Common Components Help

AEF Help

Routes: Tasks

This section contains the following topics related to working with all tasks in a route. Because these procedures pertain to all tasks in a route, they are mainly for the route owner. However any member in the route can list tasks for a route. If Team Central is installed, the workspace owner can set up task due date notifications. For information on working with tasks assigned to you, see Tasks Assigned to You.

• Setting Up Task Due Date Notifications
• Listing Tasks for a Route
• Viewing Information about Any Route Task
• Defining the Tasks in a Route
• Editing the Definition of a Task
• Processing a Task that Needs Owner Review
• Deleting a Task from a Route

Setting Up Task Due Date Notifications

The owner of a route or workspace (for Team Central) can have the system notify people as task due dates approach and the tasks have not yet been completed. The owner can choose to notify task assignees, route owners, and/or workspace leads and can specify when these notifications should be sent by specifying the number of days and hours before or after the task due date. People receive these notifications in IconMail and email and receive one notification per task. For Team Central, these settings apply to all routes for the workspace and all of its folders. For other MatrixOne applications, these settings apply to the route they were created on.

The system also indicates that tasks are late by changing the task status from green to red if the assignee does not complete it by the due date. When at least one task is late, the route's status changes from green to yellow. If the last task in the route is overdue, the route status changes to red.

To set task due date notifications

1. Access a Routes list or the Properties page for a specific route. For details, see Listing Routes or Viewing Information about a Route.
2. From the page Actions menu, click Set Task Escalation.

The Set Task Escalation page opens.

3. Check the group(s) of people you want to send notifications to.

The Task Assignees include anyone who is currently the task assignee, which could be the original assignee or a delegate. The Project Lead(s) include the workspace owner and all Workspace Leads (for Team Central only) and project owners (for Program Central only).

4. To accept the default notification time and date for all checked groups, skip to Step 5. The default is the exact due date and time for the task (0 hours and days from the due date/time).

Or

To define the relative time before or after the task due date/time that the notifications should be sent, use the Escalate on Due Date drop-down lists.

• Use the first list to indicate if the time should be added (+) or subtracted (-) from the due date/time.
• Use the Days list to choose the number of days to add or subtract from the due date.
• Use the Hours list to choose the number of hours to add or subtract from the due time.

For example, suppose you want to notify task assignees 2 days before the task due date; route owners, 6 hours before; and Project Leads, 1 day after. You would fill in the page so it looks like this:

   Task Assignee    - 2 Days 0 Hours    Route Owner      - 0 Days 6 Hours    Project Lead     + 1 Days 0 Hours  






!
The host company configures how frequently the system should check the task due dates. Depending on the specified frequency, the notifications may be later than the time offset established. For example, if the system only checks every two hours, the notifications could be as much as two hours later than the time set here.

5. Click Done.

Listing Tasks for a Route

You can list tasks for any route that you created or are included in.

To list the tasks for a route

1. From the global toolbar, click My Desk>Routes>My Routes.

Or

If you are working within an object, click Routes from the object's category list.

2. From the Routes page, click the Name of the route.
3. From the category list for the route, click Tasks.

The Tasks page opens, listing all tasks in the route. To see only the tasks in the Review state, choose Needs Review from the filter list on the top right of the page. This filter option is available only for the route owner.

For each task, the page shows:

Status--Shows the status of the task. A green arrow means the task is on time. It's either not yet due or was completed before the due date. A red square means the task was not completed in time for the due date. Pending tasks and tasks that do not have an assigned due date have no status.

Name--The name of the task. To see details about the task, click its Name.

Order--The order of the task within the route.

State--Pending, Assigned, Review, or Complete.

• Pending--The previous task in the route hasn't been completed so the assignee isn't assigned to work on it yet. If the route isn't started yet, all tasks are pending.
• Assigned--When a task is created for an assignee, its state is Assigned.
• Review--Only tasks with a Needs Owner Review icon go through the Review state. For these tasks, the state changes from Assigned to Review when the assignee completes the task. If the route owner promotes the task, indicating approval, the state changes to Complete. If the owner demotes the task, indicating rejection, the state returns to Assigned so the assignee can redo the task.
• Complete--For tasks that do not have the Needs Owner Review icon, when the assignee indicates a task is complete by clicking Complete, the state changes to Complete and the next task in the route is created (provided there are no other tasks that must be completed).

