Getting Started

Definitions

Business Process

A set of one or more linked activities or procedures which collectively realize a business objective or policy goal, normally within the context of an organisational structure defining functional roles and relationships. In other words, the business process reflects the fact that "what needs to happen and be done." A business process is typically associated with operational objectives and business relationships (for example, an Insurance Claim Process, Contract Approval, a Holiday Request Process, a Purchase Request, Engineering Development Process, etc). A process may be wholly contained within a single organisational unit or may span several different organisations, such as in a customer-supplier relationship.

What is Workflow?

The automation of a business process in whole or part during documents, information or tasks which are passed from one participant to another for carry out various activities according to a set of procedural rules.

What is Workflow Automation?

A software tool which supports the automation of a business process is defined within a Process Plan (or Process Definition), which identifies the various process activities, procedural rules and associated control data used to manage the workflow during process enactment.

Introducing CWP

Why choose CWP?

CWP is web-based, self-service and highly user-friendly enterprise workflow software for automating your business processes and managing your documents, content.

Drive the work into the right direction, anytime, anywhere with real-time, collaborative electronic tasks and eforms. Chronos Workflow Platform helps you easily digitize paper-based business activities, operations to electronic format, step by step processes following your policies and methods as well.

CWP is ideal for a multi-language environment or cross-border operations due to its built-in language management and switching functions. 

Built-in report generator

Customized reports can be created easily for statistical, progress or performance reporting. Sophisticated data filter and searching option is also available. Basic filters are like the „Filter by process running dates”, „Process fields”, „Process type”, „Document/Process type”, „Sub-process type”, „Sub-document type”, „Process name”, „Process start owner”, etc. Performance and statistical reports can be created from any process parameters.

Other features:

•  Excel export feature for generated reports
• Calculated field reports
• Graphical Process History
• Automatic or scheduled reports can be run.
• Audit Trail due to saving and tracking the changes-per-records, therefore the changes of the invoice data can be monitored anytime.
• CWP Log reports.

Create Your Workflows Step By Step

Chronos Workflow Platform (currently v5.1.64) has a few easy ways to quickly get started with and create your own workflows. Also learn how to manage and customize any process of yours following its initial set up from the scratch.

Sign-in to CWP

For system demo access the dedicated web address and login details are provided for you. 

When you buy a CWP licence, we install the system on your infrastructure free of charge. 

When you buy SaaS subscription plan, we make you a system admin.

After the successful login, the below and similar system layout shows up:

Design your own process map

As the result of your business process mapping, the visual process design -your actual flowchart- should be created with the built-in graphic process designer in CWP.  

1. Go and click on the Administration menu. 
2. Select the Document/Process Types submenu,
3. Click on the Import Process Design option.
4. You may draw your process with all its steps here or CWP accepts graphical flow charts imported from other applications (e.g.: Microsoft Visio XML, QPR ProcessGuide, ARIS). However, it is highly advised to design processes with the CWP built-in designer to avoid any steps / routings / logical sequence issues.

• Comment: During the Process modelling and following the process designing phase please take into consideration that everything should be set up with using the main language. CWP provides a multi-language environment, therefore any process design can be created in the English language (as a usual default browser language too) or any other languages. In case of a process import into CWP, each process steps are getting automatically created on a language with the same language used in MS VISIO, etc.CWP allows to translate the step parameters of a Process Type with reediting such parameters (or use the Translation labels functions).

   

Add users, departments and roles

The administration interface only visible to the authorized persons, called the "administrator" users or key users and further specific rights can be also set, such as the organizational adminswho maintenance the organizational structure and its members, reporting users and the document folder administrators. To access the various admin functions the appropriate administrator rights are required, which can be set by the key user during a user setup:

1. Go to the Administration menu.
2. Select the Organization.
3. Click on the Persons option to add new system or Departments users. 

4. The following user data can be added and CWP indicates the mandatory settings with an asterisk (*) sign:

5. Add the Login name, First Name, Last Name, Title, Phone, Email address and the Cost Center, Intranet ID, SAP ID, etc. other data, system login Password. 

There are several options to set and those affect the person's certain user rights, can provide unique system administrator privileges during CWP usage and process activities. For more details contact us.

1. Go to the Administration menu.
2. Select the Organization submenu.
3. Click on Department, where your entire corporate -organizational- hierarchy can be set up by adding departments. 
4. Click on New function button a new Department can be added.

