Studio Module Overview

Introduction

Case workflows can be complicated and dynamic, changing in response to specific conditions and events that impact an organization’s unique case management process. Appian Case Management Studio (CMS) ships with the Studio module, an application built on the Appian low-code platform. It allows business users to independently maintain and improve their organization’s case management workflows by providing the views and tools they need to modify workflow tasks to fit their business needs.

Once installed and incorporated with CMS, the Studio module allows your business users to create and modify tasks, define reusable task blocks, and establish complex and dynamic case workflows directly from the CMS front end without help from internal IT teams.

This guide provides a brief overview of the benefits of the Studio module and how it can enhance the functionality of your Case Management Studio.

Simple and intuitive design

After you install the Studio module with your CMS, you access it directly from the site menu in CMS. The Studio site is organized into three pages: Case Types, Tasks, and Task Blocks, which allow you to quickly find the information you need to view or modify existing case types, categories, reference tasks, and reference task blocks.

Additionally, each page of the Studio module includes a Getting Started link. The information here helps you learn more about workflow configuration and how each building block connects to allow you to create custom, flexible workflow paths for different case types.

Flexible case types and categories

The Studio module allows business users to create and configure different case types to meet the needs of your business and ensure consistency across workflows that share the same case type.

In addition, admin users can create unique categories to group and organize similar case types. Case type categories provide a structured framework that streamlines workflow configuration by enabling users to quickly search, find, and apply case types and tasks that map to a specific group.

Streamline task creation and customization

In a case management workflow, tasks are the smallest unit of work. The Studio module allows you to view, create, and customize tasks to meet your specific needs by walking you through a step-by-step approach to creating tasks you can reuse in different processes.

From the TASKS tab, view a list of all tasks associated with your case management workflow in the Tasks grid. Search the list for a specific task you want to view, edit, or inactivate existing reference tasks by modifying task parameters while tracking their changes throughout the process.

Use the available filters to narrow the task list and show only the tasks that match a specific task type, assigned group, or status. Then, view or take action on the tasks that match your filter criteria.

The CREATE TASK action allows you to create a new task by selecting the task type, the default group you want to assign the task to, the default SLA (the time it takes to complete the task), and the task name and description.

Once a task is created, you can easily add it to an existing workflow or use it in a new workflow. Additionally, you can add, remove, or change the order of tasks in a workflow.

More control over task blocks and workflows

Task blocks are preconfigured sets of tasks that you can reuse in different workflow configurations to create flexible paths for various case types. For example, your case management workflows for different case types may require the following series of tasks:

1. Document Upload
2. Document Approval

Instead of individually adding each task to each case type and configuring their unique relationship, a task block consisting of these tasks and their pre-configured relationship to each other allows you to add this set of tasks to each case type workflow with greater ease.

The Studio module makes it easy to create new task blocks using the CREATE TASK BLOCK action from the TASK BLOCKS tab.

Best practices for configuring task blocks and workflows

When configuring a task block or case type workflow, avoid configuring task relationships with infinite loops or creating a task dependency that relies on the first task in the task block or any tasks on the first line of the workflow. The Workflow Visualizer will not display these task configurations.

If you need to configure a task to lead into an earlier task block or workflow, ensure that the earlier task is not the first task in the task block or case type workflow and deselect Resolution required before task is marked ready to remove the dependent relationship.

Get started now

Ready to give your users the access and tools they need to configure custom tasks, task blocks, and workflows directly in your Appian Case Management Studio? Download, install, and incorporate the Studio module today.

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