Workflows automate everyday tasks. They make it easier to approve documents in the company, communicate with customers, and control sales. For example, you can configure automatic invoice approval, send notifications to customers about the status of their orders, or automatically create tasks for employees.
In the release, we've updated the main page of workflows.
Go to the Automation page - Workflows.
Fields for controlling workflows
The list contains key information about workflows: date of last activity, employees who approve the process, status, and execution time.
Activity. The date and the time of the last change in the workflow. There are two kinds of counters in the Activity field:
- red - to complete an assignment,
- green - to read a comment in the workflow form.
For example, an employee has started the Business trip workflow and left a comment. The responsible person will see both counters: red and green.
The Workflow section displays the total count of both red and green counters.
Participants. The column shows the workflow participants and the total time they spent.
The execution time of each step is rounded according to mathematical rules. The duration can specify only one unit of time: a second, a minute, an hour, a day, or a month. Let's consider the examples:
- The process lasted 11 minutes and 15 seconds - the column will show 11 minutes.
- The process lasted 57 seconds - this is one unit of time, so the column will show 57 seconds.
Status. The column contains the buttons to execute the process. If the workflow has already been denied, postponed or completed, its status will be shown.
Time. The total time of the workflow and a journal.
Only one unit of time can be specified in the column: a second, a minute, an hour, a day, or a month. The time is rounded upwards only. For example, the process lasted one hour and one minute - the column will show two hours.
The journal records all activities, participants, and the efficiency. There are several efficiency estimates:
- No statistics - the average workflow execution time is unknown because no similar workflows have been completed.
- Good - less average time was spent than workflows of this type usually take.
- Requires attention - the execution time is the same as the average or three days longer.
- Too slow - the execution time is four days longer than average.
The accuracy of the average time increases with the number of completed workflows. The completion time of each workflow is automatically calculated and displayed as a company-wide average.
Workflow execution time optimization
The execution time in the journal is counted from the start of the workflow to its completion. It is rounded down.
How to complete an assignment in a workflow
Assignments are actions to be performed within a workflow, and they can be sequential or parallel. For example, when organizing an event, you first approve the concept and then agree on the program. Meanwhile, tasks like selecting the venue and approving marketing materials can be done simultaneously.
Sequential assignments. Complete these directly from the workflow form. Open the form, review the assignment, complete it, and then proceed to the next one.
Parallel assignments. Complete these from the workflow form or the journal. To start a specific assignment, open the journal, select it, and click Start. If the order isn't important, use the workflow form as you would for sequential assignments.
In brief:
- Workflows automate everyday tasks. They make it easier to approve documents in the company, communicate with customers, and control sales.
- The list contains key information about workflows: date of last activity, employees who approve the process, status, and execution time.
- The average execution time of each workflow is calculated automatically and displayed as a company-wide average.
- Complete assignments one by one in the workflow form. If you want to start with a specific parallel assignment, open the Journal, select it, and click Start.
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