You set up the workflow system to reflect your content development cycle and the people and access groups that participate in it. You maintain the system by creating and modifying workflow sets and their states. Content publishers use the workflow system to determine what work is performed on a content item, and who does the work, at different times during the workflow cycle.
These topics explain the Publishing Center workflow system, and provide instructions for setting up workflow sets.
"Setting workflow states and assigning content" explains how content publishers use the workflow system.
A workflow set is a set of one or more workflow states. Each workflow state is associated with one access group. Because the associated access group applies to one or more categories, each workflow state applies to the content items in those categories.
Content items have the None workflow state when they are first created and have not been assigned a workflow state.
When you create the workflow states for a set, you define a transition order of next possible workflow states for every state. Each workflow state can have one or more next states. The transition order determines, based on the current workflow state of an item, the next workflow state or states you can set the item to. This illustration shows the workflow states and the state transition order for an example workflow set.
To set the workflow state for any content item, you must be a member of an access group that is associated to the workflow state and has either Write or Approve privileges to that category.
Notice that each access group is associated with different workflow states, and the Writers Access Group is associated with two workflow states: Write and Edit. All three access groups have at least Write access to the Editorials category. Therefore, the members of all three access groups can set workflow states for content items in that category.
Refer to "Understanding access groups and privileges" for more information about access groups. See "Access privilege inheritance" for information about how categories inherit access privileges.
Suppose you are a member of one of the three access groups, and that you set the workflow state for a content item. When you do so, the choices available to you for the item's next workflow state are determined by the current workflow state of the item. Because each workflow state is associated with one access group, your choice of the next workflow state also determines that the item can only be assigned to the members of the associated group. So, the choices of co-workers to which you can assign the item is determined by the access group with which the next workflow state is associated.
For example, when you set the next workflow state for an item in the Proof workflow state, you can set it to either the Edit or Schedule state. Because the Edit state is associated to the Writers Access Group and the Schedule state is associated with the Managers Access Group, you can assign it to a co-worker that is a member of either of these groups, or you can assign it to one of these access groups. You cannot assign it to a member of the Proofreaders Access Group or the access group itself. Once you set the workflow state for a content item and assign it to an access group or one of its members, the item belongs to that access group or access group member. No other access group, or group member, regardless of the related access privilege, can work on that content item. However, if you have administrative privileges, you can use the Assign button in the Find feature to assign the content item to any co-worker with Write or Approve privileges to the category in which it is classified.
Adding a workflow set includes these steps:
Click the Add Workflow Set command in the Admin menu to open the form.
To add a workflow set:
When you create a new workflow set, you also create the workflow states for it in the Add Workflow State form. "Adding a workflow set" explains how you get to this form during the workflow set creation process.
To create the workflow states for a set:
When you create a new workflow state for a set, and the set includes multiple workflow states, you need to specify which states are possible next states in the workflow. Use the Assign Next States form. "Adding workflow states to a workflow set" explains how to get to this form during the workflow set creation process.
To determine the next possible workflow states for a state:
Modifying a workflow set includes these tasks:
The List All Sets command in the Admin menu provides access to the forms you use to modify workflow sets. Click this command to open the List of All Workflow Sets, from which you can select a workflow set to modify.
Modifying a workflow set includes:
From the List of All Workflow Sets form, you can:
You change the workflow set name and description in the Update Workflow Set form. If you do not need to change the name and description, click Next to open the List of Workflow States, and see the instructions that follow this illustration.
In the Update Workflow Set form you can:
You can modify a workflow state, and delete it from a workflow set, in the Update Workflow State form. "Changing the workflow set name and description" describes how to access this form.
To update a workflow state you can:
Change the next states for a workflow state in the Assign Next States form. "Listing all sets" explains how to access this form.
In the Assign Next States form: