Advanced Training for CRG Staff: Workflow System in Archie IMS Support Person: Becky Gray Place: Ottawa, Canada Date: Tuesday, 18 May 2010

Plan for today Recap of basics of workflow system, with special emphasis on recent developments/improvements More detailed look at a few topics identified by current pilot CRGs – Using the ticketing system – Notifications, messages, etc. – Customizing workflow templates for your CRG – Tips from experienced pilot CRGs Hands-on exercises Discussion and feedback

Log into new Training server URL is Snapshot of live server running on updated hardware All participants should have Maximum workflow permissions All CRGs should have at least one In Progress workflow

Workflow permissions Derive from Entity Roles By default set to Minimum (no permissions) for all Roles during pilot IMS Support gives pilot ME Maximum permissions ME to edit permissions for other Roles as appropriate (CRG Properties > Roles tab, click Role, then click Edit)

Workflow permissions For details on permission levels, see Archie Help > Help Topics: People/Entity role permissions

Background

Purposes of Archie’s workflow system To help CRGs: Keep track of where each review is in the editorial process Inform people (Editors, Authors, Referees) when they need to take action Plan and prioritize work across multiple reviews Identify and analyze trends in the Group’s processes (e.g., by identifying common “bottlenecks” in the review process)

What is a workflow? An ordered and interrelated sequence of tasks that need to be completed to achieve a finished product (e.g., a published protocol) – sometimes depicted in the form of a “flowchart” Involves some decision tasks (“yes/no”), as well as non-decision tasks May involve repeating loops or parallel strings of tasks

Workflows available in Archie Title Registration Protocol Development Protocol Amendment Review Development Review Amendment Review Update

Other (Archie-specific) terms Workflow Roles Similar to Document Roles – link specific people with specific tasks in a workflow Workflow Manager Person at the editorial base who is responsible for the editorial processing of a review and for managing the associated workflow

Other (Archie-specific) terms Task Individual task within a workflow – assigned to a specific person or persons via Workflow Roles Milestones Markers indicating that a significant point in the workflow/editorial process has been reached (e.g., authors have submitted their review for editorial approval)

Recent developments Archie 3.0 deployment (13 December 2009) Introduction of revised workflow templates (25 March 2010) Set the stage for...

Stage 3 of workflow pilot Began 25 March 2010 All CRGs eligible to partcipate Includes (at ME’s discretion) editorial base staff, satellite staff, Co-Eds, Editors, Copy Editors, Contact Persons/lead Authors, External Referees Improved functionality in response to feedback from Stage 2 CRGs Updated documentation and training materials in response to feedback from Stage 2 CRGs

ACCESSING AN EXISTING WORKFLOW

Accessing an existing workflow To access or view your CRG’s existing workflows go to the Resources tab and open your Workflows folder To access an individual workflow double-click the title of the workflow or right- click and choose Properties In the Workflows folder, workflows are divided according to their status, e.g., Not Started, In Progress, Completed, or Aborted Columns of the display show the review title, review number, workflow type, Workflow Manager, start date, last milestone passed, and end/due date

Accessing an existing workflow You can also open the Properties of an existing workflow from within the Reviews folder by right-clicking the name of the review and choosing Workflow Properties

Accessing an existing workflow You can also access the workflows relating to the specific review from review’s Properties sheet in the Workflows tab Within this tab you can also upload files related to this review

WORKFLOW PROPERTIES

Workflow Properties General tab contains: Title of the review Name of Workflow Manager Status (e.g., Not started, In Progress, Completed, or Aborted) Start and end dates for the workflow Information about when and by whom the workflow was created and last modified You can also generate a Workflow Report from this tab

Workflow Properties People tab lists the Workflow Roles available for the selected workflow and shows the people these have been assigned to

Workflow Properties Tasks tab lists individual tasks, grouped according to whether they are Completed, In Progress, Not Started, Aborted, or Passive. Shows progress toward several standard milestones.

Workflow Properties History tab preserves a record of every action performed in relation to the workflow, including actions performed automatically by the system. You can add your own notes to the history of the workflow by typing text into the Notes field and clicking Apply. This will create a new Event (‘Notes made’), and the text you entered will appear in the Details column.