Assignee--The person, group, or role the route creator assigned to the task unless the original assignee delegated the task to someone else. If the route creator assigned the task to a group or role, the assignee changes to the name of the first person in that group or role to accept the task.

Action--The action the task assignee should perform: Approve, Comment, Notify Only, or Investigate. If the action is Approve, the assignee must choose an approval status to complete the task: Approve, Reject, or Abstain. All actions except Notify Only require that the route member enter a comment to complete the task.

Approval Status--For tasks with an action of Approval, this column shows the approval option the task assignee selected: Approve, Reject, or Abstain. The column is blank for non-approval tasks.

Due Date/Time--The date and time the route owner requests that the assignee complete the task. If the assignee does not complete the task by this date, the task is marked as late (red) and the route's status is changed from green to yellow (if it's the last task in the route, the status changes to red). If the route has set up late task notifications, the system sends out notifications to the appropriate people.

If the route owner set the task due/time by specifying a number of days following the route start date and the route is not yet started, the field indicates the number of days following the route start. Similarly, if the due date/time is a number of days following the task creation and the task isn't created yet, the field indicates this.

If no date/time is displayed, the route owner is allowing the task assignee to set the due date and the assignee has not yet entered one.

Allow Delegation--Shows whether the route creator has indicated that the task can be delegated. If a task allows delegation, the assignee can delegate the task to someone else to complete. See Delegating a Task to Someone Else. The delegate will temporarily inherit all accesses that the assignee has for the route and its content. The system may also delegate the task automatically if the recipient receives the task during a defined absence period and the person has designated an Absence Delegate. When the system automatically delegates a task, it also notifies the route owner.

Needs Owner Review--If there is no icon in this column, the task's state changes to Complete when the task assignee completes the task and the next task in the route is created. If the Needs Owner Review icon is displayed, when the assignee completes the task, the task's state changes to Review and the system notifies the route owner. After reviewing the task, the route owner must enter a review comment and then either promote the task to indicate approval or demote it to indicate rejection. The system does not create the next task in the route until the owner promotes the task. Demoting the task changes its state back to Assigned and the task assignee must recomplete the task based on the route owner's comments. When demoting the task, the route owner can reassign it to someone else to work on.

Comments--Ad hoc comments entered by the task assignee when completing the task. To complete the task, the assignee must fill in the comment field except for tasks with Notify Only actions.

Completed Date--The date and time the person clicked Complete for the task, as recorded by the system. If the task hasn't been completed yet, the column is empty.

4. Work with the tasks as needed:
• To view information about a task, click the task Name. See Viewing Information about Any Route Task.
• To add tasks or make changes to the tasks, click Edit All from the page Actions menu. These changes include the task name, order, due date, and instructions, and the action required settings. Only the route owner can define the tasks. See Defining the Tasks in a Route.
• To delete a task, check the task and click Delete from the page Actions menu. Only the route owner can delete a task. See Deleting a Task from a Route.

Listing Tasks for a Route--Graphical View

In addition to accessing a list of tasks for routes that you created or are included in, you can also view route tasks graphically. The graphical view shows how tasks fit sequentially into the route, where the route currently is within the sequence, who owns the task, and actions taken on tasks that have been completed.

To list the route tasks in a graphical view

1. From the global toolbar, click My Desk>Routes>My Routes.

Or

If you are working within an object, click Routes from the object's category list.

2. From the Routes page, click the Name of the route.
3. From the category list for the route, click Tasks (Graphical).

The Tasks page opens, listing all tasks in the route.

The columns show the task sequence. The first column shows tasks that were assigned with order number 1, the second column shows tasks assigned order number 2, etc. Each column can contain multiple tasks. The column containing tasks in progress is highlighted with an arrow below the column. If the tasks exceed the visual area, you can use the scroll bars to view additional tasks.

For each task, the following information is shown:

• Assignee--User who is responsible for completing the task. You may see a group or role name for future tasks or for tasks in the current sequence that have not yet been accepted. Once a member of the group or role accepts the task, the graph shows the person name.

