Design Blueprints

Design Blueprints

Once a layout is defined, the next step is to design blueprints capturing the workflow. 

What is a blueprint?

A blueprint is a step-by-step workflow that automates all the processes that occur in your organization. 

The easiest way to design your blueprint is to split the whole layout into individual steps.

For example, the Recruitment layout will involve steps like processing the resume, scheduling the interview, selecting or rejecting the candidate, and other intermediate steps depending on the organization’s process.  


In some cases, more than one blueprint might be required to capture the workflow.

For example, steps for recruiting a manager will likely vary from that of an intern. To suit such cases, Orchestly supports multiple blueprints for a layout.

Blueprints are designed using  Stages and Transitions .

What is a stage?

A stage is a series of steps that progress at each level to cover the workflow of your blueprint. 

Here, Request submitted, Resume screening, and Resume approved are some of the different stages involved while recruiting a candidate. 

What is a transition?

A path that connects two stages in a blueprint is called a transition. Transitions hold the conditions for a stage to traverse to its next level in the blueprint. 

Send resume, Approve, and Reject are some of the transitions in the above blueprint. 

Recommended practice : We recommend naming these transitions using action words, as they are to be performed by the assigned users.

Create blueprint

  1. Navigate to   and select   Automation   from the left panel.
  2. Click the  Add Blueprint  button. 
  3. In the ensuing pop-up:
    • Layout  : Select the layout that you are creating the blueprint for.
    • Name : Enter a relevant name for your blueprint.
    • Description : Give a short description of your blueprint.
    • Criteria : Enter a criteria for jobs to be mapped with your blueprint.
      • Select criteria :
        • Select one or more criteria based on the fields available in your layout. 
        • Jobs created using a layout will be mapped with a blueprint, based on the specified criteria.
      • All jobs :
        • By selecting this option, the blueprint will be available to be associated with any job. 
          • You can always edit this criteria at later stages of your blueprint.
  4. Click  Save .



Initially, a blank blueprint editor will be displayed. We provide you with a list of default stages in the right panel.
Drag and drop the available stages into the blueprint editor or create new stages  to start building your blueprint. 



Create stage

To create a new stage,
  1. Navigate to   and select   Automation   from the left panel.
  2. Select an existing blueprint or create a new blueprint.
  3. In the blueprint editor, click the Add Stage button in the right panel.
  4. Type the Stage Name and select the Stage Type.  
  5. Click  Add .  
  6. A new stage gets added to the list of stages on the right. 
  7. Now, drag the new stage into the blueprint editor on the left, to add it to blueprint.  

To create more stages, drag a line from your current stage in the blueprint editor.  

Learn how to set stage level validations using Service Level Agreement ( SLA ) in the next section.


  
  • You can also reuse the available stages from the right panel.  
  • The blueprint gets automatically saved as a draft version. 

SLA in Orchestly

SLA allows you to set deadlines for stages and triggers escalations when the set deadlines are not met.  

To set SLA in Orchestly, click on the stage name in your blueprint and fill the following details in the right panel:
  1. Stage Deadline : Set a deadline within which the stage must be completed.
  2. Once the deadline is set you can configure to send scheduled emails to associated users.
    1. Early reminder : Send a reminder before the stage deadline. 
      1. Set time to trigger the email, select the email template to be sent, and choose the users to be notified. 
    2. Day-of reminder : Send a reminder on the day of the deadline. 
      1. Select the email template to be sent, and choose the users to be notified. 
    3. Escalation alert : Escalate an email alert when the stage is not completed even after the deadline.
      1. Set time to trigger the email, select the email template to be sent, and choose the users to be notified. 
  3. Click Save .


Note:
  1. Stage deadline must be set to a minimum of 15 minutes. 
  2. Reminder must be set before the stage deadline. 
  3. You can set different levels of escalations using SLA in Orchestly.
  4. You can configure 3 early reminders, 1 day-of reminder, and 3 escalation alerts.  
We've also complied a detailed business case on 'SLA in Orchestly' in our community forum.

Create transition

The link between two stages in called a transition . Transition holds the condition for a stage to traverse to its next level in your Blueprint .   
  1. Navigate to   and select   Automation   from the left panel.
  2. Select an existing blueprint or create a new blueprint.
  3. In the blueprint editor, link two stages to view a   icon available between the stages.
  4. Click the icon and enter the transition details in the right panel.
  5. Click  Save .
Once you click save, you will be able to view a variety of other options, such as  Before ,  During , and  After,  which can be used   to configure additional properties for your blueprint.



