This article covers how to set up the Process Management setting of an app.

This section covers how to set up a basic workflow in the Process Management setting.

On the Process Management setting screen, you will need to set up items like Status before taking action, Assignee List, Conditions to take this action, Action name (Button name), and Status After Action Taken.
Representing your workflow in a visual map beforehand helps you set up the Process Management smoothly.

This section covers how to set up the Process Management setting for a purchase request app.
In this app, an approver confirms and approves the purchase request submitted by a user (a user who created the record in the app).

1. Click the App Settings button at the upper right of the "View" screen, select the App Settings tab, and select Process Management under General Settings.
   

2. In the 1. Enable this Feature section, select the Enable process management check box.

3. Set up the settings in the 2. Status Settings section.
   Status indicates the workflow status of a record.
   The following three statuses are set in advance: "Not started," "In progress," and "Completed." You can change the status name. You can also add or delete statuses.
   Here, change the names of the three statuses to "Before Applying", "Applying", and "Approved" respectively.
   

4. Set up the settings in the 3. Process Flow Settings section.
   Organizing your workflow beforehand and creating a process table helps you set up the settings smoothly.
   Reference: Designing Process Management
   In this example, you will set up the setting based on the process table below:

   Status before taking action	Assignee	Conditions to take this action	Action name (Button name)	Status After Action Taken
   Before Applying	Created by		Apply	Applying
   Applying	Approver		Approve	Approved

   The first status in the Status before taking action section is automatically set to the initial status you have set in Step 3. In this example, "Before Applying" is automatically set as the first status.

   

5. Set up Assignee List.
   Assignee refers to the user who is assigned to carry out the action to change the status.
   For the first status, you can select either Set to anybody or Created by (the user who created the record).
   In this example, select Created by.
   

6. Set up Conditions to take this action.
   Setting up Conditions to take this action, you can set up a workflow with branch criteria.
   In this example, leave All records selected.
   

7. Set up Action name (Button name).
   The action name set here will be used for the button to perform the action, which will appear on the assignees' screens.
   In this example, enter "Apply".
   

8. Set up Status After Action Taken.
   When the action is performed, the status changes from the one you have set in the Status before taking action section to the one set here.
   You can select a status from the statuses set in Step 3. In this example, select "Applying."
   You have successfully set up the first portion of the workflow, from the first status to the next one (from "Before Applying" to "Apply").
   

9. Set up the remaining portion in the same manner.
   In this example, set up the workflow from the status "Apply" to "Applied" as described below.
   

   • Status before taking action:
     Select "Applying."
   • Assignee List:
     From the Add a field of the form drop-down list, select "Approver."
   • Conditions to take this action:
     Leave All records selected.
   • Action name (Button name):
     Enter "Approve".
   • Status After Action Taken:
     Select "Approved."
     
     To select "Approver" as an assignee as in the example above, you first have to add a "User selection" field on the app form and name the field "Approver".
     You have successfully set up the settings for the status "Applying."
     Note that you do not need to set up the settings for the last status (in this example, "Approved").

10. Click Save on the bottom right side of the screen.

11. Click Update App on the upper right side of the screen.

12. On the confirmation dialog, click Update App.

You have successfully set up the Process Management setting.
When you add and save a record in the app, the first status in the workflow and the button (action) to move the status forward are displayed on the "Record Details" screen.

Assignee refers to the user who is assigned to carry out the action to change the status to a different one.
If any assignees are set, the button to perform an action is displayed on the "Record Details" screen for the users set as assignees. The button is not displayed for users except the assignees.
If no assignee is set, the button is displayed for all users.

Assignees can be set for each status.
For the first status, you can select either Set to anybody or Created by (the user who created the record).

For the second status and subsequent statuses, you can set assignees by directly entering a user name or department name or by selecting a field from the Add a field of the form drop-down list.

To set multiple users and/or organizations as assignees, select one from the drop-down options User chooses one assignee from the list to take action, All assignees in the list must take action, and One assignee in the list must take action.
The option you select will affect how the assignee for the status is designated and the timing at which the status changes. The details are as follows.

• If you select User chooses one assignee from the list to take action

  • How the assignee is designated:
    Users set as assignees in the Process Management setting become candidates for an assignee. Among the candidates, one user selected by the assignee of the previous status becomes the assignee for the next status.
  • The timing at which the status changes:
    When the user designated as the assignee performs an action, the status changes.