Click on the assignee name to view the Properties page and tree for that person.

• Task name--Name of the task specified when the route was created.
• For current and completed tasks, clicking on the task name shows the Task Properties/Content page and category list. This is in view-only mode for everyone except the task owner, who has a page Actions menu with links for updating the assignee and completing the task. If a task in the current sequence is assigned to a group or role, members of that group or role can click the task name to see the Task Properties page and tree, and can accept the task.
• If the task is a future task, clicking on the task name brings up the view-only Task Properties popup page.
• Action--Under each task name is the action the assignee is required to perform: Approve, Comment, Investigate, or Notify Only.
• Approval Status--On completed tasks only, the action taken (Approve, Reject or Abstain) is shown as a .gif image above the assignee's name and color coded.
• Green. Task has been completed and approved.
• Red. Task has been rejected.
• Gray. Task has not been completed.

Viewing Information about Any Route Task

You can view information about tasks in any route that you created or are included in. Workspace Leads (Team Central only) can view tasks for any route in the workspace. If you are assigned the task and want to complete it, see Completing a Task.

To view information about a task

1. If the task is assigned to you and active, click My Desk>My Tasks from the global toolbar. See Viewing Information about Your Assigned Tasks.

Otherwise

1. From the global toolbar, click My Desk>Routes>My Routes.

Or

If you are working within an object, click Routes from the object's category list.

2. From the Routes page, click the Name of the route.
3. From the category list for the route, click Tasks.
2. From the Tasks page, click the Name of the task you want to view information about.

The Properties/Content page for the task opens.

The Properties section of the task page contains the following:

Owner--The person who created the route.

Originated--Date the task was created, which is the date the route was defined, or last modified.

Due Date/Time--The date and time the route owner requests that the assignee complete the task. If the assignee does not complete the task by this date, the task is marked as late (red) and the route's status is changed from green to yellow (if it's the last task in the route, the status changes to red). If the route or workspace owner has set up late task notifications, the system sends out notifications to the appropriate people.

If the route owner set the task due/time by specifying a number of days following the route start date and the route is not yet started, the field indicates the number of days following the route start. Similarly, if the due date/time is a number of days following the task creation and the task isn't created yet, the field indicates this.

If no date/time is displayed, the route owner is allowing the task assignee to set the due date and the assignee has not yet entered one.

Allow Delegation--If True, the assignee can delegate the task to another person in the assignee's company. See Delegating a Task to Someone Else. The system can also delegate the task automatically if the recipient receives the task during a defined absence period and the person has designated an Absence Delegate. For instructions on designating an Absence Delegate, see Editing Your Profile. If False, the task cannot be delegated by the assignee or automatically by the system.

Assignee--The person, group, or role that is currently responsible for completing the task. This is person the route creator assigned to the task unless the original assignee delegated the task to someone else. If the route creator assigned the task to a group or role, the assignee changes to the name of the first person in that group or role to accept the task. If Allow Delegation is Yes and you own the task, this is an editable field. Click if you want to assign the task to another person.

Route--Name of the route that contains the task. To see details about the route, click its name.

Action--The action the task assignee should perform: Approve, Comment, Notify Only, Information Only or Investigate. If the action is Approve, the route member must choose an approval status to complete the task: Approve, Reject, or Abstain. All actions except Notify Only require that the route member enter a comment to complete the task.

Approval Status--Only shown for completed tasks with Approve actions, this field shows the option the assignee chose: Approve, Reject, or Abstain. If the task assignee chooses Reject for the status to complete the task, the route is stopped, which means no new tasks are activated for the route. The route creator receives email and IconMail notification about the rejection. If the assignee chooses Approve or Abstain, the route continues as usual.

State--Pending, Assigned, Review, or Complete.

• Pending--The previous task in the route hasn't been completed so the assignee isn't assigned to work on it yet. If the route isn't started yet, all tasks are pending.
• Assigned--When a task is created for an assignee, its state is Assigned.
• Review--Only tasks with a Needs Owner Review icon go through the Review state. For these tasks, the state changes from Assigned to Review when the assignee completes the task. If the route owner promotes the task, indicating approval, the state changes to Complete. If the owner demotes the task, indicating rejection, the state returns to Assigned so the assignee can redo the task.
• Complete--For tasks that do not have the Needs Owner Review icon, when the assignee indicates a task is complete by clicking Complete, the state changes to Complete and the next task in the route is created (provided there are no other tasks that must be completed).

