User Guide

1 View all open tasks
2 View all open tasks of my group
3 View all done tasks
4 Grab tasks
5 Throw tasks
6 Set tasks read / unread
7 Assign tasks
8 Track efforts
9 Finish task
10 Create an AdHoc task
11 Make a query
12 Notes

The following chapter explain the fundamental basic as well as expert knowledge on how to use the system to the best of its abilities. The user guide is aimed at users, process managers and administrators alike. For a first overview on the system the page General offers keywords around the workflow tool.

View all open tasks

By default, this view displays all tasks directly assigned to the current user and the unassigned ones of the current group(s) the user is associated with. In the tenant properties, this view can be configured to display only the tasks assigned to the current user and tasks without a user assignment can be found in 'Tasks of my group'.

To open the task list, do the following:

Click on the button 'Automate' in the Side-menu and select the option 'My tasks'.
Select the menu item 'All open tasks'. The tasks appear in the list ascending on their start date. For more information about how to filter and sort tasks, please regard chapter Filter, sorting and column configuration.

View all open tasks of my group

Here, both unassigned tasks of groups the current user is participating, and already assigned tasks to an actor within the same group are displayed.

To open the task list of my group, do the following:

Click on the button 'Automate' in the Side-menu and select the option 'My tasks'.
Select the menu item 'Tasks of my group'.

View all done tasks

All tasks that have been completed by the current user and by users within the same group.

To open the list of all finished tasks, do the following:

Click on the button 'Automate' in the Side-menu and select the option 'My tasks'.
Select the menu item 'Done tasks'.

Grab tasks

A task can be assigned directly either to a user or a group. If a task is assigned to another user or only to a group, the current user can grab it before starting the work, in order to ensure that no task is done twice. Find more information about user and group assignment in chapter 'Task assignment'.

To grab a task, do the following:

Select at least one task from the 'All open tasks' or 'Tasks of my group' by activating the checkbox. Above the task list, the button for grabbing tasks appears in a green line. Click on the icon for grabbing.
Alternatively, a task can be assigned to the current user by clicking the button 'Grab' in the Tab 'Properties'.
A short message confirms the grabbing. The task is now assigned to the current user.

Throw tasks

A task can be assigned directly to the current user. The user can hand over a task if he/she cannot complete it. If the user hands the task over, he/she is no longer registered as the responsible party and another user can grab the task and complete it. In this case, the task is released for editing to the entire group. Find more information about the user and group assignments in chapter 'Task assignment'.

It is only possible to hand over tasks if a group is assigned to the tasks.

To throw a task, do the following:

Select at least one task from the 'All open tasks' or 'Tasks of my group' by activating the checkbox. Above the task list, the button for throwing tasks appears in a green line. Click on this icon.

Alternatively, the user assignment can be removed by clicking the button 'Throw' in the Tab 'Properties' .
A short message confirms throwing. The task is now unassigned and can be done by each user of the same group.

Set tasks read / unread

The task list differs between read and unread tasks. Tasks that have not yet been viewed (have never been clicked) are shown in bold. If a task has been clicked once, it is considered as read and the name appears in normal lettering.

Please follow the steps below to set tasks to unread (or read):

Select at least one task from the list 'All open tasks' or 'Tasks of my group' or 'View all done tasks' by clicking into the corresponding line or by activating the checkbox. Above the task list, the button to set tasks to read or unread appears in a green line. Click on this icon.
A short message confirms the change and the font style of the selected line will be displayed in bold (unread).

Assign tasks

Besides the general user options for grabbing and throwing task, users with special rights are allowed to change the user and/or group assignment in the tab properties. If the current user cannot see the area assignment in the tab properties, please regard the chapter 'Task assignment'. for more information.

To assign a task, do the following:

Select a task and open the tab 'Properties'. If the current user has the right to assign users/groups, the assignment area is displayed.
The first dropdown shows the current group assignment and the second one of the current user assignment. By clicking on the cross button on the right side inputs can be deleted. In this context, no group and/or no user will be assigned. By clicking the dropdown arrow a user and/or a group can be selected. Click the button 'Assign' for the changes to take effect.

