Upload a proof with an automated workflow In this video, you will learn when an automated proof workflow could be used, how to apply a workflow using a proof template, and how to set up an automated workflow from scratch. During the last quarter of each year, your service’s team reviews and revamps all of its contracts. When the revised version is ready, reviews and approvals are required by your managers and the legal department. Your team uses Workfront, and the contract update process is managed through a project. For the reviews, you’ll use another feature, Workfront’s Digital Review and Approval, also referred to as Proofing. This keeps the work that’s being tracked in Workfront and the assets that are being created together in a single system of record. Because this review has multiple steps, first the manager’s review, then legal, you want to use an automated proof workflow. Each step of the workflow, what Workfront calls a stage, will have its own set of proof recipients and its own deadline. And with automated workflows, you can set the stages so they kick off consecutively. In this case, once the managers have finished their review, then the same proof will go to legal. Let’s get started. Getting Started Proofs in Workfront should be attached to a project, task, or issue, depending on your organization’s workflow requirements. Pro Tip Proofs uploaded to tasks and issues can be viewed and accessed on the Project Level Documents tab, making it easier to access all project-related files. Start by opening the item and going to the Documents section. Click Add New and select Proof, which lets you generate the proof and assign the recipients, the people reviewing and approving the proof, all at the same time. Cue the files by dragging and dropping them in the upload area. From the upload list, edit the name of a file or delete a file from the list. It’s important to note that when multiple proofs are uploaded at the same time, they all are assigned to the same workflow. If proofs need different recipients or deadlines, upload each file separately to assign it to the specific workflow it needs. Use a Workflow Template Next, in the Workflow area of the Proof Upload window, click Automated. Before setting up the workflow, check to see if there’s a Proof Workflow Template. A workflow template is a preconfigured proofing workflow with the recipients already set up with the appropriate proof roles and email alerts. Workfront recommends creating templates for proof workflows that are complex or frequently used to help ensure consistency and speed up the proof creation process. Talk with your proof system administrator to update templates or create them. Once a template is selected, scan through the settings to ensure they’re correct. Use the template as is or make changes based on the requirements of the proof. Any changes made only apply to this workflow, not the template itself. Click Create Proof button to finish the upload. The proof appears in the documents list. Emails to the designated recipients are sent out once the proof is successfully generated. Manually build the workflow If none of the proof templates are right for this workflow, or if your organization doesn’t have any templates, build an automated workflow. Before starting, take a minute and plan out the workflow. Ask questions like, Who needs to be in the first stage? What is the deadline? When should the next stage be triggered? Who is part of the second stage? And what is the deadline for that stage? Knowing this information ahead of time helps you build the workflow more quickly and efficiently. Start with the Stage 1 section. The workflow starts off with a single stage, but more can be added. Workfront recommends setting up each stage completely before moving on to the next, to avoid confusion and ensure all settings are correct. By default, the first stage has a generic name. However, since the stage name is included in the email notifications that recipients receive, a more descriptive name helps them understand their role in the proofing process. Now add the proof recipients, the people who review and approve the proof. Add them by name if they’re a Workfront or Proof user, or by email if they don’t have Workfront. Once everyone is added, assign each a proof role and email alert. These fields fill up by default based on settings set up by your Proof System Administrator. But those can be changed to suit the needs of this particular proof. The proof role determines what the recipients need to do with the proof. Review it, approve it, or both. Reviewer and approver means the recipient can add comments to the proof, use the markup tools in the proof viewer, and make a decision regarding the proof, such as approve, reject, or approve of changes. A reviewer can only add comments and markup. Next, adjust the email alerts if needed. Workfront sends out an email when activities such as a comment, decision, or other actions are done on the proof. Selecting an option here that is appropriate to the recipient’s role with the proof helps ensure a smooth review process. For example, if the recipient is monitoring the proof workflow and wants to be notified when the entire review process is complete, Workfront recommends the Final Decision Alert. This sends an email when the last person makes their decision on the proof. The disable option is ideal for guest recipients, those people added by their email address. To limit the number of emails they receive about the proof, they’ll still get notifications about new versions and late proofs. Customize the stage settings. Once recipients are added, expand at the Stage Settings section. The first thing is to determine when this stage of the proof workflow kicks off. As this is the first stage of the workflow, Workfront recommends On Proof Creation. This means as soon as the proof successfully generates in Workfront, email notifications that a new proof is ready to review go out to the recipients in the first stage. Don’t forget to set the stage deadline. Select Set a Specific Date. Then you choose a date and time from the pop-up calendar. When selecting Calculate from Stage Activation Date, Workfront determines the deadline from the point the stage kicks off. In the case of the first workflow stage, that would be when the proof is created. With this option, select how many business days into the future the deadline should be and don’t forget to set a time. Add the Next Stage. Once the first stage is set up, click the Add Stage button to start Stage 2. Rename the stage if desired. As stages are created, Workfront draws a diagram to show how they’re connected. Each dot represents a stage, and the lines are dependencies. Keep an eye on the diagram as automated workflows are being built to ensure the review is structured how you want it. Add recipients for this stage. The proof roll and email alert fill in with the user’s defaults, but can be changed. Expand the stage settings area. Most of the settings in the second stage are the same as the first stage. However, there are a few to pay particular attention to. Most importantly, when should this workflow stage activate? To have this stage kick off when the previous stage is complete, consider one of these options. When all required decisions are made for the previous stage. Once everyone who is a proof approver in Stage 1 makes their decision on the proof, then this stage kicks off. Of course, if you used the primary decision maker option, or the only one decision option, then only one decision is required. When previous stage status changes, you can require that all proof decisions are approved or approved with changes before the next stage kicks off. Then what the decisions have to be, all decisions as approved, or all decisions as approved or approved with changes. If someone rejects the proof, then the workflow stops. When the previous stage deadline passes, to prevent a proof workflow from stalling, you can tell Workfront to kick off this stage if the deadline for the previous stage has been passed. For a bit more control over the second stage, set it to kick off on a specific date and time. Or kick the stage off manually. This is useful as a touchpoint or check-in before activating a stage. This option is especially popular with client reviews and legal reviews. Don’t forget to set the previous stage if required. Next, set the stage deadline. If this stage of the review has to be done by a certain date, select the set specific date option. To calculate the deadline from the time the stage kicks off, use calculate from stage activation date. Be sure to select a time too. Finally, finish filling out the stage settings as needed. Workfront recommends keeping the number of stages in a proof workflow to a minimum. Remember, the more stages, and the more people involved, the longer the review process takes to complete. It’s important to note that the entire workflow applies to a single proof. It’s a common misconception that stage 1 can apply to the first version of the proof, and stage 2 to the revised version. When working with proof versions, you assign a workflow to each version, not just a stage within a workflow. Finish the upload. Make sure the notify recipients about this proof box is checked, so recipients know there is a proof to review. Reviewers and approvers in stage 1 get an email, and then the stage 2 recipients are notified when their stage kicks off. Workfront uses a general email message in its notifications, but it can be customized for this proof. This is helpful when specific instructions about the proof need to be shared with recipients. Finish the upload by clicking the Create Proof button. Workfront goes back to the Documents section and generates the proof. Proof workflow templates speed up and standardize the proofing process. However, Workfront provides the flexibility to set up your own automated proof workflows to ensure the right stakeholders are reviewing the work.
