Create and configure a Pending Event Workflow: Workflows

The Workflows screen lists the different Pending Event Workflows that are available.

On the Workflows screen, the unique Code, a Description of the workflow, and whether the workflow is Active or System generated, is indicated for each listing.

There are two ways to create a new Pending Event workflow:

1. Clone the Default Workflow and tailor the cloned workflow options to suit requirements.
2. Select New and configure an entirely new workflow.

1. Clone a Pending Event Workflow

A system generated workflow is provided by default, to at as a starting point for creating a workflow.

It is recommended that the default workflow is cloned rather than configured directly, and that the cloned workflow is used as the basis for a new workflow. This will preserve the original workflow for future use.

To clone the default workflow:

• Select the Options Menu icon for the Default Workflow listing.

A dropdown menu displays.

• Select the Clone option.

The Workflows wizard displays.

• In the Code field, enter a unique code that will be used as an identifier for the workflow and referenced for processing by the system.

• Enter a new name for the cloned workflow and an appropriate description for it into the Name and Description fields.

• Select Finish.

The wizard closes and the cloned workflow is listed on the Workflows screen.

Alternatively, an entirely new workflow that is not based on default settings, can be created.

2. Create a new Pending Event Workflow

• Select New.

The Workflows wizard displays.

• In the Code field, enter a unique code that will be used as an identifier for the workflow and referenced for processing by the system.

• Enter a name for the new workflow and a description of it into the Name and Description fields.
• Select Finish.

The wizard closes and the new workflow is listed on the Workflows screen.

Approval Stages

Once a workflow has been created, Approval Stages can be edited, added, or deleted, to customise the approval process.

• Select the Open (Folder) icon for the workflow.

The associated Approval Stages screen displays.

On this screen, Approval Stages can be edited or created and as many Approvers as are required can be assigned.

Edit an existing Approval Stage

A workflow that has been cloned from the Default Workflow will also inherit the workflow's current Approval Stage settings.

To edit and customise one of the inherited Approval Stages:

• Select the Open (Folder) icon for the stage.

The Workflow Approver wizard displays.

Details

• Enter a different name for the stage into the Stage field (or leave it as Approver 1).
• To assign a default Approver (or group of Approvers) to this stage, select one of the Individual types (or the Team option) from the Assign to dropdown menu.

Assign to options

Selecting the User option from the menu will cause a secondary dropdown menu listing all of the Individuals that can be assigned to this stage, to display.

Selecting the Team option will cause a secondary dropdown menu listing all of the Teams that can be assigned to this stage, to display.

The Event Creator refers to the user who will initiate the Event containing this approval workflow.

The Managed By user refers to the Individual responsible for maintaining the selected Entity record in Diligent Entities.

• Select the appropriate default Approver option.

• Select the Reminder dropdown menu and select one of the options to determine when the approval should be completed by (within 7, 14, or 30 days).

• With the options selected, select Next.

The Actions screen displays.

Actions

At each Approval Stage, an Approver can decide to either approve or reject the Event. The Actions screen presents two options to determine what will happen next in each of these scenarios:

1. Continue to Next Approver
2. End Workflow

By default, if an Approver approves the event at their stage, the next step in the approval process or workflow event will be to forward the event to the next Approver (Continue to Next Approver).

If an Approver rejects the event at their stage, the approval process will end and the event will not be forwarded to the next Approver (End Workflow).

To adjust these settings:

• Select the related dropdown menu and select the required workflow event.

If an event were to have six Approval Stages, each stage would display as an option in the dropdown menus, allowing for a tailored approval path to be set. For example, after approval from Approver 1, the workflow could be forwarded to Marketing before reaching Approver 2, then 3, Legal, etc.

• With the required workflow events set, select Next.

The Notifications screen displays.

Notifications

The Notifications screen presents options to determine who will be notified when the workflow is initiated, an event approved or rejected.

To use the default Notification settings:

• Select Finish.

The wizard closes and the new configuration is saved for the Approval Stage.

To create a new Notification:

• Select Add.

The Setup Notification Recipient screen displays.

• Select the Action dropdown menu to select which action will trigger the notification.

• Select who the notification will be sent to from the Send Notification To list beneath.

When selecting the User or Team options, a secondary dropdown menu will display, listing all of the Individuals or Teams that are available to select.

• Select Next.

The new Notification is listed on the Notifications screen.

Repeat the process to add as many notifications as required.

• Select Finish.

The wizard closes and the configured Approval Stage is listed on the Approval Stages screen.

Add a new Approval Stage

To add a new Approval Stage to the workflow:

• Select New.

The Workflow Approver wizard displays.

The Workflow Approver wizard for new workflows is similar to the wizard for cloned workflows. The two differ in that the fields are blank and no settings have been inherited in the wizard for new workflows.

• Add the information required on the Details, Actions, and Notifications screens to customise the workflow.

• Select Finish.

The wizard closes and the configured Approval Stage is listed on the Approval Stages screen.

Multiple Workflows

More than one Pending Event Workflow can be associated with a single Event type. For example, as unrelated companies will have different employees, a company based in the UK will configure a different Pending Event Workflow to an unrelated company based in America or Australia, despite all three companies making the same kind of change. Another example may involve an international corporation with branches across the globe. The approval workflow in this instance may differ across both branches and regions.

When there is a need for more than one Pending Event Workflow to be established with an Event type, it is recommended that each workflow version has a unique name to assist with identification.

Activate, re-order, delete, preview

To activate or deactivate an existing Approval Stage, change the Stage sequence order, or to delete a Stage:

• Select the Options Menu icon against the required listing.

A dropdown menu displays.

Active status

The Active column indicates whether the related workflow is currently active in Diligent Entities.

Selecting the Activate / Inactive option will either activate a deactivated workflow, or deactivate a currently active workflow.

Move to Seq.

Selecting the Move to Seq. option will open the Move to Sequence Number wizard, which is used to amend the sequence of Approval stages.

• Enter a new position number for the selected Stage into the New Number field.

• Select Finish.

The wizard closes and the selected Approval Stage is moved to its new position in the workflow sequence.

Delete

Selecting the Delete option causes a confirmation dialogue box to display.

To confirm the deletion:

• Select OK.

To cancel the deletion:

• Select Cancel.

Preview a workflow

To preview the configuration details for a specific workflow:

• Select the Preview icon.

A Preview pane on the right-hand side of the screen displays a summary of the configurated workflow.