Instructions--Describes how to perform the task.

Comments--Ad hoc comments entered by the task assignee when completing the task. To complete the task, the assignee must fill in the comment field except for tasks with Notify Only actions.

Review Comments--Displayed only for tasks marked with Needs Owner Review. Shows comments entered by the route owner after the assignee marked the task as complete. After entering review comments, the route owner promotes the task to indicate approval or demotes it to indicate rejection. If the route owner reviewed the task more than once, as a result of demoting the task and having the task recompleted, comments from the previous review are included.

Sub-Routes--If the task assignee created a sub-route(s) for the task and chose to display it to people who can access the route, the sub-route is listed. To see details about it, click its name. The Properties page for the sub-route opens in a new window.

Route Owner Review--If No, the task's state changes to Complete when the task assignee completes the task and the next task in the route is created. If Yes, when the assignee completes the task, the task's state changes to Review and the system notifies the route owner. After reviewing the task, the route owner must enter a review comment and then either promote the task to indicate approval or demote it to indicate rejection. The system does not create the next task in the route until the owner promotes the task. Demoting the task changes its state back to Assigned and the task assignee must recomplete the task based on the route owner's comments. When demoting the task, the route owner can reassign it to someone else to work on.

3. To edit the definition of any pending task, click Edit Details from the page Actions menu.

Only the route owner can edit the definition of tasks in the route. Note that the Approval Status and Comments are for the assignee to complete. If the task allows delegation, the owner can also change the assignee. For instructions on how the route owner can edit task information, see Editing the Definition of a Task. For instructions on how the task assignee can edit task information, see Completing a Task and Delegating a Task to Someone Else.

Defining the Tasks in a Route

If you created a route by entering only basic information for it (you did not use the Route wizard), you'll need to use this procedure to define tasks for the route. You can also use this procedure if you did define tasks for the route and want to edit them or add more. The route owner can edit any task in a route as long as the task has not been completed yet. The owner can also add new tasks as long as the route is not complete.

If you just want to edit properties for one task, you can use Edit Details on the task's Properties page. For tasks that are active (the assignees can work on them now), the only way to edit them is to use Edit Details and not this procedure. See Editing the Definition of a Task.

To define the tasks in a route

1. From the global toolbar, click My Desk>Routes>My Routes.

Or

If you are working within an object, click Routes from the object's category list.

2. From the Routes page, click the Name of the route.
3. From the category list for the route, click Tasks.
4. From the Tasks page Actions menu, click Edit All.

The Add/Edit Tasks page opens, listing all tasks that have been added to the route. Completed and active tasks are not editable.

If this route is based on a route template, the tasks from the template have a (t) next to the task name. Depending on how the template is defined, you may not be able to make many changes to the task list or you may have full editing ability. For a description of the task editing levels for a route template, see Consequences of Creating a Route Based on a Route Template.

1. To add new tasks, click Add Task from the page Actions menu.
2. Specify the task Name, Action & Order.
1. Entering a Name for the task is optional. If you don't enter a name, the system will use an automatically-generated name, such as IT-292928.
2. Choose the Action you want the task assignee to perform. Note that the action does not affect the person's access to the route's content. In addition to indicating the action the person should perform, the action affects the options presented when the person completes the task:

Approve--If you choose Approve as the action, in addition to the Comment box, the task recipient must choose an approval status: Approve, Reject, or Abstain. If the task assignee chooses Approve or Abstain and then completes the task, the route continues as usual. If the task assignee chooses Reject and then completes the task, the route is stopped and the route creator is notified. The system does not create the next task in the route until the route creator resumes the route.

Comment, Investigate, Information Only--If you choose these options as the action, the recipient must enter a comment before completing the task.

Notify Only--If you choose this option, the recipient need only mark the task as complete to complete the task.

3. Choose the Order number that corresponds to the order in which you want the task to be pending for its recipient. If you want more than one task to be pending at the same time, choose the same order number for each task.

