Automations can be configured to perform actions based on the activity of applications, completion of assignments, date activations, and many other actions within the site. This article provides an overview of automations including how to build, manage, and troubleshoot automations within your site.
Creating and understanding automations can be done by thinking about the logic of what you want to achieve. Every automation can be read as a sentence:
| WHEN this occurs, IF this has been met, DO this |
So for example, if you wish to move applications after it has been reviewed, our sentence would be:
| WHEN the application has been reviewed, IF it has a score lower than 10, MOVE to next stage |
For every automation, the Activation and Action sections are required, however, the Conditions (IF statement) are optional. If there is no condition the automation will fire for all applications.
Another example would be:
| WHEN the application has been submitted, MOVE to next stage and EMAIL applicant |
There are two areas where automations are managed: within a stage, and within Automations of a Program accessed while in Build Mode.
The table below provides a description of the settings and features used to configure an automation.
| Settings | Descriptions |
| Title | The name of the automation as it appears throughout the site. |
| Folder | The folder associated with the automation. Folders are used to help organize automations for the programs within your site. A folder is limited to appearing within the program where it was created and will not appear in any other program within your site. |
| Advanced Settings | Select Show Advanced Settings to reveal Limit, Priority, and Delay settings that the automation will follow. |
| Limit | Set the limit for the maximum number of times the automation can fire for a specific application. |
| Priority | Set a priority for the automation so that if another automation fires off of the same activation, one of the automations will always fire before or after the other. If a priority is used, it should be enabled and set for all automations using that same activation. |
| Delay | Enable this option to delay the action from occurring if the activation and rules have been set. Hours and Days are available as intervals to create the delay. |
| WHEN TO APPLY | Referred to as the WHEN statement, this refers to when the automation will fire if all rules have been met. Source: The source of the event. Event: The activation that will cause the automation to fire if the rules are met. For example the completion of a task, the creation of an application, when a review is completed, etc. Target: Will appear if the source refers to a specific task. Targets the specific task that will prompt the automation to fire. |
| CONDITIONS | Referred to as the Conditions, rules listed here will determine if the automation will fire when the activation has been triggered. There are two types of matching criteria: ALL: all rules listed must be met in order for the automation to fire ANY: one or more rules must be met for the automation to fire Actions: - Add a new rule - Remove an existing rule - Nest rules together to use a combination of the ALL or ANY matching criteria |
| DO the following Actions | The actions that will be performed if the activation is triggered and all/any of the rules have been met based on the configuration of the Condition for the automation. Icons within the DO statement: (Up and down arrows) Adjust the order the actions will follow (X) Remove an action (+) Add a new action |
| View Log | Select to enter a log of when the automation has fired and for which applications. |
| Status (Inactive/Active) | Automations will only fire if they are Active. Prior to Saving the Form, enable the automation to be Active to ensure the automation fires correctly. |
Stage Automations are configured from the stage settings from the Stage Automations tab and always consist of a rule or activation that reference a specific stage within the program workflow. Only automations with a condition or activation of "application is in stage" can be managed here. The Stage Automations page will only display automations that reference the stage being viewed.
To access the automations of a specific stage:
NOTE: When configuring the Conditions the "application is in stage" rule will automatically be populated. This cannot be edited until after the automation has been created.
Program Automations are configured from the Automations tab displayed while in edit mode.
To create an automation from the Program Automations page:
A few common use cases for automations are: