Workflow Current Activity (Standard Model)

Every running workflow has the concept of a current activity. It's details occupy the central portion the workflow assistant

Flowset supports two different types of Workflow Model

1. Standard Models - activity level behaviour
2. Advanced models - Activities are broken down into Task models

This article describes the behaviour with Standard Model workflows.  Details of Advanced models can be found in Workflow Current Activity (Advanced Model)

Visualisation in the Workflow Assistant

 

The current activity is comprised of :

The name, description and overall completion status of the current activity (1).

A collapsible section containing its completion criteria and any activity tasks (2).

Any conditions required to complete the activity (3).

A button to show or hide only those ticket fields relevant to its completion conditions (4)

The status for each condition (5).

Any activity tasks that must be completed against the current activity (6).

 

Name and Description

The name of the current activity is shown in bold on a grey background. If a description has been defined this is available as a tool tip by hovering over the activity name 

 

 

Activity Completion Status

In order for an activity to be considered complete

• the state of the ticket field values must satisfy all its data quality completion conditions
• all activity task fields should be filled in

Often an activity will have more than one completion condition and/or task fields. They must all be satisfied for the activity to be considered complete.

A coloured tab to the left of the activity name shows whether the activity is complete. 

 

Incomplete - Grey Tab

A grey tab indicates that the activity is incomplete :

In this case, the current activity is incomplete because the completion condition is not satisfied.  Hence the tab is shown in Grey.

Complete - Green Tab

A green tab indicates that the activity is complete :

In this case, the task fields are filled in and the completion condition is satisfied (green tick appears).  The current activity is complete.  It is marked with the green tab and the next activities are shown.

Note: The next activities only become available for selection, once the current activity is complete

 

Activity Completion Criteria

An activity may have zero or more completion conditions.  These completion conditions must be satisfied for activity to be complete.

The activity may also define a set of task fields.  These task fields are used to gather information from the agent.  Typically, a set of conditions (known as outcomes) will be defined to ensure that the task fields have been filled in to a satisfactory level.  When the task fields have been filled in correctly, the activity tasks will be considered to be complete.

If an activity has completion conditions and task fields, then both need to be satisfied.

If an activity has no completion conditions or task fields to satisfy, then the activity will be considered immediately complete.

 

Activity Task Fields

Task fields are used to capture information from the agent as they proceed with the current activity on the ticket.  These task fields can be of many different types 

• Text
• Text Area (multiline)
• Drop down
• Multi select
• Checkbox
• Yes/No
• Integer
• Decimal
• Currency
• Regular Expression
• Date
• Date Time

Additionally there are read-only field types that display fixed targeted information to assist the user through the workflow. 

• Guidance (Simple text and optional hyperlinks)

 

Task Field Value Restrictions

Certain character based field types have built in restrictions. For example :

• Integer
• Decimal
• Currency

generally only accept numbers and few additional supporting characters.

E.g. typing a character 'z' into the above field types will not be accepted.

The workflow definition may define restrictions on other fields types :

• Text and Text Area fields may have min and max length restrictions
• Regular Expression fields define a pattern against which the value must match

Field value restrictions are evaluated whilst the user is typing the value and after the value has been entered. If the restrictions are not satisfied the input value changes from black to red. 

1. Here, the value entered for the National Insurance number is not in the correct format
2. Here, the length of value being entered is still insufficient.

 

Character Based Fields

Apply and Cancel Buttons

The following field types require the user to type a series of characters to complete the value

• Text
• Text Area
• Integer
• Decimal
• Currency
• Regular Expression

Floating buttons appear when these types of task field are being edited : 

 

Here, the user is in the process of filling out the text field called "Candidate Name". 

1. Clicking the tick button will commit the value typed so far and trigger re-evaluation of conditions such that new task fields may appear and/or activity outcomes become satisfied
2. Clicking the cross button will discard the value typed so far and redisplay the previous value in the field.

Once a task field value has been committed or cancelled the floating buttons disappear.

