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Activity definitions

Activity definitions describe how the activities in your process definition get the data that they need when your process runs.

Activity definitions provide default configurations and values for your activities so that they can run properly when your process definition is triggered. Each activity definition contains some basic configuration details, as well as an automation plan and activity experience.

The Activity Definition [sys_pd_activity_definition] table lists the definitions for the activities that you can add to a process definition in Process Automation Designer. To access these activity definitions, navigate to Process Automation > Process Automation Administration > Activity Definitions.

Fields

Each activity definition record has these basic fields:


Field	Description
Label	Name of the activity to display to users in Process Automation Designer.
Table	Name of the table whose records the activity can access as inputs. Typically, this table is either the Task [task] or Global [global] table.
Application	Application scope that the activity can run in.
Accessible From	Options include: All application scopes - Users can access this activity from any application scope. This application scope only - Users can access this activity from the application scope that you specify in the Application field only.
Description	Optional description for the activity.

Automation plan

Each activity definition has an automation plan. The automation plan for an activity definition specifies:

The Flow Designer flow or action, which drives the activity's automation
The activity's inputs, which are the data that the activity needs to run your process

Activity experience

Each activity also has an activity experience. The activity experience specifies an experience type, associated record, and details for what data to render in the activity's associated user-facing view, such as a Workspace playbook card, at runtime.

Experience type: An experience type defines the data, or properties, that describe how the activity renders as a user-facing view, such as a Workspace playbook card, at runtime. For example, a Record experience type tells the system that the activity can display a title, tagline, description, footer, and service level agreement (SLA) information in the playbook card when your activated process runs. For more information, see Experience types.
Associated record: The associated record defines the record whose data can render within a user-facing view, such as a Workspace playbook card, at runtime. The associated record is dynamic, which means that it changes frequently as the process progresses. Because of this dynamic nature, you may want to use the data pill picker () to map the associated record to output record data within the underlying subflow or action specified in the automation plan.
Data to render in the user-facing view: You can specify the data to render in the user-facing view, such as a playbook card, in the sections under the Associated Record section. To add dynamic data to fields that render in this user-facing view, use the data pill picker () next to a data field and navigate, or dot-walk, to the appropriate data pill. The data pill should point to data within the underlying subflow or action specified in the activity definition's automation plan.
Note: An activity experience contains many sections where you can specify the data to appear within the Workspace playbook card. These sections vary depending on the experience type that you select. For example, a Record experience type has Details, Form, Attachments, and Features sections, while a Knowledge experience type has Knowledge, Details, and Features sections.

Design considerations

Refer to these design considerations when working with activity definitions:

Avoid calling triggered Flow Designer flows in an activity's automation plan: To prevent unintentionally running a flow outside of Process Automation Designer, you can use only subflows or actions in activity automation plans. Alternatively, you can set the flow's trigger to only run if not already running. For more information, see Flow trigger types.
Specify default input values in your activity definitions: Preconfiguring default input values for your activity definitions reduces the time and complexity needed for a process owner to create a process definition.

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Activity definitions

Activity definitions describe how the activities in your process definition get the data that they need when your process runs.

Fields

Each activity definition record has these basic fields:


Field	Description
Label	Name of the activity to display to users in Process Automation Designer.
Table	Name of the table whose records the activity can access as inputs. Typically, this table is either the Task [task] or Global [global] table.
Application	Application scope that the activity can run in.
Accessible From	Options include: All application scopes - Users can access this activity from any application scope. This application scope only - Users can access this activity from the application scope that you specify in the Application field only.
Description	Optional description for the activity.

Automation plan

Each activity definition has an automation plan. The automation plan for an activity definition specifies:

The Flow Designer flow or action, which drives the activity's automation
The activity's inputs, which are the data that the activity needs to run your process

Activity experience

Experience type: An experience type defines the data, or properties, that describe how the activity renders as a user-facing view, such as a Workspace playbook card, at runtime. For example, a Record experience type tells the system that the activity can display a title, tagline, description, footer, and service level agreement (SLA) information in the playbook card when your activated process runs. For more information, see Experience types.
Associated record: The associated record defines the record whose data can render within a user-facing view, such as a Workspace playbook card, at runtime. The associated record is dynamic, which means that it changes frequently as the process progresses. Because of this dynamic nature, you may want to use the data pill picker () to map the associated record to output record data within the underlying subflow or action specified in the automation plan.
Data to render in the user-facing view: You can specify the data to render in the user-facing view, such as a playbook card, in the sections under the Associated Record section. To add dynamic data to fields that render in this user-facing view, use the data pill picker () next to a data field and navigate, or dot-walk, to the appropriate data pill. The data pill should point to data within the underlying subflow or action specified in the activity definition's automation plan.
Note: An activity experience contains many sections where you can specify the data to appear within the Workspace playbook card. These sections vary depending on the experience type that you select. For example, a Record experience type has Details, Form, Attachments, and Features sections, while a Knowledge experience type has Knowledge, Details, and Features sections.

Design considerations

Refer to these design considerations when working with activity definitions:

Avoid calling triggered Flow Designer flows in an activity's automation plan: To prevent unintentionally running a flow outside of Process Automation Designer, you can use only subflows or actions in activity automation plans. Alternatively, you can set the flow's trigger to only run if not already running. For more information, see Flow trigger types.
Specify default input values in your activity definitions: Preconfiguring default input values for your activity definitions reduces the time and complexity needed for a process owner to create a process definition.

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