Automations
LeanIX Automations User Guide
Overview
Automations in LeanIX are an easy-configurable and no code feature, that allows admins to set up Automation flows, which react to concise events and thereby trigger sequential actions - either user interactions or system operations.
They make LeanIX more actionable, enhance collaboration and engagement with the tool and fulfill the need for easy configuration.
The following table gives an understanding of triggers, conditions, and actions available to build the first Automation.
Trigger
| Trigger | Values | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|
| Fact Sheet is created | ||
| Field is changed | Currently: every single-select value configured, also unused fields | choose the triggering values, incl. "from" and "to", with option "empty" and "anything |
| Lifecycle phase change | Field: all available lifecycle fields, incl. custom lifecycles States: all defined phases of the lifecycle field | choose optionally whether the Automation should be triggered x days before or after the Lifecycle phase end date using the toggle and subsequently available fields |
| Quality Seal changes to | Draft, Broken, Approved, Rejected | |
| Tag is added | every Tag configured | |
| Tag is removed | every Tag configured | |
| Subscription is added | every Subscription (type only, and type+role) | regardless of whether a new user has been added or an existing one changed - before and after will be compared for this trigger |
| Subscription is removed | every Subscription (type only, and type+role) | regardless of whether a subscription has been removed or an existing one changed - before and after will be compared for this trigger |
Information
Please note that the Obsolescence Risk related field are present on the Meta Model, but only calculated at runtime in report views. Therefore Automations also cannot react and be used for triggering on Obsolescence Risk related fields yet.
Conditions
| Conditions | Values | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|
| Fact Sheet type | all Fact Sheet types defined in the Meta model | single-select is defined initially as part of the trigger |
| Technical user | included, ignored | defines whether state changes initiated by technical users should be included or ignored as triggering events |
| Tag | all tags defined for the chosen Fact Sheet type | multi-select (but one per tag single mode tag group) |
| Category | all categories defined for the chosen Fact Sheet type | single-select |
| Single select | All single-select fields of the respective Fact Sheet type - and subsequently all of their values | single-select for the field itself - but multiple conditions can be added to one automation multi-select for the values of a field - connected by OR |
Actions
| Actions | Values | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|
| Create Action item | Title, Description, Assignees (Fact Sheet creator, Fact Sheet subscriptions, Fixed Fact Sheet subscriptions, Users), Due date Appendix: Toggle to dis-/enable the option to "Pause until marked as complete" | Assigning to subscriptions of a "Fixed Fact Sheet" as a reference, e.g. a User group or a separate "Teams" Fact Sheet type allows for dynamic assignment groups and less maintenance efforts on Automations. The appended toggle allows to pause the execution of the following action in sequence when enabled. Any Automation run that is not completed within 180 days, will be stopped. |
| Set field | Field value that should be set, incl. "Empty" option | Currently: Just for single-selects |
| Set Quality State | Draft, Broken, Approved, Rejected | Automations can only set the Quality State to approved when all mandatory attributes are set |
| Add Tag | all tags defined for the chosen Fact Sheet type | single-select Multiple mode tags will be added additionally, and single mode tags will be added as a replacement, if another tag is set already. |
| Remove Tag | all tags defined for the chosen Fact Sheet type | single-select Will remove the tag regardless of the tag mode. |
| Add Subscription | User (Fact Sheet creator, fixed user), Subscription type, and role(s) | single-select for who to add and for subscription type, multi-select for subscription role Adds a subscription only if the settings of the workflow and already existing subscriptions allow it. |
| Set Subscription | User (Fact Sheet creator, fixed user), Subscription type, and role(s) | single-select for who to add and for subscription type, multi-select for subscription role Sets a subscription and overwrites all existing subscriptions of the chosen user. |
Information
In case an Automation is configured to remove/overwrite information (a tag, a field, a subscription) but fails e.g. due to the attributes being mandatory or workspace settings, not allowing more subscriptions of the same user on a Fact Sheet, not more than one Accountable or a required role associated with a subscription type, it will retry finite but not execute the operation.
