Karbon's automators are powerful tools that allow you to automate actions based on specific triggers within your Work. By leveraging automators, you can create conditional workflows where sections and tasks appear or disappear based on real-time changes in a Work Item. This ensures your team focuses only on what's relevant, reducing clutter and improving efficiency.
This article will guide you through the process of adding and configuring automators to enable conditional section activation.
Prerequisites
Sections set to inactive in your Work Templates (refer to: Set Up Conditional Workflows with Active/Inactive Sections).
Familiarity with Karbon automators.
Steps
Step 1: Add Automator to an Inactive Section
This automator will be configured to activate a section when specific conditions are met.
In your template, navigate to the deactivated section you wish to make conditional.
Click the options menu (...) next to the section name.
Select Add Automator.
Step 2: Configure the Automator Trigger
Choose the condition that, when met, should activate this section. Automators can be triggered by various events or data changes within a Work Item.
Example Triggers:
"When Extension is Required" (for tax extension workflows)
"When Tasks in this section are completed" (to activate a next-step section)
"When Work Status changes to Review"
"When a Custom Field value changes"
Step 3: Set the Automator Action
Define the action that will occur when the trigger condition is met. For conditional workflows, this action will be to change the active state of the section.
Set the action to "Set active state of this section to be active."
Example Automator Configuration:
Let's say you have an inactive section called "Complex Client Review" that should only appear if a specific custom field, "Client Complexity," is set to "High."
Trigger: "When Custom Field: Client Complexity changes to High"
Action: "Set active state of this section to be active"
Test Your Conditional Workflow
After setting up your automator, it's crucial to test it to ensure it functions as expected.
Create a new Work Item from the template you just updated.
Perform the action that triggers your automator (e.g., change the Extension status to Required, or update the relevant custom field).
Observe if the conditional section appears automatically.
Troubleshooting:
If the section doesn't appear, double-check your automator rules.
Ensure the section was initially set to inactive in the template.
Example Use Cases for Conditional Workflows
Conditional workflows can be applied to a wide range of scenarios, not just tax extensions.
Tax Return Extensions:
Trigger: When Extension is Required.
Use Case: Activate an "Extension Filing" section.
Benefit: Ensures extension tasks are only visible when applicable, keeping workflows uncluttered.
Final Review Activation:
Trigger: When all tasks in previous sections have status of Completed.
Use Case: Activate a "Final Review" section.
Benefit: Prevents premature reviews, ensuring all preparatory work is finalized first.
Payment Follow-Up:
Trigger: When tasks in an "Invoice Preparation" section have status of Completed.
Use Case: Activate "Payment Follow-Up" tasks.
Benefit: Ensures timely follow-up on payments once invoicing is complete.
Compliance Checks:
Trigger: When Work Status is Compliance Review.
Use Case: Activate tasks related to verifying adherence to regulatory requirements.
Benefit: Focuses the team's efforts on compliance-related tasks during the appropriate phase.
Further Reading 📖