Product documentation Docs
    • English
    • Deutsch
    • 日本語
    • 한국어
    • Français
  • More Sites
    • Now Community
    • Developer Site
    • Knowledge Base
    • Product Information
    • ServiceNow.com
    • Training
    • Customer Success Center
    • ServiceNow Support Videos
  • Log in

Product documentation

  • Home
How search works:
  • Punctuation and capital letters are ignored
  • Special characters like underscores (_) are removed
  • Known synonyms are applied
  • The most relevant topics (based on weighting and matching to search terms) are listed first in search results
Topics are ranked in search results by how closely they match your search terms
  • A match on the entire phrase you typed
  • A match on part of the phrase you typed
  • A match on ALL of the terms in the phrase you typed
  • A match on ANY of the terms in the phrase you typed

Note: Matches in titles are always highly ranked.

  • Release version
    Table of Contents
    • Now Platform capabilities
Table of Contents
Choose your release version
    Home Paris Now Platform Capabilities Now Platform capabilities Process Automation Designer Getting started with processes Design an automated process

    Design an automated process

    • Save as PDF Selected topic Topic & subtopics All topics in contents
    • Unsubscribe Log in to subscribe to topics and get notified when content changes.
    • Share this page

    Design an automated process

    Transform an example manual business process into a well-designed, automated process that runs on the Now Platform®.

    Before you begin

    • Enable the Process Automation Designer for App Engine [com.glide.pad.license] plugin with a subscription to the Now Platform App Engine. For more information, see Activate Process Automation Designer.
    • Follow the steps to Configure a Playbook user experience.
    • Ensure that your current application is set to Global. For more information, see Application picker.
    • Role required: admin or pd_admin

    About this task

    In the following procedure, you can step through an example of how to digitize a manual business process on the Now Platform using Process Automation Designer. In this example, you can use Process Automation Designer to standardize and automate how Service Desk agents handle chat interactions with VIP users.

    The manual business process for this example consists of the following stages:

    1. Identify and Log: A Service Desk agent learns of an issue that a VIP user is facing while chatting with the user in a messaging application. The Service Desk agent creates an interaction record to track this issue.
    2. Classify and Diagnose: The Service Desk agent associates an incident record with the interaction and sets the incident's priority to High. The agent then enters the Assigned To user for the incident.
    3. Communicate Work in Progress: The assignee updates the incident record's state to Work in Progress and emails the VIP user when progress is made on the incident.
    4. Resolve: When the incident is resolved, the assignee emails the resolution information to the VIP user.

