[Video: Quick Look: Managing Assay Requests in LabKey Biologics]
Common uses of the Workflow page include:
- Requesting specific work items to be performed, such as running an assay on a given sample.
- Creating "multi-service requests", i.e., umbrella requests with multiple subtasks underneath.
- Assigning work items to a specific user, or chain of users, for fulfillment.
- Tracking job status (incomplete, complete, results invalid, etc.)
- Easy navigation between requests and any associated samples or data results.
The Workflow page supports different types of work requests (with more types available in future releases), for example: general work items, assay run requests, and sample creation requests.
Requests can be created as single stand-alone requests, or as multi-service requests which tie together a group of subtasks.
The Workflow page displays the following panels:
- A histogram showing current requests broken down by type.
- Tabs showing requests (1) opened by and (2) assigned to the currently logged in user.
- Data grids listing the current work items, assay requests, and sample requests.
Create a Work Request
To create a new work request:
- Click Request Work in the upper right corner.
- Fill out details using the entry form.
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- Title - This title will appear in data grids showing current requests.
- Description - The description should describe the work to be done and the conditions for its completion. (In terms of the LabKey issue tracker, this is the "body" of the request.)
- Assigned To - Assign the task to the person responsible for completing it. Work items may be re-assigned if a more appropriate person is found, or if a series of people are required to complete the task.
- Priority - Assign an number between 0 and 4 to indicate the importance of the task. 0 is most important, 4 is least important.
- Notify List - Add one or more users who will be notified via email each time the work item is updated.
- Related Samples and Entities - Click the green plus sign to add one or more related entites/samples, for example, samples to be consumed in an assay run. Use the dropdowns to select the Type and ID of each item. The dropdowns also function as search boxes: enter text to filter down the options.
- List of subtasks - If the work item consists of multiple tasks, click the green plus sign to add one or more subtasks, such as Assay run requests, sample requests, or any task type that has been configured. Note that subtask names are generated by concatenating: parent request name + the subtask type. For each subtask use the dropdowns to specify:
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- Type of Service - Specify an assay run service or a sample creation service.
- Service - For assays, this field indicates which sort of assay to run. For samples, this field indicates the type of sample to create.
- Assigned To - Assign the task to the person responsible for completing it. Work items may be re-assigned if a more appropriate person is found, or if a series of people are required to complete the task.
- Description: Optional field for providing details and relevant information.
- Attachments - To add file attachments to the work request, click the Paperclip icon or drag-and-drop the files from your operating system.
- Click Create to submit the work request. Users referred to in the entry form will be notified of the new request(s) via email.
- Submitted requests are displayed in the data grids at the bottom of the page. Note that subtasks are prepended with the name of the parent request.
- The details view for a parent request also shows the related subtasks.
Processing Requests
From a user's perspective, the request tracker functions much like the LabKey issue tracker. A typical workflow looks like the following:
- A user begins the process by creating a request for assays to be run and assigning the request to some appropriate person, such as a lab technician, for fulfillment.
- Once the task is complete (for example, the assay has been run and the data is available) the request is "resolved" and assigned back to the original requester.
- If the original requester is satisfied that the work is complete, then the request is "closed".
The assay tracker also provides for adverse events in the workflow. For example, duplicate requests for assay runs can be resolved as "Duplicate", or requests can be resolved as "Rejected" if for some reason the request cannot be completed. The available resolution states are not fixed, and be adjusted by an administrator (see the Assay Request docs for documentation).
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