Managing Active Tasks

The task list is located in the My Vault home page. The list of Assigned Tasks is located in the lower left portion of the screen by default unless the administrator has changed the portal layout. The My Assigned Tasks control looks similar to the following image.

My Assigned Tasks View

Users may run into 3 different types of task completion scenarios. They are listed below. Select their link to go to the section of this document.

• Complete a single task

• Complete multiple tasks at once

• Completing a task that requires authentication

Complete a Single Task

To complete the task you should:

1. (Optional) Filter the list of tasks if needed.

2. Select the drop-down arrow to the left of the task.

3. (Optional) Enter in a comment for the completed task. (You may not be allowed to enter comments if it has been disabled in the workflow.)

4. Click the "Complete" button above the Task Details tab.

The following screen illustrates the steps above:

Steps to Complete a Task View

You may also be assigned an approval task. To complete an approval task you will follow similar steps as the steps above except you will view the "Approvals" tab in order to accept or reject a task. The terms used to denote the positive or negative outcome of a task can be configure to be different for your business. With a positive outcome of the task, the workflow continues forward. With a negative outcome, a rejection path will be followed depending on the configuration of the workflow.

Approval Task View

Complete Multiple Tasks at Once

You can select multiple tasks for completion at the same time. If you are placing comments into multiple tasks, expand the tasks and complete the data entry as needed. 

To complete multiple tasks simultaneously, execute the following steps:

1. Filter the list of tasks if needed.

2. Select the check box to the left of each task you want to complete.

3. Click the "Complete" button next to the "Search" button used to filter the tasks, or click on Approve/Deny for approval tasks.

   

4. If you desire to add comments, key in the comments in the Comments box that pops up. (The same comments will be applied to all completed approval tasks.)

5. Select the Save button to finish completing the task.

Completing a Task that Requires Authentication

Within VisualVault, you can configure an approval workflow task or Signature Stamp so that a user must key in their VisualVault Login Password before the task will be completed. In this circumstance a user will be presented with the following screen:

Authentication Required to Finish Task View

The only difference between the previous steps discussed and completing a task that requires authentication is that the user must enter their VisualVault Login Password before completing the task. If the user does not enter their password, they will not be allowed to vote or comment the task.

The End In-process Workflow command is focused on workflows before all the sequences are completed. 

For Document Workflows

Access the End in Process Workflow by:

1. Going to the Document ID Card of a document that has an ad hoc workflow in process.

2. Select the Active Workflow button on the Document ID Card.
   
   

3. Select the modify link for the workflow.
   
   

4. Select the Workflow Commands drop-down button.

5. Select "End in Process Workflow".
   
   

For Form Workflows

1. Find the desired form through a Form Dashboard.
   
   
2. Click the Form ID link.
   
   
3. Click on the Workflow tab.
   
   
4. Click on the Workflow Commands drop-down button, then select End In-process Workflow.
   
   

When a workflow is active, you can add users into a task sequence that is the current active sequence or later on in the workflow, but not for sequences already completed. First you need to have Owner or VaultAccess permissions to the item, or you need to have an active workflow task on the item. You may also accomplish adding a user by using the Quick Route capability.

Active Task

To add users to an active task you need to navigate to the active task that is assigned to you or the active task for the item. As an example, let's take a document with an active task. To assign a user you will complete the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Document ID Card or Form ID Card.

2. Select the Active Workflow button or Workflow Tab on the ID Card.
   
   

3. Select the Modify link for documents. For forms continue to step 4.
   
   

4. Navigate to the task with the green arrow next to it and click the plus sign.
   
   

5. Select the Modify Link.
   
   

6. On the General tab, assign the user or group.
   
   

7. Select Save Changes.
   
   

Add User to a Future Task

To add a user to a future task, complete the above steps except in step 4, click on the plus sign of the task where the user needs to be added. If you want to add a new task for a user, you would change step 6 and add a new task before or after the task you modified in step 5.

Note: Adding a user or group using the above methods will affect the active workflow and will not change the workflow template, or other active workflows. To change a form template or document release workflow routes, make similar changes on the document release workflow route (configured in the Folder Properties) or Form workflows (configured on the Form Template).

When looking at your task list there are several ways that users can look at the task, its history, and determine information about the workflow. The following topics will discuss where and how you can find out more information about Task Sequences.

Default Workflow Information

The first place that users can look for information about a workflow is simply looking at the task as it exists on the "My Assigned Task" list.