For example, suppose you want one person to complete a task and then you want two people to work on a task simultaneously. You would choose an order number of 1 for the first task. The other two tasks should have order numbers of 2.

If the route has already started, you cannot choose an order number that has already been completed.

3. Choose the Assignee & Instructions.
1. Using the drop-down list, choose the person, group, or role who should receive the task. This is a list of all members you added to the route on the previous page. If you're not ready to choose an assignee, you can leave the task unassigned until you are ready to start the route.

If you assign a group or role to a task, the system notifies all people in the group or role when the task is created. The first person to accept the task is then assigned to the task and is the only person who can complete it.

To assign one member to several tasks, check those tasks and click Assign Selected from the page Actions menu. Then choose the member from the Assign Tasks page and click Done.

If the original task assignee has created a sub-route for the task and the sub-route is incomplete, you cannot assign the task to someone else.

2. Enter instructions for the task.

This should be a detailed description of what the person should do to complete the task. For example, you may want to indicate which file or section they should review or comment on.

4. For each task, choose how you want to handle the Due Date/Time. Choose one of the following options:
• Specify a due date and time. Click the first button under the Due Date & Time column. Choose the date by clicking the Calendar icon and choose the time by choosing from the drop-down list. When you first open the calendar to assign a due date, the calendar shows the current date as the default. When you subsequently open the calendar within the same session, the default date is the last date you selected. This facilitates assigning sequential due dates to tasks. For instructions on using the calendar, see AEF User Help.
• Specify the due date/time as the number of days following the route start date or task creation date (the date the previous task assignee completes his/her task). Click the second button under the Due Date & Time column. Enter the number of days from and select whether it should be calculated from the Route Start or Task Creation date.

When calculating the due date, the system includes weekends and holidays so factor that into the number of days you enter. The maximum number of days is 365. For example, if you want to give the task assignee 10 working days to complete the task, you should enter 14 from the Task Create Date because it's likely there would be 4 weekend days within a 10-day working period. If you want the task to be complete 30 calendar days following the start of the route, you should enter 30 days from Route Start Date.

1. Let the task assignee enter a due date by choosing Assignee-Set Due Date. Click the third button under the Due Date & Time column. The task assignee can enter a due date, although the system does not require one. If no due date is entered, the system does not display a status for the task.

If the assignee does not complete the task by the due date/time, the task is marked as late (red) and the route's status is changed from green to yellow. If late task notifications have been set up, the system sends out notifications to the appropriate people. For sub-routes, the system makes sure none of the task due dates are later than the parent task's due date. If they are, you must make the due dates earlier.

5. To allow the assignee to delegate the task to another person, check Allow Delegation.

If a task allows delegation, the assignee can delegate the task to another member to complete. See Delegating a Task to Someone Else. The delegate will temporarily inherit all accesses that the assignee has for the route and its content. The system may also delegate the task automatically if the recipient receives the task during a defined absence period and the person has designated an Absence Delegate. When the system automatically delegates a task, it also notifies the route owner.

The Tasks page will show a Delegate icon for the tasks.

6. If you want to review a task after the assignee completes it, click Requires Owner Review.

After the assignee completes the task, the system notifies you. After reviewing the task, you must enter a review comment and then either promote the task to indicate approval or demote it to indicate rejection. The system does not create the next task in the route until you promote the task. Demoting the task changes its state back to Assigned and the assignee must recomplete the task based on your comments. When demoting the task, you can reassign it to someone else to work on.

The Tasks page will show a Requires Owner Review icon for the task.

7. Click Done. The task is added to the list on the Add/Edit Tasks page. To assign additional tasks, repeat steps 1 through 6.
8. Work with the tasks as needed:
• To remove a task, check it and click Remove Selected from the page Actions menu.
• To sort the list of tasks based on ascending order number and then by task name, click Sort Task List from the page Actions menu.
9. Click Next.

The Action Required page opens. This page lets you specify whether tasks that have the same order number must all be complete before the subsequent tasks become pending or whether only one task must be complete. If you specify that only one task needs to be complete, the system deletes (rescinds) the remaining incomplete tasks at that order level and notifies the assignees for the deleted tasks. For example, suppose you assign three concurrent tasks to three people and ask that they approve a document in the route. All you need is approval from one of them so as soon as one of them completes the task, the other tasks can be deleted and the next task in the route can proceed.

