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Adaptive Planning
Last Updated: 2026-05-15
Set Up Advanced Workflow Definitions

Set Up Advanced Workflow Definitions

  • Enable Configurable Workflows on your instance.
  • Create a hub and include artifacts related to the hub. Example: Create a Revenue hub, where you’ll create workflow definitions specific to this hub.
  • Share the hub with other workflow administrators and participants.
  • To assign to-do tasks to user groups, create the user groups. To select user groups as assignees for to-do tasks, those user groups must include either users or user groups. See Create User Groups.
  • To assign tasks, submit tasks to associations, and approve tasks, if these associations don’t already exist, create the associations. See Concept: Associations.
  • Security:
    • Edit Hubs
       permission.
    • Manage Workflows
       permission.
As a financial system administrator, you can create workflow definitions to use as structural templates for your workflows. These definitions determine:
  • What tasks are involved.
  • Where users go to complete tasks.
  • Task assignees.
  • What sheets the tasks pertain to.
  • How long the assignees have to complete the tasks.
  • The order of the tasks.
These workflow definitions are reusable, and you can launch multiple workflows from each workflow definition. Example: You can create a workflow definition for your quarterly expense reviews, and launch a separate workflow for each quarter of 2025.
When the final task in your workflow completes:
  • We remove all relevant
    My Tasks
     items from users.
  • Users can no longer check workflow details on previously assigned tasks.
  • Admins are able to still review the monitoring page until they choose to delete the workflow.
We recommend that you create a to-do task as the final task in your workflow to mark the workflow as completed, and assign the task to an administrator. This final task gives that administrator full control to review and finalize the workflow.
  1. Select
    Hubs
     from the main menu.
  2. Access the hub where you want to create workflow definitions and launch workflows.
  3. Select
    Workflow Definitions
     in the
    Workflows
     section.
  4. To create a new workflow definition, either:
    • Select
      Add New
       to create a new workflow definition from scratch.
    • Select
      Duplicate
       from the actions menu of an existing workflow definition. When you duplicate existing workflow definitions, we change the duplicates to
      Draft
       status until you publish them.
  5. Complete the workflow definition by adding tasks:
    Option Description
    To-Do Task
    Submit Task
    Approve Task
    Hierarchy Submit
    Drag and drop tasks from the
    Tasks
     section into the places that you want them, or select
    Add Task
    .
    You can move tasks around using either:
    • Drag and drop.
    • Move Up
       and
      Move Down
       options on the actions menu of a task.
    To-Do Task:
    Use these tasks to assign a check list type action to users and user groups.
    When you assign more than 1 user or user groups as assignee, you can configure when you consider the task complete:
    • Select
      All users must complete this task
       to require that each assignee must complete the task. After each assignee completes the task, we mark the task as complete and trigger the next workflow task if it exists.
      Example: 10 assignees exist for 1 task. Each of those 10 assignees must mark the task as complete before we consider the task complete and we trigger the next task in the workflow.
    • Clear
      All users must complete this task
       to mark the task as complete if only 1 assignee completes the task. After 1 assignee completes the task, we mark the task as complete and trigger the next workflow task if it exists.
      Example: If 10 assignees exist for 1 task, and 1 assignee marks the task as complete. We mark the task as complete for all of these assignees and we progress the workflow.
    Submit Task and Approve Tasks:
    Use these tasks to assign work for specific levels to assignees. When assignees submit or approve, we automatically lock this data for all users except:
    • The next approvers.
    • Users with the
      Manage Workflows
       permission.
    When you add a submit task, you must also add at least 1 approve task for that submit task. You can add up to 5 additional approve tasks on 1 submit task.
    Examples:
    • Create a hierarchy of approve tasks so that a higher manager approves a lower manager’s approval.
    • Create a hierarchy of approve tasks so that after your submitter submits, your cost center managers approve what was submitted. Then, your finance managers approve.
    Hierarchy Submit Tasks:
    Use these tasks to assign work for a hierarchy of levels to assignees.
