Classic Workflow Editor

Classic Workflow Editor: Complete Guide for ServiceNow CAD Exam

Classic Workflow Editor in ServiceNow

Why is the Classic Workflow Editor Important?

The Classic Workflow Editor is a foundational tool in ServiceNow for automating business processes. Understanding it is critical for the ServiceNow Certified Application Developer (CAD) exam because:

- It has been a core automation feature in ServiceNow for many years and remains widely used in production instances.
- Many legacy and existing implementations rely on classic workflows, so developers must understand how to create, modify, and troubleshoot them.
- The CAD exam tests your ability to distinguish between workflow capabilities and newer automation tools like Flow Designer.
- It demonstrates your understanding of process automation fundamentals, including conditions, approvals, timers, notifications, and subflows.

What is the Classic Workflow Editor?

The Classic Workflow Editor is a graphical, drag-and-drop interface used to automate multi-step business processes in ServiceNow. A workflow is a sequence of activities that automate processes such as approvals, notifications, task creation, and conditional logic based on record changes or other triggers.

Key characteristics of the Classic Workflow Editor include:

- Graphical Canvas: A visual drag-and-drop design surface where you connect activities in a flowchart-like manner.
- Activity-Based: Workflows are composed of individual activities (e.g., approvals, conditions, timers, notifications, run scripts, etc.).
- Table-Driven: Each workflow is associated with a specific table (e.g., Incident, Change Request, Service Catalog Request Item).
- Trigger Conditions: Workflows can be triggered when a record is inserted, updated, or matches specific conditions.
- Versioning: Workflows support versioning — you can publish, check out, and manage different versions of a workflow.
- Context Records: Each running instance of a workflow creates a workflow context record that tracks its execution state.

How Does the Classic Workflow Editor Work?

1. Accessing the Workflow Editor
Navigate to Workflow > Workflow Editor in the Application Navigator. This opens the graphical editor in a new window or tab.

2. Creating a New Workflow
- Click the + (New) button to create a new workflow.
- Provide a Name, select the Table the workflow applies to, and optionally set a description.
- The workflow starts with a Begin activity and ends with an End activity.

3. Adding Activities
Activities are the building blocks of workflows. You drag them from the activity palette onto the canvas and connect them. Common activity categories include:

- Conditions: If/Else conditions that branch the workflow based on field values or scripts.
- Approvals: Approval User, Approval Group, Approval Coordinator — used to request and track approvals.
- Notifications: Send email notifications or events.
- Timers: SLA timers, relative timers, or specific date/time waits.
- Tasks: Create Catalog Tasks or other task records.
- Utilities: Run Script, Set Values, Return Value, Log Message, Generate Event, and more.
- Subflows: Call another workflow as a subflow for modularity and reuse.

4. Connecting Activities
Activities are connected by transitions (arrows). Transitions define the order in which activities execute. Some activities have multiple exit paths (e.g., an Approval activity has Approved and Rejected transitions).

5. Workflow Conditions and Triggers
- Trigger: Determines when the workflow starts. Common triggers include record insertion, update, or both.
- Conditions: You can set conditions on the workflow itself (e.g., only run when Priority = 1) and on individual activities.

6. Publishing and Versioning
- Workflows must be published to become active. An unpublished (checked out) workflow is in draft mode.
- When you check out a published workflow, a new version is created for editing while the published version continues to run.
- Only the published version of a workflow executes on records.

7. Workflow Context and Execution
- When a workflow is triggered, a Workflow Context record is created. This tracks the current state, executing activities, and scratchpad data.
- The scratchpad (workflow.scratchpad) is a JavaScript object used to pass data between activities within a single workflow execution.
- Workflow contexts can be viewed under Workflow > Contexts or from the related list on the triggering record.

8. Debugging and Troubleshooting
- Use the Workflow Context record to see which activities have executed, which are currently executing, and any errors.
- The Log Message activity or Run Script activity with gs.log() can help debug.
- Activity execution history shows timestamps and results for each step.

Key Concepts to Remember for the Exam

- Workflow vs. Flow Designer: Classic Workflow Editor is the legacy tool; Flow Designer is the newer, more modern approach. The exam may ask you to identify which tool is appropriate for a given scenario. Flow Designer is recommended for new development, but classic workflows are still supported.
- Scratchpad: The workflow scratchpad (workflow.scratchpad) is used to pass data between activities within the same workflow. It is NOT shared across different workflows or subflows by default.
- current Object: In workflow activities, the current variable refers to the GlideRecord of the triggering record.
- Approval Activities: Know the difference between Approval - User, Approval - Group, and Approval Coordinator. Approval Coordinator can handle complex approval scenarios with multiple groups/users where all, any, or specific conditions must be met.
- Turn-by-turn transitions: Always (green), Conditional (yellow), and specific result transitions define the path through the workflow.
- Relative Timers vs. SLA Timers: Relative timers pause for a set duration; SLA timers tie into SLA definitions.
- Checkout/Publish Model: A workflow must be published to be active. Editing requires checking it out, creating a new draft version.
- Return Values: Activities can return values that determine which transition path is followed.

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Classic Workflow Editor

1. Understand the lifecycle: Know the sequence — Create → Add Activities → Connect Transitions → Publish. Remember that unpublished workflows do not execute.

2. Know when to use Classic Workflow vs. Flow Designer: If a question describes building a new automation, the preferred answer is often Flow Designer. However, if the question specifically mentions maintaining existing processes or uses terminology like "workflow activities" or "workflow editor," it refers to classic workflows.

3. Scratchpad questions are common: If asked how to pass data between workflow activities, the answer is workflow.scratchpad. Do not confuse this with global variables or session objects.

4. Approval scenarios: Pay close attention to questions about multi-level or multi-group approvals. Approval Coordinator is the activity that handles complex approval matrices. Approval - Group sends approval to all members of a group. Approval - User sends to a specific user.

5. Trigger conditions matter: If a question asks why a workflow is not firing, consider whether the trigger condition matches the record change, whether the workflow is published, and whether another workflow for the same table might be conflicting.

6. Context records for troubleshooting: If asked how to troubleshoot a workflow, the answer typically involves checking the Workflow Context record and its executing/completed activities.

7. Activity types: Be familiar with common activities — Run Script, If, Set Values, Create Task, Approval, Timer, Notification, and Subflow. The exam may present a scenario and ask which activity type is appropriate.

8. Subflows for reusability: If a question mentions reusing workflow logic across multiple workflows, the answer involves using a subflow (calling one workflow from another).

9. Read questions carefully for keywords: Words like "graphical," "drag-and-drop," "canvas," "publish," and "checkout" strongly indicate Classic Workflow Editor. Words like "actions," "spokes," "triggers," and "no-code" point to Flow Designer.

10. Remember versioning: When you check out a workflow, the currently published version continues to run for new triggers until the new version is published. This is a common exam topic.

11. Elimination strategy: If you are unsure, eliminate answers that reference Flow Designer-specific features (like spokes, actions catalog, or IntegrationHub) when the question is clearly about classic workflows, and vice versa.

12. Practice in a PDI: Before the exam, practice creating a simple workflow with conditions, approvals, notifications, and timers in your Personal Developer Instance. Hands-on experience makes it much easier to answer scenario-based questions confidently.