The hierarchy depth has no limits, however the tree structure can be easily managed because other organizational forms , like Matrix organizations have to be set up with a different method by creating document references. Therefore, providing several department relations can be easily solved regardless of organization complexity. Therefore, first the top-level department units should be added in the system, followed by the sub departments and other various "nodes" allowing further splits and fine tuning for a complex but whole organizational structure. The organizational structure can be imported from the MS Active Directory by uploading an AD config and command files. The AD Sync module can build up an entire organizational hierarchy and the users within. The AD synchronization does not overwrite the CWP system administrator users and their priviliges.

Roles may serve as a supplement or even substitute for the sub-department units.  

1. Go to the Administration menu.
2. Select the Organization submenu.
3. Click on Roles, where your entire corporate -organizational- hierarchy can be set up by adding departments. 
4. Click on the New function button and set up a new role into the system. 

A role can be deleted if no user is assigned to.

Typically, roles are used in a case of assigning a step owner for a particular process step. In case of a person leaves, moves to other department or gets promoted with a new title then it is not necessary to change the whole business process but only add that person to a new role (for example, creating a role for the financial manager, and such role is chosen as a new Step Owner in the system and the specific person can be added as  new member of such role with the Person Picker feature). In case of personal change at a department, only the person needs to be replaced from that role within the system, but the actual process is untouched.

Create new process type category

Process Type is a defined process plan which get designed in or imported into CWP but also includes all its parameters including the input and control fields for each process steps. Futhermore, it includes the process step routings, transitions and possible branches.

1. Click on the Administration menu
2. Select Document/Process types submenu

3. Click on Manage Document/Process categories. 

   New Process Category (e.g.: HR process, finance process, logistics process, etc) can be set up by clicking on the New button and only the new category name needs to be added before saving this newly set up category.

Define your process in CWP

Click on the Administration menu. Locate and click on the Administration submenu and the process administration and hierarchy view opens.

1. In the left panel, right click on the "Document / Process Type" row indicated with a workflow icon: 
2. Choose the "New Document Type" function.
3. The new 'Document/Process Type' form opens to add all its settings, such as:

• • Process Design: choose the process flowchart design name, you want to use as a template for the process to be created.
  • Document/Process Name (e.g.:Contract Approval process)
  • Technical Name
  • Short name
  • Category: (e.g.: HR process, etc).
  • Status: by default, each time a new process is created, its status is always passive up to the point it gets activated.
  • Position (ordering):The position ordering of a Process/Document Type within the Process/Document, 
  • and many other properties can be set during this new process type setup, therefore please contact us for a detailed Administration manual and demo.
  • Click on Save at the top of the page and the completed process settings will be permanently saved, this new Document/Process Type gets visible in the hierarchical tree.

Define e-form fields and manage data

Data for each initiated business processes and its steps (or for a Document Type) will be shown on electronic forms based on the process flowchart selected during the creation of the Process Type. The forms field type, data and its behavior for each steps must be defined.Field properties in Chronos Workflow can be easily set without coding:

1. Go and click on Administration menu and at the administration main view section.
2. Select the process type name which was created by drawing the flowchart for setting up all the fields for and with a right click,
3. Choose the Fields function. 
4. In the header choose New to add a completely new field for the given process. A separate form will appear where you can set the field properties one by one. The field properties can be set depending on the field types, so the properties entry form is more or less depending on the choice of the field types.
5. Other field property options are available, for example the Position Edit, field Translations and general Edit, which allows key users to easily add, change or delete already existing fields for a process type.

Set field visibility

Every process includes many fields you want to set as visible and editable in a specific step, but only a read-only or even not visible in other steps. There are wide functional possibilities for setting visibility which can be done very easily in a self-service way:

1. Go and click on Administration menu and at the administration main view section.
2. Select the process type you would like to set the field visibility properties to, right click on it.
3. Choose the Activities function button in the pop-up window. 
4. The opening settings window will show all the process steps in a list. CWP automatically recognizes each step based on the graphical process flowchart.  In the list, Start and End process steps are automatically get recognized (checked). Field visibility options can be set by selecting the arrow icon in the Fields column visible in each process step row.
5. Summarizing table: This table view shows all of the process fields and each field for a process at once and the visibility properties can be set for every step in one view. This option is very useful when extreme lot of fields must be shown for a complex process and its step, where several users work on simultaneously (e.g.:  more than 2-3000 fields can be visible and editable in a process step).

