System Workflow Concepts

As a Content Provider, you may be asked to configure the document creation process to allow multiple groups to work on a transaction in a predefined order or an order that depends upon the information supplied about a given transaction. For example, a real estate leasing document may begin with a broken who completes a section of an interview and a transaction manager who fills in additional deal information, and if a deal is over a certain size, outside counsel may need to approve it.

 

You may also be asked to to set up rules that monitor certain data supplied about a transaction (such as renewal dates of a contract, or the due date of a transaction) and take actions based upon the data.

 

These are examples where you can use the Document Agility system's built-in Workflow rules capabilities. In order to be best able to configure Workflow, it is important to understand the basic concepts behind it.

Basic Concepts of Workflow Rules

Workflow Rules Use Events and Actions

 

Workflow rules in Document Agility operate very much like email rules work in a typical email client in that they are based on Events and Actions. Rules are an expression of one or more Actions that will be taken whenever a defined Event occurs.

 

Rules are created by first selecting an Event and then selecting one or more Actions to be taken when that Event occurs. For example, you may define a Rule to monitor when an Event occurs where a User in the Broker Group clicks the Complete Segment button and set up two actions: send and email to the Transaction Group team leader, and assign the Transaction to the Transaction Group. This will configure the system such that, when a User in the Broker Group finishes his or her work (answering the interview questions, etc.), the transaction will be assigned to the Transaction Group (so Users in that group will now see their interview for the transaction).

 

In general, Events can be either System Events (i.e. buttons clicked by Users in the system), or they can be Data Events (i.e. conditions of the data a particular point in time. Below are the Events in each category that are currently enabled on the Document Agility system. We are always adding to the list of Events, and virtually any type of Event can be tracked. If you don't see an Event that you need, feel free to request it.

 

System Events include:

• Complete Segment by User Group
• Conditional Complete Segment by User Group

Data Events include:

• Days till Transaction Due Date
• Days till Date Value in Data Set
• Days after Date Value in Data Set
• Numeric Value in Data Set greater than Value
• Numeric Value in Data Set less than Value
• Data Set Value Equals Value

Actions are the various kinds of activities that Document Agility can perform when an Event takes place. Below are the Actions that are currently enabled on the Document Agility system. We are always adding to the list of Actions as well, and virtually any type of Action that could be performed manually could be performed by the system in response to an Event. If you don't see an Action that you need, feel free to request it.

Actions include:

• Change Workflow Status
• Assign Transaction to User Group
• Send Email to Recipient

Workflow Rules Pertain to a Specific Account

 

It is important to remember that when you are working with Workflow Rules, you will be doing so within a single Creator Account under your Provider Account. The Rules you create will be available for use only within the given Account. Creating Workflow Rules within an Account is covered in detail in the article Configuring Workflow Rules to Control Creation Process Flow.

 

Workflow Rules are Reusable Across Transaction Types

 

Even though Workflow Rules are specific to just the Account in which they are created, they are reusable across all Transaction Types within the given Account. Therefore after you create a Workflow Rule, you must then associate one or more Transaction Types within which you want the rule to operate.

 

Associating Workflow Rules to Transaction Types is covered in detail in the article Configuring Workflow Rules to Control Creation Process Flow.

Using Workflow Rules to Control Process Flow

The primary use of Workflow Rules in Document Agility is to control the flow of the document creation process among User Groups within an Account. Document Agility 

Understanding Assigning Transactions to User Groups

 

As described in details in the article on System Concepts, the Document Agility system is based on the concept of Transactions. A Transaction is a unit or work which may result in the production of one or more Documents. A any one specific point in time, the Transaction can be worked on by only one User Group. Document Agility uses the concept that the Transaction is currently assigned to the given User Group. When a Transaction is assigned to a User Group, the Users in that User Group will see the Transaction in their In Progress Work Space and can see its details as well. They can also access their specific Interview to add information to the Data Set that's being created for the Transaction.

 

Transactions can then be assigned to another group to allow the Users in that Group to see the Transaction and access their own custom Interview to add data to the Transaction's Data Set. This process of assigning the Transaction between groups is what allows multiple groups to collaborate on creating documents for the Transaction. It gives a "process flow" to the transaction.

 

Assigning of a Transaction to a User Group can be done manually by a User (using the Assign button within the Transaction Details screen), or it can be performed automatically as an Action taken by a Rule upon the completion of a specific System Event.

 

Overview of Events and Actions that Control Document Process Flow

 

In order to control creation process flow, you will create Workflow Rules to automatically assign a Transaction to a given User Group when a specific Event occurs. Most often you will be creating Workflow Rules with one the following System Events:

• Complete Segment by User Group
• Conditional Complete Segment by User Group
• Data Set Value Equals Value
  
  

These are the Events that control the actions the system takes when a User clicks the Complete Segment button in his Transaction Details screen for the given Transaction. To assign the transaction when one of these Evenets takes place, you will be generally working with one or more of the following Actions:

• Change Workflow Status
• Assign Transaction to User Group
• Send Email to Recipient

By creating Workflow Rules with these Events and Actions, you can control the assignment of Transactions between User Groups, including conditional assignments based on the information collected in Interviews.

 

Creating Workflow Rules to control process flow is covered in detail in the article Configuring Workflow Rules to Control Creation Process Flow.

 

Using Workflow Rules to Take Actions Based on Transaction Data

Another use of Workflow rules is to take "alerting" or "notification" actions in the system, based on the data supplied in the Interviews or within the system by other Users. An example of this use of Workflow Rules would be a rule to track when the current date was a certain number of days before a contract renewal date entered into the Interview.

To set up these kinds of Workflow Rules, you will generally be working with Events such as:

• Days till Transaction Due Date
• Days till Date Value in Data Set
• Days after Date Value in Data Set
• Numeric Value in Data Set greater than Value
• Numeric Value in Data Set less than Value
• Data Set Value Equals Value

Creating Workflow Rules to take actions based on transaction data is covered in detail in the article Configuring Workflow Rules for Alerts and Notifications.