Documents and forms can be used with workflow to produce client-ready Word documents and Laserforms. These are based on pre-defined
templates and the information stored in your module. At the time of writing, the tools for designing document templates and mapping forms have not been integrated into this version of Designer Studio. However, shortcuts to template and form management in ALB are provided at the bottom of Component Explorer.
NOTES
• Documents created for the PMS module are available in all modules.
• For more information about creating documents, please refer to Document Production.
ALB DESIGNER STUDIO 2.4.1
PART 8: Workflow
A workflow is a set of activities that are used to execute a business
process in a structured way. Also known as Workflow Logic, it controls the flow of these activities, which are performed by your users, and the operations that they involve. Activities include things like assigning values to fields, displaying user-defined screens, etc. For example, if you add user-defined fields to a screen, you can then use workflow to present the screen to your users so they can enter the relevant information. In Designer Studio you can create workflows in the Workflow Designer.
In this section:
• Workflow Designer
• Create a workflow
• Set the workflow start node
• Add an activity to a workflow
• Cut, copy or delete an activity
• Group related activities
• Use conditional workflow
• Open and edit a workflow
• Adjust the designer display
• Save workflow as an image
• Copy workflow as an image
• Run workflow on client/matter create
Workflow Designer
Workflow Designer is a tabbed pane that allows you to manage the workflows contained in your module. When you open a workflow you are opening an instance of the Workflow Designer and you will automatically see a contextual tab in the ribbon bar that shows options specifically related to workflows.
Workflow Designer is split into 3 panes—the Toolbox, the Flowchart, and the Properties pane. You add activities to the Flowchart pane, where you arrange and connect them to build your workflow logic. Some activities require specific information to be pre-defined in order to control their behaviour.
It is also possible to customise the flowchart display by using magnification, resize, and pan tools.
Fig. Workflow Designer
CHAPTER PART 8: WORKFLOW
• The Toolbox lists all the available activities that can be added to a workflow.
• Activities can be dragged onto the workflow layout and arranged as desired.
• The Properties pane can be used to change the activity name.
Create a workflow
Use this procedure to create a new workflow so that your users can interact with different activities. A workflow can consist of activities, conditional tests, and so on. Essentially, it guides your users through the steps required to perform a particular task (or tasks) allowing them to complete screens, submit information, make choices, and work more efficiently.
Workflow Designer provides the tools for creating workflow. Once you have named your workflow you can then use the toolbox to add all the activities that need to be performed in order to complete the task in question.
IMPORTANT At the time of writing, only the tools required to build workflow for editing matters and clients/contacts are available.
To create a matter-level workflow:
Use this procedure to create a workflow that will be used to edit the details of an existing matter.
1. On the Home tab, under Components, click Create and then from the drop-down menu, click Workflow and then choose Matter.
2. When the Properties pane opens, complete the following:
• Name. Specifies a name for the workflow.
6. Next, add a Save Matter activity. When the workflow is run, this saves the changes back to the database.
7. Click Save.
To create a contact-level workflow:
Use this procedure to create a workflow that will be used to edit the details of an existing contact.
1. On the Home tab, under Components, click Create and then from the drop-down menu, click Workflow and then choose Contact.
2. When the Properties pane opens, complete the following:
• Name. Specifies a name for the workflow.
3. Click Design. The new workflow is created and opened in Design mode. By default, a Flowchart is automatically created ready for you to starting building.
4. First, add a Load Contact activity and set it as the start node.
5. Construct your workflow by adding activities and configuring their properties.
6. Next, add a Save Contact activity. When the workflow is run, this saves the changes back to the database.
7. Click Save.
Set the workflow start node
When you create a new workflow you must tell Workflow Designer which activity is the starting point or first activity to process.
To set the start node:
1. Hover over the Start button and drag a handle to the desired activity.
CHAPTER PART 8: WORKFLOW
NOTE
• A workflow must have a start node or it will not validate.