    Procedure

    1. Create a process named Handle Interactions with VIPs.
      1. Navigate to Process Automation > Process Automation Designer.
      2. In the main header, click Create a new process.
      3. On the form, fill in the fields.
        Field Action
        Label Enter Handle Interactions with VIPs.
        Description Enter This process defines how Service Desk agents can handle interaction records that are created for VIP users.
        Application Select Global.
      4. Click Select a trigger.
      5. Click the Define your own trigger conditions for when your process runs option.
      6. From the list of trigger options, select Record Create.
      7. Click Set your trigger conditions.
      8. In the Table list, select Interaction [interaction].
      9. Use the condition builder to add the following condition to your trigger:
        • [Opened for->VIP][is][True].
      10. Click Go to Designer.
      The Process Automation Designer design environment appears.
    2. Add a lane for each stage in your process.
      1. Click + Add new lane to add the first lane to your process.
      2. In the lane properties panel's Label field, enter Classify and Diagnose.
        Note: Because the Identify and Log stage triggers this process, don't add a lane for that stage.
      3. In the Description field, enter Associate an incident with the interaction.
      4. In the When to start field, leave Immediately selected, and then click Save.
      5. Click + Add new lane to add another lane to your process.
      6. In the lane properties panel's Label field, enter Communicate Work in Progress.
      7. In the Description field, enter Notify VIP of work in progress.
      8. In the When to start field, leave After Previous selected, and then click Save.
      9. Click + Add new lane to add the final lane to your process.
      10. In the lane properties panel's Label field, enter Resolve.
      11. In the Description field, enter Resolve incident and share resolution details.
      12. In the When to start field, leave After Previous selected, and then click Save.
    3. Add the Create incident from interaction activity to the Classify and Diagnose lane.
      1. Under the Classify and Diagnose lane, click + Add an activity.
      2. In the activity picker, select Common Activities, and then select Automated Create Record under Non-Interactive.
      3. In the activity properties panel's Label field, enter Create incident from interaction.
      4. In the When to start field, leave Immediately selected, and then click Save.
      5. Click the Create incident from interaction activity card.
      6. In the activity properties panel, click Configure activity.
      7. On the Configure your activity screen, locate the Variables section under Inputs.
      8. In the Table Name list, select Incident [incident].
      9. In the Fields list, select Assigned To.
      10. Next to the Assigned To field, select the data pill picker icon (Data pill picker icon).
      11. Dot-walk to the Interaction record's Assigned To field by selecting Context > Input Record - interaction > Assigned To.
      12. In the Fields list, select Impact and then select 2 - Moderate.
      13. Under Fields, select Urgency and then select 1 - High.
      14. In the Fields list, select Short Description.
      15. Dot-walk to the Interaction record's Short description field by selecting Context > Input Record - interaction > Short Description.
      16. In the Fields list, select Caller.
      17. Dot-walk to the Interaction record's Opened for field by selecting Context > Input Record - interaction > Opened for.
      18. In the Wait for user input field, leave No selected.
      19. In the Fields to show after creation field, enter priority.
      20. Click Update to finish updating the inputs for the activity.
      The Create incident from interaction activity automatically maps the Assigned To and Short Description fields from the interaction record to the incident record when your process runs.
    4. Add the Wait for assignee to update activity to the Communicate Work in Progress lane.
      1. Under the Communicate Work in Progress lane, click + Add an activity.
      2. In the activity picker, select Common Activities, and then select Wait For Condition under Interactive.
      3. In the activity properties panel's Label field, enter Wait for assignee to update.
      4. In the When to start field, leave Immediately selected, and then click Save.
      5. Click the Wait for assignee to update activity card.
      6. In the activity properties panel, click Configure activity.
      7. On the Configure your activity screen, locate the Variables section under Inputs.
      8. Next to the Record field, select the data pill picker icon (Data pill picker icon).
      9. Dot-walk to the Create incident from interaction activity's record output by selecting Activities > 1:1 - automated_create_record > Outputs > record.
      10. In the Table list, select Incident [incident].
      11. Use the condition builder to add the following condition to your activity:
        • [Updated by][is][Activities > 1:1 - automated_create_record > Outputs > record > Assigned to].
      12. Click Update to finish updating the inputs for the activity.
      The Wait for assignee to update activity pauses the process until the Assigned To user for the Incident record updates the record.
    5. Add the Send update to VIP activity to the Communicate Work in Progress lane.
      1. Under the Communicate Work in Progress lane, select + Add an activity.
      2. In the activity picker, select Common Activities, and then select Instruction under Default.
      3. In the activity properties panel's Label field, enter Send update to VIP.
      4. In the When to start field, leave After Previous selected, and then select Save.
      5. Click the Send update to VIP activity card.
      6. In the activity properties panel, select Configure activity.
      7. On the Configure your activity screen, locate the Variables section under Inputs.
      8. In the Message field, enter Notify the VIP user that work on their issue is in progress.
      9. Leave the Wait for user input field's value as Yes.
      10. Click Update to finish updating the inputs for the activity.
      The Send update to VIP activity prompts the agent to send an email to the VIP user when the assignee for the incident record makes an update.
    6. Add the Wait for incident resolution activity to the Resolve lane.
      1. Under the Resolve lane, select + Add an activity.
      2. In the activity picker, select Common Activities, and then select Wait For Condition under Interactive.
      3. In the activity properties panel's Label field, enter Wait for incident resolution.
      4. In the When to start field, leave Immediately selected, and then click Save.
      5. Click the Wait for incident resolution activity card.
      6. In the activity properties panel, click Configure activity.
      7. On the Configure your activity screen, locate the Variables section under Inputs.
      8. Next to the Record field, select the data pill picker icon (Data pill picker icon).
      9. Dot-walk to the Create incident from interaction activity's record output by selecting Activities > 1:1 - automated_create_record > Outputs > record.
      10. In the Table field, select Incident [incident].
      11. Use the condition builder to add the following condition to your activity:
        • [State][is][Resolved].
      12. Select Update to finish updating the inputs for the activity.
      The Wait for incident resolution activity pauses the process until the Incident's state becomes [Resolved].
    7. Add the Share resolution details with VIP activity to the Resolve lane.
      1. Under the Resolve lane, select + Add an activity.
      2. In the activity picker, select Common Activities, and then select Instruction under Default.
      3. In the activity properties panel's Label field, enter Share resolution details with VIP.
      4. In the When to start field, leave After Previous selected, and then click Save.
      5. Click the Share resolution details with VIP activity card.
      6. In the activity properties panel, click Configure activity.
      7. On the Configure your activity screen, locate the Variables section under Inputs.
      8. In the Message field, enter Provide the Resolution Notes from the Incident record in an email to the VIP user.
      9. Leave the Wait for user input field's value as Yes.
      10. Click Update to finish updating the inputs for the activity.
      The Share resolution details with VIP activity prompts the agent to send the issue resolution details to the VIP user.
    8. In the main header, click Activate so that your process runs when triggered.
    9. View your activated process as a playbook in Workspace.
      1. Close the Process Automation Designer tab and navigate to Workspace Experience > Agent Workspace Home.
      2. In the side menu, click the lists icon (Lists icon).
      3. In the Lists tab under Interactions, click My Interactions.
      4. In the form header, click New.
      5. On the form, fill in the fields:
        Field Action
        Type Select Chat.
        Opened for Select a VIP user.
        Assigned to Select a user that can make updates to Incident records.
        Short description Enter Testing out the Handle Interactions with VIPs playbook.
      6. In the form header, click Save.
      7. In the Contextual side panel, click the playbook icon (Playbook icon).

