Workflow Customisation

Fluvia provides the ability to:

• Track individual approvals against specific entities
• Gate transitions based on approval status
• Maintain detailed audit trails of who approved what and when
• Configure complex, multi-tier approval requirements
• Write business logic in human-readable guard expressions
• Coordinate workflows across nested entity hierarchies

// Replace configuration with clear rules
user.department == 'legal' && approval.risk_assessment <= 'medium' 
  || user.role == 'managing_partner'

What Are Workflows?

A workflow defines the lifecycle of business objects in your organisation - such as projects, issues, or procurement processes. Each workflow consists of:

• Statuses - The different stages an item can be in (e.g., “Draft”, “Under Review”, “Published”, “Closed”)
• Transitions - The allowed movements between statuses (e.g., moving from “Draft” to “Under Review”)
• Actions - What users can do at each status (e.g., edit details, approve, reject, publish)

Benefits

Organisational Flexibility

Different organisations have different processes. Fluvial workflows adapt to your existing business rules rather than forcing you to change how you work.

Version Control

Workflows are versioned, allowing you to evolve your processes over time while maintaining historical consistency for existing projects.

Permission Integration

Each status defines exactly what actions users can perform, ensuring proper governance and access control throughout your processes.

Customisable Business Logic

Advanced users can define custom rules that determine when transitions are allowed and what happens during status changes.

How Workflows Work

Status-Based Permissions

At any given status, users only see the actions they’re permitted to perform.

Controlled Transitions

Moving between statuses is controlled and auditable. Users can only make transitions that are explicitly defined and for which they have permission.

Guard Expressions - Business Logic in Readable form

Fluvial uses “CEL” (Common Expression Language), a readable and industry-standard expression language that lets you write complex business rules without programming. Instead of endless configuration screens, you write logical conditions that are simple to understand and maintain.

Access Control Example:

user.roles.contains('admin') || resource.owner == user.id

Data Filtering Example:

created_at.within(duration('24h')) && status == 'pending'

Workflow Conditions Example:

approval.status == 'approved' && budget.remaining >= cost

Context-Aware Rules

Workflows can incorporate business rules that consider the current state of the project, user roles, deadlines, approval status, and other contextual factors.

Nested Workflow Scopes

Example: Coordinated Transition Logic

• Child Response workflows attempt to transition parent Project from “Responding” to “Scoring”
• Parent transition only fires when guard condition is satisfied:

all_responses.all(r, r.status == 'submitted') && responses.size() >= minimum_required

Workflow Management

Creating Workflows

Administrators can create new workflows for different types of business processes. Each workflow is specific to:

• A particular entity type (projects, issues, etc.)
• Your organisation
• A specific version for change management

Workflow Designer

The workflow designer provides a visual interface for:

• Defining statuses and their properties
• Setting up transitions between statuses
• Configuring permissions for each status
• Writing guard expressions in -English CEL language
• Adding business rules and validation logic
• Specifying required approvals for transitions
• Creating cross-scope transition logic between parent and child workflows

Deployment and Testing

New workflows can be tested and refined before being deployed to live operations, ensuring business continuity during process improvements.

Real-World Examples

Due Diligence Questionnaire Lifecycle

flowchart TD
    A[Question Development] --> B[Legal Review]
    B --> C[Domain Expert Review]
    C --> D[Client Review]
    D --> E[Published]
    E --> F[Response Collection]
    F --> G[Answer Review]
    G --> H[Legal Sign-off]
    H --> I[Final Approval]
    I --> J[Completed]
    
    %% Skip transitions
    A -.-> D
    B -.-> E
    
    %% Backtrack transitions
    D -.-> B
    G -.-> F
    H -.-> G
    I -.-> H

• Legal Review requires lawyer approval before questions can be published
• Answer Review requires domain expert approval of all responses
• Legal Sign-off requires legal counsel approval of final answers before completion

approvals.legal.size() >= 1 && approvals.legal.exists(a, a.role == 'corporate_counsel')

responses.all(r, r.status == 'expert_approved') && risk_level <= 'medium'

risk_level == 'high' && approvals.size() >= 2 && approvals.exists(a, a.role == 'partner')

Regulatory Compliance Questionnaire

flowchart TD
    A[Draft] --> B[Compliance Review]
    B --> C[Risk Assessment]
    C --> D[Executive Review]
    D --> E[Issued]
    E --> F[Response Received]
    F --> G[Technical Review]
    G --> H[Legal Validation]
    H --> I[Approved]
    I --> J[Filed]
    
    %% Skip transitions for expedited processing
    A -.-> C
    B -.-> D
    C -.-> E
    
    %% Backtrack transitions for revisions
    D -.-> B
    E -.-> C
    G -.-> F
    H -.-> G
    I -.-> H

M&A Due Diligence Process

flowchart TD
    A[Scope Definition] --> B[Question Bank Assembly]
    B --> C[Legal Clearance]
    C --> D[Issued to Target]
    D --> E[Response Collection]
    E --> F[Expert Analysis]
    F --> G[Risk Assessment]
    G --> H[Final Review]
    H --> I[Deal Recommendation]
    
    %% Emergency skip transitions
    A -.-> C
    B -.-> D
    F -.-> H
    
    %% Backtrack for revisions and corrections
    C -.-> B
    D -.-> C
    F -.-> E
    G -.-> F
    H -.-> G
    I -.-> H

Getting Started

1. Review Default Workflows - Fluvial comes with sensible default workflows that work for most organisations
2. Map Your Approval Requirements - Identify who needs to approve what at each stage of your processes
3. Identify Business Rules - Document the logical conditions that govern when transitions should occur
4. Write Guard Expressions - Convert business rules into readable CEL expressions
5. Design Custom Workflows - Use the workflow designer to create processes that match your requirements and approval gates
6. Configure Cross-Scope Logic - Set up parent-child workflow coordination where needed
7. Test and Refine - Validate new workflows with a small team before full deployment
8. Train Users - Ensure your team understands the new processes, their roles, and approval responsibilities

Advanced Features

Example Rules:

// Prevent weekend submissions
!(submission_date.getDayOfWeek() in [0, 6])

// Require senior approval for large budgets  
budget.total > 100000 && approvals.exists(a, a.seniority >= 'director')

// Coordinate parent-child workflows
child_workflows.all(w, w.status in ['completed', 'approved'])

Integration Capabilities

Workflows can trigger external system calls, send notifications, update dashboards, and integrate with other business applications when approvals are received or transitions occur.

Audit and Compliance Reporting

Complete audit trails show:

• How items move through workflows
• Who provided approvals and when
• Any approval exceptions or escalations
• Full compliance history for regulatory requirements

Multi-Organisation Support

Large enterprises can define different workflows for different business units while maintaining consistent approval standards and governance requirements across the organisation.

Competitive Advantage

Workflow customisation transforms Fluvial from a assessment tool into a platform that supports unique business processes, improving efficiency while maintaining the rigorous controls and approval processes required in regulated environments.