Configuring Work Flows

Work Flows give structure and visibility to tasks that are completed at different times and throughout departments within a company. They allow processes to be more consistent, controlled, and follow an even pattern. Work Flows can be created with a series of sequential or non-sequential steps to be followed, the progress of which can be viewed on the Work Flow tab of any number of records. This ensures that no information is overlooked or missing as processes are completed, especially those that may take a longer time frame to complete. Additionally, if there are specific items required for one but not all records of the same Type, unique Tasks can be manually added to the Work Flow of the desired record. This feature is explained in the Adding a Work Flow Task section below.

If desired, Work Flows in DEACOM can be configured with the following:

  • Multiple levels of security, ranging from 0-9.
  • An optional E-signature requirement.
  • Assigned to specific users.
  • A Minimum Extension so that the Work Flow is only added to Purchase/Sales Orders based on the total order extension.
  • An Expression which, if true, results in the Work Flow being applied to Purchase/Sales Orders.

After a Work Flow has been assigned or some Sequences have been completed, Work Flow Reporting reports can be run and saved as Previews for greater visibility. For more information on how to do this, refer to the Managing User Favorites and Previews Best Practice page. Additionally, users can filter by Work Flow Type on the Contacts, Formulas, Items, Jobs, Purchase Orders, Sales Orders, and Customer pre-filters in order to see what records have the selected Work Flow assigned.

Notes:

  1. Beginning in version 16.04.108, users can be prevented from approving Work Flow Sequences for records they create via the "Approve By" field on the Edit Work Flow Sequence form.
  2. Beginning in version 17.00.028, multiple E-signatures can be set (maximum of 9) for each Work Flow Sequence via the "E-Signature Counts" field.
  3. Beginning in version 17.02.003 e-Signatures within Deacom are integrated and authenticated with the Okta SSO. If Okta is selected as the SSO method in System > Options, users will be prompted to enter their Okta credentials on any/all e-Signatures forms in the system. The prompt will read "Please enter your OKTA credentials". This supports 21 CRF Part 11 compliance.

Process

Configuring Work Flows

Adding a new Work Flow

  1. Navigate to Tools > Maintenance > Work Flows and click "Add New".
  2. On the Edit Work Flow form, select a Type based on what function the Work Flow will be used for and provide a Name.
    1. Work flows with a Type of "Jobs" (and only that type) may be set to "Require for picking". If this flag is marked as true, the Work Flow Sequence is required to be completed before items may be picked from inventory.
  3. If this should be the default Work Flow for the selected Type, check on the "Default" flag.
  4. Click "Add" to add a Sequence to the Work Flow (at least one Sequence is required to save).
  5. If access to approve this Sequence should be restricted, assign a Security Level (from 0-9).
  6. If this Sequence should be completed by a specific user, select the user from the picklist in the "Assigned User" field.
  7. If after completing this Sequence, the Work Flow should return the user to another Sequence, make a selection in the "Return to" field.
  8. If this Sequence should be completed by a specific date, enter an expression in the "Planned Calc" field.
  9. If creating a Purchase/Sales Order Work Flow and it should only be applied to orders with a minimum total order extension, enter the amount in "Minimum Extension".
  10. Check on the available flags as desired.
  11. Click "Next" to add another Sequence or click "Save" to save the current selections and "Exit" to close the Edit Work Flow Sequence form.

For more information on the fields, flags, and buttons available on Work Flows, refer to the Work Flows Encyclopedia page.

Adding/Modifying a Sequence to a Work Flow

Once a Work Flow and Sequences exist in the system, they can be modified as needed at any time, as long as the user has appropriate security access. To add a new Sequence or modify an existing one:

  1. Navigate to Tools > Maintenance > Work Flows.
  2. From the list of existing Work Flows, highlight the desired record and click "Modify".
    1. If a new Sequence is getting added, click "Add".
    2. If an existing Sequence is getting modified, highlight the desired record and click "Modify".
  3. Complete the fields in the Edit Work Flow Sequence form as desired then click "Save".
  4. Repeat as necessary then click "Save" on the Edit Work Flow form to commit all changes.
  5. Click "Exit" to close out the form when done.

Copying an Existing Work Flow

If a new Work Flow is needed and there is an existing Work Flow with similar Sequences, the copy feature can be used to save time. To copy an existing Work Flow:

  1. Navigate to Tools > Maintenance > Work Flows.
  2. From the list of existing Work Flows, highlight the desired record.
  3. Click "Copy" to open the Edit Work Flow form, which will be populated with the same information as the Work Flow selected in Step 2.
  4. Make the appropriate changes to the header or Sequences.
  5. Click "Save" once all changes have been made. Note: If no changes are made and the "Save" button is clicked, the system will prompt the user that changes are required if wishing to create a new Work Flow.