    Result

    Your process appears in the Workspace Contextual side panel as a playbook. Here, Workspace agents can get a task-oriented view of the automated business process. Agents can step through the activities that you set up to see where the record is in the overall process.
    In this example, when a Workspace agent creates a new interaction record for a VIP user, the process triggers. The agent can then step through each activity in the process by following along with the instructions in the playbook.

    Tags:

    Feedback
    On this page

    Previous topic

    Next topic

    • Contact Us
    • Careers
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Statement
    • Sitemap
    • © ServiceNow. All rights reserved.

    Release version
    Choose your release version

      Design an automated process

      • Save as PDF Selected topic Topic & subtopics All topics in contents
      • Unsubscribe Log in to subscribe to topics and get notified when content changes.
      • Share this page

      Design an automated process

      Transform an example manual business process into a well-designed, automated process that runs on the Now Platform®.

      Before you begin

      • Enable the Process Automation Designer for App Engine [com.glide.pad.license] plugin with a subscription to the Now Platform App Engine. For more information, see Activate Process Automation Designer.
      • Follow the steps to Configure a Playbook user experience.
      • Ensure that your current application is set to Global. For more information, see Application picker.
      • Role required: admin or pd_admin

      About this task

      In the following procedure, you can step through an example of how to digitize a manual business process on the Now Platform using Process Automation Designer. In this example, you can use Process Automation Designer to standardize and automate how Service Desk agents handle chat interactions with VIP users.

      The manual business process for this example consists of the following stages:

      1. Identify and Log: A Service Desk agent learns of an issue that a VIP user is facing while chatting with the user in a messaging application. The Service Desk agent creates an interaction record to track this issue.
      2. Classify and Diagnose: The Service Desk agent associates an incident record with the interaction and sets the incident's priority to High. The agent then enters the Assigned To user for the incident.
      3. Communicate Work in Progress: The assignee updates the incident record's state to Work in Progress and emails the VIP user when progress is made on the incident.
      4. Resolve: When the incident is resolved, the assignee emails the resolution information to the VIP user.

