Creating a Workflow

This article walks through creating a new workflow and building its columns and steps on the Kanban board. Once the structure is in place, you can configure each step's behaviour and automations. For an introduction to workflows, see Workflows Overview.

1. Define the workflow

1. Open Workflows from the main sidebar.
2. Click Define new Workflow. You need permission to create content types to see this button.
3. Enter a Workflow Title, for example "Staff Induction" or "Enquiry Follow-up".
4. Choose the scope(s) the workflow should belong to. The scope decides who can see and use the workflow and where it is grouped on the Workflows page.
5. Qik creates the workflow and opens its page, ready for you to add columns and steps.

2. Add columns and steps

Columns are the major stages of the process, arranged left to right. Each column holds one or more steps, which are the places a card can actually sit.

1. On the workflow's Kanban view, click Edit Steps.
2. Click Add Column. Enter a Title (for example "Application Received") and an optional Description. A new column is created with one step of the same name.
3. To add more steps to a column, click Add Step in that column and enter the step's title and description.
4. Use a step's menu to Edit Step, Move Up/Move Down, Move to Left Column/Move to Right Column, or Delete step.
5. Click Hide Edit when you are done. Your changes save to the workflow as you make them.

Step names should describe the state the card is in, such as "Interview Scheduled", "Awaiting Feedback" or "Approved", so anyone can understand the board at a glance. Each step has its own Color, which you can set when editing the step.

3. Configure each step

Open Edit Step on any step to set how it behaves:

• Assignees: who cards are assigned to when they enter the step.
• Due Dates: whether cards become due, and when.
• Completion Requirements: tasks that must be completed, criteria that must be met, or forms that must be submitted.
• Transition: whether cards are moved by a person or move on automatically, and where they go on success or failure.

These options are covered in detail in Workflow Step Configuration.

4. Add automations

Each step has four places for automations, called functions: When a card enters this step, When a card leaves this step, When a card successfully completes in this step and When a card fails this step.

Functions are built in. You choose them from a list and fill in a form; no code is required. The available functions are:

• Send email
• Send a text message
• Add to campaign
• Modify item data
• Add to group or scope / Remove from group or scope
• Add access pass / Remove access pass
• Add to another workflow
• Run an action (for custom logic you have built as an action)

See Workflow Step Automations for what each one does.

5. Workflow settings

Settings that apply to the whole workflow are on its Workflow Settings tab. To open it, use the workflow's menu (the … button on the Workflows page, or next to the title on the workflow's page) and choose Configure '…' Type:

• Card Prefix: an optional short code (2–8 uppercase letters or digits, for example "HR") shown before each card's number.
• Disable Assignee Emails: stop emailing people when a card is assigned to them. They still get the in-dashboard notification.
• Stealth Mode: while testing, divert every email and SMS sent by this workflow's automations to a Stealth Mode Email or Stealth Mode Phone Number instead of real recipients. If no address is set here or for your organisation, the messages are dropped.

6. Decide how cards arrive

Cards can be added by hand with New Card, from any list with Add to workflow, or automatically when a form is submitted or a record is created. See Content Workflow Automations.

Tips for designing workflows

• Start simple. Begin with a few columns and steps and add more as the process settles.
• Leave "inbox" steps manual. If people drag cards out of a step, keep its Completion Behaviour as Moved by a human. Setting it to move automatically can make new cards flow straight through.
• Test in stealth mode. Turn on Stealth Mode while you build so automated emails and texts only reach you.
• Use colours meaningfully, for example green for positive outcomes and red for problems.
• Plan the end state. Decide whether the last step should archive cards once they are done.

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