To create a header workflow template:Workflow templates enable you to predefine a business approval process. Change categories such as issues, change requests and change orders can only be approved via the successful completion of an approval routing. Workflows are supported at change header and line levels. You can create and maintain header and line workflow templates for each change type using workflow templates listed in the Setup Workbench under the Change Management Workflow tab.
Workflow templates enable you to define a workflow for a change object; you can use workflows for a variety of purposes, some of which include informational messages (FYI), request for comment, or approval requests. Create workflow templates for change header and line level usage separately and associate them at the change header and change line level, respectively.
Workflow templates are made up of steps--each step describes a workflow process and specifies the assignees. For example, you can create steps to request approval, request comment, or send an FYI notification.
When creating a workflow template, you must specify the type of template.
Attention: You cannot change a workflow template's type after creation.
The following workflow template types are supported:
Approval
The Approval workflow template type is valid only for workflows with a status type of Approval.
Definition
The Definition workflow template type is used primarily for workflows in New Item Requests with a status type of Open.
Definition and Approval
The Definition and Approval workflow template type is used primarily for New Item Requests of status type Approval.
Generic
The Generic workflow template type is used for all other status types.
You can only associate certain workflow types with specific statuses, as shown in the following table:
Valid Workflow Types for Change Categories (except New Item Request)
| Status Type | Valid Workflow Type |
| Approval/Review | Approval |
| Others | Generic |
Valid Workflow Types for New Item Requests
| Status Type | Valid Workflow Type |
| Open | Definition |
| Approval/Review, Definition and Approval, or Approval | Approval |
| Others | Generic |
Workflow templates are comprised of approval steps; each approval step describes a workflow process and specifies the assignees. For example, you can create steps to request approval, request comment, or send an FYI notification.
You can use any of the following seeded workflow processes in a workflow template:
Request Approval
The Request Approval workflow enables you to request approvals from a person or group.
FYI
The FYI workflow enables you to send an FYI notification to a person or group.
Request Comment
The Request Comment workflow enables you to request comments from a person or group.
Definition
The New Item Request process uses a Definition workflow to enable the step assignee to associate item attribute groups to an item.
Definition and Approval
The Definition and Approval workflow is similar to the Definition workflow, but also requires an approval by the step assignee. For more details, see: Defining New Item Request Workflows.
Plan and document the approval processes needed for specific types of changes in your enterprise. Pre-planning of these processes enables you to define workflow templates that adhere to your business processes.
You can manage parallel and serial approvals by assigning individual people, a specific role, multiple people, or groups to a routing step. Item roles need to be mapped to the change roles assigned on an approval routing step to ensure a person or group is assigned when the change is created (see Implementing Change Management Role Based Security for details on mapping item roles to change roles).
To create a header workflow template:In the Applications tree menu, click the Setup Workbench link.
On the Search: Item Catalog Categories page, click the Change Management tab.
On the Categories page, click the Workflow tab.
On the Workflow Templates page, select Header Templates and click Create.
On the Create Header Workflow Template page, note the following fields:
Start Date
Defaults to the current date. Start date is the date from which the workflow template is available.
End Date
The date upon which this workflow template is no longer unavailable.
Type
Identifies the type of workflow template that you are creating. Available workflow template types are:
Approval
The Approval workflow template type is valid only for workflows with status type Approval.
Definition
The Definition workflow template type is used primarily for workflows in New Item Requests with status type Open.
Definition and Approval
The Definition and Approval workflow template type is used primarily for New Item Requests of status type Approval.
Generic
The Generic workflow template type is used for all other status types.
Certain workflow types can be associated with specific statuses. The following table shows the association between the header status type and the workflow type for all change categories:
Header Workflow Types and their Usage in Change Categories and Statuses
| Change Category/ Workflow Type | Definition | Definition and Approval | Approval | Generic | Notification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NIR | Available for Open Status | Available for Approval Status | Available for Approval Status | Available for all Statuses | - |
| Idea | - | - | Available for Approval Status | Available for all Statuses | - |
| Issue | - | - | Available for Approval Status | Available for all Statuses | - |
| Change Request | - | - | Available for Approval Status | Available for all Statuses | - |
| Change Notification | - | - | Available for Approval Status | Available for all Statuses | - |
| Change Order | - | -- | Available for Approval Status | Available for all Statuses | - |
| File Review | - | - | - | Use in All Statuses | - |
| File Approval | - | - | Available for Approval Status | Available for all Statuses | - |
Click Add Step.
On the Add Step page, provide the following information:
Step
Enter the number of the step. This determines the order in which the steps are executed.
Workflow Process
Select the workflow process that describes this step. After selecting a workflow process, click Go. Selecting FYI changes the fields that follow; only the Instructions field appears. You can create custom workflow processes using Oracle Workflow Builder.
Attention: Users receive a role based on the workflow process that is chosen here. If Request Comment is selected, the person from whom you are requesting the comment receives the Change Reviewer role. If Request Approval is selected, the person from whom you are requesting the approval receives the Change Approver role. If FYI is selected, the person to whom you are sending the FYI receives the Change Reviewer role. These roles are assigned in addition to any other roles these users may already have on the change object. The administrator can edit the privileges for these roles.
Assignee
Following are the choices for Assignee:
User Entered
You must select a particular user who is restricted to the Roles or Groups specified in the Assignees list.
Derived
The assignee is derived based on user's roles. Hence, the list of available assignees (in the Assignees section) all have the same role.
Response Required
Following are the rule choices for responses:
All Assignees
All assignees must respond (or approve).
One Assignee
Only one of the assignees must respond (or approve).
Mandatory Assignees
When you add assignees, you specify that they are Optional or Mandatory. You must always have at least one Mandatory responder/approver.
Days to Respond
Enter the number of days--from the time this step is executed--in which you will need a response. Note that this is not the amount of time that transpires from the time the approval routing is submitted, but that it is the number of days from the time this particular step begins.
Instructions
Optionally, enter instructions for the assignees to follow in their responses.
Assignees
You can add assignees based on roles, membership in groups, or by selecting a specific person.
Note: When you select a role, you are selecting either a change management or item role. If you assign someone by item role, then all users with this role on the item become Reviewers. If you assign someone by change management role, then all users with this role on the change become Approvers.
Click Apply to save this step.
On the Update Workflow Template page, verify that all steps required for the template have been added, and then click Apply.
To create a line workflow template:Create line workflow templates using the same steps described in To create a header workflow template.
Workflows are not associated to a particular status for change lines.
Approval workflows are not supported at the line level, so the only two seeded workflow processes that you can select are Request Comment and FYI.
The following workflow types are supported at the line level:
Notification
The notification workflow template type is available at the line level only. The workflow process associated to this type enables users to track assignee responses and manage the change line. You can assign notification workflows to Change Notification lines only.
Generic
Use the generic workflow template type for change lines across the categories that support lines (the Change Request and Change Notification categories).