Add an activity to a workflow
Activities are the nuts and bolts of your workflow. You can add multiple activities to workflow and each one contains instructions that are actioned when your workflow is run. For example, you can load a matter, produce a document, and show a message, etc. Some activities require no user intervention, but others can be configured to prompt users for information or to make selections at run-time.
To add an activity:
1. From the Toolbox, drag the desired activity into the Flowchart box at the desired point in the workflow. You can choose from:
• Add diary appointment (Contact only)
• Add diary task
• Add note (Matter only)
• Assign value
• Attach contact
• Call website
• Conflict check (Contact only)
• Display screen
• Generate document
• Generate email
• Generate form (Matter only)
• Load matter/contact
• Post time (Matter only)
• Reset process state (Matter only)
• Save matter/contact
• Select contact (Matter only)
• Show message
• Upgrade contact to client (Contact only)
3. Next, configure the activity as necessary. This depends on which type of activity you are adding. For example, the Display Screen activity requires that you specify which screen to display.
4. Repeat from step 1 until all the required activities have been added and configured.
5. Click Save to store your changes.
NOTES
• The activities available for selection are dependent on the type of workflow you are creating.
• Some activities have mandatory fields. If the required information is not provided, then a red exclamation mark icon is shown and the workflow cannot be saved until this has been corrected.
Activity properties
Each activity has various properties associated with it. These can be set to determine things like what they are called, how they interact, whether they have a default value, etc. Many properties are common across all activities, however, some are specific to certain ones.
Cut, copy, or delete an activity
You can cut, copy, or delete activities in Workflow Designer. This allows you to duplicate activities within a workflow, copy or move activities from one workflow to another, or remove them completely. When cutting and copying, activities are placed in the clipboard ready for inserting
elsewhere.
To cut an activity:
Use this procedure to remove the selected activity from its original workflow and insert it in another.
CHAPTER PART 8: WORKFLOW
2. In Workflow Designer, right-click the activity you want to copy and click Cut.
• You can also press Ctrl+X on your keyboard.
3. Next, open a new workflow, then right-click anywhere in Workflow Designer and click Paste.
• You can also press Ctrl+V on your keyboard.
To copy an activity:
Use this procedure to duplicate an activity or to insert a copy in another workflow.
1. Open the desired workflow.
2. In Workflow Designer, right-click the activity you want to copy and click Copy.
• You can also press Ctrl+C on your keyboard.
3. Next, do one of the following:
• Right-click anywhere in Workflow Designer and click Paste; or
• Open a new workflow, then right-click anywhere in Workflow Designer and click Paste.
• You can also press Ctrl+V on your keyboard.
To delete an activity:
Use this procedure to remove an activity completely.
1. Open the desired workflow.
2. In Workflow Designer, right-click the activity you want to remove and click Delete.
make sure you really do want to delete it first! However, you can close without saving, which will revert your workflow to its previous state.
Open and edit a workflow
Use this procedure if you want to modify an existing workflow. There are a number of things you can do such as, modify its activities, add new
activities, remove activities, etc. You can also amend the name of a workflow (which was entered when it was created) and change the name displayed for each activity.
To open an existing workflow:
1. In Component Explorer, open the Workflows node.
2. Under the Matter or Contact node, select the workflow you want to open.
3. Click Open. The workflow opens in Design mode.
• You can also double-click a workflow.
To edit a workflow:
1. Open the workflow you want to edit.
2. Amend the workflow as required. You can:
• amend the properties of a activity;
• add a new activity; or
• cut, copy, or delete an activity.
3. Click Save to store your changes.
To edit a workflow's name:
1. Open the workflow you want to edit.
CHAPTER PART 8: WORKFLOW
To edit an activity's display name:
1. Open the workflow you want to edit.
2. In the Design view, click the activity whose name you want to change.
3. In the right-hand pane, under Misc, change the value in Display Name.
4. Click Save to store your changes.
Adjust the designer display
Tools on the status bar in Workflow Designer can be used to change the magnification of your workflow. You can change the workflow view according to a percentage, adjust the magnification so that it fits the screen, or return it to 100% (actual size). In addition, when you zoom in to a high magnification, say 200%, you may only be able to see part of the workflow. It is therefore possible to shift the view to show other areas of the workflow without changing the magnification level.