Workflow Properties Files tab – This is where files submitted by others using the ticketing system will be saved. You can also upload and store various documents related to the review here.

Workflow Properties Gantt Chart tab (a project management tool): Displays a Gantt chart depicting progress over time on the various tasks that make up the workflow

SETTING UP AND STARTING A NEW WORKFLOW

Starting a new workflow To start a new workflow: Right-click the name of the review under Resources Choose New, then Workflow…

Starting a new workflow Alternatively you can go to the review’s Properties sheet and click

Starting a new workflow From the pull-down menu choose the appropriate Workflow Template

Starting a new workflow To change the End date of the workflow click to open the calendar In the calendar choose the date and click (close button) to make the change

Starting a new workflow To assign a role to a person or to change an assignee, go to the People tab and click or to open the Select Person window. When finished, click Apply.

Starting a new workflow In the Select Person window type the name in the search field and click Click the correct person’s name Click to finish

Starting a new workflow To start the workflow, click To skip a series of already completed tasks before starting the workflow, click the task you want to begin with and then tick the box next to ‘Skip tasks until’

ACCESSING AND WORKING WITH TASKS

Accessing tasks You can access tasks on the Tasks tab of the workflow Properties To open a task’s Properties, double-click the name of the task or click the name of the task and click

Task Properties General tab displays : the name of the workflow the Workflow Manager the review title the name of assignee the name of the task and the task’s description status of the task (In progress, Completed, or Skipped) dates started and due

Task Properties The History tab shows the chronology of events related to the task Most events are created automatically There is also a Notes field where the Workflow Manager can add notes about the task manually (as on the workflow History tab)

Task Properties On the Advanced tab you can create an Ticket to allow the task assignee to complete the task without logging into Archie or sending an outside of the system You can also modify the Notifications related to this task, e.g., you can arrange to be notified when the task is completed, or for the task assignee to be notified if the task is overdue

Completing or skipping a task To complete a task, open the task Properties and go to the General tab If the task does not involve a decision, choose Completed or Skipped and click If the task does involve a decision, choose from among the alternatives (e.g., Yes/No); Status will automatically change to Completed; click

Completing or skipping a task You can mark the task as completed or skipped from the right-click menu of the task in the Tasks tab in the workflow properties

Changing the due date of a task To change the Due date, open the task’s Properties and go to the General tab Click to open the Calendar Choose the new Due date in the Calendar Click to assign the new Due date

USING THE TICKETING SYSTEM

What is the ticketing system? A special messaging system within the workflow system o Used to inform people outside the editorial base when it is time for them to perform a task o generated by the system is sent to the person assigned to the task; all documents needed to complete the task can be attached to the o Recipient accesses a web link in the to let the Workflow Manager know (via Archie) when the task has been completed and to submit relevant documents (e.g., completed refereeing forms)

Click Create Ticket Creating a Ticket To create a Ticket open the task Properties and go to the Advanced tab Or in the Tasks tab of the workflow Properties right-click an In Progress task and choose Send Ticket

Creating a Ticket The Message tab provides a preview of the ticketing that will be sent to the task assignee and allows you to edit both the subject line and the text of the

Creating a Ticket On the Attachments tab you can select documents to attach to the ticketing These may include a version of the review (in RevMan and/or PDF formats), documents stored in your CRG’s Files folder in Archie, and/or documents stored on your local computer, e.g., a document comparing two versions of the review On the Attachments tab you can select documents to attach to the ticketing These may include a version of the review (in RevMan and/or PDF formats), documents stored in your CRG’s Files folder in Archie, and/or documents stored on your local computer, e.g., a document comparing two versions of the review Tick “Attach a review version” to attach a copy of the review in RevMan or PDF (or both) formats Click OK to send the Ticket

Receiving a Ticket The assignee will receive an with the subject line and text as previewed and edited by you The includes: a. a. a link to the actual ‘ticket’ which allows the recipient to notify you (via Archie) when they have completed their task b. b. a link to a one-page document with a brief explanation of the ticketing system c. c. any documents you selected for attachment The includes: a. a. a link to the actual ‘ticket’ which allows the recipient to notify you (via Archie) when they have completed their task b. b. a link to a one-page document with a brief explanation of the ticketing system c. c. any documents you selected for attachment b a c

