Tasks

Human tasks are workflow steps that require a person to act. A task might ask you to review a document, make a decision, collect information via a form, or validate data. Tasks are the primary way knowledge workers interact with Aceryx.

The Inbox

Your Inbox is the central hub for all tasks assigned to you. Access it from the main navigation via the GET /tasks endpoint or through the UI.

Inbox Features:

• Task list: All tasks assigned to you or to roles you belong to, grouped by status (Open, In Progress, Completed).
• SLA indicators: Visual badges show whether each task is on track, in warning, or breached:
  • On Track: Task deadline is comfortably in the future.
  • Warning: Task is approaching its deadline (typically within 25% of the SLA window).
  • Breached: Task has exceeded its deadline.
• Filtering and sorting: Filter by case type, status, priority, or SLA state. Sort by due date, created date, or last modified.
• Search: Full-text search across case data associated with your tasks.
• Bulk actions: Select multiple tasks and perform batch operations (claim, reassign, escalate).

Claiming Tasks

When a task is assigned to a role (rather than a specific user), any member of that role can claim it.

Claiming a task:

1. Click the task in the Inbox.
2. Click Claim Task (or a similar button).
3. The system atomically assigns the task to you. If two users click claim simultaneously, only one succeeds—preventing duplicate claims.

Once claimed, the task is your responsibility. Other role members cannot see it in their inbox.

Task Detail View

When you open a task, you see:

Case Context

• Case number and type: Identify which case this task belongs to.
• Case data: The full JSON data object (read-only or editable, depending on permissions and step configuration).
• Case timeline: A visual or text summary of steps completed so far.

Task Form

The FormRenderer generates an interactive form based on the task’s form schema (a JSON Schema defined in the workflow step).

• Field types: Text inputs, dropdowns, checkboxes, multi-select, date pickers, file uploads, rich text editors, etc.
• Validation: Real-time validation as you type; fields are marked invalid if they don’t match the schema constraints.
• Required fields: Clearly indicated; you cannot submit the form without filling them.
• Help text: Hover over field labels or info icons to see additional guidance.

Documents

If the case has attached documents (e.g., application forms, supporting files), they are listed here.

• Download: Click to download a document.
• Preview: For certain file types (PDFs, images), a preview may be available inline.
• Metadata: File name, upload date, file size.

Available Outcomes

Below the form, you see the available outcomes—the actions you can take:

• Approve: Submit the form and route the case as approved (if this outcome is defined).
• Reject: Submit the form and reject the case.
• Request More Info: Ask for additional information (if this outcome is defined).
• Custom outcomes specific to your workflow.

Completing Tasks

To complete a task:

1. Fill in the required form fields.
2. Optional: Click Save Draft to save your progress and resume later.
3. Click an outcome button (e.g., “Approve”, “Reject”).
4. The form is validated. If valid, the system sends a POST /tasks/{caseID}/{stepID}/complete request with the outcome and data. The system then:
   • Records your form input as the task result.
   • Marks the task as completed.
   • Passes the outcome value to the workflow engine for conditional routing.
   • Activates the next step(s) in the workflow.

The outcome you select can drive conditional routing. For example:

• If you select “Approve”, the case routes to a confirmation step.
• If you select “Reject”, the case routes to a different notification step.

This is configured via edge conditions in the workflow: step_results.my_approval_task.outcome == "Approve".

Draft Saving

You can save a draft of a partially completed task without submitting it.

To save a draft:

1. Fill in some fields in the form.
2. Click Save Draft.
3. Your partial input is saved via PUT /tasks/{caseID}/{stepID}/draft. The form remains open; you can continue editing.

To resume a draft:

Return to the Inbox and open the task again. Your previous draft input is pre-populated, and you can continue from where you left off.

Drafts are cleared once you submit the task with an outcome. This allows you to work iteratively on complex forms without losing progress.

Reassignment

A task can be reassigned to another user (requires the tasks:reassign permission).

To reassign a task:

1. Open the task detail view.
2. Click Reassign (or similar button).
3. Select the new assignee from a user list or search box.
4. The task is immediately reassigned. The previous assignee loses access; the new assignee sees it in their inbox.

Reassignment is useful if:

• The assigned user is unavailable.
• The task requires a specialist not originally assigned.
• Work needs to be balanced across a team.

The reassignment is recorded in the audit log.

Escalation

Escalation brings urgent or overdue tasks to the attention of a supervisor or manager.

Manual Escalation

A task owner can manually escalate a task:

1. Open the task.
2. Click Escalate.
3. Optionally add a comment explaining why (e.g., “Requires decision from management”).
4. The task is flagged and may be assigned to a manager or placed in a high-priority queue.

Automatic Escalation

If a task’s SLA hours are breached, the system can automatically escalate:

1. The deadline (based on SLA hours) passes.
2. A background job detects the breach.
3. An escalation callback is triggered (defined in the workflow step configuration).
4. Typically, the task is reassigned to a manager or an escalation team.

SLA Management

Every human task can have an SLA (Service Level Agreement) attached.

SLA Configuration:

• Hours: Set a deadline in hours from the moment the task activates (e.g., 24, 48, 72 hours).
• Escalation: Define an escalation action if the SLA is breached (e.g., reassign to a manager).

SLA Tracking:

The system tracks:

• Deadline: Calculated as activation_time + SLA_hours.
• Status: On-track, warning (e.g., <25% time remaining), or breached.
• Escalation log: If the task is escalated, the event is recorded with timestamp and reason.

SLA Display:

• In the Inbox, tasks show SLA badges (green, yellow, red).
• In the task detail, you see the exact deadline and remaining time.
• Dashboard reports show SLA compliance metrics across all tasks.

Automatic Escalation Callback:

If an escalation callback is configured for the step, the system can:

• Reassign the task to a backup assignee.
• Send an urgent notification.
• Create a linked escalation task.
• Trigger an agent to summarize the case and recommend action.

The escalation callback is invoked as a background job shortly after the deadline passes.