The action workflow in detail: every step, who holds the action, buttons, e-mails and log

This page is a lookup for every step an Action Manager action can take: who can take it, which button and input it needs, what the status and holder are afterwards, which e-mail is sent and what the Log tab records. The short version is in Action statuses, who holds an action, and e-mails.

Who holds an action

Rule	What it means
One holder	At any time one person holds an action; the Current editor column shows who. Only that person sees the workflow buttons and can save the action. Everyone else who opens it sees it read-only, with a Close button. The one exception is the plans of an action; see Plans in detail: rules, rights and what changes them.
New	No workflow step has been taken yet: the action has been created, or saved with Save as draft, and not sent. The creator holds it.
In progress	At least one step has been taken and the action is not closed.
Closed	The action was closed with Complete or Complete action. The Closed date is set and nobody holds the action.
No reopening	No button reopens a Closed action.

Every step

“Reviewer” below means the person the work is sent back to: the last other person who took a step on the action, normally the creator, or the person who forwarded the action to the responsible.

Step	Who	Button, and what must be filled in	Afterwards	E-mail (subject)	Log entry
Save a new action as a draft	The creator	Save as draft. Only Title: must be filled in. The dialog closes.	New; the creator holds it.	None	“… has created the action”
Send the action	The creator, while the action is New	Send. Title:, Due date and exactly one Responsible must be filled in.	In progress; the responsible holds it.	To the responsible: “Action waiting for your input”	“… has created the action” (for a new action) and “… sent the action to …”
Create an action for yourself	The creator, choosing themselves as Responsible	The green button reads Create action instead of Send. Same required fields.	In progress, Accepted “Yes”; the creator holds it.	None	“… has created the action” (for a new action) and “… has accepted the action”
Accept	The person the action was sent or forwarded to	Accept	In progress, Accepted “Yes”; the same person holds it.	None	“… has accepted the action”
Reject before accepting	The person the action was sent or forwarded to	Reject, a rejection message (required), then Reject	In progress; the action goes back to the last other person who took a step on it, normally the one who sent or forwarded it.	To that person: “An action of yours has been rejected”	“… has rejected the action”
Forward	The person the action was sent or forwarded to, before accepting; or the creator of an action they keep for themselves	Forward, a person under Select recipient:, a Forwarding message: (required; not asked for in an action you keep for yourself), then Forward	In progress, Accepted “No”; the new person holds the action and becomes Responsible.	To the new person: “An action has been forwarded to you”. To the creator, when someone else forwarded it: “An action of yours has been forwarded”	“… has forwarded the action to …”
Save your work as a draft	The person who holds the action, where Save as draft is shown	Save as draft	No change of status or holder. Text in Action taken/comments is kept.	None	No step entry; changed fields are logged as field changes.
Send the work back as done	The responsible, after accepting	Send. Action taken/comments must be filled in, and the required fields must still be valid.	In progress; the reviewer holds it.	To the reviewer: “Action waiting for your input”	“… has filled the action taken”
Close the action	The reviewer (the person the work was sent back to)	Complete. An Optional comment box opens; click Complete again, or Cancel.	Closed; Closed date set.	To the responsible who did the work: “Action published”	“… completed the action”
Reject the work	The reviewer (the person the work was sent back to)	Reject, a rejection message (required), then Reject	In progress; the responsible holds it again.	To the responsible: “An action of yours has been rejected”	“… has rejected the action”
Complete an action you keep for yourself	The creator who is also Responsible	Complete action. The required fields must be valid; Action taken/comments is optional.	Closed; Closed date set.	None	“… completed the action”

After the reviewer rejects the work, the responsible can no longer reject or forward the action: they can change Action taken/comments, the checklist and the attachments, ask for a new due date, save a draft, and send the work back again with Send.

When an action comes back to its creator after the responsible rejected it, the creator can change every field again, including Due date and Responsible, and send it with Send.

No e-mail goes out when the person who takes a step is also the next holder of the action.

