Workflow Operation

The following diagram explains how the workflow system in DSpace is applied during the submission procedure:

Once the user has submitted their document, the existence of each workflow step is tested, in ascending order, in the collection that the document has been submitted to.  When a step is encountered it will divert the document to the actual workflow procedure for that section.  Once that procedure has been completed, the document will continue through the workflow step checks from the next point until it reaches the archive.

Each workflow step in DSpace has slightly different properties:

1.                  Reject the document; approve the document to move out of the workflow step.

2.                  Reject the document; approve the document to move out of the workflow step; edit the metadata of the submission.

3.                  Edit the metadata of the submission; commit the submission to the archive.

Hence, the process of setting up workflows to deal with different types of collections requires that the active workflows are those that possess the relevant properties for that particular procedure.

When a submission reaches a particular workflow step, members of a Group set up exclusively to deal with that workflow step in that collection are alerted via email that there is a new task to be performed.  Upon logging into their DSpace account, they will find a new item in their Task Pool.  This is visible to everyone within that workflow group, and anyone may take the task to do themselves.  When they do this, the task is removed from the Task Pool and placed into the Owned Tasks section, which is only visible to that particular user.  The user may then perform the workflow requirements and take whatever action is required, or the task may be returned to the Task Pool.