Define the business process workflow

You are here: Primavera Unifier Administration Mode > Business Process Setup > Setting up Business Processes > Define the business process workflow

Define the business process workflow

In the Settings tab of the Business Process Setup window, you can configure the workflow details. The workflow step settings are arranged in a tree structure, showing all of the steps. From here you can set up the overall workflow setup, individual step setting, steps that lead to conditional routing, links with auto-creation of business process, and sub-workflow settings. These procedures are applicable to project- and company-level workflow business processes.

Overall workflow settings

The following describes the settings for the overall workflow. Select the top option in the left navigation pane to access these settings. Click the scroll bar on the right to scroll down the window and view all fields.

In this field:	Do this:
Enable Workflow Duration	When Yes is selected, records created with this instance will be marked as late when the defined amount of time passes.
Workflow Duration	You can optionally set the duration of the workflow.
Override Workflow Due Date	User can override the due date for the workflow. Be sure to select Yes for this option if you are using Scope Management and have selected Enforce Activity Finish Date for the Record Due Date for the activity business process. "Setting up Scope Management for Activities".
Project Phase (Project-level BPs only)	Setup is valid only during the specified project phase. This is not applicable for company level BPs.
Notify users or groups on workflow completion	Selected users or groups will be notified once the workflow is complete.

Settings for standard workflow steps

This setup is for standard workflow steps. The Settings tab displays the steps that are available for the selected BP, and therefore will vary depending upon how the BP has been designed in Primavera uDesigner. Not all selections discussed below will be available for all workflow steps. In addition, depending on the BP design, not all fields will be editable. The following is an example of a creation step. Click the scroll bar on the right to scroll down the window and view all fields.

Select a workflow step to access these settings.

About Create and End Steps

The Create and End steps in a workflow have unique characteristics you should be aware of during the design and set up of the workflow.

In Primavera uDesigner

In Primavera Unifier Administration

For the Create step

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You can rename the Create step to something else if you want.

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You can place only outgoing links on the Create step.

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You can attach only action forms to the Create step.

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You cannot send a link back to the Create step. If the workflow requires that a form be sent back to the creator (Create step), add a separate “back step” or “revision step” that will send the form back to the creator.

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You cannot “Cc” users on the Create step.

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A workflow cannot send a link back to the Create step. If the workflow requires that a form be sent back to the creator (Create step), the workflow design should include a separate “back step” or “revision step” that will send the form back to the creator. If your workflow includes such a “back step,” specify match step <Creation> for the Assignees on that step.

For the End step

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You cannot rename the End step.

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You can place only incoming links on the End step

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You can attach either an action form or a view form to the End step.

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You can “Cc” users on the End step.

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You can send the form to the editors who have been assigned to the form.

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You can add comments to a business process at the End step, and also at any status in a workflow, including "terminated.".

In this field:

Do this:

Step Name

You can click the link to view a graphical representation of the workflow, with the current step highlighted. Be aware that workflows can often be very large. If you are viewing a large workflow, you can enlarge the canvas screen to make it easier to see all the steps to the workflow progression.

To enlarge the canvas, you can drag the window sides until the workflow fits in the window, or you can quickly maximize the canvas. To maximize the canvas, click the icon in the upper-right corner of the window. To restore the canvas window to its normal size, click the Restore icon.

Description

Enter an optional description to help identify the workflow.

Duration

Choose the time length for this step.

Override Task Due Date

Allows user to override due date for an individual task.

Allow Decline Step Task

Click Yes if you want the assignees to have the ability to decline an action on an assigned task.

Enable Step for Integration

Click the radio button if you want this step to be available for integration with an external system, such as Web Services. If you make the step available for integration, the user can use the external system to view a read-only copy of the BP at that step.

Note: If you select this option, the Completion Policy field (see below) will be set to “Single,” and the Assignment Policy field for the following step must be set to “Preassigned.”

Assignment Policy

For User Select (default), the individual who creates a record (such as an invoice) from this workflow instance can choose the users to assign to this task from the list of assignees for this step. For Preassigned, every user on the assignee list is automatically assigned to the step when the record is created.

Assignees

Select the users to assign to this step. These users will receive task notifications, instructing them to take action at this step. When you click the Select button, you can choose one these options:

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User Picker: Unifier displays the User/Group Picker window. Choose one or more users or groups to add as assignees.