Other display options include, the ability to expand and collapse all the activities within your workflow and being able to drill-down through the various activities so that you can view and work on them separately.
These options are particularly useful when you are working on complex workflows.
To change the magnification with zoom tools:
1. Select a percentage by choosing from the Zoom Value drop-down in the bottom right of Workflow Designer. The workflow adjusts
according to your selection. You can pick from any of the values below:
• 25%
To resize workflow to fit the screen:
1. Click the Fit to Screen button. The workflow shrinks to fit the screen.
To show workflow at actual size:
1. Click the Reset Zoom button. The workflow is displayed at 100%
magnification. You can also:
• Choose 100% from the Zoom Value drop-down.
To display off-screen areas of a magnified workflow:
1. Click the Overview button. A thumbnail window appears on the screen, corresponding to the area shown.
2. Drag the yellow rectangle in the centre of the window to pan across the area you want to see. The position of the view area adjusts to match the area in the Overview window’s view of the workflow.
• To close, click the Overview button again.
To drill-down through workflow activities:
1. Double-click the activity you want to open. The activity is opened separately and the title bar displays a trail of links to show you where you are. These links outline the position of the activity in the
workflow.
• To navigate back up, use the breadcrumbs in the Workflow Designer title bar.
NOTE
• Breadcrumbs are a navigation aid. They allow you to keep track of your location within the workflow. They appear horizontally across the top of Workflow Designer, providing links back to other points.
Save workflow as an image
CHAPTER PART 8: WORKFLOW
attach a diagram to emails should you wish to distribute any workflow documentation within your firm.
To save a workflow as an image:
1. Open the workflow you want to save.
2. Right-click anywhere in the Flowchart box and click Save as Image from the shortcut menu.
3. When the Save As dialog box opens, complete these fields:
• File name. Specifies a name for the image.
• Save as type. Specifies the type of image to create.
• JPEG (*.jpg)
• Portable Network Graphic (*.png)
• Graphics Interchange Format (*.gif)
• Open XML Paper Specification (*.xps) 4. Click Save to create the image.
Copy workflow as an image
Workflow can be copied to the clipboard as an image so that you can paste it into another application, e.g. Microsoft Word. This means you can
quickly include a diagram in documents should you wish to distribute any workflow documentation within your firm.
To copy a workflow as an image:
1. Open the workflow you want to copy.
2. Right-click a workflow and click Copy as Image from the shortcut menu. An image of the workflow is captured and placed in the Clipboard.
Run workflow on client/matter create
It is possible to trigger workflow after a client or matter has been created.
ALB can be configured (by administrators) so that as soon as the create process has finished, a specified workflow is run automatically. This allows you to adapt the client/matter inception to, for example, capture
additional information.
IMPORTANT When you attach a client create workflow the client create button in ALB creates a contact, not a client. It is the responsibility of the workflow to upgrade this contact to a client using the Upgrade contact to client activity.
To run workflow on client/matter create:
1. In Utilities, open System Parameters.
2. Double-click the desired parameter:
• Create Client Workflow
• Create Matter Workflow
3. When the dialog box opens, in Value, select the workflow you want to run. The workflows displayed are those from PMS and entity specific, i.e. matter workflows for the create matter option and contact
workflows for the create client option.