Assigning an Existing Work Flow as a Default

Users can assign Work Flows on the fly or to areas of the system so they will default in (e.g. at the vendor level so all Purchasing for that vendor receives that Work Flow).

  1. Either at the Vendor or Ship To level, a default work flow can be set by editing either one and going to the Order Defaults tab.
  2. Assign the work flow in the Default Work Flow field. This will automatically assign this work flow to the Sales Order or the Purchase Order for that Ship To/Vendor.
  3. There is also a Default checkbox within the Work Flow set up which will default that Work Flow in to the Job as soon as it is created. This checkbox will also default in the work flow chosen to new Ship Tos and Vendors as they are created.

Dynamically assign a user to a Work Flow Sequence

Beginning in version 17.00.013, user can be dynamically be assigned to a Work Flow Sequence based on conditions entered in the new "Assigned User Expression" field on the Edit Work Flow Sequence form. This allows more flexibility than the option of hard-coding a user in the "Assigned User" field of the form.

  1. Navigate to Tools > Maintenance > Work Flows.
  2. Add or Modify an existing Work Flow.
  3. Add or Modify an existing Work Flow Sequence.
  4. On the Edit Work Flow Sequence form clear, if necessary, the entry in the "Assigned To" field and enter "tp_usid" in the "Assigned User Expression" field. An example is detailed below:
    1. Assign to the user who originally created the purchase order (or requisition)
      1. tp_usid

Using Calendar Colors with Work Flow

  1. Users with access can set up work flows and assign colors in the Calendar Color field in the step. This will work for Sales and Job Calendars only. The Sales/Job Calendars will show the corresponding step color for whichever step is Next in the sequence. Once a step is completed, the next step’s color will appear in the calendar.

Completing a Work Flow Sequence

Users have two options to mark a Work Flow Sequence as complete. They may either run a Work Flow Reporting report to display multiple records requiring completion, or open one specific record requiring completion. To run a Work Flow Reporting report:

  1. Navigate to Tools > Work Flow Reporting.
  2. Select the appropriate Type from the pick list or leave it set to "All" if approving Sequences for more than one Work Flow Type.
  3. Select "Open" or "Next" from the Status pick list.
  4. Enter in other filters as desired.
  5. Choose the User or Group in either the "Assigned to" or "Assigned to Group" fields, respectively.
  6. Click "View" to generate the list of Sequences.
  7. Locate the Sequence requiring approval and click "Modify".
  8. Click the "Complete" button in the Edit Work Flow Sequences form. This will populate the "Completed", "Time", and "Completed by" fields. Note that if the step displayed on the Edit Work Flow Sequences form is marked as sequential and the previous step is not yet complete, the "Return To" and "Complete" buttons are disabled.
  9. Enter Notes or Comments as desired then click "Save" and "Exit".
  10. Repeat Steps 7-9 as needed then click "Exit" to close the Work Flow report.

To complete Sequences on one specific record:

  1. Open the desired record in Modify mode. For example, if completing Sequences for a Sales Order, navigate to Sales > Order Reporting, select the Sales Order, and click "Modify".
  2. Navigate to the Work Flow tab.
  3. Double click the desired Sequence to mark it as complete. Repeat for each Sequence that should be completed.
  4. Save the record to post the changes then close the form.

Notes:

  1. If using the "E-Signature Counts" field (available beginning in version 17.00.028), multiple E-signature sign off forms may be displayed depending on the value in this field. Each e-signature must come from a unique user.
  2. Beginning in version 17.02.008, the security setting "Tools-Un-Complete Work Flow Sequences" controls the ability to un-complete a sequence.

Adding a Work Flow Task

Tasks can be added to existing Work Flows on a one-time basis using the "Add" button on the Work Flow tab in of the desired record. Each Task that is added to a Work Flow is given a Sequence number of "0" so that it does interfere with the existing Sequences. Tasks can also be assigned to transactions in areas of the system that do not have a standard Work Flow Type set up. If a Task is added to a Work Flow Sequence, the "Return To" function is disabled for that Sequence. The addition of a Task, who the Task was assigned to, as well as any modifications or completions of the Task, including the "Planned" and "Notes" fields are tracked in the Work Flow History report accessed via the "View History" button in Work Flow Reporting. Note that Work Flow Tasks are not cleared when changing the Work Flow Type throughout the system.

