The Building Blocks of your Workflows

We discussed planning your workflow in the Planning & Preparation articles to help determine what elements should be in your workflow and what the approval process looks like.

With that knowledge in hand, we walk you through setting up the building blocks of the workflows that you will be using within your projects. This includes configuring:

• The Objects, Types, and Statuses that your Schema(s) will flow around
• Task boards
• Note Labels
• Priorities
• Asset Types
• List Categories
• Settings

Go to Profile Menu > System settings > Workflows to begin. The appropriate Role permissions are required.

 

Adding Objects

Objects are the first building blocks of a project. Generally, they are defined as the "thing" you are creating or a goal you are working towards. Sometimes they can be elements you need to track important data on as it relates to another Object.

Objects settings contain a default list of common 3D project Objects that can be used immediately. If your Object is not in the default list, you can create a new one.

Please note: "Tasks" are included in the default Object List, so there is no need to create a Task Object.

Review:  If you need a reminder of what Objects are and how they can be used, visit Determine the Data to Track.

Under the Workflow menu, select Objects.

 

Quickstart Guide

	Click Create to make a new Object. Repeat until all your Objects are listed. Drag and drop an Object to re-order.
	Click pencil to Edit or trash to Delete an Object.
	The configurable settings for your Object(s). Icon - an image to represent your Object in the Tasks Spreadsheet and UI. Priority - toggled on will give your Object a "Priority" attribute to be able to select a priority level on that Object. Type - toggled on will give your Object a "Type" attribute for further classification of that Object. Status - toggled on will give your Object a "Status" attribute to indicate the progress or approval of your Object in your workflow.

Tip: For detailed information, visit Managing Objects.

 

Adding Types

Types help define your Objects, Tasks and, Milestones. All Types are configured in a singular place in the Workflow settings.

A default list of 3D project Types is available to be used immediately. If your Type is not in the default list, you can create a new one.

Review:  From Plot out your Workflow we determined what Types to use for your project(s). We will use the information gathered from that article to implement our Type workflow.

• Task Types help define the stages of work required to complete an Object. They can also reflect the type of work that needs to be completed for that specific task.
• Objects Types can be used to further define Objects into differing categories depending on the level of granularity needed to track and organize them.
• Milestones Types can be helpful to clarify if there is a specific department it is tied to.

Under the Workflow menu, select Types.

 

Quickstart Guide

	Click Create to make a new Type. Repeat until all your Types for Objects, Tasks, and Milestones are listed. Drag and Drop a Type to re-order. It's helpful to group each Object Type set together. Types can be re-used across Objects, Tasks and Milestones if they use the same Type Name. For Task Types, order them in line with the stages of work that need to be completed from start to finish - this will help define your Task Templates which we will review soon. Your Schema will determine which Types you decide to use for each Object.
	Click pencil to Edit or trash to Delete a Type.
	The configurable settings for your Types. Color - the color that represents your Type in charts and Spreadsheets. Name - the Name given to your Type. Billable - indicates whether objects with that Type should be included when summarizing task counts, bids, and worked hours in most reports and charts. This may be used to separate administrative tasks which you may need to schedule internally but don’t want to include as part of the work that went into a project. Used in Schema - tells you what Workflow Schemas the Type is used in.

Tip: For detailed information, visit Managing Types.

 

Adding Statuses

Statuses are used to give you information at-a-glance regarding how far along the elements of your project have progressed toward completion.

Within ftrack Studio, Statuses can also help users filter through projects to surface specific information.

Review:  If you need a reminder of what Statuses are and how they can be used, visit Determine your Approval Process.

Under the Workflow menu, select Statuses.

 

Quickstart Guide

	Click Create to make a new Status. Repeat until all your Statuses for Objects, Tasks, and Milestones are listed. Statuses contain a default list you can start with and edit as desired. Drag and Drop a Status to re-order in the list. It's important to order in the correct Status flow so they show up correctly in your element's Status List. Statuses can be re-used across Objects, Tasks and Milestones if they use the same Status Name. Your Schema will determine which Statuses you apply to each.
	Click pencil to Edit or trash to Delete a Status.
	The configurable settings for your Statuses. Color - the color that represents your Status in charts and Spreadsheets. Name - the Name given to your Status. Corresponds to - ftrack has four states that you can map your Statuses to for generating reports and charts: Not Started In Progress Done Blocked Used in Schema - tells you what Workflow Schemas the Status is used in.

Tip: For detailed information, visit Managing Statuses.

 

Organizing Task boards

Task boards allow Tasks to be visualized Kanban-style with columns representing the Task state (aka Status "category") and Tasks represented as cards within the columns. The Task cards can be dragged from one state column to another to update the Status so you can manage your Tasks in a more hands-on, visual manner when desired.

Task boards are accessible on the project level to view all project tasks with various sorting and filtering options. As well, each user's My Tasks page has a Task board view available of their assigned Tasks for easy visibility and management.

Under the Workflow menu, select Task boards.

 

In the Task boards settings, you can see the board options available for My Tasks and Projects. Each can be edited to their specific needs.