Before transition

Before Transition works on the parameters to be finalized before the transition starts.
  • Choose the users who must be able to perform this transition under ' Who can perform this transition? '  dropdown field. 
    • The dropdown lists relevant options like line managers, team, and user dropdown fields used in the job.
    • You can also choose individual users, teams, and roles.
    • Also, opt to automate your transition by time or condition. Learn more about automated transitions. 
  • Specify the criteria under ' Which jobs can pass through this transition? '  to filter the jobs in which the transition must be visible. 
  • Select criteria : Select one or more criteria based on the fields available in your layout. If the job's field value matches with the criteria, this transition will be visible in the corresponding job, for the selected users. 
  • All jobs : By selecting this option, the transition will be visible in all the associated jobs, for the selected users.

 
You can either automate a transition or assign users, teams, and roles to it. However, if you want to achieve both automated and user-based transitions, we might have a solution for you. 
  1. Create two different transitions between stages and assign the first transition to users, teams, and/or roles.
  1. Automate the second transition based on condition.
Now, the transition can be performed by the user until the condition is met. Once the condition becomes true, the job automatically moves to the next stage. You can thus have a manual hold on the transition as well as automate it for specific cases. 

During transition

During Transition works on the parameters to be updated when the transition is under progress. 

The parameters added in this section will be displayed as a pop-up when the user is performing the transition. 
  • Check the Add   Fields checkbox and click Add  to add new fields or update existing fields in the job when a user is performing the transition. 

    • In the Select Fields dropdown, you can select an existing field from the list of fields available in your layout. The current property of the fields can be edited and it will be applicable only to this blueprint. The user will be prompted to update the value of the selected field while performing the transition. 

    • You can also create new fields by clicking the  New hyperlink. In the ensuing pop-up, enter the field title, select the field type, and perform the validations for the field. The user will be prompted to provide a value to the field while performing the transition. 

  • Check the Widgets checkbox to work with installed extensions. Learn more about our inbuilt extensions here. 



  • The fields will be displayed as a pop-up when a transition is being performed. 
  • The new fields will be listed in the layout under the  Transitional Fields section.
  • Any change to the field property will be applicable only to this blueprint and will not be reflected in the layout.
  • The Select Fields dropdown will display only the field labels of the associated layout. 

After transition

After Transition works on the actions to be automated upon completion of the transition. You can configure two different action sequences here:
  1. Instant Actions : Set up actions to be triggered instantly after a transition. 
  2. Schedule Actions : Set up actions to be triggered at the scheduled time after a transition. 
  1. The minimum schedule period is 15 minutes.
  2. Only 2 sets of actions can be scheduled. 

Here's the list of actions that can be configured: 

Send email

You can choose to send email alerts to specific users or teams when a transition is completed.  Learn more about email alerts.


Update fields

When a transition is complete, some of the field values may need to be updated. For such cases, you can use update fields.  Learn more about field updates.


Webhooks

You can trigger webhooks in custom or third-party applications.  Learn more about webhooks.


Custom functions

You can develop and execute user-defined functions using Zoho's online scripting language- Deluge.  Learn more about custom functions. 




Common transition

A transition that allows a user to reach specific stages in the blueprint is called a common transition . 
  • When a transition is marked common, every stage of the blueprint can pass through it.
  • To make your transition a common transition, toggle the button next to  Common Transition to enable it. 
  • You can also customise the stages that pass through the common transition. Click the dropdown list below the common transition to check or uncheck the stages to be included in the common transition. 



Editing stages and transitions

Edit stage

  1. Navigate to   and select  Automation   from the left panel.
  2. Select an existing blueprint or create a new blueprint.
  3. Select the stage you wish to edit and make the modifications.



The changes will be reflected only if the blueprint is published.

Remove stage

  1. Navigate to   and select  Automation   from the left panel.
  2. Select an existing blueprint or create a new blueprint.
  3. Select the  stage and click   in the top-right corner.
  4. Confirm your action.
  • The stage will be moved to the 'List of available stages' column on the right.
  • If the stage being deleted is active in one or more jobs, you will receive a prompt while publishing the blueprint suggesting you to map the jobs to a new stage before deleting.

Edit transition

  1. Navigate to   and select  Automation   from the left panel.
  2. Select an existing blueprint or create a new blueprint.
  3. Select the transition you wish to edit and make the modifications.
The changes will be reflected only if the blueprint is published.

Remove transition

  1. Navigate to   and select  Automation   from the left panel.
  2. Select an existing blueprint or create a new blueprint.
  3. Select the transition   and click   in the top-right corner.
  4. Confirm your action.







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