Entry point 1
Upload document
Pick a Master
Entry point 2
Open a Master
Create record
No gateMasterRecord is live right away
Product design case study
DMS+ Workflow
Designing the approval engine DMS+ was missing
BeforeOutside DMS+
Email to HRCall managerAny update?Chat follow upWho has it now?Approved? Reply all
What I did
A workflow engine inside DMS+.
I designed the workflow engine that sends every record for review before it goes live.
Problem
Submit meant approved.
Any record went live the moment someone clicked submit. Employee files. Vendor entries. Contracts. No check and no owner.
AfterInside DMS+
Impact
40+Workflows live
3Customers using it
1 dayApproval time. Was 5 days
3Deals it was part of
01Context
DMS+ stored records. It never checked them.
A Master in DMS+ holds structured records and their documents. Before this project a record went from submitted to official in the same second.
Form filledUser submits
Record createdSame second
ReviewMissing
Live in MasterTreated as official
GapNobody checked the data. Nobody signed off.
02Research
Two ways in. Neither had a check.
A user uploads a document and picks a Master. Or a user opens a Master and creates a record directly. Both skip review.
How approvals worked outside DMS+
With our BA team I mapped employee onboarding step by step. Every step after the form happened on email, calls and chat.
15Customer conversations
6Companies
7Approval steps in onboarding
5Days per record
What it cost
HR spent hours chasing people for a yes or no.
What I found
Finding 1
Nobody owned the next step.
Finding 2
Nobody could see where a record was.
Finding 3. Critical
Nobody could prove who approved what.
Compliance marked this as critical.
The market already had this
Laserfiche, DocuWare, M Files and Newgen all have workflow inside their DMS. DMS+ did not. We were losing deals because of this.
| Capability | Laserfiche | DocuWare | M Files | Newgen | DMS+ before |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workflow trigger | |||||
| Approval rules | |||||
| Escalation | |||||
| Audit trail |
03Problem
How might we
Move approvals out of email and into DMS+ so every record has an owner, a status and an audit trail before it goes live?
Clear ownership
One person owns each step.
Clear progress
Everyone can see where a record is.
Approval inside DMS+
No email or calls.
Trusted records
Nothing goes live until every step is done.
Less manual work
HR stops chasing people.
04Constraints
Small team. Short runway.
3Months
2Developers
1QA
1PM
1Designer. Me
Fewer options that always work. Every screen buildable in its sprint. Edge cases solved in design.
05Approach
Start with the work people do. Not a feature list.
I split every onboarding step into two groups. That split became the node system.
Needs a person
Department Head approvalHR Director reviewDocument signing
BecameApproval and Task nodes
System does it
Assign IT and PayrollUpdate status to OnboardedEmail the manager
BecameEmail and Update Metadata nodes
Four parts that work together
Every record moves through the same lifecycle. Each colour shows which part owns that step.
Record created
Trigger fires
Pending
Task assigned
User acts
Next step
Complete
Live in Master
Master Pending
Holds records until approval is done.
Roles
Department, Designation, Reporting Manager, Department Head and User Group decide who acts.
Builder
Admins create the process.
Dashboard
People act on their tasks.
06Solution
From submit to trusted record
Four parts. Each one answers a different question.
6.1
Submission and Master Pending
When a Master has a workflow attached a new record does not go live. It waits in Master Pending.
Decision
Separate submission from approval
A record can exist and still wait for approval. The whole system is built on this.
Before: one action
Submit = Live
After: two states
Submitted
Master Pending
Live in Master
6.2
Trigger
An admin picks a Master and the event that starts the workflow, from six trigger types.
Decision
One trigger per workflow
You always know why a workflow started. Different events become separate workflows.
Option A
Many triggers
CreatedUpdated
→One workflow
Unclear which event started a run.
Picked
One trigger
Created→
Flow A
Updated→
Flow B
Cost: more workflows to manage.
6.3
Builder
Admins drag and connect ten node types to build a real process.
Action nodes
ApprovalTaskEmailUpdate Metadata
Logic nodesIf/ElseConditional BranchSplitMergePauseEnd
The Approval node
The main node. Its settings answer five questions. Tap one to see the options.
- Hierarchy (Department → Designation → Role → User) or User Group.
- All, Majority or Anyone.
- Majority wins and a tie escalates. Or any approve wins. Or any reject wins.
- Continue or end the workflow on Approve or Reject.
- Reminder, Escalation or Auto Finish.
Sub approval
The approver can ask others for input without adding a new step. The admin sets who can be picked.
