Glossary

Key terms used throughout Invent Workflows.

A

Action

A single operation within a workflow step's flow. Actions can be user tasks (forms, approvals, document uploads), system operations (HTTP requests, emails, JavaScript), or control flow structures (conditionals, parallels, loops).

Approval Task

A user task that asks an assigned person to approve or reject a request. The reviewer can add optional comments or fill in additional form fields.

Archive

Hiding a workflow template from the active list. Archived templates can't be used to launch new workflows but can be restored (unarchived) at any time.

AI Agent

An intelligent assistant embedded in the workflow instance page. The AI Agent provides contextual help, suggests actions, fills forms, and can react to workflow events proactively. See AI Agent.

Audit Trail

Automatic logging of all write operations (POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE) in the system, queryable via API with OData filtering.

C

Conditional (If/Then/Else)

A control flow action that evaluates a condition and runs different actions depending on whether it's true or false.

Context Field

An input field that is bound to an external entity (Client, Account, Household) and populated automatically when the workflow is launched from a portal with entity context.

Credentials Vault

A secure store for authentication credentials (OAuth 2.0, Basic Auth) used by HTTP Request actions. Credentials are managed in Preferences → External Apps and selected from a dropdown in action configuration.

Creator Role

The instance role (Admin, Manager, or User) automatically assigned to the person who launches a workflow.

D

Dashboard

The main page showing all workflow instances the current user has access to, with search, filter, and launch capabilities.

Default Permissions

Users, groups, or expressions configured on a template that are automatically added as members when a new workflow instance is launched.

Delay

A system action that pauses workflow execution for a specified duration.

Document Upload Task

A user task that requires the assigned person to upload one or more files.

E

Echo

A system action that transforms or reshapes data, mapping input values to output variables.

F

Flow

The sequence of actions configured for a workflow step. Flows can include user tasks, system actions, and control flow structures.

Flow Editor

The Designer tool for building and configuring action flows within workflow steps.

Flow Viewer

A read-only view of a running workflow step's flow, showing action status and output data.

Form Task

A user task that presents a form for the assigned person to fill in. Forms can contain various field types with validation and visibility conditions.

Form Task Template

A reusable form configuration that can be referenced by User Form actions across multiple workflow templates.

ForEach

A control flow action that iterates over a collection, running child actions for each item. Supports sequential and parallel execution modes with configurable concurrency.

G

Global Role

A platform-level role (Admin, Manager, or User) that determines what sections of the application a user can access.

I

Input Schema

The set of fields that users fill in when launching a workflow. Defined on the template and presented as a form during the launch wizard.

Input Template

A reusable set of input field definitions that can be imported into a workflow template's input schema.

Instance

A running (or completed) execution of a workflow template. Each launch creates a new, independent instance.

Instance Number

A tenant-scoped auto-incrementing number assigned to each workflow instance at creation. Used in instance name templates for human-readable identification.

Instance Role

A per-workflow role (Admin, Manager, or User) that determines what a member can do within a specific workflow instance.

L

Loop

A control flow action that repeats its child actions while a condition remains true.

M

Milestone

A high-level phase of a workflow (e.g., "Application", "Review", "Onboarding"). Milestones contain steps and provide visual progress tracking.

Member

A user or group that has access to a workflow instance, with a specific instance role.

O

Output Mapping

A configuration that maps an action's output data to a workflow variable, making it available for use in subsequent actions.

P

Parallel

A control flow action that runs multiple child actions simultaneously instead of sequentially.

Principal

A user or group identity in the system. Users are individual people; groups are collections of users.

R

Repeating Group

A form field type that allows users to add multiple sets of nested fields, such as beneficiary entries, line items, or contact records. Supports min/max entry constraints.

S

Scriban Expression

A template expression syntax (using double-curly-brace delimiters) for inserting dynamic values into text fields like email subjects, task descriptions, and action parameters.

Search Attribute

An input field marked as searchable in the template editor. Search attributes are indexed for fast filtering on the Dashboard, including context-based filtering by Client, Account, or Household.

Smart Value

A dynamic expression using double-curly-brace syntax (e.g., {{ input.clientName }}) that resolves to a value at runtime. Used to pre-fill forms, build dynamic URLs, compose emails, and reference data from workflow inputs, context, or previous actions.

Standard List

A tenant-scoped option list managed by administrators and reusable across form fields in multiple templates. Standard Lists ensure consistent dropdown options across workflows. See Standard Lists.

Stage

A named state within a workflow step (e.g., "Submitted", "Under Review", "Approved") used for tracking progress.

Step

An execution unit within a milestone. Each step contains a flow of actions (user tasks and system operations) that are executed when the step runs.

Step Template

A reusable step configuration with pre-defined actions that can be added to workflow templates.

T

Tag

A label attached to a workflow template for categorization and filtering (e.g., "Onboarding", "Compliance", "HR").

Template

A workflow blueprint that defines milestones, steps, input fields, action flows, and permissions. Templates are used to launch workflow instances.

V

Visibility Condition

A rule that controls whether a form field is shown or hidden based on the value of another field. Supports operators like equals, contains, greater than, and more.

W

Workflow

A structured business process consisting of milestones, steps, tasks, and automated actions. Defined as a template and executed as instances.