A database stores data. MinistryPlatform goes beyond this by managing the actions that need to take place when data is added or edited. You have the opportunity to define those actions and, when appropriate, indicate the individual users to perform the actions. This means that the folks submitting data don’t need to know what will happen; instead, the Platform checks the workflow rules to see what needs to be done.

Workflow

Workflow in MinistryPlatform is a set of actions that need to happen when information is added or edited in MinistryPlatform. You define these actions which flow in a linear fashion.

Workflow is made up of the following:

• Processes
• Steps
• Submissions
• Tasks
• Record Statuses

Processes

A Process is a planned course of action that is called upon when certain conditions are met in relation to one record on one page. For example, processing a new Group Inquiry or approving an Event.

Process Steps 

These are specific actions that make up a single process. For example, as part of the Group Inquiry process, one step may be sending an email to someone who submitted the inquiry. Steps can cause the following actions to take place:

1. A task is assigned to a user.
2. Approval is needed from a user.
3. A message is sent by the system.
4. A task is performed by the system.

Process Submissions 

When a change to a record invokes a process, a submission task is created. This happens when a record is updated (or created) and matches the criteria set in an active Process. (See Special Considerations: Submission below.) The User will be prompted to submit the record to the Process when the record is saved.

In order for any workflow steps to take place, a record has to be submitted to a Process. This happens either when it's edited in the Platform and submitted by a user, or when it's edited by the API and automatically submitted.

Upon saving the record, the User will be prompted to submit the record to the Process. They can click Submit to Submit the Process, which will complete the Submit Task. Or, they can click Cancel to submit later, and the Submit Task will then remain for the User to complete later.

Submission is required when a record meets the conditions specified in the Trigger Fields and Dependent Condition settings in the Process.

Changes to a record may invoke more than one Process. A page may be associated with more than one active Process. 

Process Tasks

Every step in a process will also be associated with a Task. When the Process is submitted, the system will create a Task for the first step and wait until it is completed. The system will repeat this until all Tasks are completed, an Approval Step is rejected, or Processes are restarted. This is how the Process tracks which steps are complete and which one is currently in progress.

• When the Task is completed, the Process creates the next Task.
• The Task can be completed by the system or Individual, depending on what type of step.
• For Email steps, the system creates the Task and attempts to send the email. 
  • If the email is sent successfully (reports no errors when sending), the Task is marked complete.
  • If the email fails, the Task remains open with an Error status. In this case, it needs to be completed manually and marked complete. These can be found in the "Incomplete: System Emails From Me" View on the My Tasks page of the User to whom the Task is assigned.
• Any rejected approval task along the way stops the Process from moving forward. 
• Any qualifying edit to the record also stops the Process and qualifying Processes are invoked.

A Task can also be created using the Assign A Task Step-Type. Completing the Task moves the Process forward in the workflow.

In the My Tasks tab on the Home page, all open tasks assigned to you are listed. Approval, Submission, and Assigned Tasks have an attached record you can navigate to using the Edit Task dialog.

Record Status

When a Task associated with a record is not complete, the indicator remains yellow. This is true for Tasks created via a Process or when a User has associated one manually.

A red status indicates an associated Task has been rejected. See "Summary" and the videos below for more information.

Submit Multiple Records At the Same Time

If you create several records and want to submit them for approval en masse (rather than one at a time):

1. Go to your Home page, and click the My Tasks tab.
2. Select all SUBMIT Tasks.
3. From the Actions menu, select Complete.

Approval

Approval is required when a Process has a Get Approval Step defined. The Approval button displays in the toolbar above the record.

Special Considerations

Configuration Issues

If your Process is improperly configured and the Process encounters an error, the Process workflow will still submit data changes and may create or alter records. Please contact your SPoCs for questions or concerns with configuration settings or issues.

Filtered Pages

It is important to note that If you have a filtered page, keep in mind that workflow processes are table-specific. The workflow Process must be on the table that users are using to create records for the process to fire.

If records are created outside of the platform (in the portal, for example), the generic, unfiltered page is always used.

Read-Only Fields

Any fields that begin with an underscore are read-only in the Platform. They can be updated by Processes, but not directly edited. Since they cannot be directly edited, they cannot be used as Trigger Fields.

Read-only fields begin with an underscore. This includes hidden fields (which begin with double-underscore).

Responding to Missing Data

If you want to respond when information is missing, this requires special handling (such as a stored procedure to check for complex data relationships and a SQL agent job to run the stored procedure on a set schedule). If this is what you are looking for, you may want to contact Professional Services to talk through your project.

Summary

As an overview, here is a quick summary of the information provided above.

Anytime a record is added or edited in MinistryPlatform, the system checks to see if the record qualifies for a workflow Process. If it does:

• The record addition/edit must be submitted. This happens automatically if the record was added/edited via the API. All other instances must be submitted manually by clicking Submit.
• Process Steps fire in order one at a time. As Steps are worked through, the record's task status indicator light is yellow.
  • If a Process Step fails, no further steps are processed. 
  • If a Process Step fails or is rejected by the user it's assigned to, the submitting user is asked to review the record. They can then edit the record and re-submit the necessary changes, or delete the record. 
  • If a user fails to complete a task by the deadline and the task is set to escalate, the system automatically transfers the task to another user.
  • Escalated or rejected tasks have a red task status indicator light.
• When the final step is completed, the record has a green task status indicator light.

Video Topics: Creating a Workflow Process

0:09 - Gathering the Needed Information
1:40 - The Process Record
2:56 - Adding Steps
4:33 - Testing the Process

Video Topics: Advanced Processes

0:13 - The Main Page for the Process
1:24 - The Steps Sub Page
2:08 - Testing the Process