Define workflow phases and outcomes

When you create a workflow, you define the phases, or steps, that must be completed. Then you must define at least one outcome for each phase of a workflow, which links the outcomes and phases together. Some phases need more than one outcome.

For example, in a special education workflow, the determine eligibility phase requires outcomes indicating if the student was deemed eligible or not eligible.

To define workflow phases and outcomes:

1. Do one of the following:
• For special education workflows:  Log on to the Special Education view.
• For guided tasks workflows: Log on to the District or School view.
• For other workflows: Log on to the District view.

2. Click the Admin tab, and select the workflow you want to define phases for.
3. Under the Workflow Definitions side-tab, click Design. The design page for that workflow appears.

4. 

4. The phases already defined appear in a column on the left side of the page. To define a new phase, in the Phases column, click Add Phase. The New Workflow Phase pop-up appears.
   

5. This pop-up consists of the General and Task Script sub-tabs. Use the following table to enter information in the fields on the General tab:

6. Field	Description
   Sequence Number	The sequence number of the phase appears.
   Name	Type a name for the workflow phase.
   ID	Type a unique identifier for the workflow.
   Description	Type a description of the workflow phase.
   Unconsecutive access?	Select this checkbox if this phase can be completed out of order.
   Show on portlet?	Select this checkbox to have this phase appear on the participants' Home page in the Tasks area or on a dedicated workflow widget, such as the New Student Registration widget.
   Initialize indicator	Select this checkbox to indicate this as a root phase. A root phase is the first phase in a sequence. Users who have access to multiple root phases of a workflow access the phase with the lower sequence number first, before they can access the subsequent root phases. Note: If you do not see this field on your screen, click the Template drop-down in the upper-right corner and change it to Default Fields. You can add the Initialize indicator field to your default template or default field set.

6. Click Save.
7. If you are creating a phase for a Guided Task, click the Task Script tab to complete the required fields.

8. 

8. At the Redirect field, type the task script that brings the user to the screens to complete the steps of the workflow. See Write Redirects for Guided Tasks.
9. In the rich text editor, type the instructions for the user to appear under the phase on the checklist.

10. Note: It is recommended that you define all phases for a workflow before you define outcomes for each phase.

10. Click Save.
11. To define an outcome for a phase, click the phase in the Phases column. The design tree for that phase appears.

12. Note: Click Details below the phase name to edit any details you already defined.

12. Click Add Outcome below the phase name in the design tree. The Workflow Phase Outcome pop-up appears.

13. 

This pop-up consists of Details and Forms sub-tabs.

To define general information for the outcome on the Details tab:

1. In the Outcome field, type the outcome name.
2. In the ID field, type a unique identifier for the outcome.
3. If you do not want users to be able to select this outcome for the phase, select the Discontinued? checkbox.
4. In the Detail action field, type the path to a custom entry page.
5. In the Method ID field, type the ID of a method to execute in the workflow procedure when this outcome is selected.
6. In the Alignment ID field, type an ID that Aspen will use to match this outcome to an outcome in another workflow during a workflow conversion.
7. To allow users to initiate this workflow phase anonymously, select the Anonymous? checkbox.

To associate a form with this outcome:

1. Click the Forms sub-tab.

2. 

2. Click Add to select a form. You can add several forms to one outcome.
3. At the Name field, click to select a form.
4. At the InstanceID field, type the ID of an earlier phase's form that is linked to another outcome. The form and any data that was entered on it in the earlier phase will be used in this outcome.
5. Click the Post checkbox to save the values entered on the form to the appropriate table. In the form definition details, the Post Mapping field defines how the data will pre-populate the form from or post data to other tables.
6. Click OK.

7. Note: Forms must be created before you can associate them with a workflow outcome.

7. Click Save to save the outcome information. The outcome appears below the phase on the design tree.
8. Do one of the following:
• To add another outcome to this phase, click Add Outcome.
• To view or change information for the outcome, do one of the following:
  • Click Focus to move the outcome to the main box in the middle of the page. This gives you a better view of the phases and outcomes that come before and after this outcome.
  • Click Change to select a different next phase.
  • Click Detach to end the workflow with the current phase.
• To define outcomes for another phase, click the phase name in the Phases column.