Project Workflows

With project workflows, you can quickly create projects with a predefined work structure and automate the monitoring of the progress of these projects. In the workflow, you can specify stages, checklists, and a set of standard tasks. A new project by the workflow can be created in a few clicks.

Tasks and checklists created in the workflow can be modified at the level of a separate project - add new ones, delete irrelevant ones. In this case, the project workflow is not changed.

See also: The Ultimate Guide to Flowlu’s Project Workflows

How to Set Up a Project Workflow

To create a workflow, go to Projects → Project Workflows and click Create → Workflow. 

• In the opened window, specify the name of the workflow. The name will be displayed as a title on the Project Workflow Board. There might be several workflows — for each type of a project or an activity.
• Indicate workflow's description to explain its purpose. Here you can also pre-define your projects' description.
• Task creation mode lets you choose whether to create tasks only for the current project stage or all at once. 
• You can also set up when you projects should start and end. 
• Do not check Activate option before you build your project workflow. 

Once you enter all this information, click Save and start building your workflow. 

Project Stages

When creating a workflow, there are five stages by default according to PMBOK process groups: Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring & Control, Closure. You can redefine them (add, change, or delete unnecessary ones) according to your business processes for a particular type of projects of your company, for example: "Do", "In progress", "Done" (the simplest version in the life cycle of any project), or apply a product approach.

To add a new stage, click on the "+" next to the name of any stage. Enter the name and click on the area outside the field or press Enter to save the changes. To edit the stage name, point to the stage name and click on the three-dot icon. Enter a new name in the field or delete the stage by clicking on the bin icon. The stages can be moved using the drag & drop.

The stages you define will form a Kanban board where they will be displayed as columns. And the checklist will be located in the project cards for each of the stages, allowing you to quickly assess the progress of multiple projects.

Stage Checklists

A checklist is a tool for tracking the completion of stages. A checklist item has an assignee, a description, and a report. Include in the checklist anything that does not fit the task category or the outcome of the stage work. Configure automatic stage execution when you close checklist items in Portal Settings.

You can track the progress of the checklist on the Project page, in the Work Structure, and on the Projects by workflows page.

You can add a checklist to a project workflow using the Quick and Complete form. To quickly create a new checklist item, click Add Checkitem and enter a name in the appropriate field. Save your changes by clicking the check mark or pressing Enter.

You can also create a checklist using the full form. To do this, click on the arrow icon. In the full form you can set advanced parameters for the checklist:

Name,  e.g. "The contract is signed, the layout is made.”

Assignee — Select a person responsible for the checklist. The assignee will be able to mark the checklist as completed, create tasks for employees, edit the item, etc.

Description — specify what needs to be done to achieve this checklist or attach other instructions (for example, a link to a knowledge base article). 

Report Template — for example: "Sent ** offers to clients", "The text of the article contains ** characters", etc. The report template allows you to define the structure of the report in advance, which the responsible person will simply adjust according to the results and will not spend extra time on compiling it.

Attach files — for example, layout, logos, contract template, etc.

Created checklist items can be sorted among themselves or transferred to other stages. All changes are automatically saved if you edit an existing workflow.

Project Tasks

It should be noted that all tasks created in the project workflow are only templates, which will be used to create actual tasks when creating a project by the workflow. You can change any fields and data in the created tasks in projects — this will not change the task templates.

To add task, click on "Add Task" in the "Tasks" section. 

To quickly create a new task, specify its name, description, owner and the assignee by default. Save it by clicking the "check" button or by pressing Enter.

Note: Project Manager is a variable that will be replaced by the user — manager of each project created by the workflow. Changing this field (e.g. selecting another user) during the project execution will not affect the previous tasks performed. Changes will affect only future tasks.

A task can be created using the full form by clicking on the icon at the top right corner of the quick form.

You can set advanced parameters for a task in the full form. Learn more about creating task templates in our knowledge base article. 

In the full form, specify the following:

• Title.

• Priority.

• Task Description. 

• Attach files.

• Add a checklist. 