Receiving a Ticket If the task involves submitting comments or feedback, files containing these can be attached to the ticket for transmission back to you (and saved in the Files tab of the Workflow’s properties) If the recipient’s comments are brief, they may be typed directly into the ‘Brief notes’ box, which are saved as a ‘Notes made’ Event in the task’s History When the ticket recipient clicks Mark Task as Done the task is automatically marked as Completed in the workflow in Archie

Advantages of the ticketing system Easy communication between editorial base and other people assigned tasks Provides task assignees with everything they need to complete their task and report back to the editorial base without logging into Archie Integrated into the workflow system – allows tracking of communication and automatic updating of information about tasks

NOTIFICATIONS AND MESSAGES

Tasks list on Organizer tab You can see a list of “In Progress” tasks assigned to you on the Organizer tab in Archie To open a task’s Properties, click the name of the task The exclamation mark in front of a task means that the task is overdue

Notifications Task-specific notifications As Workflow Manager, you can arrange for notifications regarding an individual task to be sent to you or the task assignee by – e.g., to notify you when the task is complete or to notify the assignee when the task is overdue Click Apply to activate the notifications To activate these notifications open the task Properties and go to the Advanced tab Check the notifications you wish to activate

Notifications More general notifications To edit your personal Notifications, open your Properties, go to the Settings tab, and click Edit Notifications… There are also new general notification options related to the workflow system

Notifications More general notifications Choose whether you wish to receive the selected Notifications via Archie’s messaging system or via your Check the boxes of the Notifications you want to receive, e.g., to be notified when a task assigned to you becomes active or overdue Click OK to activate the Notifications

CUSTOMIZING WORKFLOW TEMPLATES FOR USE IN YOUR CRG

Editing a workflow template You can customize the default workflow templates provided in Archie in various ways to reflect more closely the way your Group works. To edit a template for use in your CRG, go to Tools, then Edit Workflow Templates…

Editing a workflow template On the Tasks tab edit the default task durations as desired, mark any tasks you want to skip on a regular basis by ticking the ‘Skip’ box to the right of the task name Select the template you want to edit from the pull-down list Note that when skipping a decision task, you must indicate which decision (e.g., ‘Yes’, ‘No’, or ‘Unclear’) should be assumed to have been made.

Editing a workflow template To select individuals who should always be the default choice for specific Workflow Roles, go to the People tab and use the Select Person icons to match specific people to specific Roles The people you select will appear as the default selections for the specified Workflow Roles each time the new workflow is run Click OK to finish

TIPS FROM EXPERIENCED PILOT CRGs

Tips Consider customizing workflow templates to reflect the way your CRG works; among other things, consider whether you can divide up Editorial Base tasks and/or pre-assign some Workflow Roles Start workflows for all new titles, protocols, etc. For reviews already in progress, consider starting a workflow the next time the review crosses your desk – skip tasks as needed to do this

Tips When you complete one workflow, start the next logical workflow, adjusting the due date of the first task (rather than start date of workflow) as appropriate Anything else?

MISCELLANEOUS OTHER THINGS (IF TIME)

Advanced Search options: workflows Workflows can be searched by Workflow Manager, History, etc. To search for Workflows go to the Advanced Search tab and choose Workflows Click Search to initiate the search

Advanced Search options: tasks To search for Tasks go to the Advanced Search tab and choose Tasks Tasks can be searched by Assigned to, Start date, End/Due date, Days Left, Overdue, etc.

Available Reports In Archie you can generate reports that cover all your CRG’s workflows or reports about individual workflows For information on the status of all workflows, right-click your CRG’s name under Resources and choose Reports, then Workflow Status

Workflow Status Report Options within the Workflow Status Report allow you to select workflows by due date, workflow type; various grouping and sorting options are also available. Click Update to generate report using the selected options

Individual Workflow Report To view a report on an individual workflow, right-click the name of the workflow in your CRG’s Workflows folder and choose Reports, then Workflow Report

Individual Workflow Report Options within the individual Workflow Report allow you to select tasks by due date and to sort and filter tasks in various ways

Where to get support If you have any questions or encounter any problems using the workflow system, please contact your IMS Support person