Automatically Update Ongoing Task Progress Based on Task Status List

When using the Custom mode for Ongoing Task Progress, there is a higher degree of flexibility in how you can track progress on a task and set the Ongoing Task Progress Percent. While it is possible to manually update that field as users work on a particular task, automation allows frictionless updates aligned with your process, without manual intervention!

To ensure that Ongoing Task Progress Percent is accurate and consistent, we recommend pairing the Custom mode of Ongoing Task Progress with some additional automation. That way it will be a smooth process for end users while also ensuring your data is clean and consistent. 

In this article, we will walk through a sample configuration that updates the task's ongoing progress based on the stage that the task is in. More specifically, the approach is to use the List field on the task and associate various completion percentages with each stage.

Here is a summary of what will be covered in this article:

• Sample Use Case and Configuration Overview
• Flow Configuration
• Flow Testing

Sample Use Case and Configuration Overview

Goal

Automatically update Ongoing Task Progress based on the task's status List value.

Use Case Details

• The TaskRay Task object has a List picklist field. This field is used to move the task through different statuses through to completion.
  • Out of the box, the following values are included in the List picklist field: Holding, Prioritized, Started, and Finished.
    
    Note: It is possible that your organization has customized the List field on the TaskRay Task object to incorporate custom values. If that is the case, you can use custom value(s) instead of the out-of-the-box ones referenced throughout this document.
• With the Ongoing Task Progress functionality, it is possible to track a task's progress while it is being worked on. 
  • In this article, we will be updating the task's ongoing progress based on the List status that the task is in.
  • Specifically, we will assign the List values progress as follows: Prioritized = 20%, Started = 40%, and Finished = 100%. These progress assignments can be adjusted as necessary.
• With the automation in place, the task's ongoing progress will be continuously updated based on the List that the task is in.

Additional Architectural Details

For the purpose of this automation, there are a few specifics to set up and note regarding the Ongoing Task Progress functionality.

First, in order for this automation to work, you will need to set the Ongoing Task Progress Type on the applicable tasks to Custom.

• Ongoing Task Progress Type is a field on the TaskRay Task object.
• While the field can be manually updated on applicable tasks, it is also possible to streamline this configuration on projects.
  • If you are using templates to create your projects, you can configure the template tasks to have Ongoing Task Progress Type = Custom. Alternatively, you can set up an automation to update the field according to necessary criteria.
  • Then, when the templates are cloned to create new projects, the tasks in those projects will automatically be created with the Custom progress type already set.

With the automation in place, as the tasks move through the different List stages, the progress will be tracked in the Ongoing Task Progress Percent field. This is the field that we will be updating through the automation.

Automation Overview

• The automation is set up using Flow. The Flow is triggered when the task's List field is updated.
• Then, the Flow will evaluate the updated List value to determine the associated percentage that should be set for the task's Ongoing Task Progress Percent.

Flow Configuration [Admin]

Flow Overview

Below is a sample configuration of the Flow:

Follow the steps in the sections below to configure the Flow.

Step 1: Create New Flow

1. From Setup, navigate to Process Automation | Flows.
2. Click on the New Flow button.
3. In the New Flow modal, select the Record-Triggered Flow option.
4. Click on Create.

Step 2: Configure Start and Entry Conditions

When setting up a new record-triggered flow, it is necessary to specify the object and criteria that will trigger the automated process. In this case, we will select the TaskRay Task object because our automation should be triggered when the task's List value is updated.

1. In the Configure Start modal, click into the Object field and search for TaskRay Task.
2. For Trigger the Flow When select A record is updated.
3. In the Set Entry Conditions section, for Condition Requirements select All Conditions Are Met (AND).
4. For the condition, set the following:
   • Field = TASKRAY__List__c (List)
   • Operator = Is Changed
   • Value = True
5. For Optimize the Flow for, select Fast Field Updates.
6. Leave the remaining options as-is and click Done.

Step 3: Add a Decision Element to Check for Task Criteria

Next, you will need to add a Decision Element that checks for the necessary criteria on the task to trigger the automation. In this case, the Decision Element will be using the List field on the task.

1. On the Flow canvas, click on the Plus / Add Element icon below the Start element.
2. Select the Decision element.
3. In the New Decision modal, enter the Label (e.g. "List Updated") and API Name.
4. In the New Outcome section, fill out the Outcome Details (enter the Label (e.g. "Prioritized") and Outcome API Name).
5. Next, for Condition Requirements to Execute Outcome, select All Conditions Are Met (AND).
6. For the condition, set the following:
   • Resource = {!$Record.TASKRAY__List__c} (clickpath: $Record > List)
   • Operator = Equals
   • Value = Prioritized
7. For When to Execute Outcome, select Only if the record that triggered the flow to run is updated to meet the condition requirements.
   
8. In the left portion of the modal, in the OUTCOME ORDER section, click on the Plus (+) button to create a new outcome.
9. Repeat steps 3 through 8 two more times and adjust Decision Criteria as follows:
   1. For Started Decision Outcome, set:
      • Resource = {!$Record.TASKRAY__List__c} (clickpath: $Record > List)
      • Operator = Equals
      • Value = Started
   2. For Finished Decision Outcome, set:
      • Resource = {!$Record.TASKRAY__List__c} (clickpath: $Record > List)
      • Operator = Equals
      • Value = Finished
10. Click Done.
11. Back on the Flow canvas, click on the Plus / Add Element icon below the Default Outcome decision outcome path. 
12. Select the End option.

Step 4: Add Element to Update Task

For the final part of the Flow configuration, you will need to add an element to update the Ongoing Task Progress Percent field on the task. In this case, we will need to add three Update Records elements, one for each Decision Outcome path.

1. On the Flow canvas, click on the Plus / Add Element icon below the Prioritized Decision Outcome path.
2. Select the Update Records element.
3. In the New Update Records modal, enter the Label (e.g. "Update Ongoing Task Progress = Prioritized") and API Name.
4. Under Set Field Values for the TaskRay Task Record, set the following:
   • Field = TASKRAY__trOngoingTaskProgressPercent__c (Ongoing Task Progress Percent)
   • Value = 20
5. Click Done.
   
6. Repeat steps 2 through 5 two more times and adjust configurations as follows:
   1. Started Decision Outcome
      1. Element should be added below the Started Decision Outcome.
      2. Under Set Field Values for the TaskRay Task Record, set the following:
         • Field = TASKRAY__trOngoingTaskProgressPercent__c (Ongoing Task Progress Percent)
         • Value = 40
   2. Finished Decision Outcome 
      1. Element should be added below the Finished Decision Outcome.
      2. Under Set Field Values for the TaskRay Task Record, set the following:
         • Field = TASKRAY__trOngoingTaskProgressPercent__c (Ongoing Task Progress Percent)
         • Value = 40

Step 5: Save and Activate the Flow

Now that the Flow is fully configured, it is time to save and activate it.

1. In the top right corner of the Flow canvas, click on the Save button.
2. In the Save the Flow modal, enter the Label (e.g. "Update Ongoing Task Progress (Based on List)") and API Name.
3. Click Save.
4. In the top right corner of the Flow canvas, click on the Activate button.

Flow Testing

As a best practice, it is always a good idea to test custom automations to make sure that they meet requirements and follow expected behavior. Custom automations can be tested using the Debug options in Flow or in the app, using sample test records. 

To test this automation, you can configure a task to have Ongoing Task Progress Type = Custom and update the task's List value to any of the ones used in the automation configuration. The successful outcome of the automaton will be that the task's Ongoing Task Progress Percent field is updated according to the Flow configurations.