How do I create a Workflow

What is a Workflow?

A Workflow is used to recreate the same set of tasks for actions or processes you perform in the same way regularly. Templates can be cross-departmental and add a level of automation to actions that need to be completed. They allow you to codify business processes, maintain governance over them, and ensure tasks are completed with consistent order, rigor, and oversight.

How do I create a new Workflow?

1. Hover over Admin the Mega Menu, and select Workflow
2. From the Workflow admin page, scroll to the bottom and click +ADD TEMPLATE
3. In the Add New Template window:
   
   • Fill out the Workflow Name
   • Select a category for the template by clicking on the Workflow Category dropdown
     • If you do not choose a category, by default, the template will be placed in the Other category
   • Click SAVE
4. You can now search for the new Workflow by name and click the pencil icon on the right to open the admin page where you can set up the following:
   • The Task assignee - This is the person or queue that the Task will be assigned to each time a team member generates a new task using the Workflow
   • The Project that the Task will be created in - Every time a Task is generated using the Workflow, the Task will live in this Project (optional)
     • Note: If you do not select a Project for the Workflow, team members will be required to select a project when filling out the Workflow form
   • Template Tokens -  Tokens define the fields that will be presented and the data that will be captured when a team member fills out a Workflow form
   • A Workflow introduction - This instructs team members on the purpose of the Workflow before they generate a Task
   • A Task Description - This instructs the Assignee of the Task on what they are required to do
   • Checklist items - Just like Checklists are used in Tasks, they can be used in Workflow to break up the Task and assign items to different team members
     • The Checklist items have Advanced Options, allowing you to set up rules for how the checklist items are displayed or assigned
   • Edit/Access controls - This allows you to give specific team members or groups permission to view, use or edit the Workflow
   • Task Attachments - Allows you to attach files to the Template, which will become available once the Task is generated

Getting started with building a Workflow

1. Select a Project for the Tasks generated from the Template, by clicking EDIT under Project:
   
   
   Note: There are 2 versions of Workflows, in the newer version the Project button and other options may be a dropdown located under 'Task Details' instead.
   
    
2. Click into the --Select in Template Form-- field and start typing the name of a Project, then select from the list of results and click SAVE
   • Note: If you do not select a Project for the Workflow, team members will be required to select a project when filling out the Workflow form
3. To set a Task assignee default, click into the Assigned field and start typing the name of a person or queue and select from the results
   • Note: If you do not select an assignee, the Task will be assigned to the Project lead by default
4. Type in the Template Introduction box to instruct users on how/why they are filling out the form

Setting up Workflow form fields with Template Tokens

A Workflow can accept input, and use that input to populate details in the generated Task. We call these inputs Template Tokens.

How to create a new token:

1. In the right rail, click on "Add Token"
2. a new modal dialog will appear
   
3. Fill out required fields and click SAVE.

More information on the required fields:

Token Name: A unique identifier for the token. Cannot include spaces. This will be the reference for this token later on.

Token Type: This will define the interface displayed to the user creating a new Workflow Task. Some common types include:

• User: Will display a user dropdown with all active users
• Project: Will display a dropdown with all active projects
• Text: Will display a freeform textbox
• Dropdown: Will display a dropdown with an admin-configurable set of options. For example, you can create a Risk severity dropdown, with options "low", "medium", "high".

Form Label: The label we will display for this token in the intake form

Some token types can be made editable. This means that after a task is generated from this workflow, users can edit the original values.

How to set up checklist items

Once you have the Workflow Task details, and your Template Tokens, you can now set up dynamic checklist items. This is where Workflows really shines: With checklist items, you can delegate parts of the task to the correct individuals or groups. You can set up approval gates. And finally, you can set up checklist items to appear dynamically based on user actions.

1. Scroll down to the section labelled "Checklist items
2. Click on the first cell under Description
3. Add a checklist description, e.g. "Review and update as needed"
4. You will now have a checklist that looks like this:
   

From here, you can

• Adjust checklist order by adjusting the order text input, or clicking the up and down arrows
• Set an assignee, by interacting with the Assigned dropdown. You can select
  • a Conductor user
  • a Group
  • a Template Token value
• Set a Due date for the checklist item
  • A fixed date
  • A Template Token value
• If your due date is a Template Token value, then you can use the Due Offset to add or subtract time from that value

There are also advanced options for each checklist item. Click on "+ Add Advanced Options"

Show only if/when: This will allow you hide this checklist item, until a condition is met. Select a token from the first dropdown, and a comparison operator from the second dropdown, and a value from the final dropdown. 

Advanced Concepts

Intake form options

Adjust these options to change behaviour after the user submits the intake form for this Workflow.

Display Rules

Click on Edit display rules under Input form to set rules for conditionally showing and hiding inputs based on the values of other Template Tokens.

Customize Buttons

Adjust the button text during Workflow Task creation, editing Task Token values, and saving edited Token values.

Access Controls

Set up rules for which users or groups are allowed to create Tasks based on this Workflow.

Conditional Token values

The Dropdown token type has an option where the value can be dynamically set, based on the values of one or more other tokens. For more info on this capability, speak to someone on our team.

More information

To learn more about Workflows, check out these articles:

• What is a Workflow? – Sensei Labs Help Center
• How to edit Workflow – Sensei Labs Help Center