Assignment Settings and Configuration
  • 20 Jun 2024
  • 5 Minutes to read
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Assignment Settings and Configuration

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Article summary

Overview 

To assign specific User Accounts or Groups with pre-defined actions via Assignments, Designers are provided a host of customizable options that define how their Assignments are sent, who it is sent To and From, and what sort of task is sent.
 
The following article details these Settings and their functions within the Flow Designer and the Studio/Portal via the System Folder.


Flow Step Properties 

The Properties tab on an Assignment Step (Show Form or Add Task, for example) acts as home to many available configurations for specifying details of an Assignment.

The following table below explains each of these core Properties: 

Input Function
Assign ToUsed to define who (User Account, Group, or Email) the Assignment is is assigned to. 
Assignment Name  Used to define the name of the Assignment.
Assignment Action NameUsed to define the name of the Assigned Action itself. 
Assignment Reference Id Used as a means to reference the Assignment. 


Assignment Setup

In addition to the settings provided by the Assignment category in the Properties tab, many other configurable features can be found by clicking EDIT under the Assignment Setup category. The inputs within this window contain several subcategories, each providing valuable specifications for the Assignment. 

Assignment Type

The Assignment Type selector is used to determine the Assignment recipient; they can be found under ASSIGNMENT > Assignment Type.

The function of each Assignment Type is as follows:

Assignment TypeDescription
InSessionAssigns the Form to the current User Session. 
AssignedAssigns the Form to a provided Account, Group, or Role. 
AssignedToGuestAssigns the Form to the Guest Account
AssignedToNamedSession Assigns the Form to a specified Named Session; allows assignment of Forms to Assignee without Decisions Account. 

From Data

The features within this category allow users to define which Accounts and Groups or Roles act as the origin for the Assignment. This is provided to users through the following three Properties

OptionFunction
Accounts and GroupsAllows the user to define with Accounts and/or Groups the Assignment is sent from. 
Assignment RolesAllows the user to define which Roles the Assignment originates from. 
Exclude Accounts and Groups. Allows the user to specify which Accounts or Groups are excluded from the point of origin for the Assignment. 

Assignment Data

These Inputs allow the user to define parameters specific to the Data used in the Assignment. The settings are as follows:

OptionFunction
Assignment Folder TypeProvides options to dictate which Folder the Assignment is stored in:

NotSpecifiedMakes it so that the Assignment is not stored in a specific Folder. 

SelectAllows the user to define where the Assignment is stored in via the Folder Picker. 

FromFlowAllows the user to pass the Assignment Storage location from Flow via Folder Id; selecting this option provides the new Assignment Folder Id Input.
Assignment DescriptionAllows users to give the Assignment a Description value. 
Assignment Type DescriptionUsed to designate a Description for the Assignment's Type. 
Assignment Priority Used to assign a Priority level to the Assignment. 

 Automatically Show If Assigned  and Assignment Dates

The Assignment Setup panel offers further configuration beyond the Assignment Data; the Show Assigned Form drop-down underneath the Automatically Show if Assigned header offers the user the option to display the Form in one of the following ways:
Never, Always, Dynamically, or via suggestion (Suggest).

The Assignment Dates category provides options for setting specific Dates regarding various points throughout the Assignment's Process by triggering one of the listed Booleans. The options located under this category are as follows: 

OptionFunction 
Specify Start DateEstablishes the Start Date for the Assignment.
Specify Warn DateEstablishes when to Warn the user about the Assignment's completion.
Specify Late DateEstablishes when the Assignment is considered Late.
Specify Escalate DateEstablishes when escalation actions will be taken against the Assignment.
Specify Expiration DateEstablishes when the Assignment expires.

Assignment Events

The Assignment Events settings establish Flow Behavior for the Start, Warn, Late, and Escalate Flow of an Assignment. These options are selected via a drop-down menu that offers the following three options: 

OptionFunction
NonePerforms no specific Flow or Behavior for the Assignment at the respective State of the Assignment.
SharedFlowDoes not allow Flow Data from the Parent Flow but is reusable in other Assignments.
PrivateAllows data from the Parent Flow but is not reusable and tied to a specific Assignment.

Assignment Reuse and Completed Result View 

The next category of Assignment Setup options pertains to Reuse behavior for Assignments. The initial three options (available via drop-down) for reusing the Assignment are as follows:

OptionFunction
No Disables Reuse on the Assignment.
Always Always enables the Reuse of the Assignment. 
If Same AssigneeReuses the Assignment if it's Assigned to the same Assignee. 

If a user selects either Always or Is Same Assignee, the following functions are made available to better customize the Reuse behavior:

OptionFunction
Rerun Startup FlowReruns the Startup Flow upon Reuse of the Assignment.
Resend EmailResends the Email upon Reuse of the Assignment.
Calculate New Assignment DatesAllows the ability to Calculate New Assignment Dates upon Reuse of the Assignment. 
Keep Existing Assignment Description Maintains the same Assignment Description upon Reuse of the Assignment. 


The Completed Form category provides the single Save Form Result View option. This provides the ability to right-click the Form and view the completed Assignment. 

Additional Assignment Actions

The final category within the Assignment Setup Properties provides options for users to define additional specific Actions (such as Approvals and Denials). 

These can be added by selecting ADD under the Action Definitions category. In doing so, users are provided additional EMAIL, DATA, and USER DIALOG configurations for defining custom Actions and Response options. 

Additional Assignment Actions Demonstrated 
For more information and an example of utilizing the Additional Assignment Actions Settings, see Handling Email Response Replies.


On Step Run and Auto Complete Step

Assignments offer additional options for Assignment Runtime behaviors via the On Step Run section. Such options allow users to define the Step Start Flow Type as either None, SharedFlow, or Private. Triggering one of these options will allow the user to define which Flow To Run and the URL Parameter Name, the Assignment ID, Step Tracking ID, and Flow Tracking Parameters for the Assignment. 


The Auto Complete Step panel is used to set the step to complete on its own based on a user-defined Time value and the Assignment's behavior upon completion. 

Users may define their desired Outcome behaviors by adding (ADD button) to the Scenarios [Additional Outcomes for AutoComplete] Input

The Auto Complete Time can be defined by providing a value via the Check Time Span sliders. Additionally, if a user wishes to input the Auto Complete Time dynamically (as an Int32 value), they may do so by enabling the Auto Complete Time From Data Boolean. 

Dynamic Mapping
If a user wishes to dynamically input the Auto Complete Time, they may do so via the Auto Complete Time From DataBoolean


Assignment Settings (System)

In addition to the Assignment Properties options that can be used within a Flow, the Decisions Studio offers additional configurations via System > Settings > Assignment Settings. These Settings specifically define a value for the Assignment's Lease Time

These Settings are as follows:

NameFunction
Assignment Initial Lease Time

The Time that the Lease on the Assigned Form Session is good for after a user opens it

Assignment Action Lease Time

The amount of Time before another user can use the context/right-click Action the Assignment. 
What Happens If Action Lease Time Is Shorter Than Initial Lease time?
If the Action Lease Time is shorter than the Initial Lease Time, other Assigned users would be able to open and act on the Assignment despite the Lease not expiring on the Assignment Session.


For further information on Forms, visit the Decisions Forum.

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