow, see the diagram in Create a flow.
2. Select Flow logic.
3. Select Make a decision.
4. Select the Decision table field, then select the correct decision table from the list.
   In our tutorial, we select the regional head approvals decision table.
5. Choose to select or deselect the check box for Use Branches.
   Note:

   If you select the check box for Use Branches, the flow displays each possible decision table result as a separate branch.
   In our tutorial, the approval process is the same for each of the regional heads, so we deselect Use Branches. If the employee travel request process was different for employees of a certain region, we could select Use Branches to represent the different processes based on region.
6. Add the correct trigger to the Decision table inputs field using either the Data Pill Picker() or by dragging the data pill from the Data panel into the field.
   Tip:

   When you integrate a decision table into a flow, you must specify the data values for the decision table to evaluate within the context of the flow.
   In our tutorial, we need the decision table to evaluate the user information that's associated with the travel request trigger. So we add our trigger to the Decision table inputs field.
7. Select Done.

Result

The Make a decision flow logic generates results from the decision table, which you can use in your flow.

What to do next

Proceed to the next step: Duplicate repeating actions.

Duplicate repeating actions

For actions that repeat within your flow, save time by duplicating the actions and adjusting their values as needed.

Before you begin

Role required: admin or flow_designer

About this task

Duplicating actions enables you to build flows more quickly and efficiently.

In our tutorial, there are several actions that repeat within the employee travel request flow.

• The Ask for Approval action repeats to request both the manager and regional head approvals for employee travel requests.
• The Update Record action updates the travel request record at several places in the flow, such as when the request is rejected by a manager.
• The Send Email action occurs in two places to notify employees that their travel requests have been rejected by either the manager or the regional head.

This procedure outlines duplicating the Ask for Approval action to request regional head approval. You can use the steps outlined here to duplicate the other actions that repeat and adjust the action location and field values accordingly.

Procedure

1. Hover over the action that you want to duplicate and select the Duplicate action icon ().
   In our tutorial, we duplicate the Ask for Approval action.

   

2. Move the duplicated action into the correct place in the flow by hovering over the action, selecting the drag icon (), and dragging the action into the correct place.
   We move the duplicated Ask for Approval action beneath the Make a decision flow logic that returns the regional head information.

   

3. Adjust values in the action as needed.
   1. Select the duplicated action to open the action dialog.
   2. Select the remove icon () to remove any field values that you must change.
      In our tutorial, we must change the user that the Ask for Approval routes to. So we select the remove icon ( ) in the data pill that contains the manager user information.
   3. Provide the correct field values by selecting the Data Pill Picker () or by dragging data pills from the Data panel into the fields.
      To route the Ask for Approval action to the correct regional head, we must add the data pill that contains the regional head information.

      • Using the Data Pill Picker (), we select Make a decision > Decision Table Multiple Result Record > Result elements > Regional heads.
      • Using the Data panel, we select and drag the regional heads data pill into the field.

        

4. Select Save.
5. Optional: Repeat this procedure to duplicate as many actions as needed in your flow.
   In our tutorial, we also duplicate the Update Record and Send Email actions.

What to do next

Proceed to the next step: Add an Update Record action.

Add an Update Record action

Automate record updates in a flow using the Update Record action.

Before you begin

Role required: admin or flow_designer

About this task

The Update Record action is a ServiceNow Core action template that you can add to your flow to update existing records.

In our tutorial, we use the Update Record action to update the travel request record after it has been approved or rejected. This procedure outlines creating the Update Record action if a travel request has been approved by the manager and regional head. You can use this procedure to create the other Update Record actions and change the fields and field values as needed.

For more information about the Update Record action, see Update Record action.

Procedure

1. At the correct location in your flow, select + Add an Action, Flow Logic, or Subflow.
   We add the Update Record action that represents manager and regional head approvals beneath the If flow logic branch for regional head approval. To see where we add the Update Record action in the tutorial flow, see the diagram in Create a flow.
2. Select Action.
3. From the ServiceNow Core options, select Update Record.
4. Select the record that you want to update by selecting the Data Pill Picker () or by dragging the data pill from the Data panel into the Record field.
   In our tutorial, we want to update the travel request record, so we add the travel request trigger to the Record field.
5. Choose the field or fields that you want to update in the record by selecting Add a field value, then selecting the field that you want to update from the list.
   In our tutorial, we must update several fields in our travel request record after the request has been approved by the manager and regional head. We select the following fields:

   • Approval
   • Assignment group
   • State
6. Set the desired value of each field that you added by selecting anywhere in the Select field, then selecting the correct value from the list.
   In our tutorial, we set the following values for the fields that we added:

   Field	Value
   Approval	Approved
   Assignment group	Travel desk
   State	Closed complete

7. Select Done.
8. Select Save.

What to do next

Proceed to the next step: Add Else flow logic.

