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Workflow

Workflow is a feature that gives you control over the collaborative editing process for entities in Changepoint EAM/SPM. 

When workflow is off for an entity, you or any other user can edit the entity freely.  Changes made are reflected immediately.

When workflow is on for an entity, the user’s role determined what happens when an entity is edited. If the user is an editor for that entity type, the changes made are reflected immediately.  If the user is not an editor, their edits are considered proposed edits and must be reviewed by an editor before they are reflected in the entity.  Editors may also choose to reject the proposed edits.

In other words, all users can always submit edits to an entity.  When workflow is on, those edits must be approved before they take effect.

Workflow and Changepoint SPM

Enabling workflow for an entity also affects how users interact with that entity in the SPM Boards. With workflow enabled, some actions, such as moving a card between Kanban columns, become proposed edits and will need editor approval before being reflected on the board.

Enabling or Disabling Workflow

Workflows are enabled on an entity-by-entity basis. By default, workflow is off for new entities.

To enable/disable workflow during entity creation:

  1. Toggle Workflow On or Off in the entity creation dialog.

To enable/disable workflow in the entity view:

  1. Navigate to the entity you want to enable/disable the workflow for.

               

    NOTE

    SPM users can navigate to an entity view by opening its detail card in a board and clicking the ID number in the upper left corner.

               

  2. In the right-hand column, click the Workflow and Proposed Edits.
  3. Toggle Workflow On or Off.

Your changes will be saved automatically.

Configuring Entity Catalogs to Enable Workflow by Default

Normally, workflows are disabled for all entities by default. However, Administrators in your tenant can configure entity catalogs to have workflows enabled by default instead.

To set an entity catalog to enable workflows by default:

  1. Under Administer in the main navigation menu, click Catalog Management.

               

    NOTE

    Only Administrators will see Administer in the main navigation menu.

               

  2. Click Catalog Workflow Management in the left-hand column.
  3. Check the boxes for the catalogs where you want workflow on by default. You can also click Select All to select all catalogs.

Your changes are saved automatically. This enables workflow on all new entities in the catalog going forward. This does not change the workflow status of any existing entities.

Who can Enable or Disable Workflow

In general, you must be assigned the editor role for an entity catalog in order to enable or disable workflows. You can only change the workflow settings for entities you are an editor for. Additionally, the creator of an entity is considered a direct editor and can configure workflow settings for the entity they created regardless of their actual user role.

Only User Administrators can assign other users the editor role.

To assign a user an editor role:

  1. Under Administer in the main navigation menu, click Users.
  2. Click on the name of the user you want to edit. Their Person record will open.
  3. Click on the Settings icon, to the left of the Gear icon.
  4. In the Roles tab of the Settings dialog, check the boxes next to the editor roles you want to assign this user.
  5. Close the dialog. Your changes will be saved automatically.

Users can also be assigned to be editors for individual entities.

To make a user an editor of a single entity:

  1. Navigate to an entity view.

               

    NOTE

    SPM users can navigate to an entity view by opening its detail card in a board and clicking the ID number in the upper left corner.

               

  2. Open the Gear menu.
  3. Click View the Editors for this entity.
  4. In the dialog that opens, click Edit.
  5. In the dropdown, select People.
  6. Type into the search box and select a user from the results. Repeat this step for each editor you want to add.
  7. Click Apply.
  8. Close the dialog.

Approving Proposed Edits

Changes made to an entity that require approval by an editor are called proposed edits. Proposed edits include changes made to entities that are in Completed or Approved status, and changes made to locked fields. You can approve proposed edits from the entity view or from notifications in the main view.

To approve proposed edits in an entity view:

  1. Navigate to the entity view.
    1. Open the main navigation menu in the upper right corner of the screen.
    2. Select an entity catalog.
    3. From the catalog page, select the entity with the proposed edits you want to review. The entity view will open.
  2. In the entity view, click the Workflow and Proposed Edits tab. The tab is on the right side of the view, marked by a lock icon. The details for the proposed edits for the entity appear.
  3. Approve or reject the edits as required.

To approve proposed edits from the main view:

A notification appears when there are proposed edits for you to approve.

  1. To view the proposed edits, click your user name in the top right corner of the interface, and then click Proposed Edits. The entity types that have proposed edits that you can approve are displayed.
  2. To view all of the entity types that have proposed edits, click All.
  3. To view the entity types that have proposed edits for locked fields, click Locked Field Edits.
  4. Click the entity type to view the list of proposed edits for the entity records.
  5. Approve or reject the proposed edits as required.
  6. If a Resolve Conflict button appears, there is more than one proposed change for a field that only allows a single change:
    1. Click Resolve Conflict. The list of proposed changes for the field appears.
    2. Approve or reject the change and then click Submit.

Workflow and Content Status

Workflow is tied to the legacy "Content Status" field, which was previously used to manage the collaborative editing process.  For each of the five content status values, there is a corresponding workflow value:

  • Approved --> Workflow: On
  • Completed --> Workflow: On
  • In Process --> Workflow: Off
  • Planned --> Workflow: Off
  • Identified --> Workflow: Off

It is possible to view and edit the underlying content status values for an entity by opening the Help and Advanced window – link next to the main workflow toggle – and clicking Advanced.