2.21.1 Automations

With this feature, the user can build custom automations that automates repetitive work.

Automations consist of the following elements:

Triggers
A trigger defines the start of the automation and there can be more than one trigger, i.e. possibly multiple entry points to the automation. A trigger can be one of the many events in the solution, such as an asset being uploaded, metadata being changed or on a timer interval.
Filters
Filters are used to narrow down possibilities and ensure the action is taken only for the desired case and multiple filters can be applied. A possible filter could be for example validating that a certain value is selected in a combo, or validating the user provided value against a RegEx, or even validating the date against a predefined date.
Actions
Actions are automated work steps that the system can perform and there can be more than one action in the automation. Actions that can be taken range from publishing or unpublishing assets to setting access rights and executing searches.

Automations are created and modified by user with high level of clearance (usually a consultant at Digizuite). Specifically, it is the user with the role Can_Edit_Automation_Workflows.

More information can be accessed in the DAM Center User Guide: section Digizuite™ DAM Center 5 → DC 5.4.0 → DC 5.4.0 4 Configuration → DC 5.4.0 4.10 Automation Workflows.

2.21.2 Workflows

General information

Unlike automations, the purpose of workflows is to support different use cases of collaboration between users, and therefore they involve actions taken by the users to advance the workflow. A business process underlaying a workflow is presented in either a graphic form (flow mode) or in a coded form (text mode).

This is an example of a workflow in flow mode:

This is a fragment of the same workflow in text mode:

All the options related to workflows (both automation and business) can be accessed from Workflows menu in the top panel.

The Workflows menu has the following sections:

Workflow overview: it shows the list of all created workflows, together with the ability to view, create and edit them,
Logs: the overview of events (information and errors) related to active workflows,
Job Status: the overview of jobs related to active workflows, with the possibility of filtering by such criteria as asset, status or user,
DigiBatch job status: the overview of the events in the system, pertaining e.g. asset upload,
Tasks: the overview of tasks assigned to the user.

Creating and editing workflows

Creating a new workflow

In order to create a new workflow, the user needs to click the Create button in the upper area of the Workflow overview section, then Business workflow, and finally choose between one of two options:

Add new workflow
Create workflow from DSL.

Creating workflow from DSL

When the user selects the option to create a new workflow, they can either make a completely new workflow from the scratch or select one of the pre-existing ones from the system. Creating a workflow from DSL is a useful option, when the user wants to copy and paste an existing workflow in the coded form, either from the current Media Manager or another environment.

Creating new workflow

Selecting Create new workflow will prompt a new modal, where the user should type the name of a new workflow and choose one of the templates (if available). What’s understood as “templates” here are other existing workflows that can be used as a base for creating new ones.

Once the information is filled out, the workflow edit area becomes available.

In case of creating workflows manually from scratch, once in the workflow edit area, the user begins creating a workflow by clicking Add first stage button. The following stages are added by clicking the dot at the bottom of stage and dragging the line to the next stage, while holding the mouse.

The user is now ready to start editing the transitions and stages.

Editing transitions

In order to edit a transition, the user needs to hover the mouse point over one of them which will prompt the appearance of a transition menu. From here the user can either edit the transition or delete it.

Selecting Edit will open an editing area on the right side of the screen.

The following editing options are available for transitions:

changing the name of the transition,
selecting between manual and automatic transition,
setting priority (automatic transition only),
changing the name of the unique ID,
adding a description,
adding constraints.

If the user is in doubt about what kind of information should be filled out in specific fields, hovering over a question mark next to it will prompt an explanation.

Constraints are the required conditions that need to be met in order to transition to a stage. There are four types of constraints available in the system:

input constraints
metadata constraints
upload constraints
execution condition.

In order to add a new constraint, the user needs to navigate to the tab Constraints and then click on the button Add new constraint.

The next step is to select the correct option from the list of available constraint types.

Constraint type	Description
Input constraints	This type of constraint can usually be found in download requests. Here, the user is asked for different types of input. The following constraints are available: Date Input Constraint - the user who makes a request will have to choose a date from a calendar String Input Constraint - the user who makes a request will have to fill in a text field. This is an example of this type of constraint:
Metadata constraints	This type of constraint gives the workflows administrator a great flexibility in terms of constraints as it allows to point to and interact with the metadata fields available in the customer’s Media Manager. In this type of constraint the metadata field’s content must match the condition. This is an example of a metadata constraint:
Upload constraints	The user who makes a download request will have to attach a file in the from specified by workflows administrator. This could be e.g. a consent form. This is an example of an upload constraint:
Execution condition	This type of constraints is related to who can execute the transition. The following constraints are possible: only current stage owner can transition only instance owner can transition only specific user or user group can transition. This is an example of an execution condition constraint:

Each constraint item has two icons in the upper right corner: one for the available actions regarding the constraint, and the other for re-ordering the constraints.

