This guide describes all the screens in the WorkflowGen User Portal and provides a complete list of related operating rules. It is an important resource in understanding how the software behaves under various situations. The guide also includes a list of possible errors along with their explanations.

Default

Notifications are sent as described below.

When an action is assigned

• To a person: to the corresponding user

• Self-service: to all users associated with the participant, or to a subset of the participant user list, depending on the process design

• Through the coordinator: to the coordinator only

When a request is closed

• To the requester

When a request is cancelled

• To the requester

When an action is cancelled

• To the user assigned to the action

When an assignment is cancelled manually

• To the user who has assigned the action to a person, unless it is the current user

When an assignment is cancelled automatically

• To the user who assigned the person

• To the user assigned to the action

Other

Launch events

• When the action has to be performed

• When the action is overdue

• Prior to when an action is overdue

• When the action is completed

Possible recipients

• The requester

• The action assignee

• Some free-form email addresses

• The users associated with a process participant

New request screen

This page lets you view all the processes you have access to, and launch new requests.

To add a process to the My favorites list on your User Portal home page, mouseover the process name and click the star outline that appears, which will then become solid (click the solid star to remove the process from your favorites list). You can then open the process from either the My favorites or New request lists.

Teams screen

This page displays team actions to do by the user and team actions closed by the user. Those actions are defined with the Self-service assignment method.

Overview

Help is available for processes and actions within processes by clicking the question mark (?) beside the process or action descriptions. Help is defined by the process designer and will appear in a blank window unless it has been created.

When selecting help at the process level, the help text will describe the purpose of the overall process. Selecting help for a given action in the process will display help for that particular action, rather than for the entire process.

Requests screen

This page displays ongoing and closed requests launched by the user.

Actions screen

This page displays actions to do and actions closed by the user.

Search filter

List

1. For actions to do

2. For closed actions

You can sort the list descending or ascending by any of the elements by clicking the corresponding column header.

Assignments screen

This page displays the actions for the user to assign or actions already assigned.

Search filter

Assignment list

* For assignments done.

You can sort the list descending or ascending by any of the elements by clicking the corresponding column header.

User calling card

Views screen

This page displays all the current views saved by the user.

Delegations screen

This screen displays participant delegations on active or archived processes. Delegations cannot be added to processes that are under construction or in test.

A user can associate a delegate with each process participant role displayed in this list. Delegations can be done for an unlimited period of time (if no date range is entered) or for a specific period of time (if a date range is entered).

Two types of delegations are possible: a global delegation of all the user’s roles to a person by selecting

The WorkflowGen User Portal is a web application that allows users to:

• Launch and follow up on requests

• Perform and follow up on actions

• Assign actions

Request screen

Request form

Action lists

Action lists include:

• My actions to do

• My team actions to do

• List of actions to assign to a person

• Other actions to be done by someone else

Action history

Comments panel

A slide-out panel on the right allows the participants of the request to post free-form comments. Users can:

• View, refresh, and sort the comments list by date posted or author in ascending or descending order

• Post a new comment

• Delete an existing comment of which they are the author or administrator/supervisor

• Subscribe to the comments list RSS feeds

The associated users of each process participant can have read, read/write, or no permissions given to them by the process administrator.

WorkflowGen administrators, process administrators, and supervisors have read/write permissions by default.

Launching a request

A process can be launched if its status is active. Only process managers, process supervisors, and WorkflowGen administrators can launch processes in test mode, and they can only launch those for which they are requesters. A process cannot start if its definition is invalid. A process can be started by any user associated with the requester participant.

Cancelling a request

An ongoing request can be cancelled by the requester if no action assigned to another user is running, or if the user is the process manager, process supervisor, or a WorkflowGen Administrator.

Deleting a request

A request can only be deleted:

• If it is in test mode,

• By a user if the first open action is assigned to them,

• By a WorkflowGen Administrator, or

• By the process manager or supervisor if Allow process managers and supervisors to delete requests has been enabled in the Configuration Panel.

Action screen

Action form

* Displayed only if the action was cancelled by the system due to an action execution error.

