Using Workflow

This chapter provides an overview of workflow and discusses how to:

• Send and receive notifications.

• Work items.

• Use timeout worklists.

Understanding Workflow

Many of the tasks that you perform throughout the day are part of larger tasks of an entire business process that involve several steps and several people working together. For example, when you enter a vendor invoice into the system, you are also initiating an approval and payment process: someone else reviews and approves the invoice, and a third person submits payment to the vendor. The term workflow refers to the way in which work flows through the steps of the larger, business process.

To facilitate this type of multiuser process, PeopleSoft automatically triggers workflow routings—notifications to inform other people of the work awaiting them. So when you enter an invoice, PeopleSoft automatically notifies the appropriate individual that the invoice has been submitted and is awaiting review.

See Also

Understanding PeopleSoft Workflow

Sending and Receiving Notifications

This section discusses how to:

• Send notifications.

• Use worklists to receive notifications.

Page Used for Sending and Receiving Notifications

Sending Notifications

The system sends notifications automatically as part of the standard workflow routings. You can also send notifications from most PeopleSoft components by using the Notify toolbar button. This button picks up any available notification templates for that component.

In both cases, you can send notifications by way of worklist or by email.

Access the Send Notification page (Click the Notify button at the bottom of any page).

To	Enter the user names or email addresses of those who need to take action. This field can contain one or more email addresses or user names separated by a semicolon.
CC (carbon copy)	Enter the names or email addresses of CC recipients, who are made publicly aware of the notification.
BCC (blind carbon copy)	Enter the names or email addresses of BCC recipients, who are made aware of this notification privately.
Priority	Select a priority level for the notification: low, medium, or high. This priority is reflected in the notification only if the %NotificationPriority variable is in the template text.
Subject	Enter the topic or a brief description of the notification. The subject value may appear by default from a template, but you can edit it.
Template Text	Displays the template text, which is based on a predefined notification template. The text in this field is sent in the language of the recipient. However, the notification template has to be defined with template text for each language.
Message	Enter your own comments. The message text is sent in the language of the sender.
Rich Text	Select this check box to enable rich text.
Lookup Recipient	Click to access the Lookup Address page. Enter the first characters of a recipient and click Search to receive a list of people who match your search. To use someone as a recipient, select the check box for the type of recipient (To ,cc, bcc) and click Add to Recipient List.
Delivery Options	The check boxes are populated based on the delivery options that are defined in the recipient's user profile. The Worklist check box is unavailable for external email addresses.

See Also

Setting Notification Options

Working with Received Notifications

PeopleSoft offers two types of workflow notifications:

• email

• worklists

Working with Email Notifications

While many workflow-enabled applications use worklists to assign work, you may receive workflow notifications through email. When you receive an email notification, the notification typically includes a link to the PeopleSoft page where you will perform the necessary work. Depending on your business processes, you may need to notify a colleague or supervisor that you've completed the work.

See Sending and Receiving Notifications.

Viewing a Worklist

When you are using a workflow-enabled application, changes in your day-to-day tasks are reflected in a worklist. A worklist is an organized list of the work items awaiting your attention. Selecting items to work on from a worklist automatically returns the pages that you need. This enables you to bypass any other navigational structure and work directly from the worklist.

The Worklist page provides summary information about all items on your personal worklist. This page also provides links enabling you to:

• View additional details about the work.

• Perform the indicated work.

• Reassign work items.

Access the Worklist page (Click the Worklist link in the Universal Navigation Header).

As with other grids, you can customize the sorting and columns within Worklist grid.

Work List Filters	Enables you to select a worklist to view. You can only view worklists to which you are assigned. The system maintains the filter you have selected until you sign out of the PeopleSoft system. Note. If you complete all of your work items in a worklist and mark them as "worked" during your current PeopleSoft session, the system displays Invalid Value. This is because the worklist is empty; it contains no more work items.
From	Displays who triggered the work item.
Date From	Displays when the work item was triggered.
Work Item	Displays the work items, which are the types of activities that you need to carry out. You can have multiple entries all with the same work item. For example, if you approve expense reports, you may have several entries with Expense Approval in the Work Item column. Each of these entries represents a different expense report that requires your attention.
Worked By Activity	Displays the activity that needs to be worked by the worklist item.
Priority	Rank the worklist entry by importance. Priority values include: 1 for high, 2 for medium, and 3 for low.
Link	Click a link to access the target page—the page where you work the item. The target page is specific to the type of work that you are doing. For example, the link for an expense approval item accesses the page where you can review and approve expense reports. Note. You cannot sort on this column. In addition Find won't work on it and Download to Excel won't download this information.
Mark Worked	Click to remove an item from your worklist without actually accessing the target page. You should not use this option unless the item is a simple notification and no additional work is required.
Reassign	Click to forward the item to another user and remove it from your list.
Refresh	As items are added to and removed from your worklist, click this button to update the page with the most recent changes.

By default, all work items assigned to you are visible from the oldest to the newest. Click any of the column headings to sort work items according to the data in that column.

Performing Work

To work an item on its target page, click the link on the Worklist page for the item that you want to work. The system transfers you to the page where you can perform the required task. When you have worked the item, it automatically disappears from your worklist.

If you need to mark an item as worked manually—such as when an entry is a simple notification with no necessary followup—select the Mark Worked button. The item disappears from your worklist.

Reassigning a Worklist

You can also reassign a worklist item to another user. Your organization can choose to prevent particular types of items from being reassigned.

To reassign a worklist item to another user:

1. Click the Reassign button.

   The Reassign page appears.

2. Enter the user ID of the person to whom you are reassigning the item.

   Click the Search button if you need help finding the appropriate user ID.

3. (Optional) Enter a comment.

   The comment becomes part of the worklist item when it appears in the assignee’s worklist.

4. Click OK.

Viewing Worklist Details

Access the Worklist Details page (Click the Detail View link from the Worklist page).

The Worklist Details page provides additional information about items on your worklist; it includes all of the information from the Worklist page, along with the additional details described here.

Working Items

Depending on how the worklist item has been defined, there are different requirements for what actions are sufficient before the item is considered worked and removed from your worklist.

Although you cannot differentiate between the different types of worklist items just by looking at them, understanding these different types will clarify why different items respond to different actions:

Using Timeout Worklists

Items in your worklist contain built-in timeout parameters. Depending on how your organization handles timeout processing, you may receive an email or another worklist entry if you have not worked an item by the time it times out.

When you open a timeout notification in your worklist, you are transferred to the Worklist Timeout Data page. You can also open this page by selecting PeopleTools, Workflow, Monitor Worklist, Update Timeout Data.

On this page, you can view information about the timed-out work item, enter a comment about the item, or reassign the item to another user.