 

Accelerators

• Pressing the <Escape> key on all the above field types cancels the current value and is equivalent to clicking the cross button
• Pressing the <Enter> key on all the above field types (except Text Area) applies the value and is equivalent to clicking the tick button

Auto Apply

If the user is typing into a character based task field and then clicks elsewhere (outside the field), the latest typed value will be automatically applied as though the user had pressed the tick button. The same is true if the user tabs to the next task field.

 

Task Fields that represent Zendesk Ticket Fields

A Task field can capture a value for an associated Zendesk ticket field. The type of the task field will match the underlying type of the Zendesk Ticket Field. eg Checkbox, Text, Dropdown. 

The corresponding Zendesk Ticket field will be disabled in the Agent Interface because its value is now being controlled in the workflow assistant.

Such task fields can be read-only in which case they will be greyed out and show the latest value from the ticket

NB Their values are only committed to the ticket when the workflow transitions to the next activity or finishes, see Persisting Changes

 

Outcomes

You can define conditions (known as task outcomes) against task fields to ensure that the fields have been filled out in a satisfactory way.  For example, there may be 3 task fields, but only 2 of them are mandatory to be filled in.  The activity will normally be configured so that at least one outcome needs to be satisfied in order that the activity tasks are considered complete.

Here we see that the activity is incomplete (grey tab).  In this case it is because the outcome requires that the check box is checked AND the Impact drop down has been given a value.  Impact is not set so the outcome is not satisfied and hence the activity is not complete.

Now that the Impact has been set, the activity outcome is satisfied and the current activity is now complete.

 

Data Quality Completion Conditions

Data quality is ensured by completion conditions that reference required ticket field values. Conditions can be simple or complex using combinations of Boolean logic and value comparison operators.

Each primitive condition usually references a ticket field and might for example require it to be non empty or have a specific value. But the condition expression language is rich and allows for very complex conditions if necessary.

Data quality conditions have a name that is displayed in the current activity section, and a completion status indicator,  

If the condition is complex its structure can be viewed by clicking chevrons to the right of the name to expand its structure.

Show / Unmask Fields Button

A button, in the top right of the current activity section, can be used to focus in on the fields of interest involved in the completion conditions for the activity.

 

Click the the Show fields button to change the Zendesk ticket fields panel to show only those fields involved in the completion conditions.  All other fields will be temporarily hidden.

Here is an example usage : 

A) The agent is about to press Show Fields to assist in completing the activity

• All form fields are currently shown (1).
• About to click Show Fields (2).

B) The agent has clicked the Show Fields Button

• Only the two fields required to complete the activity are now shown (3).
• Button has been renamed to "Unmask Fields" (4).

C) The agent has supplied the appropriate ticket field values

• The appropriate field values have been supplied (5).
• The data quality condition is now satisfied and the checklist item was already set so the activity is now complete (6).
• The supplied field values have satisfied the "Submission Requirements" condition (7).

D) The agent has pressed the "Unmask Fields" button

• All form fields are shown again (8).
• Button has been renamed back to "Show Fields" (9).

 

IMPORTANT: Be aware that the workflow assistant may automatically unmask fields as a result of performing other actions, such as selecting an onward activity.

 

Accelerators

Accelerators can fill out particular combination of task field values so that a completion condition may immediately become satisfied after an accelerator is applied. See Workflow Applying Accelerators

 

Collapsible Activity Section

The chevron to the right of the current activity name can be used to expand or collapse the section detailing its completion requirements. On entering an activity, the workflow assistant will automatically expand this section if the current activity is incomplete, on the basis that this should be the agent's next focus of attention.

Expanded

 

Collapsed

Note: Be aware that the workflow assistant may automatically collapse the current activity section as a result of performing other actions, such as selecting an onward activity.

Persisting Changes

At any time the Zendesk submit button may be pressed as normal to persist changes to field values, comments etc.

When pressing submit the workflow assistant may briefly enter a busy state whilst the Flowset specific information, such as activity task field values, are recorded.