Comments panel

A slide-out panel on the right allows the participants of the request to post free-form comments.

User operations and access permissions are the same as in the Request follow-up form comments panel.

Processing a self-service action

An action assigned in Self-service mode can be accepted without being launched if it has not already started and if the user is part of the team. In this case, the action will move from the team list to the user’s to-do list.

Assigning an action

If the user is the requester, a current and unassigned action can be assigned by the Manual by the coordinator assignment method.

If the user is the action initiator, a current and unassigned action can be assigned by the Manual by the action initiator assignment method.

If the user is the action initiator, a current and unassigned action can be assigned in case of error assignment by the Automatic to the person assignment method.

The list of users that can be assigned can be empty if the number of users exceeds the limit (this can be changed in the Administration Module). In this case, you have to filter the list. The filter is applied to last names, first names, and user names.

Reassigning an action

If the user is the process manager, a process supervisor, or a WorkflowGen administrator, the action can be reassigned.

If the user is the process coordinator and the action assignment method is performed manually by the coordinator, the action can be reassigned.

Cancelling the assignment of an action

The user can cancel the assignment of an action if the action was assigned in Self-service mode.

The user can also cancel the assignment of an action if the action was assigned to him or her by the initiator.

Managers (administrators, process managers, and process supervisors) can cancel the assignment of a self-service action in Manager mode.

Launching an action

An action with the Self-service assignment method can be launched by a participant if the action has not been accepted or assigned.

An action that has not been started and whose assignment method is Self-service can be launched by a participant of the process if they have accepted it initially.

Cancelling a running action

A running action can be cancelled if the user is the action assignee, or if the user is a process manager, a process supervisor, or a WorkflowGen administrator, and if an Action cancellation or Default exception transition has been defined by the process designer in the process for this action.

Closing a running action

A manual action has to be explicitly closed by the user assigned to the action, or by a process manager, a process supervisor, or a WorkflowGen administrator.

In all other cases, the system closes the action automatically according to its type:

• An action using an application is automatically closed when the application sends the result back to WorkflowGen.

• An embedded sub-process action is automatically closed when the sub-request has been closed.

• An independent sub-process action is automatically closed when the sub-request has been launched.

• A synchronization action is automatically closed once it is launched or once the pause delay is over.

Restarting a timed out system action

You can restart a system action that is in time out by clicking the Restart action button. This option is only available to administrators and process managers in administration mode, and does not support asynchronous (e.g. Web Proc Async) or aborted system actions.

The default timeout delay is 600 seconds (10 minutes). This is configured in the EngineServiceSystemActivitiesTimeOut parameter; see the table in the appendix in the .

Security

Search screen

The Search screen allows searches to be conducted on user-accessible requests and actions. The search criteria can be saved as a view so that the user can quickly display the search results without having to repeatedly fill out the search form (see Save as view for more information).

By default, only requests initiated by the user and actions performed by the user will be listed in the search. This applies to all user types, including process supervisors, managers, and administrators.

In Supervisor mode, more search options are available, and the search will be performed for all activities of the processes the user supervises (see the section below for more information).

By checking the Advanced view box, the search results will be displayed in a customizable format, which gives the user control of how the results are organized.

By checking Display approval buttons, Quick approval buttons will appear next to validation actions if Quick approval has been enabled. This option is only available when searching in User mode.

Search form

Click Requests to search requests or Actions to search actions. The search form is in User mode by default and includes the following search filters:

* Available when filtering by process or in single-process search mode.

** Available when filtering by process or in single-process search mode; available in multi-process mode if common process data has been set up by your WorkflowGen Administrator.

Supervisor mode

In Supervisor mode, the following additional search filters are available:

Search results

Request list

Action list

Save as view

The current search results can be saved as a view by clicking the Save as view link displayed above the search results. See the section for information on how to use views, and the section to find out how to turn saved views into floating dashboard panels on your User Portal home page.

Home page screen

This page displays all options available to you based on your profile. Custom menus are available to users as extra menu options on the home page.