Reporting on Work Flows

Users have the capability to report on Work Flows in multiple ways including all outstanding Sequences, all completed Sequences, all Work Flows of a specific Type, all Work Flows for a specific time frame, etc. To generate a report:

  1. Navigate to Tools > Work Flow Reporting.
  2. Make selections from the Type, View, Status, and Date Based On pick lists available. Make other pre-filter selections as desired, depending on what information the report should detail.
  3. Click "View" to generate the report. This allows users to modify Work Flows, view the detail behind the record to which the Work Flow is assigned, and view the history of the selected Work Flow.

Additional fields available for display in Work Flow reports include the "Sequential Previous Completion" and "Description" fields, which go by the Field Names "seqprevcomp" and "flowfor2", respectively. The "Sequential Previous Completion" field displays the completion date of the previous Sequence for sequential Work Flows (both the current and previous Sequences must be sequential for this field to populate) and the "Description" field displays the following information depending on the Type of Work Flow:

  • Contacts: Company (Bill-to, Ship-to, or Vendor) name
  • Sales orders: Bill-to Company name
  • Purchase orders: Vendor name
  • Jobs: Job description
  • Items: Part description
  • Formulas: Revision name
  • Bill-to companies, Ship-to companies, Vendors: Contact name

FAQ & Diagnostic Tips

Can I print the user name of the person who signed off on purchase order work flows?

Yes, The header variable, lc_esigby, is available to Purchase Order print outs. This variable will return the user name of the user who completed the work flow task with the highest minimum PO extension. The following example illustrates how this works: If there are four steps for Purchase Order Work Flows at 10k, 20k, 30k, 40k, and the order is for 28k, you want the e-signature from the 20k to show up not the 10k.

Tip: When a BOM Work Flow task has been completed, and the BOM Work Flow has been set to "Lock to Prevent Editing," users will still be able to view, not edit, the Bill of Materials when attempting to modify the BOM. This allows users to access the Default Job Work Flow, Routing, and QC Groups attached to the formula in order to verify information after the Work Flow task has been completed.

Tip: When a BOM revision has been locked by a Work Flow sequence using the "Lock to Prevent Editing" option, the "QC Specs" button on the QC/Stability Tests tab will still be enabled allowing users to view and not edit the Formula's QC Specs.

Tip: If a user has a sales rep restriction, that restriction will be used to filter sales order work flows so that only orders with a sales rep assignment that matches the user restriction will be displayed. If the user has no sales rep restrictions, the user will be able to view all sales order work flows.

Tip: Beginning in version 17.00.028, mMultiple E-signatures can be set (maximum of 9) for each Work Flow Sequence via the "E-Signature Counts" field on the Edit Work Flow Sequence form.

TIP: Beginning in version 17.01.014, tThe Return To (button) will only be enabled when the workflow sequence opened on the form has a return to sequence specified via the "Return To" field - (t2_returnto). Also, when this button is enabled and clicked, the following yes/no prompt will be displayed: "Do you want to clear previous sequence completions and return to sequence <<t2_name for the sequence in t2_returnto>>?"

What is an easy way to see what Work Flow Sequences are currently awaiting my approval?

The best way to keep track of outstanding approvals is to set up a Favorite (with or without a Preview). The Favorite can be created for one specific Type of Work Flow, or if you are responsible for approving Work Flows in multiple business segments, it can be created for All Types of Work Flows.

  1. Navigate to Tools > Work Flow Reporting.
  2. Make selections from the Type, View, Status, and Date Based On pick lists available.
  3. Select your user name in the "Assigned to" field or select a group you belong to in the "Assigned to Group" field.
  4. Click "View" to generate the report.
  5. If you are satisfied with the output, click the "Publish Data" button on the toolbar to save the report settings as a Favorite.
  6. Select the Type of report desired, modify the Description, and select Start and End Date Types.
  7. Click "Save" to publish the report.

For more information on configuring Favorites and Previews, refer to the Managing User Favorites and Previews page.

Is there a fast way to clear Work Flow Sequences?

There is a "Clear All" button in the Work Flow tab where available, that will prompt the user "You are going to remove all work flow completions from this record, are you sure you want to continue?". This will also un-complete all erased work flows, as if the user individually clicked un-complete for each applicable flow. The user does require the security setting 'Tools -- clear all workflow completions', which can be found in Edit User Access.