ServiceNow Auto Watchlist

A scoped ServiceNow application that automatically adds users to a task's watch list based on configurable conditions. Define rules with the condition builder, assign recipient groups, and any matching task automatically gets the right people watching it.

How It Works

1. Admin creates Recipients - named entries with an email address (e.g. "Database Team", "dba-team@example.com")
2. Admin creates Conditions - rules using the ServiceNow condition builder that match against the task table (e.g. "Assignment group is Database" or "Priority is Critical")
3. Each condition is linked to one or more recipients
4. A before business rule on the task table evaluates all active conditions on every insert/update
5. If a condition matches, the linked recipients are added to the task's watch_list field
6. Optionally, a display message is posted as a work note explaining why the watcher was added

Tables

Conditions (x_auto_watchlist_conditions)

Field	Type	Description
Number	String	Auto-generated (AWL prefix)
Name	String	Friendly name for the rule
Active	Boolean	Enable/disable the rule
Condition	Conditions	ServiceNow condition builder targeting the task table
Table	Reference	Target table
Recipient	Reference	Link to the Recipients table (multi-value)
Display Message	String	Optional work note posted when the rule triggers
Description	String	Internal notes about the rule

Recipients (x_auto_watchlist_recipients)

Field	Type	Description
Name	String	Friendly name (e.g. "Security Team")
Email	String	Email address to add to the watch list
Description	String	Internal notes

Roles

Role	Purpose
admin	Full access to conditions and recipients
conditions_user	Can manage watchlist conditions
recipients_user	Can manage recipient records

ACLs

Both tables have full CRUD ACLs (create, read, write, delete) restricted by role.

Data Policies

• Name and Email are mandatory on the Recipients table

Files

File	Description
update_set.xml	Importable update set XML
business_rule.js	The before business rule that runs on the task table and evaluates all conditions

Installation

1. Import update_set.xml via System Update Sets > Retrieved Update Sets
2. Preview and commit the update set
3. Navigate to Auto Watchlist in the application navigator

Example

Condition: Assignment group is "Network Operations" AND Priority is 1 - Critical

Recipient: "NOC Manager" (noc-manager@example.com)

Result: Any time a critical task is assigned to Network Operations, the NOC Manager is automatically added to the watch list and a work note is posted.