Due-date changes

Rule	What it means
Who can ask for a new due date	The responsible after accepting the action, also after the reviewer has rejected the work or an earlier due-date change has been answered; and the creator of an action they keep for themselves. Not the responsible before accepting.
Where the date is changed directly instead	While the action is New, and when it has come back to the creator after a rejection, the creator changes Due date as an ordinary field, without approval.
How	The pencil next to Due date (tooltip Edit). Clicking it first saves what you have entered as a draft. The new date must differ from the current one, and Reason for change: must be filled in.
The button	Send in the due-date editor of an ordinary action, whether or not approval is required; it sends only the due-date change, not the action or your work. Save in an action you keep for yourself. Cancel closes the editor without a change.
Approval required	When Require approval for change of due date is on (see The Action Manager Admin tab) and the action is not one the creator keeps for themselves, the request goes to the action’s creator, also when the action was forwarded. The creator gets the e-mail “A change to an action is awaiting your approval”.
While the request waits	The creator holds the action: it is in the creator’s Actions awaiting your input on the dashboard, and action reminders go to the creator. The person who asked cannot work on the action until the creator answers.
What the creator sees	A message at the bottom of the dialog: “… has requested changing the due date from … to … their message to you is as follows:”, with the reason, and the buttons Accept and Reject.
Approve	Accept sets the new due date and gives the action back to the person who asked. That person gets the e-mail “Your requested change to an action has been approved” and sees “Your due date change has been approved!”. Log entry: “… has approved the new due date”.
Reject	Reject opens a rejection message box (optional), then Reject. The due date stays as it was and the action goes back to the person who asked. That person gets the e-mail “Your requested change to an action has been rejected” and sees “Your due date change has been rejected!”. Log entry: “… has rejected the new due date”.
No approval	When approval is off, or in an action the creator keeps for themselves, the new due date is set at once and the action stays with you. No e-mail is sent. You see “Your due date change has been approved!”. The log gets two entries: “… has requested to change the due date” and “Due date change request has been automatically approved”.
Your draft text	Text you had saved as a draft in Action taken/comments is kept through a due-date change.

The e-mails

All action e-mails are written in the receiver’s language, name the action’s title and contain a link that opens the action. The subjects below are quoted exactly as ABMS writes them.

Event	Who gets it	Subject
The action is sent to the responsible	The responsible	“Action waiting for your input”
The work is sent back as done	The reviewer	“Action waiting for your input”
The action is closed by the reviewer	The responsible who did the work	“Action published”
The action is rejected, before or after accepting	The person who gets it back	“An action of yours has been rejected”
The action is forwarded	The new responsible	“An action has been forwarded to you”
The action is forwarded by someone other than its creator	The creator	“An action of yours has been forwarded”
A due-date change is requested	The creator	“A change to an action is awaiting your approval”
A due-date change is approved	The person who asked	“Your requested change to an action has been approved”
A due-date change is rejected	The person who asked	“Your requested change to an action has been rejected”

Reminder e-mails are described in Action reminders in detail: timing, receivers and content.

Banners and the Flow Actions panel

What you see	Who sees it, and when
“This action has been forwarded to you!”	The new holder after a forward, with the forwarder’s message under “… wrote the following message in relation to this forwarding:”.
“Your action has been rejected!”	The person who gets the action back when the responsible rejects it before accepting.
“Your action has been forwarded!”	The creator, when someone else forwarded the action and the creator does not hold it.
“Your due date change has been approved!”	The person who asked for a new due date, after approval, also after automatic approval.
“Your due date change has been rejected!”	The person who asked for a new due date, after a rejection.
No banner	The responsible, when the reviewer rejects the work. The rejection message is shown in the Flow Actions panel.
Flow Actions panel	On a wide screen, a panel under the checklist that holds the workflow buttons and, in order, every Action taken/comments text, every rejection message and the Optional comment written when the action was closed. Its heading is red when you have a step to take. In an action you keep for yourself, your Action taken/comments text is shown at the top.

The Log tab

The Log tab is shown for every saved action. It lists the entries newest first, 10 per page, in two columns, Action and Date. Click the arrow on an entry to see its details: From value and To value for a changed field, Attachment name for an attachment, and Comments for a message written with the step.

Entry	When
“… has created the action”	The action is first saved.
“… has updated the following field: …”	A saved change to the title, findings, suggested actions, due date, checklist, a tagging field, the plans or the responsible.
“… has uploaded an attachment”, “… has deleted an attachment”	A file is added or removed.
“… has added an internal link into attachments field”, “… has removed an internal link from the attachments field”	A link to a document is added or removed.
“… has added an external link into attachments field”, “… has updated an external link”, “… has removed an external link from the attachments field”	A web address is added, changed or removed.
The step entries in the table above	Each workflow step. Saving a draft is not a step.
“… has transffered the action on …” (shown exactly like this in ABMS)	A user administrator moved the action to another person with Ownership transfer; see Transfer ownership of a user’s items.