3. Click OK to save your changes.
4. Repeat from step 2 for the other parameter.
5. Create a client or matter (you do not have to do both) and the specified workflow will run automatically.
Tools
A number of tools are available to help you to improve or change the display and flow of your workflow. For example, you may want to group related activities under collapsible headings or introduce multiple
CHAPTER PART 8: WORKFLOW
• Group related activities
• Add a workflow container
• Use conditional workflow
Sequence
When working on complex workflows the list of activities in Workflow Designer may become pretty long. It may therefore be desirable to group and hide related activities under a single collapsible heading to reduce the number of visible activities. This can be achieved by using the Sequence tool. For example, you could create a sequence called Letter to Client, which contains activities for generating a document and posting time.
To group activities:
1. From the Toolbox, drag the Sequence tool into the Flowchart box at the desired point in the process and join it to your existing
workflow.
• To do this, drag the connectors to the desired activities.
2. Click the Right arrow to open the Activity Details and then drag the activities you want to group into the Sequence box and configure them normally.
3. In the Properties pane, rename the instance of the Sequence tool to help you remember what it contains.
• To do this, edit the Display Name property.
NOTES
• Activities are still run in a sequential manner, based on their hierarchy in the workflow.
• Activities in a sequence are linked automatically.
• IF conditions cannot be used in a sequence.
is possible to add further flowcharts to build components and hide complexity.
To add a new flowchart:
1. From the Toolbox, drag the Flowchart tool into Workflow Designer.
2. Join the Flowchart tool into your existing workflow.
3. Double-click the Flowchart and create your sub-workflow by adding the desired activities.
4. In the Properties pane, rename the instance of the Flowchart tool to help you remember what it contains. To do this, edit the Display Name property.
5. Right-click or use the breadcrumbs and select View Parent to return to the parent workflow.
NOTES
• Activities can only be added inside a flowchart.
• You do not need an IF to make use of embedded flowcharts.
IF condition
Conditional workflow allows you to optionally run workflow logic by performing a conditional check when activities are actioned. The checks evaluate whether a condition is true or false, which then determines the path the workflow takes next. For example, a conveyancing workflow might produce different Contract letters depending on whether the property is leasehold or freehold.
Example:
CHAPTER PART 8: WORKFLOW
Fig. IF Condition
To use conditional workflow:
1. From the Toolbox, drag the IF Condition tool into the Flowchart box at the desired point in the workflow. Notice that it has two branches—Yes and No.
2. Join the IF Condition tool to the previous activity. To do this, drag the bottom handle of the preceding activity and connect it to the IF Condition tool.
3. Click the centre of the IF Condition tool to open the Formula Builder and then, using the tools provided, construct a formula that evaluates whether the condition you want to check is met, i.e. returns TRUE or FALSE. For example, this formula returns TRUE if the
LeaseholdOrFreehold field is Leasehold and FALSE if not:
4. Next, add the activities that you want to perform for the two outcomes. Join one under the Yes branch, the other under the No branch, and then configure them accordingly.
5. (Optional) You can bring both branches of the IF Condition tool back together after the associated activities have been performed. For example, you could save the matter by adding a Save Matter activity and joining both branches to it. As a result, the matter is saved if either route is taken.
NOTE
• When a field in a formula that is contained in an IF condition has a value of Not Set, the IF will fail silently and follow the No branch, e.g.
IF NumDependants > 0, where NumDependants is Not Set. In order to guard against this, we recommend that the data is captured before being used by the IF or you code your IF defensively, e.g. IF
IsEmpty(NumDependants, 0, NumDependants) > 0.
Activities
Activities allow you to construct a flow of business actions in order to create workflow for your users. They are reusable elements of a workflow that instruct, interact, and ultimately guide your users through the steps required to complete a process.
Each activity has specific properties and options associated with them.
Some of these control the information that is required to run the activity and some affect the way the activity behaves. Many of these settings are also displayed to the run-time user, who can then decide whether to accept the defaults or change them as required. The Workflow Designer Toolbox provides access to the following activities:
• Activate process
• Add diary appointment (Contact only)
• Add diary task
CHAPTER PART 8: WORKFLOW
• Generate form (Matter only)
• Load matter/contact
• Load matter/contact