1. Select the Edit button of My Tasks or Projects.
2. Drag each Status to the State column it best reflects
   • Rename a Column or Add a New Column
   • Ensure all Statuses are mapped
3. Save your changes.

Tip: For detailed information, visit Using Task boards.

 

Adding Note Labels

ftrack Studio allows for the creation of Notes on its Objects. Most commonly, they are used to track feedback on Asset Versions; however, they are not limited to that use. Notes can be added to provide updates on Tasks or their parent Objects or any place you find them useful.

Note Labels are used to classify, organize and filter for specific types of Notes. Adding these labels will make it easier to pull up the Notes you want when you need them.

Under the Workflow menu, select Note Labels.

 

Quickstart Guide

	Click Create to make a new Note Label. Repeat until all your Note Labels are created. Drag and Drop a Label to re-order. The order of your labels will be reflected in the Note label dropdown menu. There is a default list of labels to start with that you can edit if needed. Labels are global across all elements' Notes.
	Click pencil to Edit or trash to Delete a Note Label.
	The configurable settings for your Note Labels. Color - the color that represents your Label in the UI. Name - the Name given to your Label.

Tip: For detailed information, visit Managing Note Labels.

 

Confirming Priorities

Priorities can be added to Objects, Tasks, and Milestones to help organize your work by order of most importance. When creating your Objects, as we did under Adding Objects, this is what the Priority checkbox refers to. Toggling the checkbox on will give you a Priority attribute column in your Tasks Spreadsheet for that element. There is a default set of priorities to start, but if you'd like to customize them, you can do that now.

Under the Workflow menu, select Priorities.

 

Quickstart Guide

	Click Create to make a new Priority. Repeat until your Priorities for Objects, Tasks, and Milestones are listed.  Each element will use the same global priority list. Drag and Drop a Priority to re-order in the list. It's important to order in the correct Priority flow so they show up correctly in your element's Priority List dropdown menu.
	Click pencil to Edit or trash to Delete a Priority.
	The configurable settings for your Priorities. Color - the color that represents your Priority in charts and Spreadsheets. Name - the Name given to your Priority. Value - A numeric value that you can use in the API.

Tip: For detailed information, visit Managing Priorities.

 

Adding Asset Types

As a reminder, Asset Types are used to categorize your Asset Versions within ftrack Studio, specifically if you are using Connect, Integrations, or the API. We discussed how to define them in Define Your Reviewable Content and Deliverables of this series. Now we configure the default list of Asset Types to suit your preferences. However, the default list may be suitable for your workflow as is.

For those who are not using Connect, Integrations, or the API and are uploading Asset Versions directly within the Studio workspace, then your Asset Type by default will be "Upload", and there is no need to make any further changes - you can move onto Adding List Categories below.

Under the Workflow menu, select Asset Types.

 

Quickstart Guide

	Click Create to make a new Asset Type. Repeat until all your Types are listed.
	Click pencil to Edit or trash to Delete an Asset Type.
	The configurable settings for your Asset Types. Name - the Name given to your Asset Type. Code - can be used by API/integrations as an identifier. Playable component name - is used in the desktop player integrations (RV, HieroPlayer) to decide which component should be played back.

Tip: For detailed information, visit the following supporting documents: Create an Asset Version via Upload [when you are not using Connect, Integrations, or API] Review [Review using local players] Create an Asset Version via Publish Installing & Using ftrack Connect Publishing [Publishing in the API]

 

Adding List Categories

Lists are used to organize groups of Objects or Asset Versions together.

List Categories keep all your different Lists organized into like groups. If you know any Lists Categories that could be helpful to keep your Object and Version Lists organized, you can create those now. If you aren't sure, you can always make a note to come back to List Categories later.

Examples:

• You might create a list of Versions every day to be used in daily reviews with the creative supervisor. You can put all those Lists into one category called "Dailies" so they are always easy to find.
• Perhaps you have varying types of 3D game models (Objects) organized into different lists to serve as the key concept looks for future models to follow. You can have all those lists of Objects organized into a "Key Concepts" category for quick reference.

Under the Workflow menu, select List Categories.

 

Quickstart Guide

	Click Create to make a new List Category. Repeat until all your categories are listed.
	Click pencil to Edit or trash to Delete a List Category.
	The configurable settings for your List Categories. Name - the Name given to your category as viewed in the left-hand menu of the Tasks Spreadsheet and Versions View.

Tip: For detailed information, visit Using Lists.

 

Confirming Settings

There are a few last settings to check before we head into your workflow Schema.

• Default Note Category (Label) - This allows you to choose a default Note Label to apply to any new Note created. It can be left blank, or you can make a selection by clicking the dropdown menu.
• Default Note as Completable - Toggle on if you want any new Note to be created with the option to select a button when the note is complete (or has been addressed).
• Show Status in Progress - When toggled on, will show each individual Status color instead of grouped State colors in Progress summaries.
  • State colors are a default color palette that is not editable. Status colors are editable under Workflow Statuses.
  • This is shown in the left-hand project navigation (outliner) of a project and some chart options.

Image shows State colors

Your basic workflow settings are now complete! Let's head to the next article to get into your Workflow Schema, the most important piece of your day-to-day workflow.