Start with delay input properties

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Start with delay input properties

    The "Start with delay" input property in ServiceNow playbooks allows you to specify a waiting period before an activity or stage begins, even after its start conditions are met. This feature helps you give users time to act during automated playbooks or to wait until a specific date and time to complete actions. It is available for all stages and common activities except the Placeholder activity.

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    Roles and availability

    Users with the roles admin, playbook.admin, pdauthor, or pdcontentauthor can configure the "Start with delay" input properties.

    Configuring input properties

    To enable and configure the delay, open an activity or stage’s properties panel, access additional options, and enable the "Start with delay" setting. This reveals the following key configuration options:

    • Duration Type: Choose how to specify the delay duration:
      • Explicit Duration: Wait for a fixed time period (e.g., 5 minutes).
      • Relative Duration: Wait relative to a selected date/time or duration data pill (e.g., 5 minutes after the playbook starts).
      • Percentage Duration: Wait for a percentage (0-100%) of the time between the start of the activity or stage and a specified end time.
    • Wait for Template Value: Set the actual wait duration manually or select a duration data pill. For explicit and relative durations, specify hours, minutes, and seconds. Relative Duration allows waiting before or after a specific time.
    • Wait for Percentage: When using Percentage Duration, specify the percentage of time to wait and provide an end date or select a date/time data pill. If the end date is in the past, the wait duration defaults to zero.
    • During the following schedule: Optionally select a schedule (cmnschedule) to ensure the wait respects business hours, such as weekdays 8-5. If left blank, no schedule is applied to the delay calculation.

    Important notes

    • Maximum wait duration can be up to 999 hours.
    • Actual wait time may vary due to instance processing delays; however, the playbook waits for the specified duration.
    • Past dates used in relative or percentage durations do not extend the wait.

    Practical benefits for ServiceNow customers

    By leveraging the "Start with delay" input properties, customers can better control the timing of playbook activities and stages, accommodating user actions and business schedules. This flexibility enhances automation workflows by allowing precise timing controls aligned with operational needs and schedules.

    Specify a duration of time to wait before running an activity or a stage whose start rule and conditions have been met. Give users time to act during automated playbooks. Give users time to wait for a specific date and time to complete actions.

    Roles and availability

    This input is available for all stages and common activities, except for the Placeholder activity. Users with the admin, playbook.admin, pd_author, or pd_content_author can configure the properties of this input.

    Input properties

    Open the activity or stage properties panel, show additional options, and enable the Start with delay option to configure the following input properties.
    Input Type Description
    Duration Type Choice Option to specify how long of duration to wait. Options include
    • Explicit Duration: Wait for a specific time period, such as 5 minutes.
    • Relative Duration: Wait for a specific time period from a selected Duration data pill or date/time value, such as 5 minutes after the playbook starts.
    • Percentage Duration: Wait for a specific percentage of a time period between the start of the activity or stage and a specified end time, such as 50%.
      Note:
      The percentage value must be from 0 through 100 only.
    Wait for Template Value Option to set a duration value manually or to select a Duration data pill from the data pill picker Data pill picker.
    • Explicit Duration: Wait duration in hours, minutes, and seconds.
    • Relative Duration: Wait duration in hours, minutes, and seconds before or after a specific time. Select Relative Duration to specify a wait duration from a specific date.
      Note:
      Past dates don't affect the wait duration.
    You can enter a wait value of up to 999 hours.
    Note:
    The actual wait duration can vary due to the instance processing time. The playbook always waits for the time that you specify for this field, but other work in the queue may add to the wait time.
    Wait for Percentage Integer Percentage of time to wait from a specified end date before running an activity or stage. You can manually enter an end date or select a date/time data pill from the data pill picker Data pill picker. If you select an end date in the past, the wait duration is set to 0. This field is only available when you set the Duration Type to Percentage Duration.
    During the following schedule Reference.Schedule [cmn_schedule] Schedule used to calculate an end date that occurs during your hours of operation. For example, the calculated end date for a 10-hour duration that occurs during a 8-5 weekdays schedule will always be one or more business days in the future. If you leave this field blank, the calculated end date does not follow a schedule. For information on creating schedules, see Define a schedule.