• If you select All assignees in the list must take action

  • How the assignee is designated:
    All users set as assignees in the Process Management setting become the assignees.
  • The timing at which the status changes:
    When all the assignees perform an action, the status changes.

• If you select One assignee in the list must take action

  • How the assignee is designated:
    All users set as assignees in the Process Management setting become the assignees.
  • The timing at which the status changes:
    When any one of the assignees performs the action, the status changes.
    

You can direct your process to perform different actions based on the value entered in a field.
For example, you can configure the setting in such a way that, if the value entered in the "Cost" field is $10,000 or more, approval is required, and if not, approval is skipped.

To direct your process to perform different actions, configure the settings in the Conditions to take this action section.
Below is an example of how you can configure the settings.

• Status
  Before Applying, Applying, and Approved
  
  

• Process table 1:
  Add a "Number" field (field name: "Cost") and a "User selection" field (field name: "Approver") on the app form beforehand.

  Status before taking action	Assignee	Conditions to take this action	Action name (Button name)	Status After Action Taken
  Before Applying	Created by	The value entered in the "Cost" field is 10000 or more	Apply	Applying
  		The value entered in the "Cost" field is 9999 or less	Apply	Approved
  Applying	Approver		Approve	Approved

  The screen on which the settings are configured in accordance with the process table 1:
  

Note that if you specify conditions in the Conditions to take this action section, the button to perform the action is not displayed for assignees until the specified condition is met.
For example, in the case where the settings are configured in accordance with the process table shown below, the "Approve" button is not displayed for the approver until the approval comment is entered even when the status is "Applying."

• Process table 2:
  Add a "Number" field (field name: "Cost"), a "User selection" field (field name: "Approver"), and a "Text" field (field name: "Approval comment") on the app form beforehand.

  Status before taking action	Assignee	Conditions to take this action	Action name (Button name)	Status After Action Taken
  Before Applying	Created by	The value entered in the "Cost" field is 10000 or more	Apply	Applying
  		The value entered in the "Cost" field is 9999 or less	Apply	Approved
  Applying	Approver	The "Approval comment" field is filled out (not left blank)	Approve	Approved

  The screen on which the settings are configured in accordance with the process table 2:
  

• Is it possible to change the status back to the previous one?
  No, it is not possible.
  To do so, an action to go back to the previous status needs to be added in the Process Management setting.
  After the action is added, ask the current assignee to perform the action, or ask an app administrator to change the current assignee to you and perform the action.
  
  

• Is it possible to change the status of multiple records at once?
  No, it is not possible.
  You need to open each record and change its status one by one.
  For your reference, if you use a "Drop-down" field to enter the status of records instead of using Process Management, you can change the status of multiple records at once by using the CSV import/export feature.
  Exporting Data to a File
  Importing Record Data from a File into an App
  
  

• When multiple assignees are set in the Process Management setting, how will the current assignees be displayed on the "Record Details" screen?
  When multiple assignees are set in the Process Management setting of an app for which Process Management is enabled, the assignees at the time are displayed at the top of the "Record Details" screen in the following format: "Assigned to: (User Name) and X more"
  
  Example: "Assigned to: John Jones and 4 more"
  
  Like John Jones in the example above, the screen displays the user name of an assignee who has the smallest user ID among all the assignees. The Display Order setting does not affect which user's user name is displayed.
  Clicking "and X more" displays the list of assignees in ascending order of their user IDs.
  User IDs are found in the URL (editUser?id=user ID) of the "Edit User" screen in .
  
  

• Although I have added members to a department or group, the change is not reflected on existing records for which the department or group is set as the assignee in the Process Management setting.
  Even if you add new members to a department or group, this change will not be applied to current assignees of existing records.
  Current assignees are determined by the department/group/user settings at the time of the execution of an action.
  Note: The change to these settings is applied to records added after the change and records on which an action is performed after the change.
  
  If you are an app administrator, you can add assignees from the Change Assignee button located in the upper part of the "Record Details" screen.
  
  Procedure:
  1. Provided you have the permission to manage the app, open the record in which assignee needs to be changed.
  2. Click Change Assignee in the upper part of the "Record Details" screen.
  3. Add a user you want to add as an assignee and click Assign.
  
  Note: You cannot update multiple assignees at once.