Workpools in the Workflow
A Workpool is comprised of individuals who work in parallel to one another—that is, they work on a given task at the same time.
If you want multiple users to work on a task simultaneously, create a Workpool and assign the users to it. Then assign the Workpool to the task. If a Workpool is assigned to a task, when the Project or objects in a ContentRoutingProject are forwarded to the task, all Workpool members receive the forwarded objects at the same time. The ContentRoutingProject or Project moves into the Workpool container on each member’s desktop and all members of the Workpool can access the ContentRouting Project or Project simultaniously.
If a Workpool member opens an object for edit, a short-term lock is placed on the object and other Workpool members cannot access it for editing until it is closed. When it is closed, the short-term lock is removed, and other Workpool members can open the object for editing.
Using Workpools in the Workflow
The following are examples of when you may want to assign a Workpool to a task in the Workflow.
- You have several data objects that need authoring or modifications and you do not want the writing task to be sequential, you want the writers to work on the data at the same time.
- You have several data objects that need writing and others only needing a review. You want the writer to work on data objects that need modifications while the reviewer works on data objects that only need a review and you want the tasks done in parallel.
- You have data objects that need modifications to the text and other objects that need modifications to graphics. You can assign the task to a Workpool comprised of writers and graphic artists.
Note that when a Workpool member completes his/her task and forwards the objects in a ContentRoutingProject, or Project, the objects are forwarded from all Workpool members’ desktops. It is no longer accessible to any Workpool member. Forwarding an object in a ContentRoutingProject or a Project that is in a Workpool must be carefully coordinated for this reason.