Workflow Step Configuration

Each workflow is made up of columns, and each column contains one or more steps. Steps are the places cards sit as they move through your process. This article covers how to configure an individual step: its basics, assignees, due dates, completion requirements and transitions. For the automations a step can run, see Workflow Step Automations.

Opening a step's settings

1. Open the workflow and switch to the Kanban view.
2. Click Edit Steps.
3. Open the step's menu and choose Edit Step.
4. Make your changes and click Save.

Step basics

• Step Title: the display name of the step, for example "Awaiting Review" or "In Progress".
• Database Key: a unique key for the step within the workflow, generated from the title. Do not change it once cards are using the step; it is how Qik knows which step a card is in.
• Color: a colour that distinguishes the step on the board.
• Description: help text explaining what the step means.

Assignees

Control who becomes responsible for a card when it enters the step.

Assignee Behaviour

• Replace existing assignees with those on this step (default): the card's assignees are replaced with the people chosen in Assign To.
• Assign only if empty: the people in Assign To are added only if the card has no assignees yet; otherwise the existing assignees stay.
• Remove all assignees: all assignees are cleared when the card enters the step.

Assign To

Choose the profiles to assign to cards entering this step. You can choose several people. Assignees are notified with a link to the card. They are also emailed, unless the workflow has Disable Assignee Emails turned on.

Due dates

Steps can set a due date on cards when they enter, which is useful for turnaround targets and time-sensitive work.

Due Date Behaviour

• Never due (stays open) (default): cards in this step have no deadline.
• Due after entering: a relative deadline, for example "3 days after entering this step".
• Due on next weekday/time: a fixed point, for example "next Friday at 5pm".

"Due after entering" options

• Amount: the number of units.
• Unit: Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, Months, Quarters or Years.
• Time of day and Timezone: available for units of a day or longer, to make the card due at a particular time.
• On weekday: available for units of a week or longer, to snap the due date to the next occurrence of a weekday.

"Due on next weekday/time" options

• On weekday: Any, or the next occurrence of a particular day.
• Time of day: the time the card is due.
• Timezone: the timezone to calculate in.

Set Due Date

• Set new due date on all cards (default): always calculate a new due date when a card enters.
• Leave due date if already set on card: only set a due date if the card does not have one.

Completion requirements

Requirements decide when a card counts as complete for this step. They do not stop people moving the card by hand. What happens once a card is complete depends on the step's Transition settings (below). A step with no requirements shows "Manual completion".

Tasks must be completed

Add a checklist of tasks, each with a title and optional description. The tasks are added to the card when it enters the step and are ticked off on the card.

Criteria must be met

Define filter rules that must match. For each rule, choose what to check against:

• Person linked to the card: the card's Key People.
• Referenced Item: the record the card points at, such as a form submission. Choose the Reference Type so the right fields are available.
• Card itself: the card's own fields.

Forms must be submitted

Send a form to the card's key person and require a response to complete the step. When a card enters the step, the form request is emailed automatically. For each Form Request, set the Form, a Title (the email subject), the Email Body, and the Sender First Name, Sender Last Name and Sender Email. The form, title, sender first name and sender email are required.

Transition

The Transition settings control how cards leave the step.

Completion Behaviour ("When")

• Moved by a human (default): nothing happens automatically; people move cards themselves. Use this for any step people drag cards out of, such as an inbox or "pending" step.
• Requirements are met: as soon as the card is complete, the success action runs.
• Due date occurs: Qik waits until the card's due date. If the card is complete by then, the success action runs. If it is not, the card fails the step and the failure action runs.

"When complete" and "If not done by due date"

With either automatic behaviour, choose what happens on success and on failure:

• Stay in current step
• Move to next step
• Move to previous step
• Move to: a specific step you choose.
• Archive: archive the card.
• Check conditions: an ordered list of rules. Each rule checks the card, the linked person or the referenced item, and says where the card goes: next, previous, a specific step, or archive. Rules are checked in order and the first match decides. A rule with no filter always matches, so put one last as an "otherwise". If no rule matches, the card stays in the step.

When an automatic move takes a card into a step that also moves cards automatically, the chain continues. Qik detects loops and stops a chain that would revisit the same step.

FAQs