Implement Workflows

To create a workflow, you have to specify the following:

• Object - the objects - user, contact, group - to apply the workflow to.
• Event - a create, edit, or delete event that, when performed for the objects, would trigger the workflow.
• Field - one or more fields (attributes) that the workflow would apply to. When the values of these attributes change for the object, an approval request is triggered.
• Filter - a condition that prevents the workflow from triggering, even when the object, event, and field criterion is met.
• Approver - the object to send the workflow request for approval.

As additional workflow features, you can also:

• Enable workflow approver acceleration
• Link a workflow with a Microsoft Power Automate flow

Workflow example:

Consider a workflow where:

• Object: Group
• Event: Edit
• Field: criteria
• Approver: Group owner

It implies that when a user edits the values stored in the criteria attribute of a group, Directory Manager sends a workflow request to the group owner, who is the workflow approver. Directory Manager applies the changes after the approver approves the request.

But if you add a filter as:

Field	Condition	Value
employee Type	Not Equals	manager

It implies that when a manager edits the value of the criteria attribute, the change is effective immediately and this workflow doesn't apply. When a non-manager user changes the value of the attribute, it triggers the workflow.

View the Workflows

1. In Admin Center, click Identity Stores in the left pane.

2. On the Identity Stores page, click the ellipsis button for an identity store and select Edit.

3. Click Workflows under Settings in the left pane. On the Configure Workflows tab of the Workflows page, the following information appears for a workflow:

   Label	Description
   Enable	Shows whether a workflow is enabled or disabled Use the toggle button next to a workflow to enable or disable it.
   Type	A workflow has one of these types: System: workflows that are defined by default for an identity store. User Defined: workflows that are defined by users for an identity store.
   Name	A descriptive name for a workflow that identifies the action the workflow audits
   Objects	The directory objects the workflow applies to
   Approvers	The approvers specified for a workflow. Approvers are responsible for approving or denying the requests generated for the workflow.
   Event	The event that triggers a workflow

4. You can perform the following actions:

   • Click Add Workflow to create a new workflow for the identity store.
   • Click the ellipsis button for a workflow and select Edit to update workflow details, such as approvers, filters, and fields.

Create a New Workflow

1. In Admin Center, click Identity Stores in the left pane.

2. On the Identity Stores page, click the ellipsis button for an identity store and select Edit.

3. Click Workflows under Settings in the left pane.

4. On the Configure Workflows tab of the Workflows page, click Add Workflow in the top right corner.

5. On the Create Workflow page, enter a name for the workflow In the Name box.

6. Select one or more objects (User, Contact, Group) to apply the workflow to.

7. In the Events dropdown list, select the event (Create, Edit, Delete) that will trigger the workflow.

   note

   (1) For the Create event, you can define only one workflow for an object.
   (2) A workflow for the Group object with the Delete event triggers when the group is manually deleted.

8. Select the Mail Approval checkbox to enable the approver to approve or deny a workflow request from within the workflow email notification. These notifications contain the Accept and Deny buttons. On clicking any of these, Directory Manager redirects and auto-authenticates the approver on the Directory Manager portal, where the approver can approve or deny the request.
   When this checkbox isn't selected, the Accept and Deny buttons aren't available in the email notifications. Approvers have to sign into the Directory Manager portal to manage workflow requests.

9. The Approver Acceleration checkbox applies if approver acceleration is enabled for the identity store. See the Apply Approver Acceleration topic.

   • To apply approver acceleration to this workflow, select the Approver Acceleration check box.
   • To exempt this workflow from approver acceleration, clear this checkbox.

10. Enter a brief description for the workflow in the Description box.

11. In the Portal URL dropdown list, select a Directory Manager portal URL to include in the workflow email notifications. The URL will redirect the recipients to the portal for taking action on a request, such as approve or deny it.
    The list contains URLs of Directory Manager portals linked with the identity store.

12. Click Add Approvers in the Approvers section to select the users and groups to approve the requests generated for this workflow: The Add Approvers dialog box appears.

    1. Fields on the Add Approvers dialog box vary, depending on the object and event selected. Then select one or more of the available options:

       Option	Available For	Description
       Owner of the Group	Edit and delete events of the Group object	Select it to specify the group’s primary owner as the request approver.
       Owner and Additional Owner of the Group	Edit and delete events of the Group object	Select it to specify the group’s primary and additional owners as the request approvers.
       Manager of User	Edit and Delete events of the User and Contact objects	Select it to specify the user’s or contact’s primary manager as the request approver.
       Manager and Additional Manager of User	Edit and Delete events of the User and Contact objects	Select it to specify the user’s/contact’s primary and additional managers as the request approvers.
       Search Container Include Sub-Containers Search box	For all objects and events	You can specify one or more users and groups as approvers. In case of a group, all its members are set as approvers. Specify a container to search for the objects you want; then perform a search to locate and select the object. Click the down arrow in the Search Container box and select a container to limit the search scope to it. Select the Include Sub-Containers checkbox to include the sub-containers within the selected container to search for the object. Enter a search string in the search box; objects starting with the string appear as you type. Click Add for an object to select it. You can also perform an advanced search to locate the object. Click Advanced in the search box and use the search fields to enter a search string. On clicking Search, objects matching the string appear. Select the user or group you want to add as approver.

