Work list

One of the most visible feature of a workflow system is the worklist. This looks like a todo list, but the underlying logic is a bit more complicated. In my test, the worklist looks like:



create new is used to create new instances of processes
case 1 is the description of the case; a case is a specific instance of a process
task 1 is the description of the task to be done for case 1
accept: if the task is assigned to more one resource, a resource can volunteer for the task by clicking accept
open: this opens the form associated with the task
complete: marks the task as complete and generates the following task

An interesting thing here is the "open" link. In the test, it works like this:

• the form (menuaction) to be opened is looked up in the database


• the record number is looked up, and added to http variables


• the browser is pointed to the form (index.php?menuaction=app.class.function¶meter=recordnumber)


• when the form is submitted, the specific app can choose


• validate the data submitted & mark the task as complete


• provide a separate validation function that will be called when the user clicks "complete"


• the browser is pointed back to the work list

This way, existing apps can be adjusted easily.