As a Project Manager, assigning project templates and managing tasks can be time-consuming due to complex processes. Automating project templating in ServiceNow boosts efficiency and ensures consistency across projects. By identifying key attributes that guide template selection, you can craft reusable, modular templates tailored to specific project needs. This guide offers a step-by-step approach to implementing project template automation.

Step 1: Identify Key Attributes for Template Generation

To automate templating effectively, it’s crucial to identify which attributes of the project or its related records will trigger the right templates. Consider the following:

Primary Attributes: Identify critical attributes within the project record—such as Customer, Project Type, or Region—that serve as primary drivers for template selection.

Related Records: If template selection relies on data external to the project record—such as products, services, or request items—ensure these attributes are accessible within your automation flow.

Mapping: Use a Decision Table to map identified attributes to project templates, simplifying the process of associating attribute combinations with predefined templates.

Example Walkthrough

Imagine a project created with multiple request items linked to it. Each request item, listed in the project’s related records section, is tied to catalog items associated with various product models.

To automate template selection:

Schema Design: Develop a template schema aligned with naming conventions for Product Models.

Industry-Based Mapping: Ensure each Product Model includes a field indicating its associated industry, such as Healthcare, Telecommunications, or Aerospace.

Template Association: Map specific templates to each industry—ensuring that when a project references product models in these industries, the relevant templates are automatically applied.

Additional Examples

Customer-Focused Projects: For projects focused on delivering products to customers, leverage the company and product data associated with the project to select the appropriate templates.

Internal IT Services Projects: For internal IT services projects, apply an initial baseline template at project initiation. As the project advances through phases, introduce additional templates automatically based on predefined criteria.

By following a structured approach, you can streamline project setup processes, reduce manual intervention, and maintain consistency across diverse project types in ServiceNow.

Step 2: Create Modular Templates for Reusability

To enhance efficiency and adaptability in project management, it's essential to design modular templates that can be easily combined and reused. This approach allows you to build flexible project structures tailored to specific needs while maintaining consistency across different projects.

Break Down Templates by Functionality

Creating smaller, function-specific templates improves manageability and reusability. Consider segmenting templates based on the following categories:

Common Tasks: Templates including tasks universal to all projects, such as initial setup, project kick-off, and closure activities.

Product-Specific Tasks: Templates for tasks specific to a product or service, consistently applying specialized processes.

Customer-Specific Tasks: Templates targeting customer activities, such as onboarding, support processes, and custom needs by client type.

Step 3: Create a Decision Table

A Decision Table streamlines decision-making by mapping input values to corresponding outcomes. This automates template selection based on project attributes, boosting efficiency and minimizing manual intervention.

Setting Up the Decision Table

Navigate to Flow Designer and create a new Decision Table to define conditions triggering specific project templates.
Configure an input variable to capture data from the parent flow—this input serves as the key factor in determining which conditions are met.
- Example Input: Pass the Product Model Display Name for the item associated with the project.
Establish conditions in the Decision Table to evaluate the input value.
- Use logical operators to match keywords or categories in the product name.

Example Conditions:

If the Product Name contains ‘Healthcare’ → Apply Healthcare Template
If the Product Name contains ‘Telecommunications’ → Apply Telecommunications Template
If the Product Name contains ‘Aerospace’ → Apply Aerospace Template

4. Each condition will trigger a corresponding template result, which will be referenced later in the parent flow.

Integrating with the Parent Subflow

The Decision Table Result feeds back into the parent subflow, guiding the automation to apply the appropriate project template based on the identified conditions. This dynamic approach ensures that template selection is both scalable and responsive to changes in project data.

By leveraging decision tables, you can simplify complex decision logic and create a flexible, automated framework for project templating in ServiceNow.

The Decision Table result feeds into the parent subflow, guiding the automation to apply the appropriate project template based on defined conditions. This dynamic approach ensures template selection remains scalable and responsive to changes in project data. By leveraging decision tables, you can simplify complex decision logic and build a flexible, automated framework for project templating in ServiceNow.

Step 4: Create Flow Action to Add a Template to Project

The flow action, a script step, receives three inputs to execute ServiceNow’s out-of-the-box (OOB) project templating Script Include. This approach minimizes technical debt by building automation onto the OOB templating process, ensuring you benefit from ServiceNow’s ongoing updates to project templating.

Template ID (string), Project (string), Start Date (string)

Script Step

Create templateId, project, projectStartDate input variables of the script step.

Build the auto templating script

Code without project description edit

This code adds template tasks to a project. Only the first template applied updates the project’s description, while all other templates add tasks only.

(function execute(inputs, outputs) {

var temp = inputs.templateId;

var projectSD = inputs.projectStartDate;

var project = inputs.project;

// Apply the project template

GlideProjectTemplate.apply(temp, project, projectSD);

})(inputs, outputs);

Code with project description edits

This code adds template tasks and appends template descriptions to the project’s description field.

