Contract Writing Settings Site

Introduction

One of the main differentiators of Appian Contract Writing (CW) is its ability to empower business users to manage their procurement workflows without having to rely on their IT departments. In the Contract Writing Settings Site, users can configure categories, checklists, tasks, and document and ad-hoc review processes that run automatically for specific documents or records.

Through the Contract Writing Settings site, business users can:

• Manage categories that group tasks together.
• Manage tasks that can be chosen for checklists.
• Manage checklists that assign default tasks for a type of procurement or procurement event.
• Manage document review processes that assign default review trees for a type of document or a document template.
• Manage Ad-hoc Review processes for procurements.

Accessing the Contract Writing Settings site

Contract Writing Settings is a separate site in the CW application. Only business users with the appropriate group membership are able to access it. This ensures that only a select few have the access to sensitive processes and information.

To access the Contract Writing Settings site:

1. Make sure you are in the AS CW Contract Writing Settings Site Access group.
2. From the Contract Writing site, select the navigation menu > Contract Writing Settings.

Checklists

Procurements may require a different set of tasks depending on who it's for and the total amount of the procurement. This is where checklists come into play. A checklist is a series of tasks joined together using conditional logic that need to be completed during the procurement life cycle. To access the Checklist page from the Contract Writing Settings site, click Checklist from the navigation menu.

Creating a new checklist

To create a new checklist:

1. Make sure any items you want to add are on the Tasks page.
2. From the Checklists page, click +CREATE.
3. In the Details section, enter a Name and Description.
4. In the Conditions section, add and configure Conditions. The checklist will be recommended when the conditions are met.
5. In the Workflow section, add tasks and arrange them in sequential order to establish the checklist workflow.
   • Remove tasks by clicking the X.
6. When finished, click CREATE.

Updating an existing checklist

To update a checklist:

1. From the Checklists page, click the checklist name to open the Checklist Summary.
2. Click UPDATE.
3. You can update the Details, Conditions, and Workflow for the checklist.
4. Click UPDATE when finished.

All future procurements will use the modified checklist. Procurements that are already in process or completed will not be affected.

Tasks

Tasks are actions added to checklists that users need to complete during the procurement process. To add tasks to a procurement checklist, you must create a library of tasks. You can view tasks by clicking Tasks from the navigation. In the task list, you can filter the items, select a category from the dropdown list, or enter a search term in the Search Tasks field.

Task types

Tasks can be one of four types:

• Confirmation: This type of task requires a user to enter a date to confirm the task has been completed.
• Attach Document: This type of task requires a user to upload a specific document.
• Review: This type of task requires a user to approve, reject, or request changes on a task.
• Create Document from Template: This type of task requires a user to create a specific document from the provided document template.

Managing tasks

You can add an individual task or import multiple tasks from an Excel spreadsheet. You can also edit existing tasks.

Add an individual item

If you only need to add a few tasks, you can add them one at a time.

To add an individual tasks:

1. From the Tasks page, click +CREATE.
2. Enter the following details:
   • Name
   • Category
   • Description
   • Default Group: Select the group that should be responsible for the task.
   • Task Type
   • If the Task Type is Attach Document, select a Document Type.
   • If the Task Type is Create Document from Template, select a Document Type and a Document Template.
3. Click CREATE.

The new task will be available in all new checklist setup tasks and new and existing checklists.

Add multiple tasks by importing from Excel

If you want to add many tasks at once, you can import tasks from an Excel spreadsheet.

To add multiple tasks:

1. From the Tasks page, click IMPORT.
2. Download and open the Sample Import Excel File.
3. Add tasks to the spreadsheet by filling out the following fields:
   • Name: The display name for the task. There is a 50-character limit. Task names must be unique to import successfully.
   • Category: The category that the task should be grouped with. Values must already exist on the Category page.
   • Description: The description of the task.
   • Assigned Group: The group automatically assigned to the task. The valid values are all business groups that are in the CW application. For example, Contracting Officer or Contract Specialist. See the Groups Reference Page for a list of the out-of-the-box groups.
   • Task Type: The type of task. Out-of-the-box, the valid values are: Confirmation, Attach Document, Review, and Create Document from Template.
   • Document Type: Only required if Task Type is Document Upload or Create Document from Template. If the Task Type is something else and a value is entered in this field, it will be ignored. Out of the box, the valid values are: Award Document, Memo, Justification Document, Determination, Waiver, Research, Checklist, Evaluation, Briefing, Notification, Appointment, Other.
   • Document Template: Only required if Task Type is Create Document from Template. If the Task Type is something else and a value is entered in this field, it is ignored. Out-of-the-box, the valid values are: Exercise Option Letter Template and COR Appointment Letter Template.
4. Save the spreadsheet.
5. On the Tasks page, click UPLOAD and select the AS GCW TMG Sample Task Import.xlxs file that you just modified.
6. A list of the columns from the spreadsheet displays. Map the columns from the Excel sheet to the task fields. If you used the template without modifying the column headers, these should all match up automatically. Click NEXT.
7. The task fields that you entered display. Verify all of the fields are correct and there are no validation errors.
8. Click ADD TASKS. You will receive a confirmation message that the tasks were imported successfully.
9. To create a new checklist with the tasks you just imported, click ADD TASKS TO CHECKLISTS.

