In today’s hectic work environment, businesses need to reduce manual tasks using a solution that executes all the processes with automated triggers and includes low-code and user-friendly UIs. By letting technology automate your workflow, you can effectively develop your business without any pain.
What is workflow automation?
Workflow automation is the method of operating a set of tasks that work independently without human involvement. After you set up the rules and logic, automated workflows can do a variety of tasks without requiring any input from the team, like sending emails, setting up reminders, scheduling tasks, launching drip campaigns, and more.
Types of Workflows
There are two conditions of workflows by which a given workflow should execute – Event and Periodic.
- The event workflows are triggered on the events of changes or if the user does any action.
- A periodic workflow does not require a trigger and is automatically evaluated at given intervals.
Levels of Workflow
Based on the type, a workflow can include different levels.
In the event workflow, it can have both 2 levels and 3 levels.
- A 2-level workflow uses only conditions and actions. Here, the triggers work as conditions.
- A 3-level workflow uses a trigger, a set of conditions, and a set of actions. Here, it is possible to define when to execute the action i.e., when conditions are true or when they are false.
How does workflow automation work in ServiceOps?
Motadata offers workflow automation as an important ServiceOps feature. The solution helps businesses understand the various workflow elements and place them together to accomplish their end goals.
Workflow in Motadata ServiceOps is an individual sub-setting under the admin panel settings but estimates values in the ticket (that are defined in other modules). E.g., a workflow may have a condition for ‘assignee’. For such workflow, ‘Technicians’ should be present in the system.
When someone does any activity on a ticket (request, problem, or change), the system compares the ticket’s values with the workflow’s conditions. If the condition matches, the system reads the action and applies it to the ticket and a ticket can comprise of an incident or a service request.
The system uses reverse chronological order while comparing the workflows with the ticket. Let’s understand this using the following example:
- Workflow 1 has the following definition: If status = ‘Open’; set assignee to “XYZ”.
- Workflow 2 has following definition: If status = ‘Open’ & impact = ‘Low’; set assignee to ‘ABC’.
The execution order of workflow 1 is higher than workflow 2.
You create a request with the following values: status = Open; impact = Low. You left the assignee blank.
The system automatically will compare the ticket with workflows one by one i.e., first workflow 1 will be compared then workflow 2 will be compared.
Since conditions of workflow 1 match (status = open), the system will execute the action and set the assignee to ‘Shubham’.
- The system will again compare the ticket with the remaining workflows. Now, workflow 2 will be compared.
- Since conditions of workflow 2 match (status = open and impact = low), the system will execute the action and set the assignee to ‘John’.
Workflow Features of ServiceOps
ServiceOps offers some excellent features for creating a smooth workflow such as –
- Offers various sets of workflows for Request, Problem, Change, Release, Asset, and User modules.
- Interactive graphical illustration of the workflow for a clear understanding of AND/OR operators.
- Virtually unlimited set of if-else/and-or conditions in a workflow.
- Positive and negative evaluation of conditions to apply different actions when the set of conditions is True or False.
- Enable/Disable the workflow in real-time.
- Periodic workflows that run at specific intervals of time.
- Workflow order to manage its priority in case of conflicts.
Business Benefits of Workflow Automation
Workflows are the set of guidelines that an organization’s procedures must adhere to. The conditions and actions are combined to form a rule. The system monitors ticket activities and evaluates them in comparison to the list of workflows. When the system fulfills the conditions of any procedure, it executes the actions provided for a ticket.
- Workload distribution by volume, time, or other criteria using intelligent built-in algorithms
- Work items are assigned/routed to the appropriate person
- Emails or SMS alerts are sent when work items change their status
- Alerts triggered when work becomes late or approaches the deadline
- Notifications sent when approval or review is needed