      Procedure

      1. Create a process named Handle Interactions with VIPs.
        1. Navigate to Process Automation > Process Automation Designer.
        2. In the main header, click Create a new process.
        3. On the form, fill in the fields.
          Field Action
          Label Enter Handle Interactions with VIPs.
          Description Enter This process defines how Service Desk agents can handle interaction records that are created for VIP users.
          Application Select Global.
        4. Click Select a trigger.
        5. Click the Define your own trigger conditions for when your process runs option.
        6. From the list of trigger options, select Record Create.
        7. Click Set your trigger conditions.
        8. In the Table list, select Interaction [interaction].
        9. Use the condition builder to add the following condition to your trigger:
          • [Opened for->VIP][is][True].
        10. Click Go to Designer.
        The Process Automation Designer design environment appears.
      2. Add a lane for each stage in your process.
        1. Click + Add new lane to add the first lane to your process.
        2. In the lane properties panel's Label field, enter Classify and Diagnose.
          Note: Because the Identify and Log stage triggers this process, don't add a lane for that stage.
        3. In the Description field, enter Associate an incident with the interaction.
        4. In the When to start field, leave Immediately selected, and then click Save.
        5. Click + Add new lane to add another lane to your process.
        6. In the lane properties panel's Label field, enter Communicate Work in Progress.
        7. In the Description field, enter Notify VIP of work in progress.
        8. In the When to start field, leave After Previous selected, and then click Save.
        9. Click + Add new lane to add the final lane to your process.
        10. In the lane properties panel's Label field, enter Resolve.
        11. In the Description field, enter Resolve incident and share resolution details.
        12. In the When to start field, leave After Previous selected, and then click Save.
      3. Add the Create incident from interaction activity to the Classify and Diagnose lane.
        1. Under the Classify and Diagnose lane, click + Add an activity.
        2. In the activity picker, select Common Activities, and then select Automated Create Record under Non-Interactive.
        3. In the activity properties panel's Label field, enter Create incident from interaction.
        4. In the When to start field, leave Immediately selected, and then click Save.
        5. Click the Create incident from interaction activity card.
        6. In the activity properties panel, click Configure activity.
        7. On the Configure your activity screen, locate the Variables section under Inputs.
        8. In the Table Name list, select Incident [incident].
        9. In the Fields list, select Assigned To.
        10. Next to the Assigned To field, select the data pill picker icon (Data pill picker icon).
        11. Dot-walk to the Interaction record's Assigned To field by selecting Context > Input Record - interaction > Assigned To.
        12. In the Fields list, select Impact and then select 2 - Moderate.
        13. Under Fields, select Urgency and then select 1 - High.
        14. In the Fields list, select Short Description.
        15. Dot-walk to the Interaction record's Short description field by selecting Context > Input Record - interaction > Short Description.
        16. In the Fields list, select Caller.
        17. Dot-walk to the Interaction record's Opened for field by selecting Context > Input Record - interaction > Opened for.
        18. In the Wait for user input field, leave No selected.
        19. In the Fields to show after creation field, enter priority.
        20. Click Update to finish updating the inputs for the activity.
        The Create incident from interaction activity automatically maps the Assigned To and Short Description fields from the interaction record to the incident record when your process runs.
      4. Add the Wait for assignee to update activity to the Communicate Work in Progress lane.
        1. Under the Communicate Work in Progress lane, click + Add an activity.
        2. In the activity picker, select Common Activities, and then select Wait For Condition under Interactive.
        3. In the activity properties panel's Label field, enter Wait for assignee to update.
        4. In the When to start field, leave Immediately selected, and then click Save.
        5. Click the Wait for assignee to update activity card.
        6. In the activity properties panel, click Configure activity.
        7. On the Configure your activity screen, locate the Variables section under Inputs.
        8. Next to the Record field, select the data pill picker icon (Data pill picker icon).
        9. Dot-walk to the Create incident from interaction activity's record output by selecting Activities > 1:1 - automated_create_record > Outputs > record.
        10. In the Table list, select Incident [incident].
        11. Use the condition builder to add the following condition to your activity:
          • [Updated by][is][Activities > 1:1 - automated_create_record > Outputs > record > Assigned to].
        12. Click Update to finish updating the inputs for the activity.
        The Wait for assignee to update activity pauses the process until the Assigned To user for the Incident record updates the record.
      5. Add the Send update to VIP activity to the Communicate Work in Progress lane.
        1. Under the Communicate Work in Progress lane, select + Add an activity.
        2. In the activity picker, select Common Activities, and then select Instruction under Default.
        3. In the activity properties panel's Label field, enter Send update to VIP.
        4. In the When to start field, leave After Previous selected, and then select Save.
        5. Click the Send update to VIP activity card.
        6. In the activity properties panel, select Configure activity.
        7. On the Configure your activity screen, locate the Variables section under Inputs.
        8. In the Message field, enter Notify the VIP user that work on their issue is in progress.
        9. Leave the Wait for user input field's value as Yes.
        10. Click Update to finish updating the inputs for the activity.
        The Send update to VIP activity prompts the agent to send an email to the VIP user when the assignee for the incident record makes an update.
      6. Add the Wait for incident resolution activity to the Resolve lane.
        1. Under the Resolve lane, select + Add an activity.
        2. In the activity picker, select Common Activities, and then select Wait For Condition under Interactive.
        3. In the activity properties panel's Label field, enter Wait for incident resolution.
        4. In the When to start field, leave Immediately selected, and then click Save.
        5. Click the Wait for incident resolution activity card.
        6. In the activity properties panel, click Configure activity.
        7. On the Configure your activity screen, locate the Variables section under Inputs.
        8. Next to the Record field, select the data pill picker icon (Data pill picker icon).
        9. Dot-walk to the Create incident from interaction activity's record output by selecting Activities > 1:1 - automated_create_record > Outputs > record.
        10. In the Table field, select Incident [incident].
        11. Use the condition builder to add the following condition to your activity:
          • [State][is][Resolved].
        12. Select Update to finish updating the inputs for the activity.
        The Wait for incident resolution activity pauses the process until the Incident's state becomes [Resolved].
      7. Add the Share resolution details with VIP activity to the Resolve lane.
        1. Under the Resolve lane, select + Add an activity.
        2. In the activity picker, select Common Activities, and then select Instruction under Default.
        3. In the activity properties panel's Label field, enter Share resolution details with VIP.
        4. In the When to start field, leave After Previous selected, and then click Save.
        5. Click the Share resolution details with VIP activity card.
        6. In the activity properties panel, click Configure activity.
        7. On the Configure your activity screen, locate the Variables section under Inputs.
        8. In the Message field, enter Provide the Resolution Notes from the Incident record in an email to the VIP user.
        9. Leave the Wait for user input field's value as Yes.
        10. Click Update to finish updating the inputs for the activity.
        The Share resolution details with VIP activity prompts the agent to send the issue resolution details to the VIP user.
      8. In the main header, click Activate so that your process runs when triggered.
      9. View your activated process as a playbook in Workspace.
        1. Close the Process Automation Designer tab and navigate to Workspace Experience > Agent Workspace Home.
        2. In the side menu, click the lists icon (Lists icon).
        3. In the Lists tab under Interactions, click My Interactions.
        4. In the form header, click New.
        5. On the form, fill in the fields:
          Field Action
          Type Select Chat.
          Opened for Select a VIP user.
          Assigned to Select a user that can make updates to Incident records.
          Short description Enter Testing out the Handle Interactions with VIPs playbook.
        6. In the form header, click Save.
        7. In the Contextual side panel, click the playbook icon (Playbook icon).