More triggers, actions, and functionality will be implemented subsequently.
Automations are enabled per default on all workspaces under module-based pricing and can be accessed by admins only.
Key Features
The feature is accessible under Administration > Automations. The “Automations” tab gives an overview of all existing Automations of the respective workspace as well as the opportunity to create new Automations.
The “Statistics” tab gives an indication of the quota of Automations used.
Information
The current monthly Automation limit depends on the type of workspace. Demo and Sandbox workspaces have a capacity of 10,000 Automations/month, whereas Production/Live workspace Automations correlate with the application limit. Next to the current usage, the statistics tab also indicates how many Automations are generally available on this workspace.
In case you reach 80% of your monthly quota, a notification will be sent out to all administrators of the workspace, to react if necessary. Another notification is sent once the limit is reached.
Automation Overview
The Automations tab gives you an overview of all the existing Automations as a list and on hover, the opportunity to activate or set the Automation to copy, edit, draft or delete it.
With a click on "View Best Practices" you are directed to this documentation and the currently possible recommended best practices to use with Automations.
Important
Deleted Automations cannot be recovered.
Information
Activating Automations indicates, that as soon as it is active, matching triggers would initiate the defined actions. Setting Automation to draft indicates that no further Automation will be created and triggered from now on - but existing and running Automation will remain and not be canceled.
Information
Good to know: Copying an existing Automation template is an easy way to create similar Automations that just differ in minor details.
Create (and edit) Automations
Creating and editing Automations can be achieved by following these steps:
- Either create a new Automation by clicking “New Automation” on the overview - or edit an existing one by clicking the “Edit” button hovering an Automation template in the list.
- Fill in the metadata of the Automation. Give it a speaking name and description and also define the owner.
Information
The owner of Automation can be any workspace user. The owner is the fallback assignee of any “orphaned” To-Do that is created by an Automation but also the fallback user subscribed to a Fact Sheet by an Automation, when the desired user is not available (e.g. not existing anymore).
They serve as a general fallback solution for Automations and are expected to be able to re-assign To-Dos or change subscriptions pointed to them on behalf.
- Fill in the first step of the Automation - “When”
Define the trigger. In the first drop-down decide on what Fact Sheet type the automation should be triggered. Then choose between the available “Events” what should trigger the automation. Depending on the trigger, you might also need to insert the actual value that should trigger the automation (e.g. “Quality State changes to” → “Broken”). - Fill in the second step of the Automation - “If”
Here you can add one or multiple conditions that need to be present for an Automation to be executed. The condition on whether to ignore or include technical users (e.g. the iAPI, the Reference Catalogs, but also custom technical users) as triggering users needs to be set for every Automation. This could be helpful, when automatic, mass changes should not trigger Automations (e.g. when the SaaS Catalog creates an IT Component, this should not trigger an approval).
Additionally, you can add more conditions using the “Plus” button.
Information
The separate conditions are connected by AND - for tags, if there are multiple options within a single condition, they are connected by AND, for single-select field values, they are connected by OR.
- Fill in the third step of the Automation - “Then”
Here you can add at least one or up to 100 actions to be sequentially performed by the Automation. Choose one of the available actions from the list and furthermore fill in the required fields, e.g. select the tags or subscriptions, or fill in the Action item details for the To-Do that should be created. Choose "Add action" again to select another one. You can easily move actions up and down, copy or delete them via the buttons on hover. - Save the Automation by clicking “Save Automation”
Information
The Automation is automatically active when clicking "Save and run Automation" - to save the Automation template in the inactive draft state, use the dropdown next to the button and choose "Save in Draft State" instead.
What is the best practice for using Automation?
The Automations Best Practices page is available for you as a comprehensive documentation that captures and presents the most effective and up-to-date best practices related to Automations. By following these guidelines, you can optimize your processes, streamline workflows, and maximize the potential of your automation efforts.
Updated 6 days ago