Overview

The Statistics screen allows users to have detailed reports of all the ongoing and closed requests. Users can obtain the following categories of reports:

• Activity statistics that provide views of the various requests and actions in real time or during a specified time period

• Data statistics that detail the data information per process with filtering capabilities

Statistics settings (such as the number of items to display in a report) are configured in the Statistics section on the Portal tab in the Administration Module Configuration Panel (see in the for more information).

Activity

Activity statistics form

The activity form allows the user to create views and reports related to the requests in progress (in real time), as well as requests in any previous timeframe.

* Displayed only when a single process is chosen from the Process drop-down list.

If the period chosen is Real time, then the report will be based on requests in progress only.

Activity report: real time

Available functions

Requests

General

• Number of requests in progress

• Number of overdue requests in progress

• Number of requests in progress with overdue actions

By requester

• In progress

• In progress with overdue

• In progress with overdue actions

Displays available: data table, bar chart, pie chart

By process

• In progress

• In progress with overdue

• In progress with overdue actions

Displays available: data table, bar chart, pie chart

Actions

General

• Number of actions in progress

• Number of overdue actions in progress

• Number of actions to assign

• Number of actions to take on (team actions to do but not yet assigned)

By participant

• In progress

• In progress with overdue

Displays available: data table, bar chart, pie chart

By process

• In progress

• In progress with overdue

• In progress with overdue actions

Displays available: data table, bar chart, pie chart

Activity report: by period

Available functions

Requests

General

• Number of different requesters

• Number of requests in progress

• Number of overdue requests in progress

• Number of requests in progress with overdue actions

Top process

• Request (number of requests per process)

Displays available: table, bar chart, pie chart

Participants

Request volume (by requester)

• Started

• In progress

• In progress and overdue

• In progress with overdue actions

Displays available: table, bar chart, pie chart

Action volume (by participant)

• In progress

• In progress and overdue

• Closed

• Closed and overdue

Displays available: table, bar chart, pie chart

Action duration (by participant)

• Completion

• Completion except overdue

• Accepted

• Accepted except overdue

Displays available: table, bar chart, pie chart

Data

Data statistics form

The data statistics form lets you create reports based on the data of a current process.

* Displayed only when a single process is chosen from the Process drop-down list.

Available functions

Data statistics screen

Data statistics report

Overview

With Advanced View you can view search results in a customizable format. This allows you to view targeted information by filtering and organizing the information to suit your needs. You can also save views, use the Quick approval feature to validate requests, and create and customize charts.

You can access it either by clicking the Advanced View checkbox on the Search screen, or by clicking the Advanced View button located at the top right of the Search results screen.

Advanced View has several dynamic features:

• Adjust column width

• Group by column

• Sort by column

• Edit columns

Adjust column widths

To adjust the column width, place the cursor in between two columns at the header level until the bi-directional arrow appears, then slide left or right to adjust the column size.

Group by column

To group the search results by the data in a particular column, either drag and drop a column header onto the blue bar directly above the columns, or click the pencil icon located in the top right corner of the column header and select Group by this column from the drop-down menu.

The search results will now be grouped by the data in that column.

You can continue to do this for multiple columns, according to how you want to group the information.

To ungroup a column, click the x next to the column name in the header.

Sort by column

To sort the search results in ascending or descending order, you can either click a column header, or hover over a header (which will turn dark grey) and click the pencil icon in the top right corner to open a drop-down menu, and then choose to add or remove a sort. A triangle will appear in the header of the column by which the results have been sorted; click it to reverse the sort order.

Filter by column

To filter by column, hover over a header (which will turn dark grey) and click the pencil icon in the top right corner to open a drop-down menu. In the Show rows where section, you can filter by combinations of key words or number configurations, depending on whether you are filtering text or numeric information.

Edit column

To edit a column, click the Edit columns link above the search results grid. This allows you to hide a column by unchecking the checkbox next to the column heading, create a new column, or edit existing column information.

You can create a new column by clicking the New column button. This opens a new window that lets you fill in new information or edit existing information about a column.