My Assigned Tasks View

The task list view shows you the type of document with a visible icon, the document id, a description of the workflow task, and the date when the task is due for completion. Users can select the link in the Doc ID column to look at the Document or Form ID Card, or select the link for the Workflow Task to show the active workflow for the document or form.

Quick Look at the Task

You can quickly view the type of task, history of a workflow, comments and voting requirements to complete the task by simply selecting the drop-down arrow to the left of the task. The following shows a single task view for an approval type task. Approval tasks have a positive or negative outcome. The wording for the task description, or the Completion Options can be changed to meet your company's vocabulary.

Approval Task View

Clicking on the "Tasks" tab in My Assigned Tasks will display the serial tasks assigned to the user. This following serial task has a Show Quick Route link to allow users to add a workflow task on the fly.

Serial Task with Quick Route View

Clicking the "Training Approvals" tab will display any training approval tasks assigned to the user. The following image shows a training approval type task's details.

Training Approval View

From any of these drop-down arrow views, users can see the type of task it is as well as see the items required to complete the task. Users also have the ability of quickly viewing the current assignments (other users assigned to complete the task) and History. Selecting the Assignments tab will show the users assigned to complete that task in this step of the workflow before it continues (only valid for approval type workflows). The following is an image showing the list of users that need to complete this task. Users who have not completed the task will show Not Voted in the options column. If a user has completed a task you will be able to see how the user voted and if they had any comments.

Show Assignments View

The following bullets explain the columns on the above image:

• Cycle - The number of times that this task of the workflow has been completed. (Will be higher than one if a rejection path was established on the workflow to route back to a previous task)

• Sequence - Sequence number in the workflow or step.

• Assigned To - The user that the task is assigned to. Users may see multiple users if the task is assigned to multiple users (only in the case of approval type workflow tasks).

• Outcome - Voting that has been completed by each user, or the completion status of the task.

• Comment - Comments entered by users that have voted.

The information in the show assignments view can quickly help users know what others commented when they completed their tasks.

Users can also see the History of all the workflow sequences or steps that have been completed. To do this, a user would select the History tab in the Task View. The history of all the previous tasks are shown in this view. The Seq column communicates which step in the workflow was completed by the user.

Show Task History View

Acquire a Detail View of the Workflow

To get a detailed view of the workflow and to drill down into every task, users can select the Workflow Task link on their task list. The following screen will launch.

Detailed Workflow View

From this view you can see the number of workflow sequences, description of each step or sequence, users assigned to the workflow, due dates, completion dates, and comments by the users who completed the tasks. The current sequence of the workflow will be expanded. If the sequence is a sequence where multiple users are assigned, then you will need to drill down into the task sequence and look at the task history. To do this select the Task History link on the appropriate expanded step.

The following is the historical view for a single task where Task History was selected.

Task History View

The Task History view gives users an idea of the tasks that have happened in the past as well as the current tasks configuration. Notice that the Approvers area documents the users who are assigned to this task. Users who cast votes or complete their tasks will show that they have accepted the task or rejected it. This information is helpful when business process managers are verifying the status and history of a workflow.

1. Browse or search for the desired document in the document library. Once you have located the document, select the Document ID link.
   
   
2. Select the Workflows button and you will be able to see the workflows that exist for the document.
   
   
   

Workflows are dynamic and are often made to replicate existing business processes. However, in the case of staff turn-over or other reasons, a user may not to be available to complete their task. It may be necessary to modify a workflow that is already in progress. VisualVault allows workflows to be modified, but there are a few limitations:

• Any user with an active task in the workflow can add additional sequence steps

• Only a user with owner rights or higher can modify re-assignment of the workflow steps.

• Workflow sequences can only be added after already completed workflow steps.

• Modification of a Workflow Template (Document Approval, Review, Expiration, or Form Workflow) will not modify active workflows or workflows that are in process.

• Modification of an active workflow will change only that workflow for that document or form. It does not modify the flow of other active workflows.

Where to Look for Workflows in Progress

• Folder - within folder properties, select Current Workflow button. Active workflows will be visible.

When you view the workflow, the sequence step that is awaiting completion will open in an expanded view or have a green arrow to the left of the current step. When a task is expanded, the document or form owner can choose the "Modify" option to change the existing workflow starting at that step. The "Task History" option will show the prior completed tasks. Users who are viewing the workflow can view the Cycle Number column to determine if the document has been rejected and routed back to a previous sequence multiple times (each rejection in this way would increase the cycle by 1).

Note: Before modifying any sequences, you must select the '+' sign next to a task sequence that has not been completed and select the "Modify" option.

