HaloITSM

HaloITSM Guides

Documentation to assist with the setup and configuration of the HaloITSM platform

Guides > Modifying and Adding Workflows

Modifying and Adding Workflows

Topics Covered In This Lesson

  1. Amending/ Adding Workflows
  2. Adding a Closure Approval Step
  3. Automation Actions
  4. Integration Runbook Action
  5. Adding Agent/ User Restrictions on Actions
  6. Workflow Specific Actions

Associated Admin Guides: Workflows

Associated Guides: Operational Level Agreements


Workflows allow you to structure the process a ticket goes through before it can be considered "Resolved". This often includes approval processes. Your workflows are all listed under Configuration > Tickets > Workflows, this is where you can view , adjust and create new workflows. 

Fig 1. Workflows Module


Amending an Existing or Adding a New Workflow

  1. Click "New" or on an existing row to modify a workflow.
  2. The flow chart tab shows you the actual workflow, each action and how this moves the flow along.

Fig 2. Flow Chart


    • The blocks are the stages and the actions are listed in them are those available at that stage.
    • Any links that move the workflow leave on the right hand side next to the action and into the IN block of the appropriate stage
  • You can drag and drop the stages in edit mode and rearrange the links by using the mouse
    1. Hover the mouse next to the action you wish to link
    3. Click and drag this line to the In tag of the step you are linking to
    4. Release left mouse
    5. The stages are now linked, when that action is performed, the Workflow will move to the designated step.
    6. You can modify the links appearance by clicking and dragging any part of it, this will add a new node and anchor it to that point.

Adding a Step

  1. In edit mode, click on any step's pencil to modify or click "Add a Step" in the top left.
  2. If new, add a step name.
  3. Designate if this is the start and which stage this is.
    • If this is the end, this is selectable under the Stage drop down
  4. Each stage should have actions associated with it that will move the workflow on or remain at this position.
    1. Click ⊕ to add a new step or the pencil to modify a current row.
    2. Select an action type 
      • Allow Agent Actions - This allows a set of actions to be performed by agents
      • Timer - Triggers a quick action to be performed after a given number of minutes*
      • End-user - Designates the behaviour of the workflow on an End-user email
      • Approval Outcome - On the outcome of an approval process which either sent the workflow to this stage or remained here, will trigger movement or the workflow.
    3. Select the behaviour which should occur, allow a set of actions or quick action, move if updated or on the approval outcome.
    4. Select the movement of the workflow from this step or to remain.
    5. Click Save.
  5. You should now populate completely the list of actions and movements that this stage will have.
  6. Click Save and this will now appear on the Flow chart.

*A note on Timers and quick actions: these can be a powerful tool for automating work in Halo. Quick actions can perform all of the functions of a normal action, as long as it doesn't require agent input. The timer can also be set to only count down in working hours which can be very useful as a way of stopping your workflow from advancing outside of working hours.


Example: Adding a closure approval step

Fig 3. Adding Approval Closure Step


Here using the settings below for the approval step, we have added an approval for closure for this workflow. Allowing all work to be signed off by the relevant manager.


This was done by;

  • Adding "Request Approval" to each stage that an agent may wish to close the ticket.
  • Creating a new step with the outcomes of "Approved" and "Rejected".
  • Determining what happens when the ticket is "Approved (move to resolved).
  • Determining what happens when the ticket is "Rejected" (move back to the start of the workflow).


Fig 4. Approval Step


Details Pane

Here is where you designate a name for the workflow and any notes that will explain the process. 


Here you can also list any actions that will be allowed at any step, such as email end-user or re-assign to another agent and configure the names of the stages that can be selected from.


Stages: These are a nominal designation for the grouping of steps in a workflow and apart from start/end, these do not affect the workflow.

Fig 4. Details Tab on a Workflow


Automation actions on Workflows

Automations can be added to steps as an action type. They can be triggered when a certain event occurs i.e. a team change. The purpose of automations is to trigger a certain event/ action if certain conditions are met. A use case could be if a new starter workflow is being executed, there may be a certain point in time where you want to automatically trigger a runbook to create an asset "Laptop" for that new starter. 


Fig 5. Automations


There can be 3 types of automations that can be chosen from, the "Quick Action" this is the way an action can be automatically ran if certain conditions are met in the "Conditions to evaluate" table which is on the automation action. Actions can be configured as "Quick actions" when creating the action from the tickets section of config.


The next type of automation is an "Integration Runbook" This will automatically trigger a runbook if selected, again there can be specific conditions that need to be met in order for the automation to run. The guide for integration runbooks can be found here.


If the trigger selected is "A pre-determined number of minutes after the Ticket is updated" the minimal amount of minutes that can be selected is 60 minutes, the action won't be saveable and you will be prompted to make the time 60 or more minutes when trying to save.


Access Restriction on Actions

Within each action on a workflow step, the access to the actions can be restricted

Fig 6. Access Restriction


When selected, this will give a dropdown list of potential agents/ users who can access this action, this can be based on team, roles, etc...

Fig 7. Adding an Agent Restriction


This type of configuration is useful if the chosen action on a workflow needs to be for example, restricted to the team leaders only.


Workflow Specific Actions

This may be unnecessary for your requirements, but you can set an action to be workflow specific, this is set per action. The setting description is conveniently labelled in the settings dropdown.

Fig 8. Workflow Specific Action on Dropdown


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