FORGE
FORGE
Breadcrumbs

Workflow Designer

The Workflow Designer controls the steps technicians see while working appointments in FORGE Mobile. Use it to create workflows, choose the order and behavior of steps, decide which information technicians can view or edit, and add rules that select the right workflow for an appointment.

Required-field key: Fields marked Required must be completed before the workflow can be saved. Fields marked Optional may be left at their default value or blank.

Create a Workflow

  1. Open the Workflow Designer
    Go to Settings > Mobile > Workflow Designer. The page shows workflows and their ordered steps on the left. The selected workflow or step is edited on the right.

  2. Start a new workflow or open an existing workflow
    Select New Workflow to begin or select an existing workflow from the Workflows list. If you have unsaved changes, the designer asks whether to save or discard them before switching.

    • New Workflow (Optional): Starts a blank workflow draft. The first workflow created for a business unit is selected as the default.

    • Existing workflow (Optional): Opens the saved workflow and expands its step list.

  1. Complete the workflow details
    With no step selected, complete the following fields:

    • Name (Optional): Identifies the workflow in the designer. If left blank, the system creates a name such as Workflow 1 based on the Sort Order.

    • Sort Order (Optional): Controls the order in which workflows are considered and displayed. Lower numbers are evaluated first. The default is 0.

    • Active (Optional): Makes the workflow available for use. Clear this option to retain the workflow without assigning it to technicians.

    • Default (Optional): Uses this workflow as the fallback when no rule-based workflow matches. Only one default workflow is allowed per company and business unit. A default workflow is always active.

Tip: A workflow with no rules is broad and can act as a fallback. Use the Default option to identify the intended fallback workflow.

  1. Add and configure workflow steps

Select Add Step, then select the new step in the left pane. Complete the following fields:

    • Step Name (Required): Names the step technicians see in the workflow.

    • Step Type (Required): Defines the step's function. Available choices are Combined, Details, PO, Products, Resolution, Tasks, and Time. New steps start as Details.

    • Required (Optional): Prevents completion until the step's requirement is satisfied. This option is available for PO, Products, Resolution, and Time steps. Details, Tasks, and Combined use their own completion behavior.

    • Active (Optional): Shows the step to technicians. Inactive steps remain saved in the designer but are hidden in the mobile workflow.

Use Drag, Up, or Down in the left pane to place the step in the desired order. Select Remove to delete the step from the draft.

  1. Complete the settings for the selected step type

Complete the fields that appear for the selected type:

    • Details (Optional): Choose the entity panels, fields, editability, annotations, contacts, and equipment actions technicians can use. See Step 6.

    • Products - Allowed Product Types (Optional): Select Inventory, Non Inventory, and/or Service to control which items appear in the mobile Products step. Existing steps without a saved selection allow all product types.

    • PO (Optional): No additional type-specific fields are required. This step lets technicians work with purchase orders related to the current service call.

    • Resolution - Enable AI summary generation (Optional): Allows technicians to generate a resolution summary. AI Enhancements must be configured in Registration before this option can be enabled.

    • Tasks (Optional): No additional type-specific fields are shown. Completion is based on required appointment tasks rather than the step's Required option.

    • Time - Time Type (Required): Select Labor, Travel, or Both to define the time sections shown to the technician.

    • Time - Enable Employee Reimbursements (Optional): Allows reimbursement entries from the Time step.

  1. Configure a Details step

For a Details step, complete the following fields and options:

    • Included entities (Optional): Select the entity panels to show on the mobile Details tab. Available entities are supplied by the system and may include Appointment, Service Call, Customer, Location, and Equipment.

    • Entity order (Optional): Use Drag, Up, or Down to control the order of the entity panels.

    • Show annotations (Optional): Shows annotations for the selected entity. This is enabled by default when annotations are supported.

    • Allow annotation CRUD (Optional): Allows technicians to create, view, update, and delete annotations. Show annotations must also be enabled.

    • Show contacts (Optional): Shows a contact sub-panel for supported Customer or Location entities.

    • Allow contact CRUD (Optional): Allows technicians to create, view, update, and delete contacts. Show contacts must also be enabled.

    • Allow assignment editing (Optional): For Equipment, allows technicians to assign or unassign equipment on the parent service call.

    • Allow create new equipment (Optional): For Equipment, allows technicians to create new location equipment from the workflow.

    • Search available fields (Optional): Filters the standard and custom fields available for the selected entity.

    • Selected fields (Optional): Defines the fields shown for that entity. Select Add to include a field, then use Drag, Up, Down, or Remove to maintain the list.

    • Read only (Optional): Prevents technicians from editing a selected field. Fields that the system identifies as read-only cannot be changed to editable.

Important: A Details step can be saved without selected entities or fields, but technicians will have no configured entity information to use in that step.

  1. Configure a Combined step

A Combined step groups several related actions under one technician step. Select Add included step, then complete the following fields for each child:

    • Included step Type (Required): Select PO, Products, Resolution, Tasks, or Time. Details and Combined are not available as child types.

    • Included step Name (Required): Names the child tab displayed to technicians.

    • Required (Optional): Makes the child part of Combined-step completion.

    • Type-specific settings (Conditional): Complete Allowed Product Types for Products, the AI summary option for Resolution, or Time Type and reimbursements for Time.

Use Up and Down to reorder included steps. Select Remove to delete a child. A Combined step must contain at least one named included step before it can be saved.

  1. Add workflow selection rules

With no step selected, select Add Group in the Rules section. Complete the following fields for each rule:

    • Field (Required when a rule is added): Select Customer, Problem Type, Call Type, or Priority.

    • Operator (Required when a rule is added): Select Equals, Does Not Equal, In, or Not In.

    • Value (Required for single-value operators): Select one value for Equals or Does Not Equal.

    • Values (Required for multi-value operators): Select one or more values for In or Not In.

How rules work: All rules in one group must match (AND). A workflow applies when any group matches (OR). Leave all rules empty when the workflow should apply broadly.

  1. Save and review the workflow

Select Save or Save Workflow. Correct any validation message, then confirm the saved workflow, step order, and rule summary in the designer.

    • Save (Required to retain changes): Creates a new workflow or updates the selected workflow, including its steps and rules.

    • Refresh (Optional): Reloads workflows and Details metadata. If changes are unsaved, the designer prompts you to save or discard them.

Mobile update: Saving notifies active FORGE Mobile sessions. A technician already using the changed workflow is prompted to return to the appointment list and reopen the appointment before the new design is applied.

10.  Maintain an existing workflow

Open the workflow, make the necessary changes, and save again. The following actions are also available:

    • Reset Template (Optional): Replaces the workflow's steps and rules with the standard default template while preserving its current name, Active/Default settings, and Sort Order. Confirm the warning before continuing.

    • Delete (Optional): Permanently removes the selected workflow and its related steps and rules. Use this only when the workflow is no longer needed.

Default template: The standard starting step order is Details, Travel, Labor, Costs, and Resolution.

  • Workflow purpose: The name and rules make it clear when the workflow should be used.

  • Fallback: One active default workflow is available for appointments that do not match a rule.

  • Step sequence: Steps appear in the order technicians should perform them.

  • Required behavior: Required steps and Combined children reflect the work technicians must complete.

  • Details access: Editable fields and annotation, contact, or equipment permissions match your business process.

  • Mobile validation: A test appointment shows the intended workflow and the expected step configuration.