(function execute(inputs, outputs) { 

    var temp = inputs.templateId; 

    var pjtSD = inputs.projectStartDate; 

    var project = inputs.project; 

    // Get the current project record 

    var projectGR = new GlideRecord('pm_project'); 

    if (projectGR.get(project)) { 

        // Store the current project description, ensuring it's formatted with HTML spacing 

        var originalProjectDescription = projectGR.description ? projectGR.description + "<br><br>" : ''; 

        // Get the template record 

        var templateGR = new GlideRecord('project_template'); 

        if (templateGR.get(temp)) { 

            var templateData = templateGR.template; 

            var templateName = templateGR.name || 'Unnamed Template'; 

            var templateDescription = ''; 

            try { 

                if (templateData) { 

                    // Split the template field using the '^' delimiter 

                    var keyValuePairs = templateData.split('^'); 

                    keyValuePairs.forEach(function(pair) { 

                        var keyValue = pair.split('='); 

                        if (keyValue.length === 2 && keyValue[0].trim() === 'description') { 

                            // Ensure description is formatted as HTML paragraphs 

                            templateDescription = keyValue[1].trim() 

                                .replace(/<\/p>\s*<p>/g, '<br><br>') // Double line break for paragraph separation 

                                .replace(/<\/?p>/g, '');  // Remove paragraph tags 

                        } 

                    }); 

                    // Fallback if no description was found 

                    if (!templateDescription) { 

                        templateDescription = 'No description available from template.'; 

                    } 

                } else { 

                    templateDescription = 'Template data is empty.'; 

                } 

            } catch (e) { 

                gs.error('Error parsing template field: ' + e.message); 

                templateDescription = 'Error retrieving template description'; 

            } 

            // Apply the project template 

            GlideProjectTemplate.apply(temp, project, pjtSD); 

            // Format and update the project description with proper HTML spacing 

            var formattedDescription =  

                originalProjectDescription + 

                "<b>Template: " + templateName + "</b><br><br>" + 

                templateDescription + "<br><br>"; 

            projectGR.description = formattedDescription.trim(); 

            projectGR.update(); 

        } else { 

            gs.error("Project Template not found: " + temp); 

        } 

    } else { 

        gs.error("Project not found: " + project); 

    } 

})(inputs, outputs);

No outputs need to be added

Step 5: Create a Subflow for Template Application

Because we’re working with the request item table, we must create a subflow and trigger it with a business rule. While flows typically trigger for request items created via the Service Catalog, a business rule and subflow are needed when a request item is created outside the catalog.

Navigate to Flow Designer (All > Flow Designer).
Click Create New Subflow.

3. Define the Inputs

The business rule created later will pass the sys Id values as inputs to the subflow.

4. Build Subflow logic

Add Logic to determine if a template needs to be applied.
Add flow action that applies to the template.

5. Test the Flow

Create sample projects with different attributes to confirm that the correct template is applied.

Step 6: Business Rule to trigger the Subflow

Navigate to Administration -> Business Rules
For our example, the process operates on the sc_req_item table and triggers when a request item is linked to a project. It then retrieves the current request item and parent project Sys IDs.
Script to add:

(function executeRule(current, previous /*null when async*/) { 

try { 

var inputs = {}; 

inputs['projectid'] = current.parent.sys_id; 

inputs['requestitem'] = current.sys_id; 

// Execute the subflow 

var result = sn_fd.FlowAPI.getRunner() 

.subflow('apply_project_template_on_project_creat') 

.inForeground() 

.withInputs(inputs) 

.run(); 

// Get and use the outputs if needed 

var outputs = result.getOutputs(); 

} catch (ex) { 

// Log the error with projectid and requestitem values 

gs.error('Error in business rule for projectid: ' + inputs['projectid'] + ' and requestitem: ' + inputs['requestitem'] + '. Error message: ' + ex.getMessage()); 

} 

})(current, previous);

The Final Product

Once all components are built, creating a project record and adding request items automatically applies a project description and tasks.

Best Practices

Standardize Attributes: Use consistent values for key attributes to avoid errors.

Document Mapping: Maintain a clear mapping between attributes and templates for easier troubleshooting and updates.

Test Regularly: Verify the automation flow after every template update or process change.

Leverage Versioning: Use versioning for templates to ensure older projects remain unaffected by template changes.

Conclusion

Automating project templating in ServiceNow offers a powerful way to streamline project setup while ensuring consistency. By identifying key attributes, leveraging Flow Designer for automation, and designing modular templates, you can tailor ServiceNow to meet diverse organizational needs.

How to Automate Project Templating in ServiceNow

By Kyle Commette