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Modeling Workflows

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This section will help you:

  • Understand what Workflows are and when they are used.

  • Understand design considerations and best practices for modeling Workflows.

  • Know how to create and edit Workflows, using:

    • Workflow Details

    • Protocol Library

    • Sample Sets

    • Data Links

Key Terms

Table 13. 

Term 

Definition 

Workflow

Ordered collection of Protocols, representing a discrete unit of operation.

Protocol Library

List of all Protocols registered in the system.

Sample Set

Entities processed in a Protocol.

Data Link

Pull external and upstream data into a Protocol from the same Workflow or an upstream Workflow in the Workflow Chain.



What are Workflows and when are they used in L7|ESP?

Workflows are an ordered collection of Protocols, and represent the smallest business unit that can be submitted to an Experiment.

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How to model Workflows

Workflows are created to process a group of Protocols that are executed as a discrete unit of a business process.

When to create a new Workflow

  • Discrete units of operation.

  • Branching in the business process.

  • Entity hand-offs (intradepartmental).

    • Provenance should capture who executed the Experiment, and the details of that Experiment.

  • Experimental stopping points.

    • Important when tracking operational metrics like turnaround time.

  • Changes in Experimental throughput.

    • Pooling Entities from multiple Experiments into a single Worksheet (e.g., Library Prep → Sequencing).

Design considerations:

  • How will Experiments be named using this Workflow?

  • What type of Entities can be submitted to this Workflow?

  • Who should have access to this Workflow?

  • Should changes to the Workflow (and its Protocols) impact the version used by End Users?

  • What Entities are being processed in each Protocol?

  • Are there external data dependencies in any of the Protocols?

How to create a new Workflow

Go to: Builders (L7|Master) → Workflows → + New Workflow

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Workflow Details

  • Use in manufacturing - should be set to “Yes” for Workflows that will be used in MES.

  • Version - each time a Workflow has any of its details changed and saved, a new version of the Workflow is created.

    • Pin - locks the Workflow into a previously saved version (including its Protocols).

Note

Pinning allows you to version control your content.

  • Experiment Name Sequence - custom name that can be assigned to a newly created Experiment for the selected Workflow or Workflow Chain if the Workflow is the starting node.

    • NONE:

      • User always specifies the Experiment name.

    • Sequence selected but not the “only use sequence for new experiment names” checkbox:

      • User has the option to auto generate or manually specify the Experiment name.

    • Sequence and the checkbox selected:

      • L7|ESP auto generates the Experiment name.

Note

Experiment ID Sequences are created in the id_sequences block of the esp Configuration File. Refer to Configuring ID Sequences for more information.

  • Entity Types - restricts the Entities, by type, that can be submitted to an instance of this Workflow. These are the existing Entities or new Entities that can be added when creating a new Experiment.

  • Workgroups - restricts who has access to the Workflow in L7|Master and the Projects app when creating a new Experiment.

  • Custom Icon - assigns the Workflow an icon in the Workflow Chain builder.

Protocol Library

The Protocol Library displays all Protocols registered in the system. Once a Protocol has been added to the Workflow, it will appear grayed out in the Library.

Using the Protocol Library, you can:

  • Create new Protocols (+ Create New Protocol)

  • Edit existing Protocols by selecting a Protocol in the Library.

  • Construct the Workflow by selecting a Protocol from the Library, then drag and drop it into the main viewing window. As additional Protocols are added, you can rearrange their order by dragging them to a new position (an arrow with a green + sign will indicate the new placement).

    • Drag and drop Protocols back into the Library to remove them from the Workflow.

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Note

The same Protocol cannot be used more than once in a Workflow. However, Protocols can be duplicated by expanding the Save menu and selecting Save As.

Note

Workflows cannot start with a Sample Protocol. L7|ESP assumes that the Entities submitted or transitioned to an Experiment are the same Entities in the first Protocol of the Workflow.

Sample Sets

Each Protocol in the Workflow is assigned a Sample Set - the Entities processed in that Protocol.

The first Sample Set is the collection of Entities submitted/transitioned to the Workflow. New Sample Sets are introduced with Sample Protocols. This new, or existing Sample Sets in the Workflow, can be assigned to downstream Protocols in the Workflow. This dynamic feature allows the End User to process more than one (1) set of Entities in the same Workflow, streamlining the business process.

In the absence of a Sample Protocol, every Protocol in the Workflow will use the same Sample Set.

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