A New Confluence Workflow Solution

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We’re strong believers in collaborative, synchronised ways of working. And we also understand the importance of sharing information and knowledge. 

As Atlassian Platinum Partners, we are well-versed in the myriad of benefits that Confluence offers. From streamlining task management and giving employees more collaborative freedom, to harnessing the power of knowledge shares, Confluence gives teams a process-driven boost in terms of agile working.

So, to further enhance this product’s capabilities, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes (and screens) to create an app that streamlines your Confluence even more.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to present: Workflows for Confluence. A brand new workflow solution. 

Here’s a quick breakdown of what Workflows can do: 

• Give teams access to unrivalled automation within their page processes  

• Enable the unique customisation of design to suit every business’ needs  

• Be seamlessly deployed within your current Confluence Cloud setup 

Now, let’s talk about Workflows’ creation…

Workflows Creation

In the software community we are moving towards a shift in the way teams manage their projects and tasks, and we want to be able to help businesses do this quickly and easily. Saving time and money by implementing small changes can make a big difference, and with software automation tools, this can be a reality for many businesses. 

While Confluence provides the flexible workspace and process architecture, Workflows hones in even more on the details. Approvals, rejections, permissions, publications. Now, you can add processes to your pages.

How Workflows Works

Workflows’ main features can be described in the following three points below:

1. Drag and Drop 

One of the most exciting features of Workflows is its shiny new drag and drop interface. In here users can see everything laid out for them, with options in the left hand-side menu split into Triggers, Logic and Actions. 

This helps you tailor a workflow to your exact needs. For example, you may need to add more logic for a multi-step page approval process. This interface enables you to do so, with the option to tie your entire workflow together using logic and actions that signify who does what, and when.

2. Actions and Approvals

These allow users to apply automated changes to pages throughout the workflow, to work towards achieving smooth, recent and personalised document management. Below is a snapshot of just some of the capabilities Workflows has…

Insert a multitude of actions into your workflow, each action comes with its own level of customisation and can be placed at any point of your documents process.

Users can approve pages during the workflow, which is part of the logic mentioned above. Configure the groups and users that are required to approve the page, along with additional features such as approved/rejected quorum size, emails and more. 

Want to leave positive feedback on a page? Workflows lets you add comments when making an Approval, so you can recognise colleagues for hard work. Alternatively, you can leave constructive criticism if the page isn’t quite up to scratch. This may also warrant a page to be Rejected, rather than Approved. 

You can also set manage permissions across your instance. For example, you may only want administrators to be able to add workflows to pages. You can set this permission easily within Workflows’ interface both Globally and at Space level

All these features, and more, enable every user to understand the progress of documentation within their teams, for both internal and external purposes. Users can easily find what they’re looking for in the knowledge base, which in turn makes for a more productive workforce.

3. Use Cases

The use cases for Workflows are unlimited. While its features are plenty to shout about, the true appeal here is actually using the app… 

Scenario #1

A user creates a page that is automatically assigned Workflow A. Initially, this user is the only one who can see because of the Set Permissions action from the workflow. 

The user then edits their page and sends the Page for Approval, using the transition button on the byline.  

The user’s manager is notified by email that the page needs approving. The manager views the page, approves it and the page then automatically transitions to Approved. The page is now visible to everyone at the company as the Permissions have been removed using the Set Permissions action. 

Scenario #2

A user creates a simple workflow with two Statuses; “To Do” and “Done”. When the user creates a page, it is assigned that workflow where he completes his work and then transitions it to “Done”. 

Scenario #3

A user creates a page and it is approved through the workflow. After 1 month the page expires. An automated email is sent to the user to let him know that he needs to update the page and send it back out for approval. 

These are all situations that can commonly arise within project management teams. Using Workflows’ unique features, each user in each scenario was able to save time by making use of the automated features designed for smoother document management.

Conclusion

As you can see, Workflows for Confluence provides a new way to manage your documents and an intuitive interactive editor to help design them. The app is ever-growing and feedback to improve and integrate it is always wanted.

Stay tuned for our upcoming articles about how Workflows can be used to fulfill some of these use cases!