Skip to main content

Complex Workflow Examples

This section provides detailed examples of more complex workflows that demonstrate advanced access control concepts in OSPROV.

Example 5: Multi-Department Product Launch (Complex)​

Workflow Configuration:

  • Roles: Product Manager, Marketing Manager, Sales Manager, Finance Manager, Executive
  • Authorization Channels: Product, Marketing, Sales, Finance
  • Tasks:
    1. Product Launch Request (Product Manager role)
    2. Marketing Plan Review (Marketing Manager role)
    3. Sales Strategy Review (Sales Manager role)
    4. Budget Approval (Finance Manager role)
    5. Final Approval (Executive role)

How It Works:

  1. For Nathan (Product Manager with Product authorization channel):

    • Nathan initiates the product launch workflow
    • He provides product details, target market, and launch timeline
    • The workflow simultaneously routes to Marketing, Sales, and Finance for parallel reviews
    • Nathan only needs at least one matching authorization channel (in this case, Product) to see and start the workflow

  2. For Olivia (Marketing Manager with Marketing authorization channel):

    • Olivia reviews only the marketing aspects of the product launch
    • She adds marketing campaign details and approves her portion
    • She cannot see or modify the sales strategy portion

  3. For Victor (Sales Manager with Sales authorization channel):

    • Victor reviews only the sales aspects of the product launch
    • He adds sales strategy details and approves his portion
    • He cannot see or modify the marketing campaign portion

  4. For Diana (Finance Manager with Finance authorization channel):

    • Diana reviews the budget implications for all departments
    • She has "Ignore Authorization Channel" checked for her task, allowing her to see all financial aspects
    • She approves the budget allocation

  5. For Charles (Executive with ALL authorization channels):

    • Charles sees the complete product launch plan after all departments have approved
    • He can review all aspects (product, marketing, sales, finance)
    • His approval completes the workflow and triggers the product launch

This complex workflow demonstrates parallel processing across departments, with each department handling their specialized portion while Finance needs cross-department visibility for budget purposes, and Executives need complete visibility for final approval.

Example 6: Confidential HR Investigation (Complex)​

Workflow Configuration:

  • Roles: Employee, HR Specialist, HR Manager, Legal, Executive
  • Authorization Channels: HR-General, HR-Confidential, Legal, Executive
  • Tasks:
    1. Incident Report (Employee role, routed to HR-Confidential)
    2. Initial Assessment (HR Specialist role with HR-Confidential authorization)
    3. Investigation (HR Specialist role with HR-Confidential authorization)
    4. Legal Review (Legal role with "Allow Previous Task Handler to Choose" checked)
    5. Resolution Approval (HR Manager role with HR-Confidential authorization)
    6. Executive Review (Executive role, only for severe cases)

How It Works:

  1. For Any Employee (with any authorization channel):

    • Any employee can submit a confidential incident report
    • The system automatically assigns the HR-Confidential authorization channel to the case
    • The employee can only see their own submission and status updates

  2. For Maria (HR Specialist with HR-Confidential authorization):

    • Maria sees all confidential incident reports
    • She performs the initial assessment and investigation
    • Based on the case details, she determines if legal review is needed
    • If legal review is needed, she selects a specific legal team member based on expertise

  3. For Thomas (Legal with Legal authorization):

    • If selected by Maria, Thomas receives the case for legal review
    • He can see the case details despite being in a different department
    • He provides legal guidance and recommendations

  4. For Sophia (HR Manager with HR-Confidential authorization):

    • Sophia reviews the investigation findings and legal recommendations
    • She approves the final resolution
    • For severe cases, she can route to Executive review

  5. For William (Executive with Executive authorization):

    • William only sees the most severe cases that require executive attention
    • He has final approval authority on these cases

This workflow demonstrates how highly sensitive processes can be tightly controlled using specialized authorization channels (HR-Confidential), while still allowing necessary cross-department collaboration (with Legal) through the "Allow Previous Task Handler to Choose" option.

Example 7: Conditional Approval Process for High-Value Purchases (Very Complex)​

OSPROV Workflow Configuration:

  • Roles: Employee, Manager, Finance Manager, CFO, IT Security, Procurement
  • Authorization Channels: IT, Finance, Operations, Procurement
  • Tasks:
    1. Purchase Request Form (Employee role)
    2. Manager Approval (Manager role)
    3. Conditional Task: Value Check (System evaluation - checks if purchase value > $10,000)
    4. Finance Review (Finance Manager role, only for high-value purchases)
    5. CFO Approval (CFO role, only for high-value purchases)
    6. Conditional Task: IT Equipment Check (System evaluation - checks if purchase is IT equipment)
    7. IT Security Review (IT Security role, only for IT equipment)
    8. Procurement Processing (Procurement role, with "Ignore Authorization Channel" checked)

How It Works in OSPROV:

  1. For Michael (Operations Employee with Operations authorization channel):

    • Michael submits a purchase request for new equipment costing $15,000
    • He completes the purchase request form with all required details
    • Michael only needs the Operations authorization channel to see and start this workflow

  2. For Jennifer (Operations Manager with Operations authorization channel):

    • Jennifer receives the purchase request in her task list
    • She reviews the business justification and approves the request
    • The workflow then reaches the first conditional task

  3. First Conditional Branch (Value Check):

    • The system automatically evaluates if the purchase value exceeds $10,000
    • Since Michael's request is $15,000, the condition evaluates to TRUE
    • The workflow follows the "high-value" branch to Finance Review
    • If the value had been under $10,000, it would have skipped Finance and CFO approval

  4. For Robert (Finance Manager with Finance authorization channel):

    • Robert receives the high-value purchase request for financial review
    • He verifies budget availability and financial compliance
    • After his approval, the request moves to the CFO

  5. For Patricia (CFO with Finance authorization channel):

    • Patricia reviews the high-value purchase for final financial approval
    • After her approval, the workflow proceeds to the next conditional task

  6. Second Conditional Branch (IT Equipment Check):

    • The system evaluates if the purchase involves IT equipment
    • Based on the form data, this condition evaluates to TRUE
    • The workflow follows the "IT equipment" branch to IT Security Review
    • If it wasn't IT equipment, it would skip directly to Procurement

  7. For David (IT Security with IT authorization channel):

    • David reviews the IT equipment purchase for security compliance
    • He ensures the equipment meets security standards
    • After his approval, the request moves to Procurement

  8. For Susan (Procurement with Procurement authorization channel):

    • Susan processes the approved purchase request
    • Her task has "Ignore Authorization Channel" checked since Procurement handles all approved purchases
    • She creates the purchase order and completes the workflow

This complex OSPROV workflow demonstrates:

  • True/false conditional branching to create different approval paths based on specific criteria
  • Sequential processing that adapts based on the request characteristics
  • Role-specific tasks that ensure proper oversight at each stage
  • Authorization channels that restrict visibility to appropriate departments
  • The "Ignore Authorization Channel" option for functions that need cross-department access
  • How a single workflow can handle different scenarios through conditional logic