Documentation › Campaigns

Start many process instances at once: campaigns

A campaign starts, in one go, a process instance of the same process for every row of a list. Example: upgrading 40 computers to Windows 11, one process instance per computer, without creating them one by one.

What is a campaign for?

• You have one process (for example “Windows 11 upgrade”) and several cases to handle (one per computer, per site, per employee…).
• You describe the cases in a table: one row per process instance, with its values (the name of the computer, the site…). You fill the table by hand or you import a file.
• ProcNest starts one process instance per row. Each one has its own tasks, dates and progress, like a process instance started alone.

1. Create a campaign

1. Click New campaign

   In the Campaigns tab. The New campaign panel opens. The button only appears if you can start process instances and see processes.

2. Details

   Enter the Name of the campaign (required) and, if you wish, a description.

3. Process

   Type a few letters of the name of a published process and choose it. A process instance of this version of the process will be started for every row. Changing the process empties the table.

4. Participants and variables

   As for a process instance started alone, choose who plays each participant of the process. These people are the same for all the process instances of the campaign. The values in the variables area are shared: they apply to every row that has no value of its own.

5. Fill the rows

   See the next section.

6. Click Start the campaign

   ProcNest starts the process instances and tells you how many were started. If some information is missing or a value is not right, nothing is started and the fields concerned are marked in red.

2. Fill the rows

The table has one row per process instance: the Name column (the name of the process instance, required) and one column per variable that the process lets you change. A campaign has 500 rows at most.

By hand

Click Add a row, then enter the name and the values. The bin icon on the right removes the row.

From a file

1. Click Import a file

   Choose a CSV, Excel (.xlsx) or JSON file.

2. Match the columns

   ProcNest shows how many rows it found and suggests, for the name and for each variable, the column of the file that has the same name. Change it if needed, or choose Not imported to leave a value out.

3. Click Import the rows

   The rows of the file replace those of the table. You can still correct them before starting the campaign. Cancel drops the import and keeps the table.

3. The values of the variables

Only the variables that the process lets you change have a column. Depending on the type of the variable, ProcNest checks the value when you start the campaign:

• A cell left empty imposes nothing: the row takes the shared value of the campaign, or else the value of the process.
• Lists of several choices and variables that the process does not let you change have no column.

4. Follow a campaign

The Campaigns page lists your campaigns, the most recent first, with their process, the number of process instances and the progress (“1 of 3 done”). The search filters by campaign or process name.

Click a campaign to open its details: the process, the creation date, the progress and the list of its process instances with their status. The Open button of a row opens the process instance. A deleted process instance disappears from the campaign and no longer counts.

Tips

• Try with two or three rows before importing the whole list.
• Give your columns the names of the variables of the process: the matching is then automatic.
• A campaign that has started cannot be changed. To correct a process instance, open it like any other.

Permissions

• See the Campaigns page: View process instances. Everyone only sees their campaigns.
• Start a campaign: Start process instances and View processes, as for a process instance started alone. Users and roles explains how to get them.