Setting up workflows

Workflows are a powerful way of automating processes within Bricsys 24/7. Typically it’s used to approve documents.

In this section we'll get you started with workflows by creating a workflow in the editor, releasing it and attaching it to a document or a folder in case you want to start a workflow automatically when a new document is uploaded.

Follow these steps to successfully create and manage workflows in your project.

1. Add workflow folder

2. Add workflow

3. Edit workflow

4. Release workflow

5. Attach workflow

6. Reassign task

7. Cancel / delete workflow

8. Delete user

Add workflow folder

Make sure your project has a folder of type Workflow and you have access to the workflow folder. Once this is setup, the Workflows app will become available in the app bar on the left.

Once the workflow folder has been created, open the workflow app and select the created folder.

Add workflow

In the workflow folder, select the "Add workflow" action.

1. Fill in the name

2. Fill in the description (optional)

3. Select a coordinator role (every workflow has a coordinator)

4. Click the OK button to save the workflow and open the editor

Creating a new workflow

Create a workflow in five steps:

1. Add activities

   Activities are tasks that will be executed manually or automatically by the system. All automatic tasks use the coordinator's access rights to execute the task.

   

   1. Add an activity to the grid
      

      Click on the activity icon and then somewhere on the grid to add an activity.
      
      

   2. Fill in the activity settings

      

      Choose an action: (the type of the activity)

      Automatic activities that will be executed using the coordinator's access:

      Set the status of a document

      Copy the document to another folder

      Move the document to another folder

      Add the document to a binder folder

      Remove the document from a binder folder

      Promote last revision to major version

      Manual activity:

      Assign a task to somebody

      A user of the assigned role will get a question and has to answer with some proposed answers. (The proposed answers will be the names of the transitions that are leaving the activity)

      Activity options

      1. Fill in question

         Fill in the question of the task, for example: Do you approve this document?

      2. Choose who needs to react

         Choose a role that has to do the task.

      3. Specify who has to do the task

         • The actor of the previous activity or the coordinator has to select who will be the actor of the this activity.
         • The first to react. Everyone of the role will get the task but as soon as someone did the task, the others do not have to do it anymore.
         • Everyone: Everyone of the role will get the task and everyone has to do the task.

      
      Choose a reminder and/or a deadline (optional):

      • Send a reminder

        After the selected time, the selected person will get a reminder of its task

      • Act within

        If the selected person doesn't react in time, the workflow will continue. You can select which transition will be followed in the transition overdue section.

   3. Add start / synchronize parallel paths (optional)

      In case multiple activities need to start or come together, use the start parallel and synchronize parallel paths.
      
      

      Add Start Parallel Path

      If the path of your workflow has to split, you have to add a start parallel path.

      For example

      If multiple parties

      Add Synchronize Parallel Path

      If you want 2 or more paths to come together, add a synchronize path. The synchronize path will wait for all incoming transitions to be activated before continuing the workflow.

      For example

      If both contractor and engineer approve the document, continue the workflow and set the status approved.

   4. Move / Edit your workflow (optional).

      Move the activities to the correct position to have a better overview of your workflow.

      1. Add transitions
         

         Transitions are the arrows that connect activities and make it possible for the workflow to follow a predefined path.

         Outgoing transitions from manual activities are the answers that a user can select when executing the task. An outgoing transition can have multiple answers. In Bricsys 24/7 we refer to answers as states.
         
         

         Create a transition from one to another activity

         • Click the activity the transaction has to start from.

         • Click the activity the transition has to go to.

         Transition settings

         
         
         Every transition needs at least one status. The system will automatically create put "Done" as the default status.

         • Add one status (for manual tasks only)

           • If you're adding a status to a transition, the actor of the activity has to respond to the activity before the workflow will continue. The status that is filled in the transition will be the proposed answer for the actor. When the actor selects this proposed answer the workflow will continue.
           • For example after a task-activity (See Add activity > Assign task to somebody).
             • The actor will get a task.
             • That actor now can select the proposed answer (status you filled in, for example I approve).
             • If the actor now selects this proposed answer, the workflow will continue via this transition to the next activity.

         • Add more statuses (for manual tasks only)

           • If you want several proposed answers leading to the same activity. (For example: I approve, I approve with remarks).

         Transition Overdue (optional)

         • When an activity is overdue, change the state of this transition to: "Overdue (automatically)" is the default state, but you can change this to your own state.
         • If you selected that the actor of the task has to act within a certain time, you can mark the transition to be followed once the deadline has passed.
           • For example if the actor doesn't react within 2 weeks, the workflow will continue to the next action via this transition.

         Transition states need to be unique. There cannot be two outgoing transitions that have the same sate. Eg. The answer "Approved" and another transition with the same answer "Approved". This would make it impossible for the workflow to choose the correct path.

         Save the workflow

         After you created all your activities and transitions, do not forget to save your workflow in the workflow editor before you close the editor.

         Releasing a workflow

         In order to make the workflow active, it has to be released first.

         Edit

         Change the status in the edit workflow dialog.

         

         Release action

         Use the Release workflow action in the action menu.

         Once a workflow is released and in use, the workflow cannot be changed anymore. In case you want to edit the workflow you'll need to create a copy of the workflow first.

         Attach workflow

         In order to use a workflow you need to attach it first. You will need 'view' rights on the workflow folder to be able to see the workflow in order to attach it to a document. There are two ways to attach a workflow to a document:

         Manually attach a workflow to a document

         If you are granted "attach workflow access" by the administrator you can manually attach a workflow to a document.

         1. Select a document and click attach workflow
         2. Choose which workflow you want to attach, who will be the coordinator and give the workflow a name
         3. Attach the workflow

         Once the workflow is attached to the document it will start automatically. Note that only workflows that are released can be attached.

         Attach a workflow to a folder

         If you want to automate all the documents in a folder with a workflow you need to attach the workflow to the folder. (See Administration App > structure)

         Once the workflow is attached to the folder, it will start for every new document that is uploaded.

         Reassign task

         It happens all the time, a project member got sick, is on leave or left the company but still has tasks assigned to be executed.

         As an administrator you can easily reassign tasks of a user in Administration > Users. Select the user and choose the "reassign tasks" action from menu above.

         Select another user in the project to transfer the tasks too. Note that the user needs to be in exactly the same roles as the current user assigned to the tasks.

         

         Cancel / delete workflow

         It is possible to either cancel or delete a workflow. If you cancel it you will basically put it on hold and it can will be possible to activate it again if needed. However, if you delete it, it will be transferred to the recycle bin.

         1. To cancel a workflow:
         As coordinator or admin: you need ''view'' access to the document.
         As owner: you need ''edit'' access to the document.

         You will find the ''Cancel''option in the drop down menu of a document that the workflow is attached to.

         Since cancelling is related to editing rights, please note that the ''cancel'' option is not associated with adding rights.

         
         2. To delete a workflow:
         There may be no instances attached to the workflow and you will need deleting rights to the document in order to be able to delete the workflow.

         As long as you have the appropriate rights you can delete the workflow by clicking on ''Delete'' in the drop down menu of the workflow.

Delete user

In order to delete a user from a workflow first, you will need to reassign all tasks to another user who has at least the same role membership. Anyone who is in role ‘administrator’ can forward all tasks of that user to someone else. Only then it will be possible to delete the user. Once the coordinator is removed anyone can become a coordinator, as long as he has the same access rights. It is up to the administrator to choose a new coordinator.