Add Else flow logic

In flows with If flow logic, add Else flow logic to create alternate paths when conditions aren’t met.

Before you begin

Role required: admin or flow_designer

About this task

Add Else flow logic to define the actions that your flow performs when If flow logic conditions aren't met. Else flow logic creates a path in the flow that runs only when the If flow logic conditions aren’t met.

In our tutorial, we add Else flow logic to specify what happens when a travel request is rejected by either a manager or regional head.

Procedure

1. At the correct location in your flow, select + Add an Action, Flow Logic, or Subflow.
   We add Else flow logic at two places in the flow: One beneath the branch of the flow that represents manager approval and another beneath the branch that represents regional head approval. To see where we add Else flow logic in the tutorial flow, see the diagram in Create a flow.
2. Select Flow logic.
3. In the Search flow logics list, select Else.
4. Select Save.

Result

By default, Else flow logic has no output. It just creates a branch for the flow to run when the If flow logic conditions aren't met. To have your flow complete actions in the Else flow logic block, you must add branching actions or flow logic.

What to do next

Proceed to the next step: Add a Send Email action.

Add a Send Email action

Automate sending email notifications using the Send Email action.

Before you begin

Role required: admin

About this task

The Send Email action is a ServiceNow Core action template that you can add to your flow to automate sending emails to specified users or groups.

In our tutorial, we add Send Email actions to notify employees that their travel requests have been rejected. This procedure covers the Send Email action that notifies employees that their travel request has been rejected by the regional head. You can use this procedure to create the other Send Email action for the manager rejection and adjust the field values accordingly.

For more information about the Send Email action, see Send Email action.

Procedure

1. At the correct location in your flow, select + Add an Action, Flow Logic, or Subflow.
   We add the Send Email action beneath the Else flow logic that represents regional head rejection. To see where we add Send Email actions in the tutorial flow, see the diagram in Create a flow.
2. Select Action.
3. From the ServiceNow Core options, select Send Email.
4. Add the record that the email is associated with to the Target Record field using the Data pill picker (), or by dragging the data pill from the Data panel.
   In our tutorial, we want the email to be associated with the travel request record in our trigger.
5. Add recipients for the email in the To field using the Data pill picker (), or by dragging the data pill from the Data panel.
   In our tutorial, we want the user who created the travel request to receive the email. The user information is stored under Trigger - Record Created > Travel request Record > Opened by.
6. Optional: Add additional recipients to the email in the CC and BCC fields.
   We don’t add additional recipients to the Send Email action in our tutorial.
7. Enter a subject for the email in the Subject field.
   In our tutorial, we enter the following subject for the email: Travel request rejected.
8. Enter the content for the email message in the Body field.
   Tip:

   You can add dynamically created content, or content that is generated within the flow, to the Send Email action. To add dynamic content, drag the data pills from the Data panel into the Body of the email.
   In our tutorial, the body of our email notifies the employee that their travel request has been rejected and to contact their manager for additional information.
9. Select Done.
10. Select Save.

What to do next

Proceed to the next step: Add End Flow flow logic.

Add End Flow flow logic

Add End Flow flow logic to stop running the current flow.

Before you begin

Role required: admin

About this task

If you want your flow to end when certain conditions are met, you can add End Flow flow logic. End Flow flow logic can be contained within a conditional flow logic block, such as an If, Else If, or Else flow logic. End Flow flow logic stops running the current flow.

In our tutorial, we add End Flow flow logic to end the flow if a travel request has been rejected.

For more information about End Flow flow logic, see End Flow flow logic.

Procedure

1. At the correct location in your flow, select + Add an Action, Flow Logic, or Subflow.
   We add End Flow flow logic in the branch that represents manager rejection of a travel request. To see where we add End Flow logic in the tutorial flow, see the diagram in Create a flow.
2. Select Flow Logic.
3. In the Search flow logics list, select End Flow.
4. Select Save.

What to do next

The logic and automation for the employee travel request application are complete. Proceed to the final step in the app creation tutorial: Test your application.