Auto-Creating a Record or Line Item from a Form
There are several ways to automatically create records in Unifier. If a business process has a workflow, a new record can be created when the form reaches a specific status. (For information on this method, see Auto-Creating a Record from a Workflow.) If you use the Scope Management feature in the Schedule Manager, an activity on the schedule sheet can create a new business process record for a self-managing project. (For information about this method, see Automating a Schedule Using Scope Management.)
For more information see Mapping Line Items from References during BP Creator Auto-Creation.
Using another method—the one described here—you can manually or automatically create a new record based on:
- A condition, such as a dollar amount
- A frequency, such as a daily or weekly time frame
Note: Line items cannot be created with a frequency trigger.
- Both a condition and a frequency
When the form reaches the trigger(s), the form will automatically create a new record. (Or a line item on the form will create a new record or line item.)
For example, you could auto-create a new record for a lease that automatically generates payment requests on appropriate days, using a pregenerated payment schedule, and routes them for approval. Or, you could auto-create a record that generates work orders for your company's assets at periodic intervals, depending on the service needs of the asset. You could also auto-create a planning item when an initiative business process has been approved. The planning item could then be fleshed out with details, such as budgets, locations, personnel.
After a new workflow record is created, it is sent to the assignees as an initiation task (I Step) that appears on the user's Tasks log and the BP log to which the record belongs. If a new record is sent as an initiation task, the user must accept the task to manually launch the record.
After a new non-workflow record is created, it is sent to the designated creators as an initiation task (I Step) that appears on the user's Tasks log and the BP log to which the record belongs. The user must accept the task to view the record.
Note: Regardless of the number of assignees or creators, only one user may accept the I Step task.
The difference between condition-based auto-creation and workflow auto-creation:
Upper/detail form auto-creates a record (using a BP Creator element): | Workflow link auto-creates a record (S-Step): |
|---|---|
Creates a new record from an upper form or from a line item list | Line item lists are ignored |
Creates a new record when the workflow reaches a specific condition or time frequency (or both) | Creates a new record when the form reaches a specific step |
Creates multiple records if records are generated from the detail form (line item list); individual line items can be copied or ignored | Creates one record that contains an exact duplicate of the information in the original record—all information that was contained in that transaction, including forms, and attachments |
Can specify where the new record will reside (such as a project, or shell) | New record will reside in the same place as the source record |
Can specify who will own the new record | User who owns the original record becomes the owner of the auto-created record |
After being created, a new record (workflow or non-workflow) appears as an initiation step (I Step) on the user's Tasks log and the BP log. The user must accept an initiation step task to launch the record into the workflow. For non-workflow records, the user must accept the task to view the record. If the I Step is bypassed: Workflow records are sent automatically to the next step in the workflow. When the record is created, data will roll up to manager sheets unless Unifier encounters errors (in which case, the record will remain at the Create step until the user resolves the errors). Non-workflow records are auto-created and appear in the BP log in either an "edit" or "finish edit" mode. If it appears in an "edit" mode, the user will have to open the record and add or correct information on the form. If it appears in a "finish edit" mode, the record is considered complete, and data will roll up to manager sheets. | After being created, the new record is sent automatically to the next step in the workflow. |
Bypassing the I Step
During a business process setup, the administrator can set up an auto-created workflow BP to skip the initiation step and send the record directly into the workflow, where it normally arrives at the first step after the Create step (or the first step in a conditional routing). For a workflow BP, the administrator can specify the schema, the step in the workflow that the record should use as its first step, the workflow duration, and the name of the person or group who will be the owner of the auto-created record. When the record is created, data will roll up to manager sheets at the appropriate status; however, if Unifier encounters errors or invalid data, the record will remain at the Create step, and rollups will not occur until the user resolves the errors.
For a non-workflow BP, the administrator can set up an auto-created record to skip the initiation step. In this case, the non-workflow BP will be created and will appear in the BP log in either an "edit" or "finish edit" mode. If it appears in an "edit" mode, the user will have to open the record and add or correct information on the form. If it appears in a "finish edit" mode, the record is considered complete, and data will roll up to manager sheets.
Auto-Creation Protocol for Bypassing the I Step
Auto-creation uses details specified in the BP Creator element to create the record. If these details are not present in the BP Creator element, the auto-creation feature will use the following protocol to attempt to create the record.
For a Non-Workflow BP | For a Workflow BP |
|---|---|
Checks for owner specification:
If no owner can be identified, sends an error notification to those specified in source BP. Checks for status: Checks the destination BP setup If no status found, creates the record and puts it into "edit" mode for user to correct. | Checks for owner specification:
If no owner can be identified, sends an error notification to those specified in source BP. Checks for a workflow schema: Checks the destination BP setup If no schema is specified, the record will be sent as an I Step to the user's Tasks log and the BP log to which the record belongs. The user must accept the task to manually launch the record. Checks for an action specification: Checks the destination BP setup If no action is specified, the record will be sent as an I Step to the user's Tasks log and the BP log to which the record belongs. The user must accept the task to manually launch the record. |
In This Section
Auto-Populating the New Record
Dynamically Updating an Auto-Created Record or Line Item
Last Published Monday, June 3, 2024