Observers

Overview

An Observer is a passive role that allows users to view a read-only version of an in-progress workflow. Observers can make comments where comments are enabled. However, observers cannot make changes nor submit a form.

The observer roles are applied to workflow states (including approvals), where different workflow states might have different observers appropriate to the business process. Observers can be combinations of particular users or user groups.

Adding an Observer

Observers are added to appropriate workflow states in Design.

1. Add or select a workflow state or approval.

2. Add an Observer:

   a. Select an observer from the drop-down:

   • For Creator, Previous, and Current user, proceed to the next step.
   • For Users or Group, select the type of input and values.

   b. Click Add. Repeat if there is more than one input.

   c. If the selected state is not an approval, a notification template can be selected. Refer to Notifications for more information.

3. Repeat to add more observers.

For a sample project that sets either a user or group as an observer, download this project. For a sample dashboard project that displays the resulting data from User Assigned and Group Observer Tasks, download this project.

Notifications

Notifications can be sent to the stakeholders, which can be customized through communication templates. Which observer Communication Template to send is configured in either the Approval properties page in Manage or directly in the workflow properties in Design.

These notifications should provide a [ProjectLink] directly to the form that, when accessed, provides a read-only view of the form as well as an alert to indicate that this role does not allow changes.

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Note

Workflows for which the current user can observe do not appear in the SmartIQ home page. If a list of such workflows is required, create a Dashboard and use any of the following data objects:

• User Assigned and Group Observer Tasks
• User Assigned Observer Tasks
• User Group Observer Tasks

Mention Users in Produce

Gives the option to engage additional users or invite them to a workflow by mentioning them in a comment. This is done by typing ‘@’ within a comment area related to a question or on the Approval overview page. Autocomplete will provide a list of people that can be mentioned.

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Notes

Use this feature for adding individual users into the workflow. To add groups, add the group in Design.
Additionally, temporary users will not be able to use this feature.

The following options are provided:

• Users with State Access (Default) – This will be anyone already engaged in the task within the workflow. Mentioned users will receive a notification and can approve or make changes to the workflow.

• Everyone – Any user in the system can be mentioned. Mentioning a user will dynamically add them as an observer to view the task and make comments

Mentioned users will be part of the communication chain and will receive a notification that they have been mentioned as well as for comment replies within the thread.