Basic Concepts

A workflow is like a flowchart that describes a business process from beginning to end. You build it by placing steps on a canvas and connecting them with arrows. Each step represents something that happens — an action, a decision, or a task for someone to complete. The arrows show the order in which things happen.

Workflow Execution

When someone starts a workflow, the system creates a process instance — one individual run of that workflow. Think of it like printing a copy of a form: the workflow is the blank template, and the process instance is the filled-in copy.

Every process instance automatically gets:

• A unique ID so the system can track it
• A business key — a human-friendly reference like a request number or ticket code
• A status that shows where the process currently stands (see the table below)
• Priority and deadline information for tracking time targets
• All related tasks, people, notes, and files

Process Statuses

Status	What It Means
New	The process has just been created
Pending-InProgress	Someone is actively working on it
Pending-Approval	The process is paused, waiting for someone to approve or reject
Resolved-Completed	The process finished successfully
Resolved-Cancelled	The process was stopped before it finished
Returned	The process was sent back for changes
Returned-Originator	The process was sent back to the person who originally started it
Returned-Recipient	The process was sent back to the person it was assigned to

Steps

Steps are the building blocks you drag onto the canvas to design a workflow. You can find them in the left panel of the Flow Editor under Basic Steps.

Each type of step does something different:

Step	What It Does
Start	The starting point of the workflow. Every workflow begins here.
End	The finish line. When the process reaches this step, it is complete.
User Task	Pauses the process and creates a task for someone to complete.
Decision	Checks a condition and sends the process down different paths depending on the answer.
Function	Runs an automatic action (like sending data to another system) without needing a person.
Log	Writes a note in the system log, useful for troubleshooting.

For detailed information on each step type, see the individual step pages in the Steps section.

Forms

A form is the screen that a person sees when they open a user task. It can contain input fields, tables, or any UI layout you design in the form editor. A form can also be set to read-only so the user can view the information but not change it.

For each form, you specify:

• Form — which form to show (select from your project's form models)
• Roles — which roles can see this form
• Readonly — check this to make the form view-only

Actions

Actions are the buttons that appear on a user task form. Each action tells the workflow what to do when the person clicks it.

Action	What It Does
Complete	Finishes the current task and moves the process forward
Cancel	Cancels the current task
Return	Sends the task back to an earlier point in the process
Save	Saves any entered information without finishing the task
Function	Runs an automatic action from within the task
Update	Updates the task data without completing it
Terminate	Stops the entire process immediately
Change Step	Jumps the process to a different step, skipping the normal path

For each action, you can also configure:

• Custom type — an optional custom identifier for the action
• Label — the text shown on the button (for example, "Approve" or "Reject")
• Roles — which roles can see and use this button
• Unique keys — prevents the same user from completing the task more than once
• Visibility Expression — a rule that controls whether the button is visible or enabled
• Function mapping — a flow to run when the button is clicked (for example, sending a notification or calling an external service)

Key Concepts

Concept	What It Is	Learn More
Roles	Control which forms a person can see and which actions they can use.	Roles & Swimlanes
Swimlanes	Shared task queues for teams or departments. Any member of a swimlane can pick up tasks assigned to it.	Roles & Swimlanes
SLA / Deadlines	Time targets for processes and tasks with three levels: Goal, Deadline, and Critical.	SLA Configuration
Data Instance	The container that carries your custom business data (customer name, amounts, statuses) through the entire process.	Data Instance Context
Business Key	A human-readable reference for each process run, like "REQ-2026-00142". Generated automatically at process start.	Business Key Generator
File Functions	Upload, download, and delete files attached to a process.	S3 File Functions

For workflow-level settings (how to configure all of the above), see Workflow Configurations.