Conditional Reviewers for Database Publish Workflows

Conditional Reviewers can combine a number of workflows into a single workflow that caters for multiple scenarios; distributing the necessary approvals to multiple reviewers based on a variety of conditions sets. This could be dependant on the values the user has filled out in their record, or could be based on the submitter themselves. 

Currently available in the Database module, Conditional Reviewers can be added to any Database> Publish Workflow and can be applied on both Single and Staged Databases. 

Click on any of the headings below to jump to the relevant section:

• Setting up your Conditional Reviewers: Workflow Settings

• Adding Conditional Reviewers 

• Creating a Condition

• Saving a Condition

• Conditions List Page

• Saving your Conditional Workflow

• How Conditional Reviewers are applied if other Condition Sets exist

Setting up your Conditional Reviewers: Workflow Settings

Like standard Workflows, this is setup at an Admin level, and can be customised directly on a Database level as well. The steps you need to create your new workflow are below:

1. Open your Admin > Workflows area and Select Create Workflow
2. Add a Workflow name and Select Publish as your Workflow Type, as well as Databases as the Tool (Module).
3. A new setting called Enable Conditional Reviewers will then appear beneath the Which Reviewers field. Click the corresponding checkbox (as indicated below).
   
   
4. You'll then need to Save your Workflow settings in order to prompt the next step to appear (please note that this is a temporary step & will be removed at a later date). Once saved, click the Configure button next to a new field called Conditional Reviewers

Adding Conditional Reviewers 

The screen that loads after selecting the Configure button outlined in Step 4 above is where you will be able to setup your Conditional Reviewers. If this is a new workflow, the first dropdown will enable you to select whether the new Condition Sets should be applied Globally to all Databases or will be specific to a single Database. The numbers next to each option indicate how many Condition Sets already apply to that Global/Database option. 

Creating a Condition

Depending on your selection above, you will be presented with a number of customisable settings, which will be slightly different depending on whether you've selected to apply your Workflow Globally or to a specific Database. 

• Name: This is the name of your Condition Set and will automatically update at the top of your page as you type. 
• Conditions: This is where you will add the condition/s that will decide when the Approval process will begin. If the user submitting the record matches one of the conditions selected, the record will go through this approval process. You can select conditions using the dropdown menu's.
  • For Global Databases you can select options surrounding the Requestor (ie the user submitting the record). This includes selecting a specific User, an email (a domain name for example), or their Group, Division or Country.
  • For Database specific options, you can select the Requestor options above or one of the fields that appear within that Database's form. For instance, there might be a Select or Text Field which asks users if they have budget for a specific project. If required, you can state that if they say no, the record must be submitted for approval (as indicated below). 
  • If you wish to Add Multiple Conditions, simply click Add to continue applying conditions. A maximum of 10 Conditions can be added for each condition
    
    
    
    
• Nomination Type: This decides whether your Reviewers will be specific Users or Group/s of users
• Reviewers: Depending on the option selected as a Nomination Type, here you will select either User(s)or Group(s) who will receive the approval.
  
  
  • Groups
    • If Groups is selected, you will be able to select specific Groups that will receive the request. If a Group is selected, all users within that group will be able to approve your request.  
    • If you are on a Database specific Workflow and there are Group Lookup fields within the Custom Form, you can select these fields as your Reviewers. The Group(s) selected within the Group Lookup field will receive the Approval request. 
      
      
      
      
  • Users 
    • If Users is selected, like with Groups can you Select User(s). This will open another dropdown menu allowing you to select specific users that need to receive the Approval request. 
    • If you are on a Database specific Workflow and there are User Lookup fields within the Custom Form, you can select also these fields as your Reviewers. The Users(s) selected within the User Lookup field will receive the Approval request. You can select multiple User Lookup fields
    • You can also select 'Leader' as an option if that is used on your platform. If Leader is selected, then the Leader of the Requestor (the one submitting the request) will receive the Approval request. 
    • You can also select a combination of any of the options above. 
      
      
      
• Required Approvals: Either One or All reviewers will be required to respond to this approval request, depending on the option selected here. 
  
  

Saving a Condition

At the bottom of each Condition Set is a Save button (pictured above). Click SAVE to add your Condition Set to the list of existing Conditions (on the Conditions List Page), or to start a new list. The conditions will be saved automatically. Once saved, you will be taken to the Conditions List page, containing all Condition Sets that have been applied to that Database or Globally.

You will still need to Save the Workflow again before these Conditions will apply to your Database. See Saving your Conditional Workflow below. 

Conditions List Page

This view will contain a list of Condition Sets that have been saved. A Condition Set is a group of Conditions. You can switch between Global and Database conditions by clicking the dropdown menu at the top left of the page. 

Within each area will be the title of your Condition Set, along with a detailed overview of the conditions that lie within it. 

There are a number of actions that can be completed here: 

• To Add a New Condition Set, click the Add button at the top right of the page. A maximum of 10 Condition Sets can be added for each Database. 
• To Delete or Edit an existing Condition Set, click the Trash or pencil icon highlighted in the box below
• Re-ordering your Conditions: If there is a Condition Set which is more important than others, it should be placed at the top of the list as the position determines the order the conditions are considered. To re-order, simply drag and drop your condition to the necessary position using the arrow icons highlighted. 
• Minimising the view: if you wish to minimise the view of all the conditions, so you cannot see the detail, either click the Close all Condition Sets arrow, or collapse individual Condition Sets by clicking the arrow in the area highlighted below. 

Saving your Conditional Workflow

Once you have added your conditions, click Close at the bottom of your Conditions List page (ie the List of Conditions you added). 

You will then be on the original Edit Workflow page. This is the page where you first created your workflow, or started editing an existing one, for instance by updating the name of your Workflow or clicking Configure to add your Condition Sets. Click SAVE  at the bottom of the page to successfully update your Conditional Reviewers.

How Conditional Reviewers are applied if other Condition Sets exist

When Conditional Reviewers apply, ie the condition is met, these will take precedence over other instances of the workflow. If Global Conditional Reviewers or general Workflow conditions have been added for example, the Database specific Conditional Reviewers options will always take priority over them. The order these will be applied in (from first to last) is: Database specific Conditional Reviewers > Global Conditional Reviewers > Workflow Template Conditions. 

* Please note that some of the terms used above such as Databases, Workflows, Records & Approvals are customisable and may appear differently in your platform.