Workflow is the stage where you outline the business process flow, moving from one step to the next, in a series of sequential, parallel, or conditional steps structured as a tree to access the application.
For instance, let's consider a leave application process in an organization, which can have three scenarios:
Scenario 1: An employee applies for leave, and the manager either approves or rejects it. (Sequential Workflow)
Scenario 2: An employee reports to two different managers. If the employee applies for leave, both managers should receive the leave request for approval. (Parallel Workflow)
Scenario 3: An employee reports to two different managers. If the employee applies for leave and the leave type is based on a condition, the respective managers should receive the leave request for approval. (Conditional Workflow)
How to configure these workflows is explained below.
1. To create a Workflow, click on the process step Start, and you will see a Settings icon attached to the process step.
2. Clicking on the Settings icon or anywhere within the workflow step or step action button will open the Properties window on the right side of the page.
3. Depending on the solution or use case being automated, the workflow can include various process steps dedicated to specific users or roles. Users can then take appropriate actions using the action buttons when the workflow reaches their assigned step.
Note
The default workflow is consistent for every newly created app. It includes Start and Terminate as initial process steps, along with a Submit action button. The Start process step is automatically assigned to any user.
4. You can change the properties of the start step as needed.
5. Start by naming the step and then assigning a role to it.
To add new process steps to the workflow, you must first delete the Terminate step. While it's possible to add process steps without deleting Terminate, doing so can simplify the process.
Note
Users can export workflows seamlessly to create tangible versions, facilitating easy comparisons and efficient change management. This feature empowers users to maintain snapshots of their processes, providing a valuable tool for understanding process evolution.
After clicking on the property's settings icon for a workflow step, a properties window appears. At the bottom of the properties settings, there are four different types of buttons.
Note
Terminate step bubble will only be visible once when you terminate a process.
The conditional step in the workflow works based on a condition. If the given condition returns True, it executes the workflow steps for that condition.
Note
As of now, platform doesn't support conditions on Grid elements/Subform elements.
Note
Refer to the Business Rules step, Rule with a single condition and Rule with multiple conditions, for more details.
Note
When you add a conditional step, platform will add only two conditional steps by default. If you want to add additional conditional step, follow the same process as adding a conditional step, i.e., click on the Action Button and select the conditional step, the third conditional step will add to the workflow.
Note
In parallel workflow steps when an action button is set to terminate the flow. Then, with the help of Terminate Other Pending Parallel Workflow Steps option, citizen developers can provide the people responsible for executing the parallel workflow steps with the authority to independently terminate the complete flow, restricting the flow moving to the next step, regardless of the actions taken by others involved in the parallel workflow. This will provide greater flexibility and control to the individuals involved in parallel workflows, ensuring they can take decisive actions without being restricted by the decisions of others. It empowers them to streamline the workflow based on their unique circumstances and judgment.
Example
Scenario: Imagine a team of three colleagues working on a collaborative document editing project. Each colleague has the authority to review and approve a section of the document. Once all three colleagues completed their reviews, the document would automatically move to the next step, regardless of their individual decisions.
However, with the power of Terminate Other Pending Parallel Workflow Steps option each colleague can independently terminate the entire document editing process if they believe changes are needed before progressing. This means that if any one of the colleagues decides to reject the document, the entire project halts, giving them the authority to ensure the document meets their standards before moving forward.
Outcome: This option provides greater control to the colleagues involved in the document editing project. They can take decisive actions to ensure the document aligns with their expectations, without being restricted by the decisions of others. It streamlines the workflow based on their unique circumstances and judgment, guaranteeing that everyone is on the same page before proceeding.
Each step in the workflow has the properties, as given below.
1. Step Name-Text Box: This field is to set a name for the workflow step.
2. Actor Type Drop-down: This field is to select the type of actor (i.e., user, role, initiator, manager, etc.) for the workflow step.
Important Note
If you select Actor Type as Anyone, the app-form transforms into a Guest Record (Guest Link) and attains universal access capability. As a result, anyone with the app's link can access the app and perform transactions.
