Create a new business process from scratch
In Flowingly a Flow Model is the defined sequence, order and logic that each of your individual processes run on. Think of a Flow Model as the app or process template that each of your individual unique business processes will become.
From the Library click the green Add Flow Model button
You will be prompted to name and describe your Flow Model
- Name: provide a unique descriptive name for the Flow. You cannot use the same name as any previous Flow, even if it has been deleted
- Description: enter a description to help users understand the purpose of the Flow
- Subject placeholder text: this text appears by default in the Subject of the Flow when it is run. Use this to provide guidance to the user on any preferred subject formatting.At this stage it's often useful to write down or draw on a piece of paper what, who and when things happen in your process.
- Who: the users and teams involved in the process (note: create all the users and teams before creating your Flow Model)
- What: the tasks and information for each steps
- When: the sequence and different paths the process can followYou will start with three empty Task cards all assigned to you.
Drag and drop Tasks and Decisions from the left-hand menu onto the canvas for each of the steps in your process.
Drag between tasks to connect them.
Click on a card or decision to configure the properties and fields. Learn how to configure cards and add forms with Step Builder
Click the green Publish As button to select a category for your Flow Model and choose which users and teams will be able to start it.
Flow Options
A series of buttons on the top right allow you to Save, Publish and export your Flow.
Publish As allows you to publish the flow as Process Map, Flow or Component.
Save will save the flow model, but does not publish it, so users do not see any changes. This allows you to come back later and continue working from where you left off.
Edit allows additional details for the flow model to be recorded, including the owner, review date, description, background and objective. A window will open to allow you to enter the details.
Feedback allows comments, suggestions and discussion points to be recorded.
The Menu icon allows you to print the flow model, flow steps as well as export or import the model. The history option allows you to view earlier versions.
Edit an exisiting Flow Model
In Library click the pencil ✏️ next to the Flow Model you want to edit.
Make changes
Save or Publish the edited Flow Model
Note: when a Flow Model is edited and published any in-progress processes will complete using the previous Flow Model that they were started with. All future processes that are started will use the new Flow Model.
To rename a Flow Model open it by clicking the pencil ✏️ in Library then click the pencil ✏️ next to the name in the top-left corner.
Delete a Flow Model
In Library click the trash can 🗑 next to the Flow Model you want to delete.
You will be prompted to confirm deletion then any data, reports or in-progress processes for that Flow Model will be removed.
Important concepts
Actor
An assigned actor is the user or team that can complete a specific step of a process.
There are two special types of Actors that can be assigned to a step:
Initiator: the user that started the process.
Initiator Manager: the manager of the user that started the process.
Task
Each step to be completed by a user in a process is called a task.
Decision
Steps that are done by Flowingly based on other information in the process are called a Decision.
Connector
The arrows between a Task and a Decision are a Connector. Connectors define which steps follow another,
Validation
Before you can publish your process it is validated to ensure the Flow Model will run correctly to the end. Any errors are presented with what is causing the error and the step or card required to be modified.
Save
The blue Save button creates a work-in-progress Flow Model but doesn't publish any changes to your business users. It is useful as you're drafting a new process or iterating proposed changes to an existing process.
Publish
The green Publish button will provide you with the choice of publishing as a Process Map or as a Workflow. If you choose to publish as a Workflow, Flowingly will validate your Flow Model and prompt you to choose the category it will reside in and users that will be able to start the process. If you choose to publish as a Process Map, Flowingly will not validate your Flow Model, and the Flow Model will be published to the Process Maps tab.
Export/Import
The grey ellipsis (...) button lets you export and import a Flow Model.