Checklist Task activity

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Checklist Task activity

    The Checklist Task activity in ServiceNow Playbooks prompts agents to complete all items in a task checklist. It helps structure tasks by defining checklist owners, items, and names, ensuring agents follow a clear, guided process during playbook execution.

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    Key Features

    • Roles and Availability: Available as a common activity. Users with admin, playbook.admin, or pdauthor roles can add it to playbooks.
    • Common Properties: Includes configurable inputs such as Label (title), Description, Run Condition, and Start Rule to control when and how the activity runs within a stage or playbook.
    • Scheduling Options: Activities and stages can start immediately, after specific stages or activities, or with a delay, providing flexibility in workflow timing.
    • Inputs:
      • Checklist Owner: Assigns the user responsible for the checklist.
      • Checklist Items and Name: Define the tasks and identify the checklist.
      • Task Reference: Associates the checklist with a specific task record, ensuring checklist visibility and state tracking within the task.
      • Show SLA: Optionally displays SLA countdowns to track task timing.
      • Can Skip: Allows agents to skip the checklist if enabled, with controls over who can skip via assignment group or user references.
    • Outputs: Provides a reference to the updated task record upon activity completion, enabling data flow to subsequent playbook activities.
    • UI Layouts: Controls how the activity appears during a playbook run, enhancing user experience.

    Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

    This activity enables customers to enforce task completion with structured checklists while maintaining flexibility in workflow design through conditions, scheduling, and skip options. Associating checklists with specific tasks ensures clear tracking and accountability. The availability of SLA visibility helps teams monitor timing constraints effectively.

    By configuring these inputs and outputs appropriately, customers can integrate checklist tasks seamlessly into broader playbooks, improving consistency and efficiency in task management.

    Prompt an agent to complete all items in a task checklist.

    The key inputs for this activity are the Checklist Owner, Checklist Items, and Checklist Name fields under the Inputs section.

    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.

    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:
    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.

    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
    Skip Assignment Group Reference.Group [sys_user_group] Group that is allowed to skip this activity when Can Skip is enabled.
    Note:
    If Can Skip is enabled, and you do not specify a Skip Assignment Groupor Skip Assigned To, all users will be able to skip this activity.
    Skip Assigned To Reference.User [sys_user] User that is allowed to skip this activity when Can Skip is enabled.
    Note:
    If Can Skip is enabled, and you do not specify a Skip Assignment Groupor Skip Assigned To, all users will be able to skip this activity.
    Checklist Owner Reference.User [sys_user] The user who owns this checklist.
    Checklist Items String The items you want display in your checklist.
    Checklist Name String The name to display for the checklist.
    Task Reference.Task [task]

    Reference a record to associate with the checklist activity. The checklist is also displayed in the associated task record.

    Note:
    When a specific task record is associated with the checklist, the state of the checklist does not change if you run the playbook again. When you don't provide a specific task record, a new private task record is created for each run.

    Checklist in a task record
    Show SLA True/False Option to show SLA countdown details for the task.
    Note:
    Show additional options to see this field.
    Can Skip True/False Option to allow agents to skip the checklist and to continue through the playbook.

    Additional properties

    Move stuff here.

    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
    Checklist Task Reference.Task [task] Task record that updates when this activity completes.

    UI Layouts

    Set properties for how the activity renders during a playbook run.