Hubzilla Workflow Tool

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WORKFLOW App Description

The Hubzilla workflow tool is a general purpose link aggregation tool which can serve as a task tracker.

Adding the WORKFLOW and WORKFLOW EXTRAS utilities to your channel

To add the necessary tools to your channel, you want to click on the "pancake" menu on the top right, and select the "apps" option at the bottom of the list. Then, in the left menu (on desktop) or using the right-arrow in your top menubar (on small format screens), select the "Available Apps" option. From there, scroll to the bottom and click the "install" button for "Workflow" and "Workflow Extras". Then, return to the "Installed Apps" option in the left menu (or use the right-arrow in your top-menu on a small format screen). Scroll down to the "Workflow" app and click the "star." You may also want to "pin" it to your top menu if you regularly use a large format screen. The "star" puts the workflow app in your pancake menu. The "pin" puts it in your top menu-bar on a large format screen.

(NOTE: "Workflow Extras" are additional features that get added to the main workflow app. There is no need to "star" or "pin" the "Workflow Extras" app because it has no stand-alone functionality.)

Basic Usage

• What is a "Workflow Item"

A Workflow Item is best thought of as a virtual "file folder" that aggregates related things together. In a support or task tracking environment, it would be a "meta" item that holds links to all the info related to a task. It could be various conversations/threads, links to outside resources at outside websites, links to a wiki page within Hubzilla that contains information about the task, or anything else. The key think to remember is that a workflow item is merely a collection of links and meta-data that relate together.

Besides the links, each Workflow Item has additional meta-data to help organize and categorize things. The main WORKFLOW app allows the assignment of a "State" or "Priority" to the item as well as "assigned" contacts. Anyone assigned to a "Contact Role" containing the "Workflow User" permission is eligible to be "assigned". The "Workflow Extras" adds the ability to also add one or more "Tags" to each workflow item and allows for advanced searching and filtering and some additional display options.

• Creating a "Workflow Item"

Most workflow items start out as just a regular thread/conversation that is then incorporated into a new "workflow item" by using the "Create Workflow Item" option in the message options (cog in the lower right corner of the message).

When you choose that option, a window will pop up that prompts you to choose which workflow to add the item to. All of the workflows that you are a member of will be presented as options.

Once you select a workflow, you will be prompted for a title and a description of the item. This is additional "meta data" that is like the designation on the outside of the file folder. The data put into these fields is readable by anyone with access to the workflow (as is the title and description of any links added to the item later).

If you are visiting a "remote" channel (i.e., you are on someone elses "wall" or "stream") and they do not have the workflow utility installed, this will not be an option. You will need to note the web link of interest and manually create an item for it.

• "Workflow Item" layout

Once you have created an item, you will be given the option to go to that item and begin work.

When you open the item itself, the work area itself is divided into three main sections. There is the "Meta Data" related to the item itself (Title, description, assigned workers, priority, and any tags), below that is a frame with the most recently selected linked item displayed in it. Finally, along the right side, is the list of related links.

• Organizing links in a "Workflow Item"

Each link (along the right) has it's own title/description as well as can be assigned a "priority". The link with the lowest priority is at the top and will show up when you first go to the workflow item. It is usually best if this is the main item that describes or outlines the task to be accomplished. For example, in a support setting, this would be the main problem report from the customer. In the case of a development task - it is likely to be a conversation thread that is a running commentary on the task and its status.

As links are added, it's helpful to group their priority. There are no hard and fast rules about this at this point, but over time, we may create some conventions about ranges to assign to various types of links.

• Future Development

As we use the tool, we may find we desire additional functionality. This can be added by creating additional addons or modifying the main workflow addon or the existing "workflow extras" addon.

Configuring your own personal workflow

Each channel with the workflow app installed can have its own priority levels and its own tags. These are channel specific. You can configure the priority levels and tags for your own personal workflow items by going into the "apps" screen (pancake menu --> "Apps") and clicking on the cog icon next to the star. This will bring you to the configuration screen. You can also create a custom "Contact Role" and include the "Workflow User" option in order to share your personal workflow items with people assigned to that "Contact Role". NOTE: People in who are assigend to a "Contact Role" with the "Workflow User" option enabled will receive ALL of your workflow items when they are updated. Therefore, it is usually best to create a "Community Forum" channel and invite people who you want to share tasks with to that channel rather than sharing your personal workflow.