The Guest Record/Link feature can employ the User Functions and brings a sense of democratization within Quixy when creating user functions.
So, anyone with Quixy’s guest record (especially useful for employing user functions) can create a user, deactivate a user, and assign or remove a user role in Quixy without being a part of Quixy.
- For example, assume a company has a website and wants to allow their customers to sign up for the Quixy portal via a self-registration form embedded within their website. So that their customers can sign up for the portal through their website and access the Quixy portal to view their orders, status, and so on.
In situations like the one described above, it's possible for a business entity admin to create a guest app in the Quixy platform and put it on the main website. In addition, the admin can now set up guest app functions so that when a guest fills out the form, an account and role will be set up so that the customers can access the Quixy portal right away.
3. Select Actor Drop-down: This field is to select the Actor, i.e., if you select the Actor Type as User then you will find email ids of all the users present in that workspace. If you select the Actor Type as Roles then you will find all the roles (HR, Manager, CEO, etc.) present in that workspace.
4. Task Message-Text box: This field is to set a task message to the process step. This task message would display along with the task in the Tasks page.
5. Auto Execute Type: If you want any process step to get executed automatically without any manual intervention, use this property. There are 3 auto execute types:
6. Due Date Type: This field is to decide task's due date type for a process step. There are two due date types:
7. Task Deadline in Hours: This field is to set the deadline time for process step's task. The task should be completed within the give deadline time.
8. Choose Assignee Manually: Check this option if you want to manually assign the successive step's task to a user after completing a step. After completing the current process step, a Choose Next Step Assignee pop-up displays on the screen, you can select the user in this pop-up.
9. Enable Save as Draft-check box: If you check Enable Save as Draft for any workflow process step, the user will have an option to save the data as a draft that can be resumed later.
10. Enable Step Action confirmation-check box: Use this option, if you want the platform to ask for a confirmation before submitting a record in the app or completing the process step.
11. Workflow-Level Notification Settings
At the workflow level, notifications can be customized for specific steps to ensure users receive only essential alerts, preventing notification overload while keeping critical updates intact.
Optimizing Notifications in the Leave Approval Process
A busy HR department is constantly flooded with notifications—every step in the leave approval process triggers an alert, creating email clutter, distractions, and missed critical updates. Employees complain about excessive notifications, while managers struggle to focus on truly important updates.
To restore efficiency, the HR team decides to refine the notification settings at the workflow level, ensuring that only essential alerts are sent while eliminating unnecessary ones.
Refining the Notification Flow
Employee Submits a Leave Request
Since the request automatically moves to the next step, notifications are disabled to prevent unnecessary alerts.
Manager Review
- Enable "Task Created" – Notifies the manager that a new leave request is awaiting review.
- Enable "Custom Notification" – Sends a rejection message to the employee if the request is denied.
- Disable "Task Completed Initiator" – Prevents the manager from receiving notifications about actions they performed.
HR Approval
- Enable "Task Completed" – Notifies the employee once HR approves the request.
- Disable unnecessary notifications to avoid redundant updates.
Final Acknowledgment
- Disable notifications entirely – Since the process is now complete, no further alerts are needed.
- Steps to Configure These Notification Settings
- To implement these changes, follow these steps:
- Navigate to Workflow → Select Step → Properties.
- Check the "Enable Notifications" box for the notifications you want to activate.
- Customize the settings as follows:
- Select: Task Created, Custom Notification, Task Completed.
- Unselect: Task Completed Initiator and any redundant notifications.
- Click Save & Publish to apply changes.
By implementing these refined notification settings, the HR team successfully eliminates clutter, ensuring that employees, managers, and HR professionals only receive the notifications that truly matter.
12. Task SLAs: This feature allows the users to communicate to the Quixy platform that it should perform certain activities like calculating the time to send the task escalations, reminders, perform auto execution, calculate deadline time and turnaround time only in business hours (Office working hours).