NetResults ProblemTracker
Workflow Transitions

A transition is a path used to move a record from one state to another in the workflow or can be used to assign the record to another user. A transition can include fields called "Task Fields" that require a user to enter some information into a record before it moves to the next step in the workflow. In some cases a transition may be a loop (a transition which keeps the record in the same state). A loop transition is used when a record simply needs to have information added to a field, but does not move to another state.


Defining Transitions for a State

To define the transitions for a state, click on the Define Workflow button in the ProblemTracker Administration section. Click on the Transitions button to the left of the state on the Workflow State table in the Define Workflow page.


Adding a New Transition

To add a new transition, click on the Add button. The following options will be presented:

Label
The name of the transition. This label will be used as the name of the transition during the Task operation as well.

Order
The order of the transition. This will determine the order in which it appears in the transitions table as well as the list displayed during the Task operation. States which have the same value specified in the order field will be listed alphabetically.

New State
The state to which the problem record will be routed when this transition is selected in the Task operation. For this option, you may select one of the following:

New Assignee
The user to whom the problem record will be routed when this transition is selected in the Task operation. For this option, you may select one of the following choices listed below. For each of the choices listed, you also have the option to include or exclude the user "TBD" as part of your selection.:

History Comment Requirement

Up to 2000 characters can be entered into the History Comment.

After making selections to define the transition, click OK to create the transition. The transition will now be displayed on the transition table.

Fast Tasking
"Fast Tasking" is the process where a transition is chosen and the user clicks OK, the record will immediately be updated because it is set such that there are no task fields and the history comment should not be displayed. If a transition is configured to allow "fast tasking" and is configured to display alert settings during the task operation, the alert settings will not be displayed during the task operation. The default alert settings for the transition will be used instead.


Editing a Transition

To edit a transition, click on the Edit button to the left of the transition. After making changes to the transition, click OK to save your modifications. For details on the properties of a transition, see "Adding a Transition" section above.


Removing a Transition

To delete a transition, click on the Delete button to the left of the transition. Click OK to confirm, then OK to complete the operation. The transition will be removed from the transition list.


Defining Fields For the Task Operation

For each transition within a particular state, you can specify which fields should be presented to the user for the Task operation. By only presenting the user with the necessary fields, you can ensure each user will correctly adhere to the development process. To do this, click on the Transitions button to the left of the desired state on the Define Workflow page. Then, click on the Task Fields button to the left of the desired transition.

To add or remove a task field from the transition, use the Add and Remove buttons to move fields from the right list (fields "Not In Use") to the left list (fields "In Use") and vice versa.

When a Task Field is moved to the "In Use" column, there are several properties of these fields that can be configured. To edit the properties of a task field, click on the Task field, then click on the Edit button. The following properties will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. After making your changes to the attributes of the task field, click Update to save your changes:


Alerts

Alerts are email notification messages that can be sent automatically by ProblemTracker at a later date and time to remind a user or group about a record. Alert settings can be configured for each transition. When an alert is set for a transition, when the Task operation is performed on a record using this transition, the alert settings will be applied to the record. It is also possible to allow users to be prompted to configure the Alert settings during the Task operation. Information on configuring default Alert settings for a transition can be found in the Administration section for the Alerts feature.