What a workflow is
A workflow is the path a record follows at your institution, such as a candidate's RPL application from the first form to the certificate. It is drawn as boxes joined by arrows.
- A box is a step: a stage a record can be at, such as Portfolio submitted.
- An arrow is a connection: something a person does that moves a record from one step to the next, such as Submit portfolio. Its name is on the arrow.
- The step marked Starts here is where every new record begins. A rounded step marked Finishes here is an ending.
- A dashed arrow goes back to an earlier step, such as sending a portfolio back for more evidence.
Reading a workflow
- 1Point at a box. A card says what the step is and lists what can happen next.
- 2Point at a connection's name. A card says where it leads, who may do it, and any condition on it.
- 3Drag the background to move around. The small map in the corner shows the whole workflow.
- 4Press Tidy up to put every box back in its column if you have dragged them about.
Changing a step
- 1Click the box. Its settings open on the right.
- 2Change its Label, which is the name people see, and its Description, which is what the card shows when the box is pointed at.
- 3Choose its Type: a normal step, a finishing step, or a step that waits on someone else.
- 4Press Back to return to the workflow's own settings.
Adding a step and joining it up
- 1Press Add step. A new box appears and opens for editing. Give it a label.
- 2Drag from the dot on the right edge of one box to the box it should lead to. That makes a connection.
- 3Click the new connection's name and give it a label that says what the person does, such as Approve application.
- 4Under Who can do this, tick who may do it. A connection nobody may use is flagged, because a record would get stuck at that step.
Steps that wait
A step that waits on someone else, such as an outside examining body, needs two things: how long to wait, and which connection to follow if no reply comes. Without both, a record could wait there for ever, so the workflow cannot be published until both are set.
The checker
The panel under the settings checks the workflow as you work. It lists what must be fixed before publishing and what is worth a look. Click an item to go to the step or connection it is about.
Save and Publish
- Save keeps your changes as a draft. Nothing changes for anyone else.
- Publish makes the draft the workflow that new records follow. You can choose to move your programmes onto it at the same time.
- A published version can no longer be changed. To change it, press Start the next version and edit that.
- Records already under way stay on the version they started on.