Editing stages

The user can edit a stage by hovering the mouse pointer over it, clicking on the three dots and then selecting Edit.

The editing area will open on the right side of the screen. This is how the stage editor looks:

The following editing options are available for stages:

changing the name of the stage,
changing the name of the unique ID,
adding a description,
indicating whether the stage completes the workflow,
indicating relevant meta fields,
assigning a stage owner (automatically or dynamically),
adding labels.

Automatic/dynamic assignment of a stage owner

The stage owner is a user or user group who gets a particular stage in the workflow assigned. As a consequence they receive a task related to that stage and will need to take an action, such as approving or denying download request.

There are 5 different scenarios that can be configured in the process of editing a stage:

Scenario	Configuration	Explanation
There is no stage owner.	Set Automatically Assign Stage to “Do not automatically assign”.	This option should be used for the stages which should not lead to a change of the task’s assignment. An example of a use case for this scenario is an approved stage, where no further action is needed after a request download was granted.
The stage owner is a user.	Set Automatically Assign Stage to “Assign to a user”. In the new field below select the stage owner from the provided list.	This option should be used for stages that should be assigned to a selected user. All the available users are presented in the drop-down list.
The stage owner is a user group.	Set Automatically Assign Stage to “Assign to a user group”. In the new field below select the stage owner from the provided list.	This option should be used for stages that should be assigned to a selected user group. All the available user groups are presented in the drop-down list.
The stage owner is the instance owner	Set Automatically Assign Stage to “Assign to the instance owner”.	This option should be used, if the person who needs to take action on the tasks related to the stage is the person who created the workflow task. An example of a use case: As part of a download request workflow, a user requests to download an asset. The user who receives and reviews the request can usually approve or deny the request. They could also decide that the information provided though the input constraints is insufficient and ask for additional information. The owner of the next stage (“the instance owner”) in this case is the user who originally made the request. This creates a feedback loop that improves the communication between users.
The stage owner is assigned dynamically.	Set Automatically Assign Stage to any value. Then, select the correct MasterItemReference type metafield from the list under Dynamically Assign Stage.	This option provides more flexibility in terms of who will handle the download requests. An example of a use case is the situation in which each asset has an owner who is responsible for what happens with this particular asset. The asset owner is determined by a metafield. Note that dynamic assignment works only, if there is one asset in the task. If the dynamic assignment fails because of multiple assets in the task or because the indicated metadata field is empty, the automatic stage assignment is the fallback. This is why the user needs to configure both options.

Saving a workflow

Once the Business Workflow is fully defined, the user should click Save button in the upper right corner of the workflow edition area.

Tasks

The tasks area depends on the role of the user:

Workflow administrators can access the tasks assigned to them by clicking on Workflows menu in the top bar, and then selecting Tasks. From here they can see all active and completed tasks as well as take actions.
Ordinary users with the ability to request asset download can access the status of their past requests by clicking on Tasks in the top bar.

Each task is defined by the workflow name, status and the created time and and date. The tasks can be sorted by time or name. The list can be refreshed with a refresh button without being forced to reload the page.

In order to simplify the process of working with tasks, the list is paginated and the user can select how many tasks should be visible on one page (between 12 and 200).

The users have the following filters at their disposal, when working with tasks:

quick filters
status
workflows
assets
created by
created by group
assignee
assigned group.

The details of the task are opened in the right-side panel after clicking on it once. In the panel the user can review the details of the task, see which assets it concerns and take an action (approve or deny the request).

Use cases

The following workflows are currently supported in the system:

Request download

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The limited users have the ability to request the ability to download specific assets. The user who the approval task is assigned to receives then an ability to either approve or reject the request after reviewing the information provided by the requesting user.

More information can be accessed in the Media Manager 5 User Guide: section Digizuite™ Media Manager 5 → MM5.4.0 → MM5.4.0 User Guide → MM5.4.0 2 Use of the product → MM5.4.0 2.6 Download.

Approve publication