After the workflow steps have been defined in Workflow Type Configuration, you can start the steps by clicking the Start workflow menu option. If the workflow is created automatically using the Create Workflow step action, a scheduled alert, or a user initiated alert, the workflow steps are started when the workflow is created.
The Actions in the List View and Form View section of this document describes what the user will see and be able to do to advance the workflow through its steps, after it has started.
When the workflow status matches the completion workflow step status, it advances to the next step. When steps are added to the Workflow Steps tab, a number of user initiated alerts are atomically created.
These alerts setup the workflow for the first (or next step):
Set the step number to 1
Create the assignment records
Set the step start date
Set the status to the In progress state for the step (such as Active)
Set the reminder date to the current date
After these steps are performed, the user-initiated alerts that were created by the step actions selected for the first step are processed. These alerts typically include notifying the assignee at the beginning of the step.
There are a number of step actions that automatically create scheduled alerts. These alerts do not occur when you click the Start Workflow menu option. They occur on a scheduled interval by checking fields, such as the reminder date, and comparing that with the current date.
You can select the Scheduled Alerts and the Area of Assignment to view the scheduled alerts created.
The following scheduled alerts work on the assignment records of an Action:
Reminder - Notify every 3 days and reset the reminder date to the current date for next reminder notification
Past due notification – Notify when the step becomes past due
Management escalation - Notify 5 days after step due date
When a step is started, an assignment is created for each person assigned to the step. The assignment record contains the due date for the step and the assignee’s user ID. The assignment records can be viewed from the List View when the Search option of My Assignments is selected. This does not include assignments with Edit Only Access selected. For more information, see Next Step Assignee Can Edit Current Step.
You can view any particular workflow, the current and previous assignments on the workflow Progress tab. The assignment records keep track of the following:
Who is assigned to the workflow and the state of the assignment for that person. If there are many people assigned to the step, the assignment keeps track of who has approved (or reached the complete state) the step.
The due date for the step is calculated using the days allotted for the step.
Any comment (approval or rejection) entered by each person assigned to the step.
When the step starts, the out of the office setting is checked. If the assignee is out of office, assignments for the assignee and the delegated user are created.
Only a user with an assignment can take action on a workflow (such as approve, reject, or complete) to complete the step and advance the workflow to the next step.
The Complete State of the step defined on the Workflow Steps tab in Workflow Type Configuration determines what action menu options will be available:
Approve is displayed if the completed state is Approved,
Submit is displayed if the completed state is Submitted
Complete if the completed state is Completed
Publish if the completed state is Published.
In the Form View, you can select the action from the toolbar.
In the List View, you can complete the action by selecting the Workflow Actions » Do Required Action option.
If the Rejection action for the step is something other than None, a Reject action option is also displayed.
History records are created automatically when workflow advances to the next step.
Use the history records to monitor the state and to view metrics to determine why workflows take so long to get through the process. Click History on the workflow Progress tab to view the history records.
If many people are assigned to a step, the last person’s comment, date and other details are recorded in the history record.
When a workflow is suspended or cancelled, the comment is only written to the history record as an assignment record and is not required to suspend or cancel a record.
For more information, see History Grid.
Complete the process when a workflow fails