Workflow Glossary

Glossary for Workflow Management

Auth. Steps through Configurator	This option must be selected if the multiple levels of authorization is required. The user must be identified for every stage of the authorization process. Messages must be defined for the application states.
Authorization Not Required	It indicates that no authorization is required for the activity/task performed. Authorize permission is assumed as implicitly available for the person who is creating the document. Even when the document gets authorized during creation, the business functionality of the authorization step would be handled in the application itself.
Acceptance Notification to All	After the document is authorized, if the message is to be sent to all the users (from the creator through the intermediate authorizers till the final authorizer), then the message must be defined under the notification type ‘Acceptance notification to all’.
Area	An area in workflow represents a business object designed to carryout a specific requirement in an organization. For example, leave application is a document designed to facilitate the employees to apply and the supervisors to authorize leave.
Activity	Activity is a subset of component. For example, Create Employee File, Authorize Employee File, Record Personal Information and Record Contact Information are activities that form part of the component “Employee Personal Information”.
Application State	Application state is defined as the final state of a document for a specific component + activity + task combination.
Acceptance Notification to Applicant	After the document is authorized, if the message is to be sent to the creator/initiator/applicant only, then the message must be defined under this notification type.
Application	The document / request can be accessed from the activity of the application which uses workflow. For example, 'Authorize Employee File'. The user needs to select a request on which action has to be performed and launch the detail page. The user can authorize / act on the document / request, after launching the detail page.

Cancel Message

After creating the document, message will be sent to the authorizer stating that one document is pending for authorization. Before the authorizer authorizes the document, user can cancel the document/request.

Direct Span of Control (User Identification)	Actors/users who can perform tasks in a document flow (or) who can receive a broadcast message, are identified through Direct Span of Control also. The authorizer would be the supervisor who can access information and work on the data of employees reporting to him. This facility is applicable only to HRMS application.
Document Number	A unique number identified for a document by the application, which is referred and stored in workflow against every transaction as a reference information.
Direct Entry (User Identification)	In this option user and organization unit have to be mentioned directly. The document will be routed (or) the broadcast message will be sent to the mentioned user.

Escalation

After creating the documents, the authorizer will get a message stating that the document is pending for authorization. If the authorizer needs to authorize the request and if he has not authorized the document, it will still be pending for authorization. In that case, workflow has the capability of sending escalation message to the superior.

Forward Notification for Next Document

When a document/request needs to be authorized within the same area itself, then advanced notification is sent to the authorizer. If the initiation of the document/request happens in one workflow area and the authorization needs to be done in another area, then the notification type ‘Forward Notification for Next Document’ can be used.

Hold Message

The authorizer may decide to hold the document for some time. To send a message to all the users (from creator to authorizer) about this hold, message can be defined under ‘Hold Message’ notification type.

Mail Message	The user would receive a mail in his/her mailbox regarding the pending action or a general notification, which does not call for an action. There would be links to both ‘Monitor To Do List’ activity of 'My Page' and to the ‘View Messages’ activity of 'My Page'.
Message	The actual communication to the user, which aids them to either perform actions or to get updated with the information received. This can be viewed either through their mail box or through "View message" activity.
Message Classification	Messages are defined under a specific group called ‘Notification Type’. The messages must be attached to the 'states'. There are 10 types of notification provided by Workflow Management. Message will be sent to the respective user when the document is routed to that user for action.

Notification Type

Messages are grouped under a specific notification type. Notification type represents the property of a message which decides the behaviour. The possible notification types are: Acceptance Notification to All, Acceptance Notification to Applicant, Rejection Notification to All, Rejection Notification to Applicant, Cancel Message, Escalation, Forward Notification for Next Document, Remainder, Skip, Message, Hold Message, Release Message, Short Close Message and Super User.

Notification Only

This option helps to broadcast messages for certain activities/tasks to the identified users as information.

Organization Unit

The name of the organization unit from where the component/activity/task is performed. The document flow is initiated here.

Path	The path is the sequence of states through which the document is routed. There can be multiple paths defined based on ‘Process Rules’.
Parameter	It is the business attribute based on which the authorization process is driven or the actors in various stages in the identified authorization process. These parameters are identified by the application.
Profile	Users can be grouped and identified under a profile name for a selected task. These profiles can be attached instead of individual users. Either all users or any one user from the profile can be enabled while attaching a profile to perform the selected task.
Process Rule	It forms a specific set of conditions specified by the workflow administrator, based on which the flow of a document can be routed.

Reminder	Messages can be sent to remind the user that some action is pending. If the authorizer does not authorize for the specified duration, another message will be sent to the authorizer. To send the reminder to the authorizer, message must be defined under this notification type.
Rejection Notification to All	To send the message to all the users/actors in the authorization process when the document gets rejected, messages must be defined under this notification type. Messages will be sent to all the users who worked on that document.
Rejection Notification to Applicant	To send the message to the creator / initiator when the documents gets rejected, the message must be defined under this notification type.
Resource Rule	Resource rule forms a specific set of conditions and on successful evaluation, the actual actors/users will be identified in a document transaction process (or) to broadcast message.
Rule Execution Priority	Rules attached to the task will be evaluated and then path will be chosen to route the document. If more than one rule gets satisfied, then there will be more than one path selected. In such instances, we need to give the rule priority to select the relevant path.
Rule Driven Process Identification	Transactions can be processed based on process rules or without any rule evaluation (general). This identification is referred to decide the basis for transaction processing.
Rule based (User Identification)	Resource rule must be defined using the parameters. These resource rules must be attached to a state. The users will be mapped for a state and resource rule combination. After evaluating the rule, users will be identified. The document will be routed (or) the broadcast message will be sent to the identified user.
Rule based	Resource rule must be defined using the parameters. These resource rules must be attached to the path. For path and resource rule combination, users will be mapped. After evaluating the rule, path will be selected and for the selected path users will be identified. The document will be routed to the identified user.

Stored Procedure (User Identification)	The user is identified to route the document who in turn is identified by using stored procedure. The stored procedure will be executed and the document will be routed to the user name, returned by stored procedure.
Single Step Auth. Required	All the users who have the permission in the left pane can authorize the document which means that a single level of approval is required for the activity/task. The authorizer will not be identified through workflow management component.
Short Close	When the document is in authorized state, it may be required to cancel the document. For sending the message to the all users while canceling the document, the message must be defined under this notification type.
SuperUser	If the attached user to this message type performs action on the document, it will reach the final state immediately and all the intermediate states will be bypassed. Message will be sent to all the users defined for the document.

To Do Task

Task identified in a transaction process pending with the user to perform actions.

User Identification

Users have to be identified for routing the document. The users can be identified directly or based on the rules.

Workflow Steps

Workflow step is defined as the intermediate state in the flow of a document process. Users can add any number of intermediate states as multiple steps through ‘Introduce workflow steps’ page for a specific component + activity + task combination.