You cannot change the action required status for completed tasks. As long as one of the tasks in a set of concurrent tasks is not complete, you can change the setting.

10. For each set of concurrent tasks, choose whether any or all must be completed before the next task(s) becomes pending.

Any--When one person completes a task in the set of concurrent tasks, the task or tasks in the next order level become pending and the remaining incomplete tasks in the current order level are deleted.

All--All tasks in the set of concurrent tasks must be complete before the next order level tasks become pending.

11. Click Done.

Editing the Definition of a Task

The route owner can edit the definition of any task in the route as long as the task has not been completed yet. This includes changing the assignee to another person, for example, if the original assignee cannot complete the task in time. This procedure describes how to edit the definition of one task at a time and is the procedure you must use to edit tasks that are active (those assignees can work on now). To edit properties for more than one pending task and add new ones, see Defining the Tasks in a Route.

To edit the definition of a task

1. From the global toolbar, click My Desk>Routes>My Routes.

Or

If you are working within an object, click Routes from the object's category list.

2. From the Routes page, click the Name of the route.
3. From the category list for the route, click Tasks.
4. From the Tasks page, click the Name of the task you want to edit.
5. From the Actions menu on the Task Properties page, click Edit Details.
6. From the Edit Task Details page, edit the information as needed:

Name--The name of the task. The route owner can change the task name only using the Edit All option.

Owner--The person who created the route. You cannot assign ownership to someone else.

Originated--Date the task was created, which is the date the previous task(s) (previous order in route) was completed.

Due Date/Time--If the assignee does not complete the task by the due date/time, the task is marked as late (red) and the route's status is changed from green to yellow. If the route or workspace owner has set up late task notifications, the system sends out notifications to the appropriate people. If you are defining tasks for a sub-route, the task due dates cannot be later than the parent task's due date. Choose one of these three options. If the task has already been created, the second option is not available.

• Specify a due date and time. Make sure the first of the three buttons for the tasks's Due Date/Time is selected. Click to choose the date, and choose the time by choosing from the drop-down list. When you first open the calendar to assign a due date, the calendar shows the current date as the default. When you subsequently open the calendar within the same session, the default date is the last date you selected. This facilitates assigning sequential due dates to tasks. For instructions on using the calendar, see AEF User Help.
• Specify the due date/time as the number of days following the route start date or task creation date (the date the previous task assignee completes his/her task). Choose the second of the three buttons available for the Due Date/Time and enter the number of days from and select whether it should be calculated from the Route Start or Task Creation date.

When calculating the due date, the system includes weekends and holidays so factor that into the number of days you enter. The maximum number of days is 365. For example, if you want to give the task assignee 10 working days to complete the task, you should enter 14 from the Task Creation Date because it's likely there would be 4 weekend days within a 10-day working period. If you want the task to be complete 30 calendar days following the start of the route, you should enter 30 days from Route Start date.

• Let the task assignee enter a due date by choosing Assignee-Set Due Date. Click the third button available for the Due Date/Time. The task assignee can enter a due date, although the system does not require one. If no due date is entered, the system does not display a status for the task.

Allow Delegation--Yes means the assignee can delegate it to any other user in the assignee's company. See Delegating a Task to Someone Else. The system can also delegate the task automatically if the assignee receives the task during a defined absence period and the person has designated an Absence Delegate. No means the task cannot be delegated by the assignee or by the system.

Assignee--The person, group or role who is to perform the task. To change the assignee to another route member, choose the member from the drop-down list. If the person, group or role you want to assign it to is not in the list, you must first add the person or role to the route. Note that if you change the task assignee so that one of the original route members has no tasks, the system removes the member from the route access list.

If you assign a group or role to a task, the system notifies all people in the group or role when the task is created. The first person to accept the task is then assigned to the task and is the only person who can complete it.

If the original task assignee has created a sub-route for the task and the sub-route is incomplete, you cannot assign the task to someone else.

Route--Name of the route that contains the task.

Action--The action the task assignee should perform: Approve, Comment, Notify Only, or Investigate. If the action is Approve, the route member must choose an approval status to complete the task: Approve, Reject, or Abstain. All actions except Notify Only require that the route member enter a comment to complete the task.