Track efforts

An employee can track time and cost expenses for a single task and assign cost centers directly. These efforts are summarized for an en entire process instance. Find more information about the efforts of an instance in the chapter 'Efforts'.

To record efforts, do the following:

Select a task from the list 'All open tasks' or 'Tasks of my group' by clicking into the corresponding line or by activating the checkbox. Switch into the tab effort and click on the button 'Add effort'.
To record costs, please select the type 'Cost'. All input fields are mandatory. Please enter a description, cost center, currency, and financial effort. Click on the button 'Save' for recording the monetary effort.

If there is a cost center available in the user profile, it will be pre-selected in the field 'Cost center'. If needed the entry can be changed.
To record costs, please select the type 'Time'. All input fields are mandatory. Please enter a description, cost center, and time effort. Click on the button 'Save' for recording the temporal effort.
The summarized efforts for a given task are listed in the table. For editing or deleting an entry, use the button with the three dots on the right side of the specific line.

Finish task

Completed tasks must be documented by an employee in the system for the process to proceed.

To mark a task as completed, do the following:

Select a task from the list 'All open tasks' or 'Tasks of my group' by clicking into the corresponding line or by activating the checkbox. To ensure that no task is done twice, grab the task if it is only assigned to a group or another user.
On the right side, the corresponding Form will open and can be filled with relevant data. Click on the button 'Save and finish' and confirm the dialog via the checkmark. Before a task can be closed, a confirmation window opens in order to avoid unintended entries.
Alternatively, a task can be finished in the Tab 'Properties' by clicking the button 'Finish'.

Create an AdHoc task

A so-called AdHoc task can be created dynamically and is not part of the original process course. Such a task can be created e.g. when an employee finds during the execution of a task, that an additional (not already provided) step is necessary to end the task. For this step, the employee creates an AdHoc task, which must be done in addition to the scheduled tasks.

Such a task can be created in the properties of the task. Whether the task is an AdHoc task can be seen in the task list. Please find more information about the task list in the chapter 'Customize task and process instance views'.

To create an AdHoc task, do the following:

Select a task from the list 'All open tasks' or 'Tasks of my group' by clicking into the corresponding line or by activating the checkbox. Open the tab 'Properties' and click on the button 'Create AdHoc task'.
Please enter a task name and description and save the changes by clicking on the button 'Save'. By clicking on the button 'Cancel', the creation of an AdHoc task can be aborted.
The new AdHoc task is displayed in the task list on the left side and its property tab is opened on the right side. It is automatically assigned to the user who created the AdHoc task. If the assignment is not correct, change the user or group entries in the lower-left corner. For deleting a user or a group, click on the cross button beside the corresponding field. For changing the entries, click on the arrow button of the corresponding field and select an entry from the proposal list. Click on the button 'Assign' in the lower-right corner to make the changes take effect.

Make a query

'Make query' is a special kind of AdHoc Task. Functionality and creation are the same as AdHoc Tasks. The difference is, that “make a query” interrupts the current task, so it doesn't appear in the task list of the user anymore. The “make a query” is assigned to another user. As soon as the query is done, the original task gets active again. The remaining time waited for the query and is on the same level as before the query.

To create a query task, do the following:

Select a task from the list 'All open tasks' or 'Tasks of my group' by clicking into the corresponding line or by activating the checkbox. Open the tab 'Properties' and click on the button 'Make query'.
Please enter a task name and description and save the changes by clicking on the button 'Save'.
Confirm the message for interrupting the current task and starting a query.
The new query task is displayed in the task list on the left side and its property tab is opened on the right side. It is automatically assigned to the user who created the query task. If the assignment is not correct, change the user or group entries in the lower-left corner. For deleting a user or a group, click on the cross button beside the corresponding field. For changing the entries, click on the arrow button of the corresponding field and select an entry from the proposal list. Click on the button 'Assign' in the lower-right corner to make the changes take effect.

Notes

Users are able to create notes within a task or process instance and directly send notifications to other users. Please have a look at the Notes page for more details.