Overview of designing task assistant workflows
There are different styles of task assistant workflows depending on the designer and the workflow processes being defined. Designing task assistant workflows will likely be an iterative process to help the designer understand the objectives and fulfill the requirements of the particular workflow. The designer will frequently switch between designing the workflow using the Designer tab and executing the workflow in the Task Assistant window during the development and review process.
Task assistant workflow style variations can be categorized as one of the following:
- Sequential from beginning to end
- Sequential within containers
- Containers of functionality
Sequential from beginning to end
This procedural style guides users through a series of steps to accomplish a task. A task assistant step should not be executed unless the previous step or steps have been executed and completed, for example, a task assistant workflow that is specific to a particular dataset and output.
Sequential within containers
This style provides users with functionality to complete a variety of tasks, but within each container, the steps are sequential, for example, a task assistant workflow with different series of steps for creating contours from raster data depending on the number of raster datasets available.
Containers of functionality
This container style is used to capture related or like functionality for ease of use. For example, commands relating to selecting features or navigation can be grouped.
Combination of these styles
An entire workflow could include a combination of the three styles described above. In addition, multiple workflows can be open in the Task Assistant window, adding an additional level to apply the style options. The following figure shows the combination of grouping like functions and sequencing of steps. Notice the use of EITHER and OR to convey information to the user.