ServiceNow Automation Secrets: Slash Manual Tasks with This Easy-to-Follow Workflow Tutorial

Are you tired of repetitive, manual tasks bogging down your ServiceNow workflows? Do you spend hours fulfilling requests that could be automated? If so, you’ve come to the right place. This tutorial will guide you through the fundamentals of ServiceNow automation using Workflows, empowering you to streamline processes and boost efficiency. No coding experience required! We’ll cover the basics and work through a practical example to get you started.

What is ServiceNow Automation?

ServiceNow automation leverages the platform’s capabilities to execute tasks and processes automatically, reducing the need for human intervention. This can involve everything from routing incidents to provisioning new user accounts. The main benefits of automation include:

• Increased Efficiency: Automate repetitive tasks, freeing up your team to focus on higher-value activities.
• Reduced Errors: Minimize the risk of human error associated with manual processes.
• Improved Consistency: Ensure that processes are executed consistently every time.
• Faster Response Times: Accelerate the resolution of incidents and fulfillment of requests.
• Enhanced User Experience: Provide a more seamless and efficient experience for your users.

Introduction to ServiceNow Workflows

Workflows are the primary mechanism for automating tasks in ServiceNow. They are a visual representation of a process, consisting of a series of activities connected by transitions. Think of it as a flowchart that ServiceNow follows to accomplish a specific goal.

Key Workflow Concepts:

• Activities: These are the individual steps within a workflow, such as creating a task, sending an email, or updating a record.
• Transitions: These define the conditions that determine the order in which activities are executed. They essentially tell the workflow when to move from one activity to the next.
• Workflow Context: This is the specific instance of a workflow that is running. It contains the data associated with that particular execution.
• Workflow Editor: This is the graphical interface you’ll use to design and build your workflows.

Creating Your First Workflow: Automating Incident Assignment

Let’s walk through a practical example: automatically assigning incidents to the appropriate assignment group based on the category selected.

Step 1: Accessing the Workflow Editor

1. In the ServiceNow navigation filter, type “Workflow Editor” and click on the corresponding result under the “Workflow” application.
2. In the Workflow Editor, click on “New Workflow”.

Step 2: Defining the Workflow Properties

1. Name: Enter a descriptive name for your workflow, such as “Incident Assignment by Category”.
2. Table: Select the “Incident [incident]” table. This specifies that the workflow will operate on incident records.
3. If condition matches: Choose ‘Run workflow’
4. Run if: Choose ‘record inserted or updated’. Check the ‘Update’ box.
5. Condition: Click “Show Related Fields” and navigate to Category -> is not empty. You can add more stringent conditions later, but for now, we just want a non-empty category.
6. Click “Submit”.

Step 3: Designing the Workflow

Now, you’ll be presented with the Workflow Editor canvas. Let’s add the activities.

1. Add a “Get Catalog Variables” activity (optional): If you plan on using variables collected from the service catalog (e.g., in a Request Item), you need this near the beginning of your workflow. Otherwise skip to the next step. Drag and drop the “Get Catalog Variables” from the Core Activities section to the workflow canvas after the “Begin” element.

2. Add an “If” Activity: From the Core Activities section, drag the “If” activity onto the canvas. Place it after the “Begin” activity (or “Get Catalog Variables” if you added it).

3. Configure the “If” Activity: Double-click the “If” activity to open its properties.

   • Name: Name it something descriptive, like “Category is Hardware”.
   • Condition: In the Condition Builder, select: Incident -> Category -> is -> Hardware. You might need to click “Show Related Fields” to see the Category field.
   • Click “Submit”.

4. Add an “Assign Task” Activity (for the ‘True’ branch): Drag an “Assign Task” activity from the Core Activities section and place it after the “If” activity, but aligned with the “True” branch.

5. Configure the “Assign Task” Activity (for the ‘True’ branch): Double-click the “Assign Task” activity.

   • Name: “Assign to Hardware Group”.
   • Task type: Select “Incident”.
   • Assignment group: Select the appropriate hardware assignment group (e.g., “Hardware Support”).
   • Short description: Set something descriptive (e.g., “Incident assigned via workflow - Hardware Category”).
   • Click “Submit”.

6. Connect the Activities:

   • Connect the “Begin” activity (or “Get Catalog Variables”) to the “If” activity using the connector line.
   • Connect the “If” activity’s “True” output to the “Assign Task” activity.

7. Add Another “If” Activity (for another category): Repeat steps 2-3, but create a new “If” activity for a different category (e.g., “Category is Software”). Use the appropriate category and name for the activity. Place this second “If” activity after and aligned with the “False” branch of the first “If” activity.

8. Add Another “Assign Task” Activity (for the second category): Repeat steps 4-5, but create a new “Assign Task” activity assigned to the software assignment group. Connect the “True” output of the second “If” activity to this new “Assign Task” activity.

9. Add a “Create Event” activity

10. Add an “End” Activity: Drag an “End” activity from the Core Activities section onto the canvas. Connect all the “Assign Task” activities, the “False” output of the last “If” activity to this “End” activity.

Step 4: Publish the Workflow

1. Click the “Publish” button in the top right corner of the Workflow Editor.

Your workflow is now active and will automatically assign incidents based on the category selected.

Testing Your Workflow

To test your workflow:

1. Create a new incident (or update an existing one).
2. Select a category that matches one of your “If” activity conditions (e.g., “Hardware”).
3. Save the incident.
4. Verify that the incident is assigned to the correct assignment group (e.g., “Hardware Support”).

Expanding Your Workflow

This is a very basic example. You can extend your workflow to handle more complex scenarios by:

• Adding more “If” activities to handle more categories.
• Using “Run Script” activities to perform custom logic.
• Integrating with other ServiceNow applications or external systems.
• Using “Approval - User” or “Approval - Group” activities for more controlled approval flows.
• Using “Timer” activities to delay execution or set deadlines.
• Using “Notification” activities to send email alerts.

Tips and Best Practices

• Plan your workflow: Before you start building, sketch out the process you want to automate.
• Use descriptive names: Clearly name your activities and transitions to make your workflow easier to understand.
• Test thoroughly: Always test your workflows in a non-production environment before deploying them to production.
• Keep it simple: Break down complex processes into smaller, more manageable workflows.
• Use comments: Add comments to your workflow to explain the purpose of each activity.
• Version Control: Regularly save and publish your workflow to maintain a history of changes.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve created your first ServiceNow workflow and learned the basics of automation. By automating repetitive tasks, you can significantly improve efficiency and reduce errors in your ServiceNow environment. Start with simple workflows like this one, and gradually build your expertise to tackle more complex automation challenges. Remember to plan, test, and iterate to create workflows that truly transform your organization’s processes.