Process automation using

Blueprints
in Zoho Projects
 Overview
As organizations expand, the processes they follow become more
elaborate. For a startup with a few employees, reaching the month’s
revenue objectives is the ultimate survival goal. Whether tasks are
done is more important than how they're done. However, once its
operations are more stable, standardizing processes and ensuring
employee compliance becomes vital.

Depending on the stages, possible consequences, and the number

of people involved, processes can be either straightforward or
complex. Outlining the approach in black and white will help you
understand the lifecycle of each task and analyze the scope for
improvement.

Digitizing these processes, automating their flow, and managing

them within your current project management software gives you
more control.

The Blueprints feature in Zoho Projects was developed with this

exact goal in mind—to equip our users with process automation
capabilities right within their project management platform.

2 Process automation using Blueprints

 What are
blueprints ?
Blueprints help you define, visualize, and automate the
entire life cycle of a task in your project. Zoho Projects
provides a simple drag-and-drop interface you can use to
easily build and automate these flowcharts.

Blueprints consist of statuses, indicating the stages of the

task, and transitions, indicating the actions to be performed
for a task to move to the next stage.

3 Process automation using Blueprints

 Start

Status 1: Open

Transition 1 Transition 2

Status 1: Close

Stop

The transitions can be configured with conditions that are triggered

before, during, and after the task is executed. This ensures linked
actions are executed automatically right when the user performs
the transition. You can send automated emails, update field values,
trigger custom functions, and use webhooks.

Before getting into the details, let us start with the basics.

4 Process automation using Blueprints

 How to plan a process

Brainstorm the flow

The first and most important step in
planning your process is to gather the
resources. Get on a meeting with your
entire team and spot the redundant
tasks that can be automated. Once this
is done, lay out the specifics of the
task, jot down all the steps involved,
and include their consequent actions.

Design the flowchart

Be it the old-school pen and paper
flowchart, or the digital one, sketch the
entire process that you just planned as a
flowchart. This step will help you visualize
the flow and identify gaps.

5 Process automation using Blueprints

 Automate actions
You can automate subsequent actions that
take place before, during, or after a step in
the process gets done. Identify and
configure these actions.

Refine as you progress

Revisit the flowchart you’ve designed and
consider any parts that can be refined. It could
be cutting out a redundant step, combining
similar steps, or providing proper descriptions.

6 Process automation using Blueprints

   

  

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 Now, let's walk through
the steps to build the
process for Zylker.

Step

1 Brainstorm
The IT team converges to define different steps
involved in the process. Since they experience the
process first-hand, they list all their pain points and
ways to overcome them.

9 Process automation using Blueprints

 

            

            

        
 

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 3 Automate actions

Analyze each transition and identify the

action to be automated in it.

Here’s the list of transitions configured with

actions in the procurement process:

#Transition: Approve

Since approval can only be given by the manager, the access

to perform this transition is restricted to the manager.

11 Process automation using Blueprints

 #Transition: Submit quote

During this transition, a checklist extension configured

here displays a to-do list for obtaining a quote.

#Transition: Reject quote

This action can only be performed by the IT head, and so

it's restricted in the Before section.

12 Process automation using Blueprints

 #Transition: Place order
After the order is placed, we can send out an update
email to the employee, notifying them of their request's
status. Webhooks can also be used to update the status
in another service or software your requester uses.

13 Process automation using Blueprints

 #Transition: Reject
For requests that are rejected right at the first step, a
custom function can be used to create an IT ticket.
This way, the team can investigate the request further.

14 Process automation using Blueprints

 4 Test and execute
Once the blueprint is built, published, and associated
Step
with the relevant project, be sure to test it by creating
a task in the project. You will be able to view the
current status of the task, and the transition to be
executed will be displayed as a button. Click the
button to perform the transition.

Note: In our business case, approval is restricted to the manager,

so only they will be able to view the transition buttons.

Similarly, dry-run the entire process to test the flow and track
the execution of the configured actions for different scenarios.

You can always go back to enhancing the blueprint whenever

you encounter a new scenario in your organization.

15 Process automation using Blueprints

 Benefits of
automating tasks
using blueprints

Automates repetitive tasks: Processes help streamline

redundant tasks that your employees deal with on a daily

basis. Blueprints help reduce the mundane and

concentrate on more important details.

Improves transparency: Anyone who has access to the

task will be able to preview the entire process and

understand the flow of the task, increasing transparency

within your teams and the organization.

Visual aid for new employees: The process is represented

as a flowchart, which is easy to understand at one glance.

Even new employees can onboard easily.

16 Process automation using Blueprints

 Provides room for collaboration: Processes in tasks allow

multiple people to collaborate and complete the task.

Apart from the task owner, there can be other project

users like transition approvers, teams, and roles.

Comprehensive during remote work: Tracking the

progress of your team member does not require manual

follow-ups anymore. A process showcases the current

progress of a task right from the task details page.

Helps spot delays: If a task extends its expected

completion time, you will always be able to spot where the

delay occurs. These bottlenecks can also be averted with

updates to the process.

Covers multiple approvals: Certain tasks may need

multiple approvals—be it from the manager, other team

members, or an employee with a specific role. Such

instances can be easily handled with processes, ensuring

no approval is missed.

17 Process automation using Blueprints

 

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 Summing up

Process automation using blueprints can cater to many industries

and teams like finance, marketing, administration, sales, support,

HR, real estate, construction, and so on. It opens doors to

possibilities of standardizing and evaluating the way your teams

work and circuits its way through multiple teams and approvals.

Blueprints have been built so far

35k+ using Zoho Projects. The next

could be yours!

Zoho Projects offers a built-in capability to digitize and automate

your process right inside tasks. No matter the size of your business,

our user-friendly interface helps you design and automate

processes. Try the Blueprints feature in Zoho Projects today!

19 Process automation using Blueprints

 THANK YOU

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