Before launching a workflow into the world for others to use, it’s important to check that all components of your workflow are set up to work together as best as they can.

From previewing your forms, checking workflow links, and testing email notifications with someone in your organization, we’ve compiled a list of considerations to make before putting your workflow to work.

Actions

• Do any actions need conditions set to only allow the action to be performed on an Incomplete entry, such as the Submit action?
• Should any of your actions trigger a status change? Using the Change Status To option in Action Settings enables your workflow to track statuses for you.
• Do fields need cleared at any point in your workflow? This could be for sensitive information, such as a password field, or to reset fields if an entry is denied and needs to be re-submitted. If so, you can use the Clear Fields option in Action Settings to clear a field when an action is performed.

Statuses

• Is there a status for each state that needs to be tracked in your workflow?
• Are there any statuses that need to be automatically assigned? While some statuses may automatically assign based on your Action Settings, you can use other logic regarding field values or Roles to conditionally assign a status in your workflow.
• Have you included a status that signifies the end your workflow for an entry? Consider conditionally assigning this, such as a Closed status when a Pay action is performed, or a Completed status once two signature fields are filled out.
• Would it be helpful to conditionally show or hide a field based on status?

Roles

• Is there a role for each person involved in your workflow?
• Are roles correctly assigned? Specifically, check that your Public role is for those who will be initially submitting an entry and that your Internal role is for admins who will be viewing entry data.
• Are there any fields or sections that need to be conditionally shown or hidden for certain roles in your workflow?
• Are there any actions that need to be allowed only for specific roles?

Email Notifications & Workflow Links

• Is there an email notification set up for each person that needs to be notified an action has been performed?
• Double check that any workflow links you’ve included in emails contains the correct role to ensure individuals have the appropriate access to entry data.
• If conditionally sending an email based on status, be sure the logic to send the email applies to the status that will be true once the same action (tied to the email notification) is performed.

Workflow Tasks & Entry Views

• Does your workflow involve users who log in to Cognito Forms? If so, you can set up grid views on the Entries page for each workflow role and filter each entry view based on your workflow scenario (i.e. only display entries in a particular status).
• In your grid view settings, have you enabled Shared With Me and/or Assign As Tasks? Consider using these options to 1) automatically share entries with the right people for each role in your workflow and 2) elevate these entries as tasks on the dashboard.

Previewing your workflow

• Have you walked through your entire workflow in the Preview window? Be sure to check that each role’s view for every status in your workflow looks appropriate.
• If you haven’t yet, we recommend testing your workflow with another colleague. Set up your email notifications to (perhaps, temporarily) send to yourself and your colleague as you test what each role will experience when actions are performed. Check that any workflow links included in emails contain the right role-based link.