    When assignees submit, we automatically lock the data for all users except the users assigned to higher levels in the workflow and workflow admins. As assignees submit, we route the task to the next level in hierarchy until all levels submit. Assignees with access to multiple levels can submit for all those levels at once. Assignees can send back the task to the submitters immediately below them.
    Task Name
    Enter a name that’s unique to other tasks on this workflow definition. Use a name with characters fewer than 65.
    Task Instructions
    (Optional) Enter instructions that you want your assignees to follow as they complete this task.
    We recommend that you tell your users that all comments and notes are visible to all users to prevent restricted information from being shared.
    Task Destination
    Select a page where you want your assignees to complete their task. You can only select artifacts that you include in your hub.
    We can select either a:
    • Dashboard.
    • Report.
    • Sheet.
    We recommend that you select a dashboard.
    When you select your assignees and task destination, we don’t automatically validate if your assignees have access to your task destination. When your assignees try to view the task destination, we only show your assignees the task destination page if they have access.
    Sheet Scope
    (Optional) Displays for submit and hierarchy submit tasks. Applies to both submit and approve tasks in a submit approve task group.
    By default, we include all accounts. You can change this setting to specify which cube or model sheets should participate when the workflow is launched.
    We only support level-assigned sheets.
    To ensure consistency and clarity for users, when defining sheet scope, include these same sheets in the dashboard used in the task destination.
    We automatically lock these sheets for specific roles when assignees submit or approve.
    Assignees
    To-Do Tasks:
    Start typing in the field to view a list of users and user groups you can select. You can select multiple users and user groups. When you select multiple users and user groups for to-do tasks, the
    All users must complete this task
     option is selected by default and requires that every assignee complete the task before the task is considered done and we trigger the next task. Clear this option if the task requires that any user assigned to the task can mark the task as complete.
    To select user groups as assignees for to-do tasks, those user groups must include either users or user groups.
    Submit and Approve Tasks:
    Select a level association. Ensure that the targeted assignees have access to the data in your access rules and level ownership.
    Hierarchy Submit Tasks:
    Select a level association. Ensure that the target assignees have access to the data in your access rules and level ownership.
    Task Duration (in days)
    (Optional) Enter the number of business days the assignees have to complete the task. We automatically calculate the due date for the task based on when you launch the workflow.
    Either:
    • All tasks on this workflow definition must have a task duration.
    • No tasks on this workflow definition have a task duration.
    If a mixture of tasks with and without task durations exists, you can’t publish this workflow definition and launch workflows.
  6. (Optional) Select
    Exit
     to stop drafting or changing this workflow definition.
    We automatically save your changes as you make them.
  7. Select
    Publish
     so that you can launch workflows using this workflow definition.
    The workflow definition remains in
    Draft
     status until you publish it.
  8. (Optional) To change an existing workflow definition, from the actions menu of the workflow definition, select
    Edit Details
    , then select
    View Workflow Definition
    Edit
    .
    After you publish a workflow definition and launch workflows using this definition, you can still change the definition if either:
    • No
      In Progress
       workflows exist.
    • You pause any
      In Progress
       workflows. When you change definitions with paused
      In Progress
       workflows, you can only edit:
      • Task Name.
      • Task Instructions.
      • Task Destination.
      • Assignees for to-do tasks. You can’t change the
        All users must complete this task
         setting until you complete all
        In Progress
         workflows.
    To change other settings, complete or delete all
    In Progress
     workflows first.
    After you make your changes to a published workflow definition, it moves to
    Draft
     status until you republish it. If you paused
    In Progress
     workflows to change the definition, you can automatically resume the workflows after you republish the definition.
  9. (Optional) To delete an existing workflow definition, select
    Delete
     from the actions menu of the workflow definition.
    You can only create 15 workflow definitions on your instance. These workflow definitions can exist across different hubs. You can delete a published workflow definition if no active workflows exist. Delete active workflows first. Active workflows are workflows in these statuses:
    • Error
    • In Progress
    • Paused
Launch workflows on this workflow definition.