This article will show you how to create and apply a MyCase Workflow template that contains tasks and calendar events.
First, click on Settings in the top-right corner and open the All Settings page. Then, in the left-hand menu, click Workflows.
Click the button Add Workflow (pictured below).
The New Workflow window will then appear (pictured below). This is where you can setup the basics of the workflow. Let's take a closer look at how this works.
Workflow Name - Give the workflow a descriptive name so you will be able to recognize it in the future. Common workflow names include New Client Intake Procedure, Trial Preparation Deadlines, Court Assigned Due Dates, etc. You may wind up having a lot of workflow templates saved in your account, so the more descriptive you can be naming them, the better off you will be.
Trigger Event - The concept of trigger events may seem a bit confusing at first. However, once you understand how they work, you will see how truly powerful they are. Typically, all calendar events in a workflow template will be calculated in relation to an important date (date of incident, date of trial, contract execution date, etc.). For example, when creating a workflow template for Client Intake, you may want to add a calendar event called "File necessary paperwork with courts" that gets scheduled 7 days after date of incident. The same is true for tasks - you may create a task with a due date that is 5 days before trial date.
Trigger events allow you to specify the names of the important dates you will be using in the workflow template. Then, when you add calendar events and tasks the workflow template, you can can specify whether they should be scheduled before or after the date.
If you are still confused about how trigger events work, we recommend just continuing on with this help article. As you learn more about how the MyCase Workflow feature works, the Calculation Date Labels will make more sense.
Add Another Trigger Event - Clicking this allows you to add another trigger event. Workflows allow for 4 trigger events.
When you've named your Workflow and specified the Trigger event(s), click the blue Add Workflow button. You will then be taken to the workflow template editor. This is where you can add the individual calendar events and tasks to the workflow.
Adding Tasks to the Workflow Template
Find the header for Tasks. Then, click on Add Task To Workflow (pictured below).
The New Task Template window will appear (pictured below). The left side of the window is where you can enter basic information for the task like its name, priority, checklist items, and description. The right side of the window is where you can specify the workflow due date calculation for the task.
Let's take a closer look at the due date calculation section...
The biggest benefit of MyCase Workflow is that when you apply a workflow template to a case, all of the task due dates can be calculated for you automatically. For example, tasks can be scheduled 4 days before the trial date, 10 days after the date of incident, 4 weekdays after the arraignment, etc. That way, when you apply a workflow template to a case and specify the dates, the task due dates will be calculated for you automatically.
There are three main components to the due date calculator...
Calculate Due Date based on a Trigger Event, Completion of Another Task , or No Due Date - If you would like the task due to date to be automatically calculated when it's applied to a case, select Trigger Event. To have a task be created after a previous task is completed select "Completion of Another Task". If you would like to create a task that gets applied to the case but does not have a due date, choose the "No Due Date for task" option.
Number of Days & Before & After - Choose the number of days you'd like the task to be scheduled away from the start or end date. There is a dropdown menu to choose either Weekdays or Calendar Days. Weekdays will only count Monday through Friday, ensuring that the task due date will only fall on a weekday. Choosing Calendar Days will count everyday in the week, so there is a possibility that the task due date will be on a weekend. Note: If you would like the task to be due on the actual start or end date itself, put 0 into this field. Specify whether the task due date should be "X amount of days" before or after the related date. For example, if you apply a workflow with a start date of 7/3/2013 and the task due date is set for "2 weekdays after start date", the task will be due on 7/5/2013.
Trigger Event - You can choose which date you'd like to base the trigger off of. These dates will be labeled with whatever names you specified when creating the workflow.
Setup Tasks based on the Completion of Another Task
When creating your workflow template, you have the ability to create tasks based on the completion of another task. Let's say for example that you want to set up a task to check in the the courts 7 days after filing paperwork to ensure that everything has gone smoothly. You can create both tasks in your workflow template, however, the check in task will not be added to the system until the initial task for filing paperwork has been completed. To complete this, select "Completion of Another Task" when creating your second task and then the system will prompt you to select the name of the task that you would like this to be based on. If you would like the system to create the task as soon as the previous task is complete, enter "0" days in the Task Due area.
After your task(s) have been entered you will be able to see an overview of your template like shown below:
Adding Calendar Events to the Workflow Template
Adding a calendar event to a Workflow Template works the same as adding a task. Simply click the Add Calendar Event to Workflow link to display the New Calendar Event Template window.
You'll notice that the window is the same as the task - with the item information on the left and the date calculation information on the right (pictured below).
Let's take a closer look at the date calculation column for calendar events...
Weekdays / Calendar Days - When calculating your calendar event, you can choose to go off of Weekdays or Calendar Days. Weekdays will only count days Monday through Friday (work week). Calendar days will count all seven days of the week.
Before / After - Specify whether the calendar event should be scheduled "X amount of days" before or after the related date.
Trigger Event - You can choose which date you'd like to base the calculation off of. These dates will be labeled with whatever names you specified when creating the workflow.
All Day Event / Start and End Time - You can choose whether the event should be scheduled as an All Day event or an event that has a start and end time. If you choose Start and End Time, you will be able to setup the start time and duration in the next steps.
Event Start Time - If you've designated this event as having start and end time, you can specify what time you'd like the event to start. If you've designated this event as an All Day event, you will not be able to enter anything into this field.
Duration - If you've specified the event as All Day, you can choose how many days you'd like the event to last. If you've specified the event as having a start and end time, you can choose the duration in either minutes, hours, or days.
Date Calculation Summary - This is a simple text description of how the task due date will be calculated. It is useful for making sure you have setup the due date calculation correctly.
When you have entered all the calendar event information and specified the date calculation, click the Save button (bottom right corner of the window). The event will be saved and added to the workflow.
You can have as many calendar events and tasks added to a workflow template as you'd like. Simply repeat the steps above until you've created every item for the template.
Adding Document Templates to the Workflow Template
You have the ability to automatically create a document from a template stored in MyCase using our Document Automation feature based on the completion of a Task. To learn more about our Document Automation feature CLICK HERE.
Adding a document template to a Workflow Template works similarly to adding a task or event. Simply click the Add Document Template to Workflow link to display the New Document Template window.
You'll notice that a new window appears - this is where you can select the template that you would like to merge a new document with, select the tasks that should trigger this document being created, name the document, and enter a description.
Let's take a closer look at adding a Document Template to your Workflow:
Choose the Template - Choose the template that you would like to have a document create from automatically.
Create the document when this task is complete - Choose the task (already created above) that you would like your new document to be automatically created based on its completion.
Document Name - Assign the name that you would like the newly created document to have. This can always be adjusted on the case level, so it's best to keep this generic when creating your Workflow template.
Description - You can use this space to enter any description for the document that will be created. This description will be viewable by an person whom the document is shared with.
You can have as many document templates added to a workflow template as you'd like as well. Simply repeat the steps above until you've added every document for the template.
Once you have created Workflow Templates in MyCase, you will then be able to Apply Workflow Templates to Cases.
In order to apply a workflow to a case, go to the Case Details page. From here, click on the Workflows button to the right of the Notes section.
Then, click the Apply a Workflow button on the right. You can apply a specific workflow to your cases, set a trigger event, and share tasks with other users.