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Dynamic: Choose a step in the workflow from the Select Step pop-up window. The assignees from that step become the assignees used on this step. You cannot choose Dynamic when adding assignees to the first step (Creation) in the workflow.

You can constrain the list of assignees for this step by selecting the Additional conditions to filter assignees check box. To constrain the list of assignees, you need to create a query to filter the assignees using criteria you specify. To do this, click the Define button and specify a field comparison. For information on creating this type of query, see "About Queries".

Allow Cc

Allows assignees to add cc users who will receive a view-only copy of the BP record. Choose one of the options:

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No: Does not allow sending copies to other users.

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Yes: Click Select to create the list of users or groups from whom the BP users can choose to Cc. (This option also activates the Allow Add Cc functionality.)

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Preassigned: Click Select to choose the users who will be automatically cc’d. No other users can be copied.

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Preassigned and Allow Add Cc: Click Select to choose the users who will be automatically cc’d. The Allow Add Cc option is set to Yes.

Note: You cannot allow Ccs on the Create step.

Allow Add Assignees

Allows assignees to add additional assignees in addition to those defined in the Assignees field to the current step. Assignees can add the additional assignees before accepting the task. This is done by clicking the Edit menu and choosing Add Assignees to Current Step.

For example, user A has been sent a BP for review. User A wishes to add user B as an assignee to the review step as well. Before clicking Accept Task, user A chooses Edit > Add Assignees to Current Step and adds user B. User B is notified (depending on e-mail preferences) of the new task. Both user A and user B can accept the task and participate in the review step of the workflow.

Note: You cannot add assignees on the Create step.

Allow Add Cc

This option has two functions:

1. When the Allow Cc field is set to Preassigned and Allow Add Cc, this option is set to Yes automatically. It enables BP users at runtime to copy additional users on a BP step that already has a preassigned cc user. This is done on the action form of the BP during the regular workflow step by selecting the Cc button. Click Select and choose the users/ or groups that can be copied.

2. This option becomes available (choose Yes or No) if Allow Cc is set to Yes. Similar to Allow Add Assignees, this option allows assignees to send a copy of the current step of the BP to additional users in addition to those defined in the Add Cc field. Assignees can add the additional cc users before accepting the task. This is done by clicking the Edit menu and choosing Copy Users to Current Step.

For example, user A has been sent a BP for review. User A wishes to add user B as an assignee to the review step as well. Before clicking Accept Task, user A chooses Edit > Add Assignees to Current Step and adds user B. User B is notified (depending on e-mail preferences) of the new task. User A can accept the task and participate in the review step of the workflow. User B can review the view-only copy.

Note: You cannot add Ccs on the Create step.

Step Editors

Optionally, you can define one or more editors per each defined step in the business process workflow setup. Editors are users who can edit the business process without being granted explicit record-level permission or as assignees of the step. This allows users other than the assignee to edit the business process record. If you are an Editor on a business process step, you can open and edit any record on the step.

Editors can be added on these BP types:

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Line Item

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Cost (all types, including Lease and Line Item with Multiple Codes)

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Document

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Simple

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RFB

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Text

The Editor functionality has these attributes:

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The user who is designated as an editor must have a minimum of View User Records to the BP log in question.

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All edits are done through the BP Log.

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Editors cannot edit a workflow record until the task assignee accepts the task, and saves the draft.

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Editors cannot be defined on the creation step of a business process.

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Editors can be defined on the end step.

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Editors can be defined on a workflow step only if the Completion Policy is Single. (Primavera Unifier will generate an error if Completion Policy is set to All Majority or Consensus.)

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Editor on a task receive notification each time a draft is created.

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If multiple editors and the assignee are editing the business process record draft, the data saved by the last update will overwrite all previous updates.

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Edits performed on the End step of a workflow business process affect the record directly, as no draft exists.

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Edits that occur on the end step are captured in the audit listing the editor who performed the edit.

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Edits performed by record editors appear in the Audit log.

Note: You cannot assign editors on the Create step.

Discussion Group

Specify assignees for discussion groups on the BP.

Note: You cannot assign discussion groups on the Create step.