Add Task Sequences

1. Select the '+' sign next to the sequence where you want to add the task.
   
   

2. Click on the Modify link.
   
   

3. Select the appropriate command from the Workflow Tasks drop-down button. (Add Task Above, Add Task Below, Add Task to Bottom)
   
   

4. Configure the Task. See the section on Workflow Types for how to configure each type.

5. Save Changes.
   
   

Remove Task Sequences

This action can only be completed against sequences that have not been completed.

1. Ensure that the Task you want to remove is selected by selecting the '+' sign next to the task.
   
   

2. Click on the modify link.
   
   

3. Select the Delete Task option.

4. Save Changes and Close Workflow window.
   
   

Reorder Task Sequences

1. After selecting the Modify link to edit the workflow, click the corresponding  button next to the Task Type to shift the selected task up/down in the list.

2. Save Changes and Close the Workflow window.

When reordering task sequences, a task type like parallel will change to be a serial task if it is moved after an approval task.

Reassign Task Sequence

Any active task sequence can be reassigned. Simply add the user that needs to get the task and remove anyone that has not completed the task.

VisualVault tracks in great detail each step of a workflow history. When viewing a document, if the Workflow History button is visible and darkened, users can navigate into the history. This history will give users the knowledge of who the task was assigned to, how a task was configured, when it was completed and if there were any comments made about the task. If there are any approvals configured that return to a previous sequence, users can see how many times it was rejected based upon the number in the cycle column for each sequence. Users can also drill down into a task sequence that was completed multiple times and see comments about each time that it was completed. Users may also view the workflow history for a form.

Viewing the Document Workflow History:

1. Right-click on a document in any list.

2. Select the Workflow History option from the context menu. (Note that this option will not be visible if there are no completed/ended workflows on the document.)
   
   

3. Select the drop-down arrow next to the workflow you wish to view.

4. Under Workflow Summary, select the drop-down arrow next to the sequence you wish to view.
   
   

Note: When a user encounters the comment of "Skipped due to conditions", then the task did not evaluate to true for the configured conditions, and it was skipped instead of assigned.

Viewing the Form Workflow History:

1. Right-click on the desired form in a Form Dashboard.

2. Select the View Workflow option from the context menu.

   

3. Click on the '+' to expand the workflow information.

   

4. Select the Task History link.

   

Queue Mode tasks are tasks that are assigned originally to a group of users, but only one user needs to complete the task for the workflow to continue. When a Queue Mode task is assigned to a user and the user opens the task details, it will look like the following:

Queue Mode Task View

A user cannot complete the queue mode task inside of VisualVault until they select the "Start work on this Task" button. The only exception to this rule is when a Signature Stamp on a form is associated with a workflow task sequence. In this circumstance, when a user marks the Signature Stamp, the work will be started on the task and the task will be completed automatically. For all other circumstances, when a user selects the Start work on This Task button, the checkbox for the task will become active for the user who is working on the task, allowing them to finish the task normally. All other users who were notified of the task will have the task removed from their task list.

If the user who is working on a queue task is not able to complete the task, they can return the task to the queue so others can finish the task. To do this users will navigate to the assigned task in their task list. They will then select the Return Task to Queue button.

Task List Return Task to Queue View

In the event that a user begins work on the task, but then is out of the office or otherwise cannot complete the task, other users who were originally assigned the topic will need to work on this task and complete it. For this reason, users who originally received notification of the queue task can get access to the workflow task and complete it so the workflow can continue on. To do this the user will need to do the following:

1. Navigate to Reports on the top menu and then Workflow.
   
   

2. Find the document or form that they need to work on.

3. Select the View link for the document on the Workflow Report.
   
   

4. Click on the "Workflows" button () in the document ID card.

5. Select the Modify link of the listed workflow item.
   
   
6. Click on the Return Task to Queue button in the Task Completion Information section.
   
   

Users will then need to begin working on the task to be able to complete it.

The Workflow Report gives users visibility into all the workflows where the user has editor access or higher to the folders, documents, or form templates where a workflow is defined. This is helpful for supervisors, or business process owners who need visibility to know if they are servicing customers, meeting compliance standards, or completing training in a timely fashion. To view the Workflow Report complete the following steps:

1. Select Reports from the top level menu.

2. Select Workflow.

3. Filter the workflows that are present to view the scope of workflows that need to be viewed.

   

This menu is visible to all users who use VisualVault. This is because a user may have viewer rights to a certain set of objects but may have editor rights to another set where they have responsibility. Document Reviews, and Expirations are not included in this report unless Workflows have been defined for these events.