Use workflow states



In Flowfinity, you can set up workflows for your business processes using states and operations. States represent stages in the lifecycle of a business process and can be named with any word that makes sense to you and your organization. Typical examples include Dispatched, Approved, Rejected, Completed, Confirmed, Pending, etc.

Each record in Flowfinity is always in exactly one state. States can be used for filtering records or managing activities that are available in each step of your business workflow. For example, you could make a record editable when it is in a 'Pending' state, but not editable in a 'Completed' state.

Another example is making a record visible to certain users only when the record is in a certain state, based on the work step the user needs to perform. These users only then ever see records that are 'ready' for them. How you use states depends on your specific business needs.

Example

A field service company dispatches work orders to technicians. When a work order is dispatched, it is in the 'Job Requested' state. When the job is completed, the record is moved into the 'Job Completed' state.

Instructions

  1. Create a new application
  2. In the Form section, add the fields to display on the form
    Flowfinity - Use workflow states
  3. In the Operations section States tab, select the Default State and select 'Edit state' from the menu
    Flowfinity - Use workflow states
  4. Change the name of the state to 'Job Requested', select an appropriate icon and click the 'Save state' button
    Flowfinity - Use workflow states
  5. In the States tab, click the 'Add state' button to create a new state
    Flowfinity - Specify Required Fields
  6. Name the state 'Job Completed', select an appropriate icon and click the 'Save state' button
    Flowfinity - Use workflow states
  7. Click on the Operations tab, and edit the operation 'Add New Record'
    Flowfinity - Use workflow states
  8. Change the Title to 'Dispatch Job'
  9. Ensure that 'Job Requested' is selected under 'After operation executes state is'. This means that newly dispatched jobs will enter the 'Job Requested' state.
    Flowfinity - Use workflow states
  10. Save the operation
  11. Back in the Operations tab, click the 'Add operation' button
    Flowfinity - Use workflow states
  12. Change the Title to 'Complete Work Order Report' or something similar
  13. Under 'Operation settings', select Transition from the 'Type' drop-down menu
  14. Select Default from the 'Display record in this layout' drop-down menu
  15. Select 'Job Requested' under 'Operation is available in'
  16. Select 'Job Completed' under 'After operation executes state is'. This means that after a work order report is filled in by a technician, the record enters the 'Job Completed' state
  17. Save the operation
    Flowfinity - Use workflow states
  18. To create a filtered view of all completed jobs, go to the View section and select 'Add view'
    Flowfinity - Use workflow states
  19. Name the view 'Completed Jobs' and add the appropriate fields to be displayed
    Flowfinity - Use workflow states
  20. In the 'Filter' tab, click the 'Add condition' button
  21. Create the condition 'Current state name, Equals, Constant, Job Completed'
    Flowfinity - Use workflow states
  22. Save the view and publish the application
    Flowfinity - Use workflow states

Office staff can dispatch jobs from the web client, and technicians will receive them on their mobile devices.