A workflow is a series of experimental steps required to produce results in a scientific study. FlowJo Envoy’s workflow model organizes tasks into sequential tasks called steps.
In the FlowJo Envoy interface, steps are represented as chevrons, and the sequence of steps is read from left to right:
Every workflow must contain at least one step. Each step can be assigned to an individual responsible for that work—often a research technician—and supervised by another individual—often a lab manager or principal investigator—who tracks the entire workflow. Any registered FlowJo Envoy user, whether or not they are assigned to a step or workflow, can check or update the state of a step or workflow.
When the state of a step or workflow changes, the new state is immediately available to any registered FlowJo Envoy user via the web, and responsible personnel are actively updated using Email notifications, which FlowJo Envoy sends automatically. Should personnel need to communicate non-critical information, they can post comments to a workflow that everyone responsible for the workflow and its steps an easily review.
Using this model, everyone involved in a scientific endeavor can know the status of the workflow and the steps within it. They can track progress, know what needs to happen next, who needs to do it, and whether any problems are holding up the work.
- For instructions on how to create a workflow, see Create a Workflow.
- For instructions on how to administer a workflow, see Administer a Workflow.
- For more on workflow steps, see Steps.
- For more on Email notifications, see Notifications.
Workflow States
Pending
No step has been started. A workflow has this state only after it is created and before the first step is started.
Running
One or more steps are running, and no steps are blocked.
Blocked
One or more steps are blocked, and no steps are running.
Partially Blocked
One or more steps are blocked, and one or more steps are running.
Done
All steps are done.
User Roles
FlowJo Envoy users can be assigned the following roles in relation to a workflow. Only registered FlowJo Envoy users can be assigned a role. A user can be assigned to more than one workflow, but only one role for each workflow.
- Owner—the person who created the workflow.
Owners receive notifications when a workflow they own changes state and when any of the steps in that workflow change state. - Assignee—one or more persons assigned to a particular step of the workflow.
Assignees receive notifications when they are assigned to a step and when a step they are assigned to changes state. This allows a technician responsible for the work in a step to know when that work can begin, and also notify a workflow owner when a problem is preventing the work in a step from proceeding.
Instructions
Any file uploaded to a workflow can be designated as an instructions file. This ensures any special guidance or other information relating to the workflow stays with that workflow.
The filename of this file is listed in the Instructions field in the Workflow Details pane when that workflow is displayed in Workflow Detail view.
For instructions on how to designate a file as instructions, see Create a Workflow, Add Instructions to a Workflow.
Instruments
FlowJo Envoy can list what devices are required for each step by displaying their names in the Instruments list in Workflow Detail view. More than one instrument can be added to a step.
Each project has its own separate listing of instrument names. To learn how to add an instrument to the listing, see Add an Instrument to the Instruments List.
Once an instrument has been added to a workflow, that instrument can be attached to steps in that workflow. To learn how to add an instrument to steps in a workflow, see Create a Workflow, Add an Instrument to a Step.