• Assignee — specify the employee responsible for the task execution. You will be able to set the assignee during the project execution (then leave it as "not set"). If a task is performed by the same employee all the time, specify it in the workflow. 

• Collaborators — the list of users who will have access to the task and receive notifications about changes and comments. 

• Owner — the user who will accept the task completion. Note: If the owner of the task is another employee (not a project manager), the owner will receive a notification right after the task is automatically created.

• Start In (days). If you set the "Start In" field to 0, the start time will be equal to the actual date of task creation. Accordingly, if you specify 1, the start date will be set tomorrow.  If the field is left blank, the start date will not be set. 

• Deadline In (days). The "Deadline In (days)" field specifies the task execution duration. If set to 1, Flowlu will automatically calculate and set the deadline for the next day from the task start date. If the start date is not specified in the workflow, the deadline will be equal to tomorrow from the date of task creation. If set to 0 in this field, the end date will be equal to the date of creation of the task. Note: The specified dates will be calculated from the date of task creation. If you have selected the "Create all the tasks when creating a new project" mode, the date of creating the task will be equal to the date of creating the project. And if you have chosen the "Create tasks only for the current stage" mode, the date of creation of tasks for all subsequent stages will be equal to the date of transition to this stage.

• Estimate Time, if you use task-based time management. 

• Add a reminder — by date, deadline or start date.

When creating a project workflow, you often need to change the sequence of checklists and tasks. Use drag & drop to move checklists and tasks. 

Workflow Settings

In the workflow settings, you can activate the workflow by checking the checkbox next to the corresponding option. You can also activate the workflow in the upper right corner by clicking on the corresponding button. 

When you make changes to a project workflow, for which you have already created projects, and reactivate it, you can choose whether you want to apply the changes to all existing projects or not. Please note that if you select this option, the changes will affect all the projects created by this workflow. If you make changes to the task template, only the following fields can be modified for the the existing project tasks: stage, checklist, name, description, estimated time, task order. 

Here you can also change the name of the workflow or add a description where you can specify the purpose of this workflow. 

Task Creation Mode:

• Create the tasks only for the current project stage. In this case, when you move the project to the next stage, the tasks will be created only for this stage. That is, when creating a project, the tasks are created for the first stage. If the project is implemented sequentially, we recommend you to activate this mode. 

• Create all the tasks when creating a new project. In this case, when creating a project, all tasks specified for all stages will be created, and all responsible persons will be notified of all automatically created tasks. 

Project Time Frame — preset start and end dates of the project relative to the moment of its creation.

How to edit a workflow

You can always edit the created workflow or delete it by clicking on the three vertical points in the upper right corner.

The list of all project workflows can be displayed by clicking on three points in the upper right corner and going to the "All Project Workflows" tab.

Here you can see a table with data on the number of created projects by this workflow, description, workflow id, and activity status of the workflow. 

Please note: It is not recommended to change the workflow of a created project, as the connection between the completed tasks and the project will be lost.

How to create a project by the workflow

Go to the project workflow board. On the project workflow board, create a project in the "Quick Add" field.

Specify the name of the project and the project manager. Or click on the "Create Project" button in the upper right corner.

Checklist Page

• At the very top of the page, there is the name of the checklist. The name can be edited by clicking on it.

• To the right of the name, there is a panel with buttons. Here you can find the options — "Mark as Complete", "Copy the Link to the Clipboard", "Open Checklist in New Tab". Clicking on three vertical points, you can edit the template of a checklist, as well as delete a checklist.

• The description of the checklist is displayed under is the name (if it is filled at the checklist in the project workflow). Its editing is available only in a checklist, in the project workflow.

• The report field displays the report entered in the workflow, which can be edited by clicking on it.

• You can attach files to a checklist.
  

How to Copy Project Workflow

1. Go to "Projects" → "Project Workflows." 
2. Choose a project workflow from the board (or click "All Project Workflows"). 
3. Go to the project workflow and click on the three-dots button in the upper right corner. Open the editing mode. 
4. Click on the three-dots button in the upper right corner and select the option to clone a project workflow.