    2. Click Add to close the Add Approvers dialog box.

13. Use the Filters section to specify a criterion; anything beyond that criterion will not trigger the workflow. For example, when you define the following filter:

    Object: Group
    Event: Delete
    Filter: groupType = Security
    This workflow will trigger when a security group is deleted. However, when a group object with type other than ‘Security’ is deleted, this workflow will not trigger.

    1. In the Filters section, click Add Filters. The Add Filter dialog box appears.

    2. Select a schema attribute from the field list.

    3. Select an operator to evaluate the attribute from the operator list.

       • Present - returns objects that have a value specified for the attribute.
       • Not Present - returns objects that don't have a value specified for the attribute.
       • Equals - returns objects when the attribute value exactly matches the text you specify in the value box.
       • Not Equals - returns objects when the attribute value doesn't match the text you specify in the value box.

    4. Enter a value in the value box (not case-sensitive). This box isn't available for the Present and Not Present operators, which aren't comparison operators.

    5. Click Add to close the Add Filter dialog box.

14. Use the Fields section to specify the fields (attributes) that you want to apply the workflow to. For example, when you define a workflow as:

    Object: User
    Event: Edit
    Filter: Department = IT
    Field: Email
    This workflow will trigger when the Email field for a user object with department set to IT is edited. It will not be triggered when the Email field is edited for a user that doesn't belong to the IT department, or when a field other than Email is edited for a user in the IT department.

    1. To add a field, click Add Fields in the Fields section.
    2. On the Add Fields dialog box, select the checkbox for a field to add it to the workflow and click Add.
    note

    The Fields section isn't available when Create is selected in the Events dropdown list.

15. By default, the workflow is enabled, as indicated by the Enabled toggle button at the top of the page. If required, use the toggle button to disable it.

16. Click the Create Workflow button on the Create Workflow page to create the workflow.

17. Click Save on the Workflows page.

Link a Workflow to a Power Automate Flow

You can define Power-Automate settings for a workflow to link that workflow to a Power Automate flow.

Use these settings to connect to Power Automate from within a workflow (say Workflow1) and create a basic flow template there. When you provide the URL of the flow template in Workflow1, Directory Manager links the two. As a result, the flow auto triggers when the Directory Manager workflow triggers.

For details on linking a workflow to a flow, see the Trigger a Flow from Directory Manager topic.

Modify a Workflow

Workflows for an identity store differ by type. Predefined workflows (also called system workflows) appear at the top by default; user-defined workflows follow.

You can update all details for a user-defined workflow. You can modify a system workflow, however, only to a limited extent. You can only update the approvers, enable/disable mail approval, enable/disable approver acceleration, and link it to a Power Automate flow.

To modify a workflow:

1. In Admin Center, click Identity Stores in the left pane.
2. On the Identity Stores page, click the ellipsis button for an identity store and select Edit.
3. Click Workflows under Settings in the left pane.
4. On the Configure Workflows tab of the Workflows page, click the ellipsis button for a workflow and select Edit.
5. The Edit Workflow page appears. Follow steps 5-15 in the Create a New Workflow topic to update the required information.
6. To link this workflow to a Power Automate flow, click Power Automate Settings in the top right corner; the Power Automate Settings dialog box appears. Follow step 6 and onwards in the Link an Identity Store Workflow to a Flow topic to complete the task.
7. After making the required changes, click Update Workflow on the Edit Workflow page to save the settings.
8. Click Save on the Workflows page.

Enable or Disable a Workflow

You can disable workflows in an identity store to prevent them from triggering.

You can enable or disable a workflow in any of the following ways.

Method 1:

1. In Admin Center, click Identity Stores in the left pane.
2. On the Identity Stores page click the ellipsis button for an identity store and select Edit.
3. Click Workflows under Settings in the left pane.
4. On the Configure Workflows tab of the Workflows page, use the Enable toggle button for a workflow to enable or disable it.
5. Click Save.

Method 2:

1. In Admin Center, click Identity Stores in the left pane.
2. On the Identity Stores page click the ellipsis button for an identity store and select Edit.
3. Click Workflows under Settings in the left pane.
4. On the Configure Workflows tab of the Workflows page, click the ellipsis button for a workflow and select Edit.
5. On the Edit Workflow dialog box, use the toggle button in the top left to enable or disable the workflow. Then click Update Workflow.
6. On the Workflows page, click Save.

Delete a User-defined Workflow

Workflows in an identity store can have their type as System or User Defined. You can delete user-defined workflows; you can't delete system workflows.

To delete a workflow:

1. In Admin Center, click Identity Stores in the left pane.
2. On the Identity Stores page, click the ellipsis button for an identity store and select Edit.
3. Click Workflows under Settings in the left pane.
4. On the Configure Workflows tab of the Workflows page, click the ellipsis button for a user-defined workflow and select Delete Workflow.
5. Click Delete on the confirmation dialog box.
6. Click Save.