You can enter or edit column information by using either the Formula tab or the JavaScript tab.

The Formula tab allows you to easily enter column information by clicking inside the Expression editor and entering information or selecting from the list of existing columns displayed.

Text written in the Expression editor must be entered either within quotation marks (" ") or correspond to a column name. Text strings will be displayed in yellow and columns will displayed as orange text with an orange border. Invalid text will appear in white underlined in red, indicating an error.

You can also select the format of the information that you enter in the Expression editor by clicking the Format button. The default setting is Automatic, which detects the format of the information being entered (numeric, text, date, etc.). You can also choose from a number of other format selections. Scrolling over any of the format selections displays several options, including a Custom option.

The JavaScript tab allows you to write JavaScript functions in order to calculate the values of your custom columns.

Footer information

You can add information in the footer of your column if that column contains numerical values (for example, list prices in dollars or another currency).

Hover the mouse over the column footer, which will turn blue, then click the footer to open the Edit footer window. From this window you can add various types of information, such as average, minimum and maximum values, etc.

When you check Groups in the Edit footer window, the results will appear next to the grouped column data in the Search results list.

Export grid

You can export your search results by clicking the Export grid link, located just above the column grid. This option allows you to export the search data as a downloadable file in a number of formats (Excel 2007 (XLSX), Excel (XLS), XML, CVS, HTML, JSON, TSV), or inside the Copy the following text box, where you can copy the content to another location by clicking the Show data button (not supported by XLSX format).

Save as view

Once you have organized the search data in a way that is most convenient to you, you might want to save this view for future reference. To do this, click the Save as view link located above the column grid. This displays a new window that allows you to create a new view or replace an existing one. You can also create a link to this view from your homepage, and share this view with other participants. This option is also available in Standard view.

Quick approval

In the search results list, validation actions for which Quick approval has been enabled will display buttons (such as Yes, No, or Modify, as defined in the process form) that let you easily and quickly handle multiple validation requests at once. (If you have actions other than validations, you can group the list by types of action by dragging the Action column header into the blue header bar; this way, all of your validation actions will appear together.)

Checking the Multi-selection box lets you select the same approval answer for all actions of the same process by clicking a single approval button. You can also do this without enabling this option by holding down the Alt key and clicking a single button. However, enabling this setting does not automatically submit any actions, so you still have to click the Submit button to complete the actions.

Once you have finished handling validation actions, click Submit. Click Reset to undo your selections (and delete your comments, if applicable).

You can also save this list as a view, which you can then access from your User Portal home page without having to perform a new search.

To take full advantage of the Quick approval feature, you can then place the saved view as a floating panel on your home page dashboard (see ). Whenever you return to your User Portal, the list will refresh automatically, and you can handle your approvals directly in the dashboard panel using the buttons.

Charts

You can create charts (column, bar, line, pie) from Advanced view reports, save them as views, and share them with other users. You can also save the chart as a view and place it on your home page dashboard (see ).

Click the View chart link, then choose the type of chart and the value by which to calculate the chart (e.g. count, average, sum). Only the available options will be displayed in the drop-down menus.

If custom chart editing has been enabled in the Administration Module, clicking View chart will prompt you to choose either Standard or Custom. (See below for information on how to use custom charts.)

Click View grid or the chart to return to the data grid page.

Edit chart

Click Edit chart to open a dialog box with options to customize a standard chart (click Custom to edit a custom chart). Only the options available for the type of chart you’ve chosen will be displayed. For example, the Show percentage option is only available for pie charts.

Custom charts

The Custom charts feature lets you create customized charts with your data grid using JavaScript. You can create a chart with any chart library.

Data and objects

Enter your JavaScript code using the following variables:

• chartContainer: Draw your chart onto this div object.

• grid.getGroups(): This function returns a JSON containing a simplified version of the grid data. The JSON is sorted by group name and contains the following values:

  • count: This value indicates the number of rows contained in the group filter.

Default column IDs

For samples of custom chart JavaScript code, see the article in the .