J1 Web Forms and Automation Plans
Automation plans are groups of sequenced tasks/communications called interactions triggered by schedules, workflows, and system events such as form submissions. Interactions can notify submitters, assign To Dos, run stored procedures, trigger workflows, apply rules-based updates, execute Power Automate flows, etc.
For example, an automation plan include an email to the submitter to let them know their form was received and a To Do for a manager to review the submission.
J1 Web Forms can leverage automation plans in several ways.
When a J1 Web form is submitted, a J1 Web Form Submitted system event can be triggered and initiate an automation plan with interactions relevant to the form.
When a workflow is associated with a form upon submission and includes an automation plan.
Access the Workflow hub, Automation Plan page.
Click Define automation plan.
In the Name/Description field, enter a recognizable name or description for the automation plan.
In the Code field, enter a unique code.
From Initiated By drop-down select System Event.
From the Process drop-down, select Forms.
From the Event drop-down, select J1 Web Form Submitted.
Click Save and continue. The Automation Tasks tab appears.
Click Add Task.
Choose from different interaction types.
Interactions section lets you choose the documents, emails, notes, notifications, phone calls, texts, and To Dos you want to include in the plan. For example, you can send form submitters an email to let them know their submission was received and the HR office a To Do to review the submission.
Other tasks lets you add attributes, automated advisor assignments, holds, rules based updates, stored procedures, and workflows you want to run as a part of the plan. For example, you can use a Power Automate task to add a new employee to the system once they submit their New Hire form.
Use the up and down icon
to arrange tasks in the order you want them to occur. The first item will be sent/applied on the first time the plan runs.Note
If a rule excludes an item, the second item in the list will be sent/applied.
Because the first item in the plan is the first to be sent/applied, the Schedule and Days to Delay options aren’t available.
Use Days to Delay to specify the number of days after the initial item is sent or applied before sending or applying the subsequent items. Interactions and tasks are kicked off at the same time every day. If the first item is an interaction that runs at 9am and you delay the third item by 2 days, it will run at 9am 48 hours later.
To add rules:
Rules let you configure exceptions. For example, you can specify recipient groups and send tailored interactions to specific groups like new employees and work study employees.
Note
Use rules to account for variations as opposed to building multiple plans.
From the Rules column, click Edit & view to see rule options.
Click Add Rule.
For interactions you can specify what actions are performed such as skipping other interactions or stopping the plan all together.
Skip Interaction means the recipient won't receive the specified interaction. Instead, they will receive the next communication in the set, and the Days to Delay setting will calculate when to send based on when the previous communication was sent.
Stop Set indicates the recipient will not receive this communication or any other communication following it.
Note
If the recipient’s condition changes before the set completes, the recipient will pick back up where the communication was stopped.
Select if Any or All of the following conditions are met.
From the Variable field, select from the query data fields.
Note
The data fields vary based on the query selected when the interaction was defined. For example, if you create an email interaction that uses the Student Details query, variables might be student name and major.
You can add as many rules as you want, and each rule can have multiple conditions.
If ANY is selected, the OR operation determines if the condition is true.
If ALL is selected, the AND operation is used.
Interactions, updates, and workflows are evaluated against the rules applied to them and if the conditions are met, the specified action is applied.
From the Operator drop-down, select a conditional operator (e.g., is not, greater than, equals, etc.).
In the Enter Condition field, type the condition that applies the rule (e.g., biology to check for biology majors).
To add additional rules, click Add Another Condition and repeat steps c - g.
Click Done.
Click Save. to close the Edit & View Rules section.
Click Save and continue. The Recipients step appears.
To make the automation plan available to use, click Inactive to move the toggle to Active.
From the Recipients options, select one of the following:
If Anyone associated with system event is selected, then the automation plan will kick off when the selected form is submitted. Interactions and recipients will vary based on how you set up your automation plan and if you defined any conditions using rules.
If Data Setis selected:
Note
If you use a data set, the system automatically adds and removes recipients from the automation plan based on the data set criteria.
Recipients removed from the list do not receive future communications in the plan. For example, if recipients are based on a specific employee title and the recipient changes job positions.
In the Select Existing Data Set, start typing a query name and select it from the options.
Click View recipients to see recipients at this point in time.
If People or Organizations is selected, start typing the name of the individual or organization and select it from the drop-down.
Click View recipients.
Click View Recipients to preview the list of recipients that will be impacted by the automation plan. This is a dynamic list that may change due to recipient changes in status or contact information or criteria.
Click Save & finish. The automation plan is created and available from the Automation Plans page.
*Available with Communications Plus