• Hint: For a better administration experience the field visibility properties can be set directly at the built-in process graphic designer as well. For a more complex process, it can be a very helpful option and to modify the field visibility right from the process flow graphic designer. The routings and links can be easily seen and traced between each process steps too. The flowchart graphic editor can be opened directly from the Administration section by selecting the desired process type, and with a right click on choose the Process Graphic Edit function.

Customize field layout on forms

CWP layout provides a so-called responsive display, therefore it manages the entire screen with a 12-column layout for the best possible resolution and horizontal dimensional display even for any mobile devices where usually the 1 column display dominates. With a form designer you can customize the e-form and even display more than one field into a row, which improves the end-user experience.

1. Go and click on Administration menu and the process administration and tree hierarchy section opens.
2. Select the process type you would like to set the fields layout properties to, right click on it.
3. Choose the Fields function button in the pop-up window.
4. Click on Fields Arrangement on form.

Step transition and routing conditions

The step transition information describes possible transitions between process activities and the transition conditions that enable or disable transitions during workflow execution. 

Further routing controls and process transition can be set, especially if there are multiple outgoung transitions for a job activity, because branch restrictions and condition options should express and control the process flow.

By default, possible step transitions have been determined and recognized when the process flowchart was created within CWP. For step transition settings:

1. Go and click on the Administration menu and the administration section view opens
2. Locate the process name you want to set the routing conditions for and right clicking on 
3. Choose the Activities option

4. Locate the process step name where you want to configure the routing conditions, and click on the arrow icon in the Routings column for that actual step. The actual routing setting shows the transition condition which was set for the specific process step based on the graphical process flowchart   (for example, 'Routing: 01. Registration step -> 02. Assignment of attributes, into the 2nd step'. Meaning the first step moves into the second step). 

5. The Edit function allows to add a specific parameter like the routing name for the specific step transition (e.g.: "transition from 1st step to the 2nd one").
6. The Conditions function allows you to configure routing parameters especially, if alternative process step routing set for a step.
7. Click on New for adding a new routing condition or Go back to the Activity Routings summary table. The routing conditions and settings are depending on and can be set based on the process field types and related operanduses.

• Hint: Routing conditions can be set directly in the graphic process designer, which can be a very useful system feature while editing the process definition for a complex workflow.

Dynamic step transitions, subprocesses

The dynamic routings (step transitions) are intended for processes where pre-conditions are not possible to be defined or a range of options should be provided for the user who should tell (set) which direction the step should go to. However, dynamic transitions are only possible from a step where you set the conditions for. For Dynamic step transition setup:

1. Go and click on the Administration menu and the process/documents aadministration section opens.
2. Right click on the selected process type.
3. Choose the Activities options.
4. Choose the process step where the routings should be set for and click on the arrow icon in the Dyn. Routings row.

By default, selecting this function the already set step transition conditions appear. To add a new conditions click on the New button, then choose the desired process step and Save. 

• NOTE: It is important that adding a new dynamic routing will not change the process flow design, only a new dynamic routing is getting added to the existing ones. In this Dyn.Routing administration the next process step can be chosen from a dropdown in the header.

Set process step owner, job expiry notifications

1. Go and click on the Administration menu and the process administration section opens.
2. Right click on the selected process type.
3. Choose the Activities options and a new window opens with listing the steps.
4. Click on process step name where you want to set the actual step owner by selecting a person, a role or other various owner types from.

Email notifications

Notification email keeps you and your colleagues up-to-date about any tasks in CWP and it has a very important functionality to notify people on their tasks after a specific due date / deadline expires. Of course, you can customize the notification message template in CWP.

1. Click on the Administration menu and select teh Administration submenu.
2. Select the process in the tree hierarchy and with a right click on it,
3. Choose the Activities option.   

• The opening screen will list all the steps for the selected process. Click on the step name, where you want to set up the email notifications for. For further info, please contact us to receive a details administration manual for understanding all the possible settings and options here. 

Activate your process

1. Go and click on the Administration menu and the process aprocess administration and hierarchy view opens.
2. Right click on the selected process type.
3. Choose the Advanced Operations options.
4. Click on the Activate or Deactivate command button and the process automatically gets activated or deactivated. 

In the process administration section, the process information shows whether a process type is in an active or passive status. 

Other workflow-specific settings

• Database connections
• System interfaces
• WordMerge document
• Holiday calendar
• For more details and support please contact us!