Intent
Make it easy and intuitive for stakeholders to follow your processes by supporting them with workflows
Also Known As
Motivation
Your processes are important, at the same time you want to leave your users enough freedom to be creative and productive. Well-designed workflows are a way to realize this. While the process typically exists on paper, the workflow guides you through your daily activities.
Applicability
Use the pattern when:
- You have processes that need to adhered to, e.g. for regulatory reasons
- Your product description is complex, so you want to add guidance
Structure
A workflow is typically supported by tooling. This could be as simple as an Excel macro, or as sophisticated as Jama workflows. Ideally, the workflow:
- Provides guidance on permitted actions, based on state and role
- Performs notifications for relevant stakeholders
- Tracks states and state transitions
- Locks and unlocks data, based on state and role
Consequences
The pattern has the following benefits and liabilities:
- Benefits:
- Speeds up development by providing guidance
- Improves process adherence
- Liabilities:
- Can be too constraining to users
- Can be confusing if the workflow is not clear, or users don't know the underlying process
Implementation
Many tools, including Jama Connect, have a workflow engine that manages state transitions and locks/unlocks items based on role and permissions.
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