Creating a Design Document

Designing a workflow begins long before you open the Workflow configuration tool. A well-structured design document is essential for a smooth implementation and prevents costly rework later. This document should be a living document, updated throughout the project lifecycle. The design document can be created in any format that works for the organization, but for this course, we will use a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

The design document should cover the following key areas:

• Departments and User Types: Define the departments and user types involved in the workflow. For example, you might have "Sales Representatives," "Managers," and "Workflow Administrators," each belonging to specific departments. Consider default settings for common user types to streamline the process.
• Permission Groups: Determine the necessary permission groups. These groups define what actions users can perform within the workflow. Examples include "Inquiry Submitters," "Approvers," and "COM Admins." Clearly define which user types and departments belong to each group.
• Assignment Groups: Assignment groups are optional. They allow you to assign tasks to more than one user based on predefined rules.
• Relations: Associate users to cases, or cases to other cases. Advanced Workflow supports two types of relations: case-to-case and user-to-case. User-to-case relations are particularly important for managing case team members and visibility permissions.

  Best practices for Relations:

  • Delete any relations you are not using (probably true for all kinds of objects)
  • Consider how you will use relations to control access and collaboration within your workflow
• Notification Groups: Define notification groups to specify who receives email notifications at different stages of the workflow. These groups might align with permission groups or be more specific.
• Reminders: Define any reminders that should go out if an assignee has not responded to a case in a certain period of time.

The workflow matrix is the heart of your design document. It visually represents the workflow's different statuses, transitions, and actions. The image below shows an example of a mockup of the workflow matrix we will be configuring in this course. You can see the entire matrix in the design document associated with this course.

Some specific tasks to create the mockup include:

• List all possible actions that will take place during the workflow. Actions are operations that users perform on a case. For example, an action can re-assign a case or move it to the Closed status. Administrators specify which actions are available for each status in a workflow, configure these actions, and specify which users have permission to execute them.
• Specify the action type. Advanced Workflow includes many predefined action types, including Approve, Assign, Edit Case, and Close. A full list of action types is available in the online help.
• Define the form designer. For actions involving forms, create mockups to illustrate the form's layout, fields, and behavior, and link the mockups in the Form Designer column. Include mandatory fields and any dynamic elements. The image below shows an example of a mockup of the Create Case form, showing the fields and settings that should appear on the page.

• Identify who can execute each action. This is often tied to permission groups.
• Specify email notifications. Include who receives notifications, the subject line, and the email body.
• Document any required scripting. If the workflow logic requires custom scripting, clearly outline the purpose, trigger, and expected behavior of each script.

Some additional items to consider when creating the workfow matrix include:

• Case Visibility Permissions: Define who can view cases at different stages of the workflow.
• SLAs (Service Level Agreements): If required, specify SLAs for different stages of the workflow.
• Custom Parameters: List any custom parameters needed for integrations with other systems.
• Custom Tables: If your workflow requires custom tables to store data, define their structure and purpose.
• Custom Fields: Define any custom fields needed, including their name, label, type, and picklist values, if applicable.
• Email Templates: Create mockups of email templates to ensure clear communication.
• Scheduled Tasks: If necessary, define any scheduled tasks, such as periodic data updates.
• Homepage Customization: If you plan to customize the workflow homepage, document the desired layout and content.

For this Advanced Workflow training we will see how to design, build, and configure a new workflow.

• We will create a new workflow called Inquiries which will allow Sales Reps created in Incentive Management to raise new inquiries.
• The inquiry will be assigned to the Compensation Admin team.
• The compensation administrator can request more information. This task returns the inquiry to the originator.
• Finally, the Compensation Administrator can resolve and close the Inquiry.

• A well-structured design document is essential for smooth workflow implementation.
• The design document should identify core components like departments, user types, and permission groups.
• The workflow matrix visually represents different statuses, transitions, and actions in the workflow.
• Notification groups specify who receives email notifications at different workflow stages.
• Case visibility permissions define which users can access workflow cases, depending on their system roles and the workflow type.