Task action details

When task actions are invoked via the action menu, a form will be shown for every action, requesting the user to confirm the action and to fill in data if so requested by the action. When task actions, however, are invoked in the task view (specific action buttons or  File  menu), the actions are directly carried out in most cases since the action data are explicitly shown in the task view and are directly accessible to the user (especially the data fields).

What you should know about some task actions

Request Task: Before requesting a task, its input data fields should have been filled in. Input data fields may also be left blank (alas, there is no warning!). Requesting a task validates the values of the input data fields, i.e. these values will be visible to all task participants. When a task is initially requested, the users assigned as contractors actually get access to the task: the task will appear in the task list of the contractors and the contractors become the owners of the task object. The user who carries out the initial [Request Task] action be­comes its only re­questor, the other members of the workspace containing the task become re­stricted members of the task.

Commit to Task: This action is optional, i.e. it is not necessary to commit to a task before it may be finished: it may be finished right away without committing first. When there are sev­eral contractors of a task, the one who commits first to a task (or finishes it first) becomes the only contractor. That is to say that multiple contractors compete for the execution of the task.

Finish Task: Before finishing a task, its output data fields should have been filled in. Output data fields may also be left blank (alas, there is no warning!). Finishing a task validates the values of the output data fields, i.e. these values will be visible to all task participants.

Object to Task: An objection to an input data field may be entered and saved using the [Save Form] button in task view without actually objecting to a task. Such preliminary objections will not be visible to the requestor as long as the [Object to Task] action is not executed, and they may be changed or removed at will. When there are several contractors of a task, the objecting contractor speaks also for the others, i.e. all contractors keep their contractor role.

Withdraw Task Request: After withdrawing the task request, the requestor may give new in­put data or even edit the whole task before requesting it again. The requestor may also decide to cancel the task.

Forward Task: When forwarding a task, one can also choose to stay contractor by checking the respective box, i.e. the forwarding action may also be used to invite additional contractors to a task.

Request Task Correction: An objection to an output data field may be entered and saved using the [Save Form] button in task view without actually requesting the correction of a task. Such preliminary objections will not be visible to the contractor as long as the [Request Task Cor­rection] action is not executed, and they may be changed or removed at will.

Reject Task: The rejecting contractor is removed from the list of contractors. When the reject­ing contractor is the only contractor, the task changes its status to rejected and has no more contractors assigned to it. Otherwise its status remains requested. A rejected task may be edited by the requestor (including assigning new contractors and changing the input data fields and their values) and started again.