Approval Status--Only the assignee can change the approval status and only for tasks with Approve actions. The approval statuses available are Approve, Reject, or Abstain. If a person chooses Reject for the status and completes the task, the route is stopped and no other tasks are created for the route until the route creator resumes the route. The route creator receives email and IconMail notification about the rejection. If the task assignee chooses Approve or Abstain and then completes the task, the route continues as usual.

State--Pending, Assigned, Review, or Complete. The route owner cannot change the state from this page.

• Pending--The previous task in the route hasn't been completed so the assignee isn't assigned to work on it yet. If the route isn't started yet, all tasks are pending.
• Assigned--When a task is created for an assignee, its state is Assigned.
• Review--Only tasks with a Needs Owner Review icon go through the Review state. For these tasks, the state changes from Assigned to Review when the assignee completes the task. If the route owner promotes the task, indicating approval, the state changes to Complete. If the owner demotes the task, indicating rejection, the state returns to Assigned so the assignee can redo the task.
• Complete--For tasks that do not have the Needs Owner Review icon, when the assignee indicates a task is complete by clicking Complete, the state changes to Complete and the next task in the route is created (provided there are no other tasks that must be completed).

Instructions--Instructions to the assignee about how to perform the task.

Comments--Ad hoc comments entered by the task assignee when completing the task. This field is not required for tasks with Notify Only actions.

Route Owner Review--If you want to review a task after the assignee completes it, choose Yes.

The Needs Owner Review icon displays for the task on the Tasks pages. After the assignee completes the task, the system notifies you. After reviewing the task, you must enter a review comment and then either promote the task to indicate approval or demote it to indicate rejection. The system does not create the next task in the route until you promote the task. Demoting the task changes its state back to Assigned and the assignee must recomplete the task based on your comments. When demoting the task, you can reassign it to someone else to work on.

Review Comments--Only for tasks marked with Needs Owner Review and that are in the Review state, which occurs after the task assignee completes the task. The route owner must enter review comments before promoting or demoting the task. If demoting the task, the comments should explain what the task assignee should do to complete the task.

7. Click Done.

Processing a Task that Needs Owner Review

When the assignee completes a task marked as Needs Owner Review, the route owner must review the task and indicate approval or rejection. The task does not proceed to the Complete state until the route owner approves it. When the task assignee completes a Needs Owner Review task, the route owner receives notification.

For instructions on defining a task as Needs Owner Review, see Defining the Tasks in a Route.

To process a task that needs owner review

1. From the IconMail Task for Review notification, click the link to open the category list and Properties/Content page for the task.
2. Review the task:
• To see Comments and Approval Status that the assignee entered, look at the Properties section of the page.
• To see content that the assignee edited or added, click the link in the Content section of the page.
3. Enter Review Comments in the Properties section of the page. If you plan on demoting the task, include instructions for the task assignee about how the task should be completed.
4. To reassign the task to someone else to complete (only if you will demote the task), click next to the Assignee to select the person you want to complete the task. See Delegating a Task to Someone Else.
5. Indicate your approval or rejection of the task by clicking the appropriate link from the task Properties page.
• To approve the task, click Promote from the page Actions menu.

The task is promoted to Complete and the system sends a Review Complete notification to the task assignee that indicates you promoted the task. The system creates the next task in the route (if no other tasks must be completed).

Or

• To reject the task, click Demote from the page Actions menu.

The task is demoted to Assigned and the system sends a Review Complete notification to the task assignee that indicates you demoted the task. If you assigned the task to someone other than the original assignee, the new assignee receives the notification. You will be notified when the assignee recompletes the task.

Deleting a Task from a Route

You can delete a pending task from any route that you own. You cannot delete active or completed tasks.

To delete a task from a route

1. From the global toolbar, click My Desk>Routes>My Routes.

Or

If you are working within an object, click Routes from the object's category list.

2. From the Routes page, click the Name of the route.
3. From the category list for the route, click Tasks.
4. From the Tasks page, check the pending tasks you want to delete.
5. Click Delete from the page Actions menu.

The system presents a confirmation message.

6. Click OK.