Manage workflow transitions in a template

Inspire provides you with a template for the process of getting reviews and developing content. If you want a workflow that contains different activities or a custom option, you can update the template. Whenever you update an activity, you should review the transitions and make sure they are still appropriate.

Inspire workflow templates are designed around an Activity.

  • Activities are connected by transitions.

    The transition boxes normally start with a verb (an action word) such as Make, Send, Decline.

  • Transitions tell Inspire what to do when an Activity is completed.
    • You must have at least one starting Activity to create a Transition.
    • You can have multiple transitions that occur after an activity.
    • You can't drag-and-drop arrows to move a transition. You must update the From and To Activity.
    • A transition can be created for an action that progresses the workflow, such as Approve.
    • A transition can also be created for an action that returns the workflow to a previous step, such as Decline approval.
    • If you remove an activity that a Transition is linked to, the transition box is highlighted in red.

You must have permission to work with workflow templates.

  • By default, only users with the following permissions can create project workflows and assignments:
    • Administrator permissions
    • Access to the Project Module with the Create permission
  • Even if you don't have these permissions, you can be granted a special permission to create workflows and project assignments after a project is created.
  • Users must be project Participants to start a project workflow.
  • The Create Review activity must be assigned to a workgroup of users that are review coordinators.
  • The Reviewing activity must be assigned to a workgroup of users that have reviewing permissions.

What do you want to do?

If you want to add a transition to automate the process of creating a review in a Topic workflow, follow the steps in Add a Create Review Action to a topic workflow template.

Create a transition

Transitions tell Inspire what to do when an Activity is completed. Transitions are created from activities, so you must have at least one Activity to create a Transition. You can have multiple transitions that occur after an activity.

To create a transition:

  1. Click Components.
  2. In the Folders pane, select Workflows.
  3. In the Components pane, select a workflow.
  4. In the workflow editor, find the Activity where you want to create a transition.
  5. In the Activity toolbar, select Create transition.
  6. In Name, enter a unique title that starts with a verb (action word) describes the next activity the participants need to complete.
  7. By default, the Activity where you started the creation process is listed in From Activity.
    1. Optionally, if you need to start from a different activity, you can select another one from the list of existing activities.
  8. In To Activity, from the list of existing activities, select what users need to complete after the From Activity.
  9. Optionally, if you or your organization has created Actions, such as Take a snapshot, you can select one of the custom actions here.
  10. To save your changes, click Create.
    Results:
    • You can see your new transition with two lines: one line connecting it from the start activity; one line connecting it to the end activity.
    • To move your transition in the editor but not change the start and ending activities, click the transition's title bar, and when you see the move cursor, drag it inside the editor.

      The lines connecting the transition to the start end activities are re-drawn as you move the box.

      To change the start end activities, you must Update a transition.

    You can now:
    • If you are done updating the workflow, to close the workflow editor, click Save and Submit.
    • If you want to keep working but save your changes locally, click Save Progress.
    • If you want to make other changes to a review workflow, continue to Update the review workflow template.
    • If you want to make other changes to a topic workflow, continue to Update the topic workflow template.

Update a transition

You can change the start and ending activities to move a transition within the workflow steps by updating it. You can also edit the transition Name and manage any attached actions.

To move your transition in the editor but not change the start and ending activities, click the transition's title bar, and when you see the move cursor, drag it inside the editor.

To update a transition:

  1. Click Components.
  2. In the Folders pane, select Workflows.
  3. In the Components pane, select a workflow.
  4. In the workflow editor, find the Transition you want to update.
  5. In the transition's toolbar, select Update transition.
  6. Optionally, in Name, edit the title that describes the next activity the participants need to complete.
  7. In From Activity, select one from the list of existing activities.
  8. In To Activity, from the list of existing activities, select what users need to complete after the From Activity.
  9. Optionally, if you or your organization has created Actions, such as Take a snapshot, you can select one of the custom actions here.
  10. To save your changes, click Update.
    Results:
    • You can see your transition connected with two lines: one line connecting it from the start activity; one line connecting it to the end activity.
    You can now:
    • If you are done updating the workflow, to close the workflow editor, click Save and Submit.
    • If you want to keep working but save your changes locally, click Save Progress.
    • If you want to make other changes to a review workflow, continue to Update the review workflow template.
    • If you want to make other changes to a topic workflow, continue to Update the topic workflow template.

Delete a transition

If you delete the only transition that links two activities, Inspire can't automate the workflow. You can update the transition instead of deleting it. If you need to delete the only transition that links two activities, make sure to create a new transition if you want Inspire to run the workflow.

To delete a transition:

  1. Click Components.
  2. In the Folders pane, select Workflows.
  3. In the Components pane, select a workflow.
  4. In the workflow editor, find the Transition you want to update.
  5. In the transition's toolbar, select Delete transition.
  6. On the confirmation screen, click Yes.

    Results:
    • The selected transition box is removed,
    • All connecting lines are removed: the line connecting it from the start activity; the line connecting it to the end activity.
    You can now:
    • If you are done updating the workflow, to close the workflow editor, click Save and Submit.
    • If you want to keep working but save your changes locally, click Save Progress.
    • If you want to add a new transition to replace the one you deleted, Create a transition.
    • If you want to make other changes to a review workflow, continue to Update the review workflow template.
    • If you want to make other changes to a topic workflow, continue to Update the topic workflow template.