Copy a Process

1. Click Tools on the upper navigation bar, and then click Process Manager.
2. Click the name of the process to be copied.
   
   
3. Click Copy Process.
   
   
4. Enter a name for the new process, and then click OK.
   
   
   

The new process will load and edits can then be made. Suggested edits are detailed in the Update a Copied Process section.

After a process has been copied, several items will likely need to be updated or verified in the new version of the process.  

Process Summary

In the Process Summary, items to update and verify include the following:

• Name
  • If the year, season, quarter, etc. is incorporated in the process name, it will need to be updated here.
  • It is recommended that each process name be unique for reporting purposes.
• Budget
• Start and End Dates
• Description
  • It is common to include dates or other specific information in the process description, so be sure to verify this in the new process. 

Process Stages and Forms

In the process stages and forms, items to update and verify include the following:

• Form Names
  • It is recommended to include the process name in each form name. Edit a form, then click the pencil icon next to the form name to update it. 
• Form Due Dates
• Form Questions
  • Update any dates or specific details in questions and instructions as needed. 
  • Make any general edits to questions based on feedback from applicants, staff, or board members from the previous cycle. Questions can also be deleted or added at this time.
  • If adding new questions that already exist in another process, consider using the “boat” method so that the background reporting field codes stay synced.
• Evaluator Pools
  • Add or remove evaluators from each evaluation stage's pool (list of users who will evaluate requests in that stage) as needed. 
• Email Templates
  • Update any dates or specific details in automatic email templates for the process, if applicable.
  • Remember to verify the subject and CC lines in addition to the email body.

When a question is added to a form, the system gives the question a unique field code in the background. The code serves as the identifier for the question throughout the entire system. If copies are made of forms and processes, the field codes in the background are also copied. The system uses the field codes when pulling questions and their responses into reports and merge templates. If a question is built from scratch, even if it is identical to a question that exists in another process, the questions will not have the same field code and will be identified as two different fields. This is because the system reads the code in the background, rather than the question’s label.

Example

In the application for a Fall Process, an Amount Requested question is added. The system automatically gives that question a field code, for example R123. If the Fall Process is copied to create a Spring Process, the Amount Requested question on the new application also has the field code of R123.

A report is built to examine requests from the Fall and Spring processes, and one of the fields added to the report is Amount Requested. Because the field code for Amount Requested is R123 for both processes, the system places all the amount requested data into one column in the report. This makes it simple to build a report showing how much was requested across all processes.

If the Fall Process was added as a new process instead, the Amount Requested question for the Spring Process would have a different field code. If a report was built to look at requests from both processes, there would be a separate Amount Requested column of data in the report for each process. Those fields could be combined in the report, but this requires an extra step.