Advanced Instruction activity

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Advanced Instruction activity

    The Advanced Instruction activity in ServiceNow Yokohama enables you to display detailed instructions that guide end users through your playbook. This activity helps provide clear, contextual information and instructions during a playbook’s execution, enhancing user understanding and engagement.

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    Roles and Availability

    This activity is available as a common activity and can be added to a playbook by users with the admin, playbook.admin, or pdauthor roles.

    Key Configuration Inputs

    • Label: Defines the title displayed on the activity and playbook card.
    • Description: Provides information about how the activity is used or what outcome it delivers.
    • Run condition: Allows you to specify conditions, based on prior activity data, that must be met to execute the activity or stage.
    • Start Rule: Controls when the activity or stage begins running, with options such as starting when the process or stage begins or after specific activities or stages complete.
    • Start with delay: Optionally delays activity execution by a set duration.
    • Title and Description (for end users): Customize the message shown to end users during the activity.
    • Wait for user input: Optionally pauses the playbook until the end user manually completes or skips the activity. This setting is editable only by users with the playbook.admin role.

    Advanced Inputs

    Additional configuration options provide further control and context:

    • Assignment Group: Specify the user group responsible for completing the task related to this activity.
    • Assigned To: Assign a specific user responsible for the task.
    • Tagline and Footer: Customize header and footer text displayed to end users for enhanced messaging.

    Outputs

    The activity produces outputs that can be used by subsequent activities within the playbook:

    • Record: A reference to the task record associated with the activity, enabling data sharing and integration between activities.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    By using the Advanced Instruction activity, you can provide clear, step-by-step guidance within your playbooks, ensuring end users understand their responsibilities and the context of each task. The flexible scheduling and condition settings allow seamless integration with other activities, while the ability to wait for user input supports interactive workflows. Assignment and messaging customizations help tailor the user experience and accountability, improving process adherence and efficiency.

    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:
    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:
    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:
    Show additional options to see this field.
    Assigned To Reference.User [sys_user] User responsible for completing the task associated with the activity.
    Note:
    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:
    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.