Step Revisiting

If a step is rejected and sent back for clarification or editing, this option determines to whom the BP can be sent back (which assignees will be available for selection):

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Include only previous action takers: Only the assignee users who were selected when the workflow moved into that step originally are eligible to be reselected.

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Include all step assignees: All assignee users are eligible to be selected.

Note: You cannot specify step revisiting on the Create step.

Completion Policy

Choose one of the following:

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Single: If any assignee completes the task, no matter which action is taken, the record moves forward to the next step.

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All-Majority: All assignees are required to respond. If there is no clear majority, Primavera Unifier uses the resolving action to determine what path through the workflow to take.

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All-Consensus: All assignees are required to respond. If there is no consensus (all must agree on the action), Primavera Unifier uses the resolving action to determine what path through the workflow to take.

Note: You cannot assign a completion policy on the Create step.

Resolving Action

This moves the step to either a following step, a previous step, or a conditional step that essentially “re-addresses” the task. This step must be completed before the workflow can continue. The assignees on this resolving action step can include the original task assignees and can also include new assignees.

Note: You cannot assign a resolving action on the Create step.

Overdue Policy

You can choose to send late notifications to all assignees if the step passes its duration.

Note: You cannot assign an overdue policy on the Create step.

Commenting

You may select either of these options regarding commenting. These refer to the general comments on BP forms, as well as comments regarding individual file attachments on document-type BPs.

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Allow hiding of comments: Allows users to hide comments. The comments will remain as part of the record, and administrators and others with permissions can view the comments, which are not visible to others without the view permission.

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Allow deletion of comments: Allows users with permission to delete comments previously added to the BP record.

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Allow cc users to add general comments: Allows users copied on a step to add general comments without accepting the task. Not available on the end step.

Note: You cannot include comments on the Create step.

Note: Task assignees can also add general comments without accepting the task if they have been given the Add General Comments permission on the business process. With this permission, they can add a general comment to any BP record they can view (workflow or non-workflow), regardless of the workflow step (including the End step), and regardless of the assignee or Cc settings. For more information on this permission, see the Permissions chapter in the Primavera Unifier and uDesigner Reference Guide.

Email Response: Enable response via email

By default, this checkbox is unchecked. When enabled, this allows users who receive e-mail that is sent out when a workflow reaches the current step to respond and take actions in Primavera Unifier via e-mail. The checkbox appears on all workflow steps other than the creation step. The e-mail that the user receives includes hyperlinks to workflow actions.

Note: You cannot enable email response on the Create step.

Note: To enable the attachment of files to e-mail responses to workflow actions, this option must be selected as well as the Add Attachments option on the Options tab in the Action Form design in Primavera uDesigner.

Email Attachments:

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Include both record and line item attachments

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Include record information as attachment

Select to specify the content and format of e-mail attachments. You can include business process record and line item attachments, as well as business process record information. Also, you can override the attachment format set in the General tab if necessary.

Note: You cannot enable email attachments on the Create step.

Override default format

If you have specified a default record format on the General tab, you can use this check box to override the default format. For example, you can use the General tab to specify that the default record format for both email notifications and records saved in the Document Manager be in PDF format. If necessary, you could then use the Override default format check box to override the format and choose Custom for the notification only.

Email Content

You can add additional information that will be sent out as part of task notification.

Note: You cannot add additional information on the Create step.

Cash Flow Default Template

This option only appears in WBS code-based Base Commit business processes. It allows you to enable the auto-creation of a commitment-level cash flow curve at runtime for the business process record. The curve is based on the selected commitment-level cash flow template, and is created upon being sent from the step.

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Click Add and choose a template.

For more information, see Setting up auto-creation of cash flow curves from contracts.

Additional Information

Save Record information to Document Manager

Select this check box if the record information (including BPcomments and attachments) should be automatically saved at this step in the Document Manager.

About setting up Attachments to E-mail Notifications and Attachments to E-mail Workflow Responses

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To specify that users receive a copy of the business process content, select Include record information as an attachment

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To specify that users receive record and line item business process attachments as an attachment to the e-mail notification, select Include both record and line item attachments

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To specify that users can attach files to their business process workflow e-mail responses, select Enable response via email and, in Primavera uDesigner select the Add Attachments option on the Options tab in the Action Form for the business process.

