Taskflow

This article discusses how to create and use taskflows. Taskflows are sequences of automatically-assigned tasks dependent on each other or on a phase change or auto-task button. Taskflows are similar to deadline chains, but each is used for different purposes.

What is a Taskflow?

Taskflows dictate a series of dependent auto-tasks that need to be completed for each case. A taskflow will have an initial trigger that will set off the “flow,” and each auto-task in the taskflow can be dependent either on this initial trigger or on the completion of another auto-task in the taskflow.

Once the taskflow is initially triggered, auto-tasks will be automatically created and assigned to users based on project roles. When an auto-task is completed, any dependent auto-task(s) will trigger. The due date for each task can also be set for a specific number of days after its creation.

Choosing your Trigger

There are two ways to trigger a taskflow: by changing a project phase or by pressing a “taskflow trigger” action button. You will choose which trigger to use when you set up the taskflow. 

Typically, you should use a project phase trigger when the taskflow will always need to be started when a project enters that phase. Nothing else needs to be done to begin that taskflow. A taskflow for the first phase in a project will begin as soon as a project is created.

In contrast, action button triggers should be used when a taskflow is not connected with a project’s phase, or when the taskflow does not always begin at the same time with regard to a project’s phase. Action button triggers are useful when you need to control when a taskflow begins on a project-by-project basis.

Setting up a Taskflow

If you are using an action button as your trigger, you will need to add the “taskflow trigger” action button widget to your project type using the Customs Editor before you begin the step-by-step below. Read Widget Types to learn how to add a widget and to learn more about the action button. 

Creating a Taskflow
Creating a Task 

Creating a Taskflow

1. Click Menu > Advanced > Taskflow. Navigate to the Taskflow Advanced tool to clicking on the hamburger menu in the top left corner and select “Advanced” from the dropdown. Then select “Taskflow” from the lefthand menu.
2. Select Org, project type, and trigger. Select (if applicable) your Org and project types from the dropdown menu. Then choose whether the taskflow trigger will be a project phase or an action button. 
   
   
3. Choose the specific trigger. If you chose phase as your trigger, select the project phase that should act as the trigger. If you chose an action button as your trigger, choose which “taskflow trigger” action button in the project should act as the trigger. (If you have not yet added the action button, learn how to add a widget.)
4. Create tasks. Click the “Create an Auto-task” button to open the “Create Auto-task” window. Once the first task has been added, click on the “+ Create a New Auto-task” link above the other tasks. Create other tasks as needed. Learn how to create a task.

Creating a Task

1. Enter the text for the task. In the top text box, enter the text for the task. Here, you can use replacement codes to automatically customize the task text to the project. For example, you could use a replacement code to inject the client’s contact information on a task to call the client. Jump to the replacement codes section to learn more.
   
2. Choose how the task will be triggered. Choose whether the task should be triggered by the initial trigger or by the completion of another previous task. Make sure that at least one task is dependent on the phase/button so that the taskflow can begin! If you are making this task trigger based on another task, choose that other task.
   
   If you are using phase as your initial trigger and your task is dependent on a different task, you will also have the option to check “Only if project is still in ‘Phase.’” If this is checked, and the project is no longer in the initial trigger phase, the task will not be created. This option is useful for tasks that only need to be triggered if a task is in a phase for a period of time.
   
   
3. (Optional) Add time tracking details. If your Org has billing enabled, you can select "add time tracking details" to associate the task with a billing time entry. Learn more about task based billing. 
4. Choose how the due date calculates. Choose the set number of days between the task’s creation date and due date. If the task must be completed seven days after it is created, for example, you will put 7 in the text box.
   If the task is dependent on the initial task (phase or action button) rather than on another task, you will also be able to choose the set number of days between the initial trigger and the creation of the task. If you enter 5, for example, the task will be created five days after the project moves into the phase or the action button is pressed. Entering 0 will create the task the moment the initial trigger is met.
   
5. Choose whether the task will repeat. If your task is dependent on the initial trigger, you have the option to make this task a repeating task. If this task should repeat, check this option and choose how often the task should repeat. Learn more about repeating tasks.
   
   
6. Assign to roles. If desired, assign this task to a specific role. Assigning the task to a role will mean that if a user has that role in the project, it will be assigned to them. If no user with that role is in the project, the task with be assigned to the project’s *primary. Other roles can be notified of the task as well. Learn more about assigning project roles. 
   
7. Save. When you’ve completed all fields, hit the “Save” button at the bottom right. 

Further Options

Replacement Codes 
Auto-task Formatting
Repeating Tasks
Assigning Roles

Replacement Codes

Filevine replacement codes can automatically pull project-specific information into your taskflow tasks. A replacement code in a taskflow will auto-fill with the relevant information from the project where the task is created. To see the list of {{codes}} for your taskflow, click on the (?) next to “Task Text” in the auto-task's settings, and then click on the link “replacement fields list.”

A replacement code reduces extraneous time and effort spent tracking down the essential information to complete your tasks. Instead of the task simply reading “call client to confirm the appointment,” it can pull in the phone client’s phone number and name (so long as that information in the contact card). 

For example, if in the task text you use the following replacement codes:

The created task would look like this: 

Auto-task Formatting

Replacement codes are also able to be formatted just as other activity feed items would be. For example, if the code in the template is formatted to be bold, the matching text in the generated document will also be bold. Tasks can be enhanced with custom formatting and hyperlinks using the same syntax for formatting activity items, so that when you input the following in the “Task Text” box when creating the auto-task:

the task will be formatted as below.

Repeating Tasks

An auto-task triggered by the initial trigger of either a phase change or an action button can be repeated. Since other auto-tasks can be contingent on this first auto-task, the dependent tasks will be triggered again when this first auto-task is completed, essentially repeating the taskflow.

When you check the “Repeat task?” box in the “Create Auto-task” window, you will be able to choose how often the task will repeat, in a set number of days. For example, if you need an auto-task to repeat once per week, enter “7” for the number of days. 

If the auto-task is triggered by a phase change, you will also have the option of only repeating the auto-task when the project is in that phase. If you check this box, the task will stop repeating once the project is moved out of the trigger phase.

Role Assignment Order

Auto-tasks will be assigned to the user who holds that role in the project. If no user in that project holds that role, the auto-task will be assigned to the primary.

If more than one user is assigned to a role, the auto-task will be assigned to the user placed in the first position in Role View of the Team section. Users can alter this order by dragging and dropping a user from one position to another in a role group in Role View.