Requires the following role: Owner
Task rules allow you to add conditional tasks to a workflow based on either the anticipated spend amount or responses to specific questions in the request form.
For example, you might include an Upload Documents & Contracts task only for requests over $10,000, or set up approval tasks that vary based on the requesting department.
This article explains how to use task rules to customize your workflows with conditional tasks.
Before You Start
To add a task with a conditional rule, you have two options for defining when the task should be included in the workflow:
- Request Form Question: Choose this option to include the task based on specific answers in the request form. For Request Form Question rules:
- The workflow must be assigned a purchase category, allowing you to select questions from that category’s request form.
- The question used in the task rule cannot itself be conditional. However, you can use questions from any form page, including newly added subpages.
- Annual Anticipated Spend: Choose this option to include the task based on the request’s annual anticipated spend amount. Note that purchase category assignment is not required for spend-based rules.
Add a Spend-Based Rule to a Task
Spend-based task rules let you include a task based on a request’s annual anticipated spend.
To add a spend-based rule to a task:
- Open the workflow in Workflow Studio.
- Add or edit a task to open the task sidebar.
- Under Include this Task, select When.
- Select Annual Anticipated Spend.
- Use the dropdown to select a comparison (e.g., is greater than or is between), then enter a monetary amount for the anticipated spend.
Note: Is greater than and is less than are exclusive of the specified amount. For example, “is greater than $0 starts at $0.01”. Is between is inclusive of both values; is between $0 and $5 includes both $0 and $5
- Complete the other fields as needed and click Add Task or Save Task.
The task will appear in the workflow only if the request’s annual anticipated spend matches the criteria defined in your spend-based rule. If the anticipated spend does not meet these conditions, the task will not be included.
Add a Request Details Type-based Rule to a Task
Request Details Type-based rules let you include a task based on specific request details provided in the form.
To add a Request Details Type-based rule to a task:
- Open the workflow in Workflow Studio.
- Add or edit a task to open the task sidebar.
- Under Include this Task, select When.
- Select Request Form Question.
- Choose the specific request details type question you want to base your condition on.
- Use the dropdown to select the answer(s) that will trigger the task.
- Complete the other fields as needed and click Add Task or Save Task.
The task will only be included in the workflow if the specific request details provided in the form match the conditions you set. If the form responses do not match these conditions, the task will not be included.
Use Conditional Tasks in Parallel
If two or more conditional tasks can open a subsequent task, use the ALL trigger for the subsequent task. Using the ANY trigger may cause the workflow to unintentionally skip tasks.
For example, the following workflow includes two conditional tasks in parallel:
- The COO approval task only activates for requests below $25,000.
- The CEO approval task only activates for requests with an annual spend of $25,000 or more.
- Completing either task opens the Send for signature task.
To ensure the workflow doesn't skip tasks, the Send for signature task uses the ALL trigger.
Note: Workflow Studio may automatically reorder tasks in your workflow display, and this order may not align with the sequence in which you created them.
Limitations
If you include multiple answers in an answer-based rule, the task is included if any of the answers are submitted. You can’t restrict the rule to use all-based logic.