Graphical Workflow Support Plugin
From SNCWiki
| Workflow |
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| Related Topics |
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 | Functionality described here requires the Graphical Workflow Support plugin. The plugin is automatically installed for new instances |
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Overview
Workflow is a simple to use UI interface which allows you to create task workflows within Service-now.com. Workflow lets you set up, in an easy-to-read flow diagram, exactly what will happen when an incident or request is created. From approvals to notifications to follow-on task and subtasks all the way to SLA management, work tracking, conditional rollback, task resolution and closure, workflow lets you set up everything you need. Here are some examples of what you can do with Graphical Workflow:
Example 1 - Catalog Requested Item
Upon creation of a Service Catalog request, coordinate department head and CIO approvals for that item. If either rejects, send appropriate notifications, and then reject the requested item. If both approve, mark the requested item approved, and then create follow-up tasks to fulfill the order. If the item is backordered, send a backorder notification and create a catalog task to receive the backordered item. When received, or in stock, send a notification, deploy the item to the end user, and then log the item as deployed.
Example 2 - Catalog Request
Upon creation of a Service Catalog request, if total cost of the request is greater than $1000, coordinate approvals from the Catalog Approvers group (first) and then Sales and Management (simultaneously). If either rejects, send appropriate notifications and reject the request. If both approve, mark the request approved.
What does Workflow NOT do?
Workflow will not define or customize screen flow, i.e., determine which screen or form to show a user at various points in their process of creating a task or performing a function. Screen flow is managed by a Wizard or record producer. Rather, workflow facilitates back-end process flow.
Workflow will not override or overrule any other business rules or notifications you have set up for a table. If you create a workflow that as one of its actions automatically emails a caller when they open an incident after hours, and you already had email notifications set up to email the caller on insert of an incident, that user may get two emails. The Workflow email will be processed separately and in parallel with the legacy notification. Likewise, if you queue an event as part of a Workflow, all other events (defined in business rules) will still be queued as before.
When does Workflow "happen"?
Workflow is a "before engine," so its activity takes place at order 1000 before a database action.
Quick Video Tutorial (3m 15s)
Who should use this functionality?
Anybody who administers workflow within Service-now applications and wants a graphical way to do it. Service Catalog administrators, Change Management administrators or other administrators whose job is to build or modify the workflow that the process architects/engineers define for tasks or requests.
Getting started with Workflow
Is it enabled in your instance?
Once the required plugins are enabled, you will be able to begin using Graphical Workflow. Existing tasks associated with old workflow methods will not use the new workflow method, however.
Where is it located?
Graphical workflow is defined and maintained within the Workflow application.
Module functions
- Workflow Editor - This opens up the Workflow map, where you are able to drag and drop activities to build or edit workflows.
- Definitions - The list of created workflows. Within these workflows you can see details like versioning and status.
- Activities - The list of created workflow activities. This is a list of all activities for all workflow definitions.
- Transitions - The list of created workflow transitions. This is a list of all transitions between activities for all workflow definitions.
- Activity Definitions - The list of all available activities. This list includes all the available activities that you can drag and drop into your workflows. You can create your own custom activity definitions.
- Live Workflows - This is where you can monitor currently running workflows as well as look at history logs of all workflows.
- Active Context - Currently running workflows.
- All Contexts - Currently running and completed workflows.
- Executing Activities - Currently running activities within an Active Context.
- History - Completed workflows.
Default Activity Definitions Examples
The following is a partial list of available workflow activities.
- Approval - Group: Approval required from a group.
- Approval - User: Approval required from an individual.
- Begin: The beginning of a defined set of activities.
- Create Event: An email notification.
- Create Task: A change task.
- Create Task Event: A catalog task notification.
- End: The conclusion of the workflow process.
- If: A conditional split of transitions.
- Join: A combining of transitions back into a single workflow.
- Log Message: Inserts a message into the transaction log.
- Run Script: Runs a defined script.
- SLA Percentage Timer: Calculates the SLA percentage to verify additional workflow.
- SLA Timer: Defines a SLA to apply to workflow activities.
- Wait for condition: A pause of workflow dependent on a defined activity.
- Wait for WF Event: A pause of workflow dependent on a defined workflow event.
Subflows
The graphical workflow editor can call other workflows within the workflow, using the Subflow (or Subflow by ID) activity definition. Simply drag the subflow into the graphical workflow, use the reference field to specify a workflow to define the subflow, and then incorporate the subflow into workflow. This allows referencing an existing workflow within a workflow rather than building the same workflow from scratch.
Work with or checkout an existing workflow
To work with an existing workflow, if you want to make changes to it, go to the Workflow Editor. From there, click "Open" to see a list of existing workflows. Select one.
If the workflow you opened was already Published, you'll need to check it out before being allowed to edit it. Click the gear icon and select "Checkout". This makes a copy of the published workflow, one that you can then modify. This checked out version of the workflow is yours to test. That is, when the system is about to run a workflow, it first checks to see if there is a version of the workflow that is checked out to the currently logged on user. If so, it uses that workflow. If not, it uses the published version. This allows you to check out a workflow, make changes to it, test it, change it, etc. without impacting any other users of the system. Once you are satisfied with your version of the workflow, you can publish it so that all other users will now use your new version.
Enabling Workflow on the incident and change_request tables
If workflow is not working on your incident or change_request tables, you may have to enable it by modifying the attributes (right click on the header bar whilst in an incident or change_request and choose Personalize Table Dictionary) and adding this to the attributes field: hasWorkflow=true
Copying Activities or Workflows
You can only copy a workflow or its activities under these conditions:
- The workflow is checked out by yourself
- The workflow is not checked out by someone else (e.g. published)
To duplicate an activity or a workflow, it is important not to use the Insert and Stay option from the form view. Instead, use the copy function. To copy activities, right click the activity and choose Copy Activity:
To copy workflows, left click the cog icon and choose Copy. Note that for the copy workflow option to be present, the workflow must be either checked out to you, or published.
Wrap up
Workflow allows you the ability to visually map out workflow within Service-now in a way that really works! Instead of having to take the graphical representation of workflow designed by a process architect/engineer and have to code that into a clunky application, now you can easily drag and drop the same boxes and connectors from a diagram and recreate that in a working process within Service-now.com, or (better yet!) allow the process architect/engineer build their workflow diagram right there within the application! They don't need any Javascript experience at all, they just need to know how to drag and drop activities and connect the dots.
