Whether you're building from scratch, or building from a Template, Test Mode is a great way for you to run a workflow from start to finish and check what all the steps do and how it runs. It means you can check that the workflow does what you expect, and that the wording and layout is all correct before deploying it. If you make changes to a workflow after it has first been published, those changes will remain in 'Test' (and not the 'Live' version of the workflow) until you Publish it. This means you can run a workflow in Test mode to check those changes before you Publish them.
What is Test Mode?
Before publishing a new workflow, making changes to a Template or amending a current workflow, it's a great idea to run a test of that workflow. The 'Test Workflow' function allows you to run your workflow as if it was live → the only difference being that any communication or action is directed to the tester’s email address, rather than to the Roles who would receive emails or tasks if the workflow was running in Live.
[NOTE: To be able to run Test Mode - you must be an Editor or Creator of the workflow]
How do I start a test workflow?
- When viewing a workflow in the editor, the ‘Publish’ button will be visible in the top right-hand corner of the dashboard. By selecting this button, the deploy tab will open and you will be present will 2 green buttons, Test Workflow and Publish. Select 'Test Workflow' to start off the process of testing your workflow.
Running the test
Selecting ‘Test Workflow’ will open a new tab. From here, you will be able to select which school you would like to test the workflow for, using the drop down menu. This is important, as it will control which shared information Arbor Workflows will pull from i.e. for Assets.
Select the relevant school, ensuring that the test email address appears in the address bar in the top right-hand corner. If you are the one running the test, make sure your email is populated in the address bar.
The email provided here will drive the test workflow, with all emails, approvals, checklists, forms and update actions being sent here.
Once you have provided a test email and selected a school, you can populate your trigger form with information to start the test workflow.
Once you have completed the trigger form and pressed submit, the form will trigger the next step in your workflow. You can carry out the steps in that test by navigating to the 'My Things' area of Arbor Workflows. Here you will be able to see any tasks which are waiting for you and click them to see the context and complete the task.
Once you have completed any task that needs your attention, you can refresh 'My Things' to see the next Task for you to do. At each stage, you’ll complete the forms and tasks as if you are the recipient, entering test data. These actions will be sent to the tester's email'.
It is also a great idea to track the progress of your Test workflow by viewing each step in your 'Activity' area. Again, you can refresh the page to make sure it is showing things move from step to step. From here you can also see what has happened in 'automated' steps e.g. emails and check the contents:
Completing your test
When you have finished testing each of the steps in your workflow, the workflow run in your activity page will be marked as complete and it will have a 'Test' label. From here, you can navigate back to the workflow editor to make any changes you want to make as a result of the test.