Edit tasks

To edit a task:

1. From the Tasks page, click the name of the task you want to modify.
2. Click UPDATE.
3. Modify the Name, Category, Description, Default Group, Default Days to Complete, and Document Type or Document Template, if applicable.
4. Click UPDATE.

All checklists that reference the item will be updated. Procurements that are in progress will not be affected.

Categories

Categories group tasks together, usually by the function of the tasks or the group that performs the tasks. We have provided some categories out-of-the-box that are completely configurable to meet the needs of your organization's procurement process. To view categories, click Categories from the navigation menu.

Managing categories

You can create and edit the categories on this page. If a category no longer fits your needs, you can also remove it from the Categories page.

Add a category

You can create a new category whenever you need a new way to group tasks. For example, you can create a category for post-award tasks.

To add a category:

1. From the Categories page, click +CREATE.
2. Enter a Name and click CREATE.

The new category will display in all new procurement tasks and when adding a new checklist or additional items to an existing checklist.

Edit a category name

You can change the names of any category. The new name will display in all new and existing tasks that reference it.

To edit a category name:

1. From the Categories page, select the category you want to modify.
2. Click UPDATE.
3. Enter a new Name and click UPDATE.

Remove a category

You also have the option to remove existing categories. However, if any tasks reference the category, you cannot remove them. Make sure you complete or cancel all tasks that reference the category you want to delete.

To remove a category:

• Click the three vertical dots next to the category you want to remove.
• Select Delete.
• The category will no longer display in tasks and checklists.

Review Workflows

In the Contract Writing Settings site, business users can configure custom review processes for both document and procurement reviews and recommend them based on conditional logic. The Review Workflows page displays all the information pertinent to document and procurement reviews in a grid list. Users can use this information to determine which reviews already exist and when they were last updated.

You can search this list for a specific review and click the history icon to see the Review History. This view shows a list of all the changes made to the review. Clicking a review name displays the review tree for that review process and allows you to edit it.

Creating a new review workflow

To create a new review workflow:

1. From the Document Review page, click +CREATE.
2. Enter the following information for your review:
   • Name
   • Status
   • Review Type
   • Procurement Type (Procurement Reviews only)
3. Define conditional logic for the review workflow.
4. Assign review groups to evaluate this workflow for the review process.
5. Click CREATE.

Updating an existing review

The Contract Writing Settings site allows you to easily update reviews.

To update a review:

1. Click the review name that you want to update.
2. Click UPDATE.
3. If desired, update the review details and conditions, or any combination of these review parameters.
4. Add the groups that will perform the default review for a specific document type.
   • Click Review Group to add review groups to the review.
5. Modify the review groups. You can do this in the following ways:
   • Modify the default Precedents. Note: A precedent is a review group that must complete the review before another group begins reviewing.
   • Modify the default Assigned Group.
   • For Duration, enter a number to indicate how long that item will take to complete once it's started.
   • For Duration Unit, select whether the Duration is for Hours, Days, or Weeks.
   • Click X to delete review groups.
6. Click SAVE CHANGES.

Ad-Hoc Reviews

Business users can view, add, and edit the ad-hoc review process that assigns default review trees to procurements. The Ad-hoc Review page displays all of the information pertinent to Ad-hoc in a grid list. Users can use this information to determine which reviews already exist and when they were last updated.

You can search this list for a particular review and click the history icon for that review to see the Review History. This view shows a list of all the changes made to the review.

Creating a new Ad-Hoc Review

To create a new review:

1. From the Ad-Hoc review page, click + ADD REVIEW.
2. Enter the following information for your review:
   • Review Name.
   • Review Type: The options are Solicitation Review, Award Review, Amendment Review, and Modification Review.
   • Solicitation Method: A solicitation method can be chosen if the Review type is Solicitation Review or Amendment Review.
   • Operator and Estimated Total Amount: Add this information to configure the amount that qualifies a procurement for the review process.
3. Click Review Group to add review groups that will perform the default review.
4. Configure the review groups. You can do this in the following ways:
   • Modify the default Precedents. Note: A precedent is a review group that must complete the review before another group begins reviewing.
   • Modify the default Assigned Group.
   • For Duration, enter a number to indicate how long that item will take to complete once it's started.
   • For Duration Unit, select whether the Duration is for Hours, Days, or Weeks.
   • Click X to delete review groups.
5. After you have added and modified the desired review groups, click ADD REVIEW.

Updating an existing Ad-Hoc review

The Contract Writing Settings site allows you to easily update document reviews. To update an Ad-hoc Review:

1. From the Ad-hoc Reviews page, click the review name that you want to update.
2. If desired, update the Review Name, Review Type, Solicitation Method (if applicable), Operation, Threshold Amount, and/or Status.
3. Click Review Group to add review groups that will perform the default review.
4. Modify the review groups. To learn how to modify the review groups, view step 4 of Creating a new review.
5. Click SAVE CHANGES.

All future procurements will use the modified ad-hoc review. Procurements that are already in process or completed will not be affected.

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