Document Workflows

This how-to article will help users to set up a project document workflow using TDAdmin & TDNext.

This how-to article will help users to set up a project document workflow using TDAdmin & TDNext. The user must have access to TDAdmin to create document workflows and TDNext plus Projects.

Overview

Your organization can define workflows for document approval steps or sign-offs. Document workflows allow content to be reviewed, modified, and updated according to your organization’s processes in a way that adds structure and restricts who can mark a document ready for general use in a project. This allows a document to be approved before project resources should interact with it or rely on it for whatever the needs of the project are. In TeamDynamix, workflows can contain as many steps as needed, but must contain a minimum of one step before they can be activated.

Once the workflow is set up in TDAdmin, it can be applied to files in the project briefcase. Project managers can choose workflows to make available to project members.

Although workflows can be edited, be aware that changes to a workflow's steps will not affect any documents that already use the workflow. The changes will apply the next time the workflow is applied to a document or file.

A list of all document workflows for an organization can be viewed in the TDAdmin interface under Projects > Document Workflows

Please note that this workflow type is only relevant to documents. For information about Project Request and Approval Workflows, see Project Request Workflows.

Creating a Document Workflow

To create a workflow:

1. In TDAdmin, click Projects in the left navigation.
2. Click Document Workflows in the left navigation.
3. Click the + New button.
4. In the New Document Workflow window, enter a value in the Name field.
5. Click Save.

To add a step to a workflow:

6. In TDAdmin, click Projects in the left navigation.
7. Click Document Workflows in the left navigation.
8. Click the name of the desired workflow.
9. On the Test Document Workflow page, click the +New Step button.
10. In the Add Workflow Step popup, enter a step Name.
11. If you want to allow the person marked as Author or Editor of the file to edit it, click the appropriate checkbox for Allow Author Edit and/or Allow Approver Edit.
12. Click Save.

To configure the steps:

13. From the list of workflow steps, click the Edit link on the right end of the edit row.
14. From here, you can make changes to the Step Name, Step Description, Author Edit and Approver Edit fields.
15. When finished, click the Save link near the end of the row to save changes or Cancel to cancel them.
16. If needed, repeat for each step in the workflow until you reach the last step.

At this point the document workflow has been configured on the project but will still need to be activated before it can be used on files in the briefcase.

Activating or Deactivating a Document Workflow

To activate a document workflow for use:

1. In TDNext, open the Projects application.
2. In the left-hand pane of the Projects window, expand the appropriate project.
3. Click the Manage option.
4. Click on the Workflows section in the pane that appears.
5. Select the workflow that the project manager would like to activate/deactivate. You may need to first add one or more workflows to the project using the dropdown at the top of the page.
6. Click on the Activate or Deactivate button as necessary.

Once a document workflow is configured and Active it can be applied to a project briefcase file.

Add a Document Workflow to a Project

After a workflow has been configured and activated it can be used from a project briefcase.

To add a workflow to a project:

1. In TDNext, open the Projects application.
2. In the left-hand pane of the Projects window, expand the appropriate project.
3. Click the Manage option.
4. Click on the Workflows section in the pane that appears.
5. Click the dropdown and select a workflow that needs to be added from the Workflows dropdown list.
6. Click the + button to add the workflow.

Deleting a File Approval Workflow from a Project

When a document workflow is no longer relevant or needed for the project, project managers can delete workflows.

To delete a document workflow to a project, the project manager must:

1. In TDNext, open the Projects application.
2. In the left-hand pane of the Projects window, expand the appropriate project.
3. Click the Manage option.
4. Click on the Workflows section in the pane that appears.
5. Click on the Delete trashcan button next to the workflow you want to delete from the project.

Add a Document Workflow to a Document

After a document workflow has been added to a project, you must apply the workflow to the documents you wish it to effect.

To add the workflow to a document:

1. In TDNext, open the Projects application.
2. In the left-hand pane of the Projects window, expand the appropriate project.
3. Click Briefcase in the left sub navigation, then click the document in the Briefcase page.
4. Under the Workflow heading, click the Assign to Workflow link.
5. Select the Workflow you want to apply from the drop down.