About Completion Policies, Resolving Actions, and Their Statuses

As administrator, you will set a completion policy on each step in a workflow. This policy determines when the step is complete and where the step proceeds from there. A step can be complete under the following conditions:

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Any single user can accept a task and complete it, and the record will move forward to the next step. This is called a single completion policy.

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All assignees to the task have responded to it and a majority has agreed on the action that moves the record forward to the next step. This is called an all-majority completion policy. If there is no clear majority on the action, Primavera Unifier will use a resolving action to determine how the record moves forward.

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All assignees to the task have responded to it and all assignees have agreed on the action that moves the record forward to the next step. This is called an all-consensus policy. If there is no consensus on the action, Primavera Unifier will use a resolving action to determine how the record moves forward.

A resolving action moves the step to either a following step, a previous step, or a conditional step that essentially “re-addresses” the task. This step must be completed before the workflow can continue. The assignees on this resolving action step can include the original task assignees and can also include new assignees.

The statuses you see on this window are internal to Primavera Unifier and are used only to display the status of the workflow step relative to the completion policy. These statuses are:

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Not Started: The assignee has not accepted the task.

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In Progress: The assignee has accepted the task.

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Locked: This status is used when the step has a single completion policy and one of the assignees accepted the task. This status denotes those assignees who were also assigned to the task, but because of the single completion policy, the task was locked and these assignees no longer have access to it.

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View Only: This status indicates that this user was cc’d on the task, but is not expected to take action on the task.

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Completed: This status is given to an assignee’s action if the task was finished and needed no resolving action. At any step, a task can have only one status of “Completed.”

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Closed: This status is given to an assignee’s action if the task was finished, but triggered a resolving action. The task will either return to a previous step, move forward to a next step, or divert to a conditional step, which will resolve the condition and move the task forward in the workflow. The step the action moves to for resolution will show a status of “Not Started.” The number of times the task shows a “Closed” status indicates the number of times the step has been revisited.

To illustrate:

Settings for conditional routing steps

Conditional routing steps are child nodes of the steps that lead to the condition routing. Auto-routing steps are shown with a diamond in front. Set up routing conditions on these steps.

Remember that the next step in the business process workflow will be dependent upon the value entered on the BP for the data element. When you are finished setting up this conditional routing step, the Settings tab will show two steps that represent the two options for the step that follows this auto-routing step. You define both of them, but the BP will follow just one of them based on the trigger.

In this field:

Do this:

Condition Name

Name of the condition. Can be configured for each setup.

Resolving Condition

Select this checkbox if this routing action goes to a step that is meant to resolve the condition.

Operator

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AND: All the conditions that are defined should be satisfied to satisfy a condition.

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OR: At least one of the conditions should be satisfied to satisfy a condition.

Trigger Elements

Elements that are selected as part of design. Value of these elements will be resolved to route workflow. Can be one or more elements depending upon design.

Settings for auto-create steps

Some steps include the ability to auto-create other records, depending on the status of the previous step. It is displayed as a child node from which the link is drawn out. For document-type BPs, the auto-creation of BP records will also copy attachments from the original record.

In this field:

Do this:

Auto-create records

Choose one of the following:

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As per workflow design: Auto-create BPs that were configured as part of the design in Primavera uDesigner.

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Based on user selection during execution: During execution, user will be given a list of BPs that are selected under workflow design in Primavera uDesigner. User can choose which BP record should be auto-created.

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Process list: Select a list of BPs for which the system will auto-create records during execution.

Settings for sub-workflows

A sub-workflow is a mini workflow within a main workflow and is part of the Primavera uDesigner workflow design. It is a grouping of one or more steps. A sub-workflow node will be child node of the main workflow and a sibling of other steps and sub-workflow nodes.

In this field:	Do this:
Sub-workflow Name	You can click the link to view the graphic of the sub-workflow.
Description	Capture more information about the sub-workflow.
Enable Sub-workflow duration	Similar to the main workflow. A duration can be set for the group of steps.
Overall Sub-workflow duration	Similar to the main workflow. Overall duration for the group of steps.
Override Sub-workflow due date	Similar to main workflow. User can override sub-workflow due date during execution.

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