August 2006 Volume 10, Number 3

TurnOver Adds Enforced Workflow!

By Sandy King, Product Manager

The June release of TurnOver 5.4 includes a number of exciting new features. The most significant is Enforced Workflow, a concept that can be used by Project Administrators to define and – more importantly – control the progression of tasks through specific work steps. In TurnOver terms, this means you define the allowable status codes a task must go through from start to finish, as well as which users or what events get to make that transition. TurnOver ensures that the task follows the prescribed process.

Enforced workflow naturally lends itself to operational efficiencies and cleaner audits. There’s no second guessing as to what the next status should be, and users can’t skip important steps. With TurnOver, workflow rules apply across all departments and development teams because they are enforced whether resources are working with tasks through TurnOver's Eclipse-based client, WebSphere plug-ins, ExpressDesk Browser, or 5250 interface.

TurnOver’s enforced workflow is extremely flexible. You decide whether or not to associate workflow with a given project, and the rules you define can be as restrictive or as open as you need.

Some Background

Until the June CD, the workflow associated with a task may have been understood by your project resources, but TurnOver did not enforce every step. For example, when a task was created, it may have defaulted to a status code of NEW. Your staff knew what to do next – progress to status ASSIGNED and then proceed through other predefined task states such as IN-QA, TESTING, TESTPASS or TESTFAIL, and DONE.

Once the task was in a particular status, such as TESTING, for instance, your company policy might require the next valid status to be either TESTPASS or TESTFAIL. However, previous versions of TurnOver could not enforce that particular status transition. This was an issue with some customers whose operations are driven by compliance requirements and who needed strict control over their work processes. The new workflow feature fulfills those needs.

Once you become familiar with the new workflow capability, you’ll notice that it dovetails nicely with escalation processing and messaging features that have been available in TurnOver for some time. And, when you read the task collaboration article in this issue, you’ll see how new task collaboration features that were also introduced on the June CD extend the enforced workflow capability.

Implementation over Existing TurnOver Projects

Implementation of enforced workflow is a low-impact phenomenon. It can be applied to an existing TurnOver project at any time without interrupting pre-existing tasks. If the workflow paradigm is not exactly as you want it, you can simply disassociate it from the project and modify it as needed. In the meantime, users can continue working on tasks without enforced workflow.

Figure 1: Status Transitions Rules node

Enforced Workflow - How’s It Done?

Enforced workflow has been implemented using workflow definitions containing a set of status transition rules. You create your workflow definitions using the new Workflow Designer. You then associate your named definition with one or more TurnOver projects.

As Figure 1 at left shows, the Status Transition Rules node appears under Workflow in the Eclipse-based TurnOver Client’s or plug-ins’ Projects Administration subsystem. This is where you go to create or maintain a set of workflow definitions.

Status transitions can be executed by specific users or roles, or by a TurnOver event such as a checkout or form run. Figure 2 below depicts a segment of a sample workflow. You’ll note that when a task associated with this workflow definition is in status NEW, only someone assigned the Product Manager role can change the status to either ASSIGNED or CANCEL….no other target statuses are allowed, and only the people associated with that role can effect the change. The transition from STARTED to IN-QA can only be accomplished by a form run event at the QA level….you get the idea.

Figure 2: Sample workflow segment

There’s More

The new workflow feature also includes change history for workflow definitions, the ability to compare different versions of the same definitions, and the ability to revert to a previous definition if desired. When you associate a workflow definition with a project that already has pre-defined tasks, there’s also a feature that lets you verify your definition to see if any tasks exist with status codes for which there are no transitions – a condition that causes dead ends in your workflow.

For more details about enforced workflow, as well as other important enhancements included on the June CD, you’ll want to read the June Supplement to the TurnOver Release 5.4 Memo to Users, which is posted on our customer support site.

Availability

Enforced workflow is available on the June 2006 CD for TurnOver Release 5.4. Visit our customer support site to download the ISO image or to place an order. Alternatively, you can email your request to our Customer Service Department at custserv@softlanding.com.

Why wait? The June release is free of charge for all customers who are current on their maintenance.

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