Enable process owners to configure and organize multiple instances of Flow Designer content into an automated business process on the Now Platform®.

Before you begin

Procedure

  1. Navigate to All > Process Automation > Process Automation Designer.
    The Process Automation Designer landing page appears.
  2. In the landing page's main header, click Create a new process.
    The Basic process details screen appears.
  3. Fill in the following fields.
    FieldAction
    Label Enter a unique, user-facing name for your process. This name appears in user-facing views of your process, such as a playbook.
    Description Optionally, enter some descriptive details about your process.
    Application Choose an application scope that you want your process to run in. Selecting Global lets your process run in any application scope. For more information, see Application scope.
  4. Select Select a trigger to go on to the next step.
    The Select a trigger screen appears.
  5. Select one of the following options:
    • Define your own conditions for when your process runs: If you want to create your own custom conditions for when your process should run, select this option, choose a trigger type, and then select Set your trigger conditions. On the next screen, select a Table to trigger your process and the Conditions that cause your process to run. Finally, you can choose to run your trigger on Table extension and classes. When you're done adding conditions to your trigger, click Go to Designer.
    • Choose an existing trigger: If you want to use a trigger that has all the conditions you need for your process, select this option. Then, choose an existing trigger from the list and select Go to Designer.
    Note: The tables available for process creation depend on the applications you have activated for Process Automation Designer. For the tables available for each application, see Activate Process Automation Designer.
    The Process Automation Designer design environment appears.
  6. Click + Add stage to add the first stage to your process.
    The stage properties panel appears.
  7. Fill in the following fields.
    OptionDescription
    Label Enter a unique name for your stage. This name appears in user-facing views of your process, such as a playbook.
    Description Optionally, enter some descriptive details about your stage.
    Run condition After the stage starts, the stage runs only if specific conditions are met.
    When to start Choose when you want your stage to start running. Options include:
    • After Previous: Your stage starts running when all activities in the immediately preceding stage have a state of Skipped or Complete.
    • Immediately: Your stage starts running when your process definition is triggered. Your stage doesn't depend on the state of any preceding stages.
    • With Previous: Your stage starts running when the immediately preceding stage starts running.
  8. Click Save to finish adding the stage to your process.
    You can continue to add more stages to your process anytime by clicking + Add stage and filling in fields as described in the previous step.
  9. Under your stage, click + Add an activity to add the first activity to your stage.
    The activity picker appears.
  10. In the activity picker, search for an activity to add or select one from the list of Common Activities.
    Select the application first, and then the activity from the resulting list.
    Your new activity appears under the stage, and the Activity properties panel appears.
  11. (Optional) Show the advanced property fields of the activity.
    Warning: Changing the advanced property fields of an activity can potentially break your automation. Make sure you understand how the process and its activities flow before you make changes.
    1. In the Activity properties panel, click View all properties.
    2. In the Additional Properties window, enable even more granular control by turning on the Advanced button.
  12. Under the General tab, fill in the basic details of your activity.
    OptionDescription
    Label Enter a unique name for your activity. This name appears in user-facing views of your process, such as a playbook.
    Description Optionally, enter some descriptive details about your activity.
    Run condition After the activity starts, the activity runs only if specific conditions are met.
    When to start Choose when you want your activity to start running. Options include:
    • After Previous: Your activity starts running when the immediately preceding activity has a state of Skipped or Complete.
    • Immediately: Your activity starts running when its stage starts running. Your activity doesn't depend on the state of any preceding activities.
    • With Previous: Your activity starts running when the immediately preceding activity starts running.
  13. Open the Automation tab.
    Automation, inputs, and outputs sections appear:
    Automation
    If you want to go to the Flow Designer action, flow, or sub-flow that is the source for the activity, open the link.
    Inputs
    Helps determine the output of the activity. Not all activities require user input.
    Outputs
    Helps you understand the activity's underlying flow. You cannot change outputs from here. To change outputs, change the inputs.
  14. Under the Inputs section, define the values of the activity's inputs.

    You can add dynamic data to an activity input. Click the data pill picker icon (Data pill picker icon) and navigate, or dot-walk, to the data pill whose dynamic value you want to use when your activity runs. You can select dynamic data from fields in the input record. If your activity has a start rule of After specific activities, you can also select dynamic data from the outputs of other activities in your process. For more information on dot-walking to related fields and records on the Now Platform, see selecting fields on related tables using dot-walking.

  15. Open the Experience tab.
    Depending on the experience type that you choose, different sections and fields appear under the activity definition's Activity Experience. These sections and fields let you set up the activity data that renders in user-facing views of your process, such as a Playbook.
    Note: Each experience type also displays an Associated Record section. For more information on how to set up the Associated Record section for an activity definition, see Create an activity definition.
  16. Save the details of your activity.
    OptionDescription
    Click Save and close. If you are in the Activity properties side panel, the details of your activity are saved are the side panel closes.
    Click Done. If you are in the Additional Properties window, the details of your activity are saved and the window closes.
    At any point while in the Process Automation Designer design environment, you can add more activities to a stage by clicking + Add an activity under the stage, and then filling in the fields as described in previous steps.
  17. (Optional) If the activity you must add is not on a list, create it.
    1. Under your stage, click + Add an activity.
      The activity picker appears.
    2. Click the Create a new activity button.
    3. Fill in the following fields.
    OptionDescription
    Label Enter a unique name for your activity. This name appears in user-facing views of your process, such as a playbook.
    Accessible From Where the activity is accessible from. Make the activity accessible to other applications by setting the Accessible from field to All application scopes. Restrict access by setting the field to This Application Scope Only.
    Table Optionally, set to the table associated with the activity.
    Application Read-only field that indicates which applications can use this activity.
    Description Optionally, enter some descriptive details about your activity.
    Automation Plan Select the subflow or action that you want to use to automate your activity.
    Activity Experience Optionally, set the activity's experience type, which helps to define how the activity renders in user-facing views of a playbook card at runtime.
  18. Click Submit to finish creating your activity definition.
  19. Keep adding stages and activities according to your manual business process.
    For an example of how to design an entire digitized process with Process Automation Designer, see Design an automated process.
  20. After you've added all appropriate stages and activities to your process, click Activate in the main header.
    Activating your process publishes it so that it runs when triggered.
    Note: If you change your process definition after activating it, the system saves your changes but deactivates your process definition. You must click Activate again to publish any new changes to your process definition. For more information, see Process definition statuses and activation states.

Result

When your process definition's trigger conditions are met, your process runs. As a result, the system creates a Process Execution record and renders any previously configured user-facing views of your process, such as a playbook. For an example of how to digitize a manual business process that renders as a playbook, see Design an automated process.