• Define every stage in a process and validate important information
  
• Guide your teams through the execution of the process
  
• Automate routine actions
  

To learn how to design a Blueprint, let's look at an example scenario. Zylker, Inc. is a software company that sells cloud applications. They hire candidates on a regular basis. Their Generic Candidate Pipeline process consists of the following stages:     

Let's see how this process can be designed in Zoho Recruit using Blueprint.

Essentials of a Blueprint

A Blueprint is designed by arranging the stages of a process into a sequential order. In Zoho Recruit, the primary building blocks are states and transitions. You will be able to define the following details with Blueprint:

• Each stage in the process
  
• The people associated with each stage
  
• The actions to be performed during and after every stage
  
• Criteria to validate the completion of every stage
  

The primary building blocks of a blueprint are:

State
Each stage in Blueprint is referred to as a "state". For example, a candidate goes through different stages before being hired: Waiting for Evaluation, Qualified, Submit to Client, Schedule Interview, and finally, Hired. Drag and drop states to the Blueprint Editor to design the process flow.

Transition
“Transition” refers to the change of state in a process. A transition defines the conditions required for a record to move from one state to another. Usually, only a qualified candidate is associated with a job opening. Here, the conditions and actions required for a record to move from Qualified to Associated are prescribed in the Associate Job Openings transition block.

There are two types of Transitions in Zoho Recruit's Blueprint.

1. System Transition
   
2. Custom Transition
   

System Transitions are a set of conditions that are present in your account by default. These are frequently used conditions in any hiring process.

System Transitions used in the Staffing version:

System Transitions used in the Corporate HR version:

Custom Transitions are a set of conditions that you, as a recruiter create inside Zoho Recruit. For custom transitions, you will need to decide what happens before, during, and after the condition.

Creating a Blueprint is a 3-step process:

1. Enter Basic Info:
Specify the module and field to create a process for. 

2. Define the Process Flow:
In the Blueprint Editor, define the process flow from the Start or Default State to the Exit State.

3. Configure Transition Settings:
Configure Before, During, and After Transition settings for different states in the process.

Step 1: Enter Basic Information

1. Navigate to Setup > Automation > Blueprint.
   
2. Click Create Process.
   
3. In the Create Process pop-up, choose the module and field the process is being created for. In our scenario, since the process is Candidate Pipeline, let's choose the Candidates module and Candidate Status as the field.
   
4. Specify criteria for records to enter a process if applicable. For example, Candidate ID is not empty.
   
5. Click Next.
   

Note
If you don't enter criteria, all records will be eligible for the created Blueprint.

Step 2: Define the Process Flow in the Blueprint Editor

1. Drag and drop all the states that form the process to the Blueprint Editor.
   
2. Establish the process flow between the states by connecting the nodes in the state buttons.
   
3. Create transitions by clicking the + button between two states.
   
4. To delete a transition, right click on the transition line and click Delete Transition.
   

The process flow above is a pictorial representation of the Candidate Pipeline followed in Zylker, Inc. Candidates entering this process will go through every stage in the order seen in picture.

• The white buttons represent states in the Blueprint.
  
• The yellow buttons represent transitions (the conditions required to complete each stage).
  
• Each transition you configure is displayed as a button on the record's details page.
  
• To complete a transition, click the transition button and execute the actions specified in the pop-up window. 
  For example, clicking on a contact will open a pop-up window, which will guide you through executing this transition.
  
• When the transition is completed successfully, you will move to the next state in Blueprint.
  
• The blue Associate Job Opening button is called a Global Transition and will appear for all states of the Blueprint.
  

Now that the process flow has been established with states and transitions, the final step is to define the transition settings.

Step 3: Configure Transition Settings

Transition refers to a change of state in a process. A transition is a connecting link between two states, where the conditions for the change are clearly defined. A transition is made up of three parts: Before, During, and After.

 

For example, let's look at the transition between the Contacted and Qualified states. Let's name this transition "Qualify". Here are the guidelines to observe while configuring this transition for Zylker:

1. To complete the Qualify transition, the Candidate's expected salary must be less than or equal to $50,000.
   
2. As soon as the Qualify transition is executed, an email notification must be sent to the Recruiter informing them of the candidate status change.
   

Let's see how we can achieve this in Blueprint.

Before Transition:

Specify users, roles, or groups who can view the transition that is created, for example, we might specify roles such as Recruiter Admin, Recruiter, or Guest. Define criteria that dictate exactly when this transition should be available for records in a process.
Example Criteria: "Candidate Selection Criteria". 

In this case, the transition should only be shown if the candidate's Expected Salary is less than or equal to $50,000.

If you have no such conditions, you can skip the criteria section. The transition will be visible on all records right away.

During Transition:

This section guides the transition owners in completing a particular stage in the process by prompting them to enter specific field validation criteria, notes, and other information.
Insert message and fields:

• Select the Mark Notes as Mandatory check box to force users to add notes to the record.
  
• Add mandatory fields. When you do this, the transition cannot be completed without entering a value for the selected fields. For example, Mobile and Current Job Title.
  
• Validate the fields by defining validation criteria. Mobile must not be empty. Current Job Title is Project Manager 
  
• Insert specific messages to be displayed to users as they execute the transition. 
  
  
  You can reorder the items to be displayed in the pop-up window using the up and down arrows.

After Transition: 
Define actions to be automated when the transition is completed. Actions that can be automated in the After Transition stage are:

• Send Email
  
• Assign Tasks
  
• Make a Field Update
  
• Trigger Webhooks
  
• Trigger Custom Actions
  

In Zylker's case, an email notification must be sent to the Recruiter regarding a candidate status change. So, choose Email Alerts and associate the required email template.

You can build conditions for each transition in this way until the end of the process. To see how this Blueprint is executed, click here.

Global Transition:
A Global Transition is a transition that can be executed from all states in a process.
For example, a candidate can be associated with a job opening even after they are marked as Unqualified or Rejected by a Client. A candidate may not be a good fit for a Java Developer, but you may still want to associate them with a different position.

Let's consider another scenario where you know a candidate who has been hired for one position was also associated with a different position. The candidate can easily be unassociated and unqualified if the client wants. 

To make this possible, you must make Unqualify a Global Transition by selecting the checkbox. Once you select it, you will see the Unqualify transition for all states.

Note 
Only one process can be executed at once.