      Result

      Your process appears in the Workspace Contextual side panel as a playbook. Here, Workspace agents can get a task-oriented view of the automated business process. Agents can step through the activities that you set up to see where the record is in the overall process.
      In this example, when a Workspace agent creates a new interaction record for a VIP user, the process triggers. The agent can then step through each activity in the process by following along with the instructions in the playbook.

      Tags:

      Feedback

          Share this page

          Got it! Feel free to add a comment
          To share your product suggestions, visit the Idea Portal.
          Please let us know how to improve this content

          Check any that apply

          To share your product suggestions, visit the Idea Portal.
          Confirm

          We were unable to find "Coaching" in Jakarta. Would you like to search instead?

          No Yes
          • Contact Us
          • Careers
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Statement
          • Sitemap
          • © ServiceNow. All rights reserved.

          Subscribe Subscribed Unsubscribe Last updated: Tags: January February March April May June July August September October November December No Results Found Versions Search preferences successfully updated My release version successfully updated My release version successfully deleted An error has occurred. Please try again later. You have been unsubscribed from all topics. You are now subscribed to and will receive notifications if any changes are made to this page. You have been unsubscribed from this content Thank you for your feedback. Form temporarily unavailable. Please try again or contact  docfeedback@servicenow.com  to submit your comments. The topic you requested does not exist in the release. You were redirected to a related topic instead. The available release versions for this topic are listed There is no specific version for this documentation. Explore products Click to go to the page. Release notes and upgrades Click to open the dropdown menu. Delete Remove No selected version Reset This field is required You are already subscribed to this topic Attach screenshot The file you uploaded exceeds the allowed file size of 20MB. Please try again with a smaller file. Please complete the reCAPTCHA step to attach a screenshot
          Log in to personalize your search results and subscribe to topics
          No, thanks Login