Main approverAsks for input
Sub approver A
Sub approver B
One after another or at the same timeMain approverGets it back
Final decision
When nobody responds
Day 0
Assigned
Task lands in My Actions.
Day 2
Reminder
Email goes to the approver.
Day 4
Escalation
Task moves to another person.
Day 7
Auto Finish
Closes as Approved or Rejected.
The other nine nodes
Task
Upload files, edit fields or mark done.
Sends a message using workflow data.
Update Metadata
Changes a record field on its own.
If/Else
One condition and two paths.
Conditional Branch
Many conditions. No match goes to Others.
Split
Runs paths at the same time.
Merge
Joins paths. Waits for any or all.
Pause
Stops until a set time or date.
End
Closes the workflow.
Decision
Keep Split and Merge simple in V1
With two developers and one QA I picked fewer options that always work over more options that can break.
Shipped
- Split runs paths at the same time
- Merge waits for any or all
Roadmap
- Split based on data
- Merge with its own outcome
- Multiple merge rules
6.4
Dashboard
The Builder creates the process. The Dashboard is where people do the work.
Builder
Publish
Trigger
Workflow instance
Dashboard
My Actions shows your turn. Nothing else.
Status page
Shows everything
People search for what is theirs.
Picked
Task list
Only what needs action now.
Decision
Only the active step shows up
Rahul from HR approves first. Sneha, the Hiring Manager, sees the record only after Rahul is done.
Review and progress on one screen
Three pages
Picked
Decision
One screen instead of three pages
Reviewers never leave the record to check progress. In testing, approval was completed in 3 clicks.
SubmissionsSwitch without going back.
RecordFields, files and activity log.
ProcessDone, active and pending steps.
The Builder decides what the approver sees
The Take Action screen is built from each step's settings. Change a setting and watch the screen.
Admin sets this in the Builder
Approver sees this in the Dashboard
Tap a decision card to switch it.
Sent to the next step. Step 3, Manager, gets the task in My Actions.
Routing rules
The approver never sees these rules. They only see the result. The cell for your decision lights up.
End workflow ON
End workflow OFF
Approve
Next step or closeApprover picks. Close makes the record live.
Next stepNext person gets the task.
Reject
Send back or closeApprover picks. Close ends the workflow.
Send backGoes back a step to fix.
07Edge cases
What breaks at enterprise scale
Seven cases I solved in design before QA ever saw them. Pick one.
01
Admin edits a workflow while records are still inside it
Risk
Running records break or jump steps.
How I solved it
Every edit creates a new version. Running records finish on the version they started on. New records use the new one.
02
Approver leaves the company
Risk
Task goes to nobody and the workflow stops.
How I solved it
When the account is deactivated its tasks move to the Reporting Manager. Approvers are picked by Department and Role so there is always a next person.
03
Approver is on leave
Risk
Records wait for days.
How I solved it
Escalation already solves this. After the set time the task moves to a backup person. No separate leave logic needed.
04
No user matches the role, like no Department Head set
Risk
Workflow cannot find who should act.
How I solved it
The task goes to a default admin group and is logged as an exception. Nothing gets stuck without anyone knowing.
05
Builder has a loose node or a loop
Risk
Workflow never ends or skips steps.
How I solved it
Loops are allowed because Reject can go back a step. Publish checks that every path can reach an End. If one cannot, publish is blocked and the node is flagged.
06
Record is edited while pending
Risk
Approver approves data that changed later.
How I solved it
Only fields the current step allows can be edited. If a reviewed field changes that step is sent for review again.
07
Who can create and publish workflows
Risk
Anyone could change a company process.
How I solved it
Two separate permissions. Anyone with access can build and edit. Only Workflow Admins can publish, so every live change has one owner.
08Results
Approvals now run inside DMS+.
Was 5 days1 dayAverage approval time
Was all0Records live without review
Was 61HR follow ups per record
Was 03Customers using workflows
New3Deals where workflow helped
“We finally know who needs to act next.”
— PM
Before
Record created
Email and calls
Follow ups
Unknown status
HR adds by hand
After
Record created
Master Pending
Right person
Approved in DMS+
Live in Master
Clear ownershipEach step has one ownerClear progressShown in the Process panelApproval inside DMS+No email or callsTrusted recordsPending until completeLess manual workSystem follows up, not HR
09What is next
Roadmap
Split based on dataMerge with its own outcomeMultiple merge rulesDelegationWorkflow reports
What I learned
Complexity is acceptable when responsibility is clear.