smartcrowds provides custom workflows for each Crowd to enable Ideas to be routed and managed in a way that best suits a particular part of the organisation.
This article covers the progression of Ideas through a custom workflow, and how to track activities that are due within the workflow. For more details on how to configure a workflow for a Crowd, take a look at this article.
Starting a Workflow
The starting point of all workflows is normally following the submission of a new Idea. The process of Idea Vetting, normally Step 1 of the workflow, begins when an Assessment of an Idea is added within a Crowd that has a custom workflow configured.
When an Assessment is added, one or more Assessment Measure(s) which have been configured for the workflow will be presented for the Assessor to select, illustrated below:
When the Measure is selected, a second (or even) third level measure might also be displayed. In the example below, a 2nd level is displayed, with 4 further Sub-Measures.
Choose the appropriate Sub-Measure, and add a title and description to your Assessment, illustrated below.
When the Assessment is recorded (saved), the workflow is initiated and the next workflow activity associated with the selected set of Measures is triggered.
To find out what happens next, use the Manage -> Workflow Tasks option from the main menu.
This screen displays a list of all Ideas currently progressing through a workflow. The example above shows 3 Ideas, the third of which has the Current Step 'Step 1 - IDEATE', and has a Next Activity (which is defined by the workflow) of adding a PLAN, for 'Step 2 - Prioritise'.
To quickly start the next Step (where this 'Step 2 - Prioritise' Plan can be added) choose the ellipses menu at the right hand side which will show the available options, which will normally include 'Progress Step'. Click this option.
In this example, since the next Step is to add a Plan for 'Step 2 - Prioritise', the Add Plan page will appear for this Idea, with the 'Step 2 - Prioritise' Measure available to be selected.
Choose the type of Plan (Exploration or Implementation) being added, and tap to select the 'Step 2 - Prioritise' Measure.
Add a Title (or copy the Measure label into your title using the 'Copy to Title' button) and add a Description for the work that needs to be carried out. Give your Plan a Start Date and Target End Date, and Save it to advance the workflow on.
Repeating the process above, use Manage -> Workflow Tasks to check what needs to happen next. In this case, the next activity is to add an Outcome to record what has happened for the work that has been planned and completed
Choose the ellipses menu at the right hand side, and 'Progress Step' to open the Add Outcome page for this Idea.
Follow the steps outlined above to save the Outcome, and repeat the process through subsequent Plan -> Outcome pairs to reach the end of the workflow.
If at any point the Outcome being recorded is to not progress further, choose the appropriate measure/option as illustrated below, record the reason for this action being taken, and save the Outcome.
On Manage -> Workflow Tasks, the Next Activity will now show 'Set to Complete', and the ellipses menu will contain the Set to Complete option.
Choosing this option will open a dialogue box requesting the reason for setting the Idea to complete to be recorded.
Choose the appropriate options and add the reason for closure, and then tap the 'Confirm Completion' button.
The workflow is now complete, and the Idea is set to closed.
Points to Note
To make it easier to complete Plans, Actions can be assigned to other people in the Crowd. The Manage -> Actions option from the main menu can then be used to keep track of the Actions that have been assigned.
The Manage -> Workflow Tasks page isn't the only way to advance workflows forward for an Idea. If ay any point an Assessment, Plan or Outcome is added from within the Idea Details page, the appropriate Workflow Measures will be presented based on the current progression of the Idea through it's workflow. Just add the Assessment, Plan or Outcome and the workflow will advance as described throughout this article.