Stage Management

1. Concept

2. Viewing an entity's stage

   2.1. Business module list

   2.2. Entity breadcrumb

   2.3. Top panel

   2.4. Search webparts

Stage management refers to the set of features which makes it possible to implement stage models for business module entities to help keep track of their life cycles.

A typical example where stage management is often used is in relation to projects in a Project Management focused WorkPoint solution.

Projects typically go through a set of stages, for example from initial conception, through design and implementation, to completing the project. during these project stages, a lot of things can happen, such as registration of tasks, creation and approval of various documents, journalization of e-mails, to name just a few. Using various stage management functionalities in WorkPoint 365, many of the tasks mentioned can be automated upon stage changes. For example, the system can be set up to create a standardized set of tasks when a project enters a specific stage.

In addition, in WorkPoint 365 it is possible to define multiple stage models on each business module. To follow up on the example already mentioned, small, short projects may need to go through considerably less stages than a large scale project. Using multiple stage models, all projects can be stored in the same business module, but utilize different stage models to accommodate their differences in life cycles.

Common for all stage models is that they all require a set of possible stages for entities to go through, as well as defined and configured transitions between them. It is possible to create a stage model with 6 steps, but to configure eligible transitions between some stages and not others.

It is for example possible to create a stage model which has the following stage (blue boxes) and transitions (orange arrows):

It is also possible to create a stage model with the same stages but with different transitions:

As previously mentioned, whenever an entity transitions between stages, that event can trigger various automated actions in WorkPoint.

In general, stage management and all the related WorkPoint features are very powerful tools to control the processes of work.

The stage of an entity can be viewed in a multitude of ways, some of which are described in this section.

Assuming a business module has staging enabled and the Stage field is enabled on the view being displayed on the business module list, the stage can be viewed directly on the business module list.

An example is shown in the following image where the stage of each project in a Projects business module is displayed:

Assuming a business module has staging enabled and it's entities have sites, the current stage of a given entity can be viewed in the breadcrumb when located on the entity site.

An example is shown in the following image where we are located on a project site:

Assuming a business module has staging enabled and it's entities have sites, the current stage as well as other stages contained in the current stage model can be viewed in the expanded top panel of an entity.

An example is shown in the following image where the the top panel of a project has been expanded by clicking the project in the breadcrumb:

When displaying entities from WorkPoint in either the Search- or the Advanced Search webpart, these can be configured to display the current stage of the entities.

An example is shown in the following image where we have configured a Search webpart to display a subset of the projects on the solution, and to display various information about them, including a link to the project site, the title, the project manager, and the project's current stage: