Before creating a Workflow App, let’s experience how an app created with Questetra BPM Suite works.
First, log in to the Workflow platform of Questetra BPM Suite. Then, using the ready-made app “Work Request Flow,” let’s learn how to start the app and how to process tasks.
Log in to the Workflow Platform
To run a Workflow App, first log in to your Workflow platform on Questetra BPM Suite (hereinafter referred to as Questetra).
In your web browser, go to the login page for your Questetra Workflow Platform (the URL is unique for each Workflow Platform) and log in with your registered email address and password.
If you are not using Questetra, or would like to prepare a workflow platform for the tutorial, please sign up for a free 60-day trial.
When you log in to Questetra, the following screen will be displayed.
The Questetra BPM Suite screen is roughly divided into the following sections:
- Menu bar: This is the area where you can switch between categories of functions such as [Workflow] and [Open Chat].
- Side menu: This is the area where the submenu for the item selected in the menu bar is displayed. (The screen shows [App Settings].)
- Main contents: This is the area where you can actually process tasks and edit workflow apps.
Then let’s start using the sample workflow app.
Overview of the Sample App “Work Request Flow”
Questetra comes with a sample workflow app called “Work Request Flow,” so let’s try using it. Through this app, you can understand the basic flow of using apps in Questetra.
After logging in to the workflow platform, your username will be displayed on the right side of the menu bar. Click it to open the drop-down menu and select “App Settings”.
The main content will display thumbnails and a list of app names for several Workflow Apps. “Work Request Flow” will be displayed in the thumbnail or list, so click “Work Request Flow” to go to the app details screen.
About halfway down the page you will see the following image:
This diagram is called a workflow diagram, and it shows the flow of work and the connections between each step. Various icons are placed on the workflow diagram, and each icon displayed on this workflow diagram has the following meaning.
 | Start Event | This is the starting point of the process. |
 | End Event | This is the ending point of the process. |
 | Task | This is a step that needs to be completed by a human (steps that are automatically completed by the system have different icons). |
 | Swimlane | This is a group of tasks performed by users with the same role. For example, in the “Work Request Flow” workflow diagram, the tasks to be processed by the requester are placed in the upper swimlane, and the tasks to be processed by the assignee are placed in the lower swimlane. |
Now, let’s run the Workflow App to see how the workflow process shown in this diagram progresses and the steps change.
Start the “Work Request Flow”
Click the [Workflow] tab on the menu bar, and click [
Start] under “Process Start” on the side menu.
This will display a list of workflow apps that you can currently use. This time, we will be using the workflow app “Work Request Flow” from this list, which is used to request work. Click the [
Start and Operate First Step] button to the left of the app name “Work Request Flow”.
This will start the first task of the “Work Request Flow”, “1. Input Request”, according to the workflow diagram, and the task processing form will open as shown below.
A task processing form is a form in which a user assigned as a processor in a human task can enter and confirm data.
In the processing form for “1. Input Request”, there are several fields that can be changed or entered, such as “Title”, but for now, let’s just set the requestee.
Normally, you would specify the person to whom you want to request the task, but to experience the processing flow of a Workflow App, let’s first specify yourself.
Only your registered name will be displayed when using [ searchSearch], [mood Select yourself] or [account_tree Select from Organization Tree], so click on your own name using either method to specify the request recipient.
Once you have specified the request recipient, click [Finish “1. Input Request”] at the bottom of the page.
A dialog box will appear asking “Are you sure you want to finish this task?” Click OK. This completes the first task in the workflow diagram.
Proceed with the “Work Request Flow”
The person in charge of the next task, [2. Reconfirmation/Completion], is set in the “Work Request Flow” app to be the person specified in [Requestee], so this time it will be you.
When the task you requested earlier arrives and is assigned to you, it will be displayed in the side menu as [My Tasks (1)].
If it hasn’t arrived yet, you can wait a while and it will appear, but for now, click “My Tasks” in the side menu, or click “Workflow” on the menu bar.
Clicking ［My Tasks］ in the side menu will display a list of assigned tasks. First, let’s check the details of the process you just completed. Click the ［
Details］ button on the left that says “Work Request Flow.”
You will then see a screen like this.
Information listed on the process details screen.
- [Conversation about this]: Chats related to this process
- [Current Step]: Tasks waiting to be processed
- [Operation History]: The person in charge of the processed task and the time of processing, etc.
- [Data]: Contents of the entered data
- [Status]: Which task this process is currently processing and what route it has taken
Now let’s look at the [Status] details. [Status] is listed at the bottom of the [Details] screen.
In the workflow diagram, there is a square icon in the bottom right of the “1. Input Request” task and the “2. Reconfirmation/ Completion” task, there is a small orange circle in the left of the “2. Reconfirmation/ Completion” task, and some of the arrows are red.
The icon with a silhouette of a person in a square indicates the person most recently assigned to that task. Since it is displayed like this, it is practical to set an easy-to-understand icon for each account.
The small orange circles are called tokens, and they show which task the work has progressed to. When the token reaches an end event, the process ends, meaning that the series of tasks has been completed.
The arrows are called flows and represent the flow between processes. The red flows represent the path the tokens have taken.
Now that you’ve checked the progress of your work, let’s get to work. Tasks waiting to be processed are listed in [Steps in progress] or [Processing record] under [Details], so click the [
Operate Task] button under “2. Reconfirmation/ Completion” to process the task.
There is also a field where you can write a completion report, but since this is just practice, don’t write anything.
There are buttons at the bottom of the form for [Reconfirmation] and [Completed], but this time select [Reconfirmation]. According to the workflow diagram, this should return the task to the requester.
Just like before, the task [1x. Response to reconfirmation] has arrived in [My Tasks]. If you check the workflow diagram from the [Details] button, you will see that it is designed to keep sending the task back until the requested party gives the OK.
Now that you understand the flow, let’s move on. Click the [ Operate Task] button for the “1x. Response to Reconfirmation” task, which is displayed in [Current Step] and [Operating History], to open the task processing form. When the form opens, click “1x. Response to Reconfirmation” processing completed] at the bottom. The token will now be transferred to the requester again.
Click [My Tasks] in the side menu or [Workflow] in the menu bar to find another task. Click the [
Operate Task] button to process it. Just like before, but this time select “Completed” without sending it back.
According to the workflow diagram, the next task is “3. Confirm Completion” and the token should have progressed to the requester.
Did the task arrive safely? If so, process it as before.
The task processing form has two options, [Re-request] and [Complete], but you can probably guess how the token will progress if you select [Re-request]. As shown in the workflow diagram, if you select [Re-request], the task will be sent back to the requester and you will return to task “2. Reconfirm / Report Completion”.
Now that you’re familiar with how to proceed through a process, select [Complete]. The token has progressed to the End Event, so this process is complete!
There are a few ways to check if a process has really completed. For example, open [
Started Processes] in the left menu. You’ll see the process you just processed in the list. If you look at the contents by clicking the [Details] button…
The token in the workflow diagram has properly reached the end event! (The token’s color has turned grey, indicating that it has ended.)
As you can see, the process has ended. The [Operation History] section contains detailed records of the person in charge of each task and the processing time, so please refer to that section if you want to check in detail.
In the next chapter, we’ll add multiple users and specify users other than yourself as the recipients of requests.
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