Using Cirkus you can setup a workflow to capture Task requests and direct them to the right place. For example, if your team of technicians regularly receives work orders from producers, you can use provide a Request Form in Cirkus to:
- Gather information for the first time.
- Assign to the right team or person.
- Grant Approvals.
- Notify stakeholders.
- Moving the request through workflow.
The Request workflow is powered by Task Templates
- Set up the Request
- Submit a Workspace Task Request
- Submit a Public Booking Request (cirkus.com)
- Submit a Public Booking Request (Private Cloud/SSO)
- Task Approvals
Set up the Request
This example is the one in the Task Template tutorial video.
Let’s look at a Compression Request Task Template to support our producer to technician workflow.
The template for the request is set up in the Workspace Task Templates.
Go to your Workspace and then to the Task Template tab.
First let’s look at the Info tab
- Parent Status: This field only shows if the task template has subtasks. It defines if the parent task will need to also be marked as Done (Independent) or if it will be "Done" when all subtasks are done ( see Subtasks article for more information about this feature)
- Project, Subproject select one or more projects and Subprojects where this task can be added.
- Role: this defines the Role who will be assigned to this task on creation
- Task Editable by: this defines if the task will be only editable by Assignees, i.e creator cannot edit it.
- Involved Behaviour: this setting defines if this tasks Assignees will also be booked on the task (Assignees) or if other Members can also be booked (Independent) . More information in the Task Scheduling article on this topic.
- Approval By: If this field is not set, the Task will be immediately added to the Assignee.
- Allowed Resources/Allowed Involved: This field defines which Resources or Members are available to be booked on this Task i.e only Editors, only Suites.
- Schedule Statuses: This indicates which Statuses can be selected when creating a request using this template.
- Approval By: If this field is set to a person or a role, it must be “Approved” by them before it shows in the Task list or Schedule to the rest of the team. For our template we will set this to be our “Studio Manager” role.
- Default Name: This is the name that any Task created with this template will have by default. It can be edited by the requestor.
- Workflow Request: Toggle to ON to make the template available on the Cirkus Requests portal to Workspace Members. The copy icon allows copying of the direct link to the New Request sheet. (see Task requests Article)
- Starred by Default: If there are lots of templates, and you are not using Categories, you can toggle this ON so they show up first in the list.
- Request Category. This allows the admin to group requests types together, so requestors can easily find the type of request they need. Our one is in the “Post Services” category.
Request Categories are set up in the Workspace> Templates > Request Categories tab. - Public Request: toggling this option gives the option to copy a web URL. Anyone who has that URL can submit a request to Cirkus from a web form. A secondary option in the options menu allows you to reset the link if the URL has been compromised.
- Description: This is the optional Description of this template
Now in the Fields tab we can any any needed custom fields to the Task Template, more information on custom fields can be found in the Task Template article
Ok, so now our workflow is all set up.
It’s possible to share a direct link to the request created with other Cirkus members with the Copy Web URL option.
This copies a url to the clipboard which is the web address of the request.
Submit a Workspace Task Request
Anyone submitting a Task request which is only available as a Workspace Request must be logged in as a member of our Cirkus Workspace. They can use the Requests view on web, iOS or Mac app, or a direct web link to access the request form as outlined above.
We will look at how it appears on the web browser below.
As a Requestor, go to the Requests view or click on the shared request link (this can be copied from the template on web or mac apps).
Our Compression Request is under the Post Services Category.
Click the Post Services, and select the Compression Task request from the menu.
Complete the Information in the New Task Sheet.
When the Request is submitted it will show in the “My Recently Created Requests” section, with a status indicating it is Pending Approval if an approver was added to the Task Template during creation. If a request does not have it approval, it will be automatically submitted.
Now, let's take a look at another example.
This time, we will create a Task Request that includes a Resource. This workflow can be helpful for Task that require one or more resources to help you get the job done, such as in a photoshoot or an ad campaign.
1. Go to your Workspace and then to the Task Template tab.
2. Create a name for your Task Template to help you easily find it when creating the request.
3. Select the Project where the resources needed for this task are located.
4. Next, head to the Request Portal and click on Show All Requests.
5. Find and click on your Task Template to bring up the New Task Sheet.
6. Create a name for the request and select the assignee(s) who will carry along the task.
7. Select the Start/End dates in which the task will take place.
8. Using the Resources selector, choose the Resources that will be used to complete this task. If a Resource is already booked at the selected time, they will have an orange indicator dot beside their name.
9. Once you've filled in all the necessary information on the New Task sheet, click Add to submit the request.
You've now submitted your request with a resource!
Submit a Public Booking Request (cirkus.com)
If a Task Template has Public Request checked, you can copy the link and distribute it outside of Cirkus.
Anyone who has the link can submit a Task Request.
They will not need to login to Cirkus, and they will receive no confirmation email, or be able to collaborate on the request after it is submitted.
You can add Custom Fields to your template if you wish to capture some information about the Requestor in the Booking.
Task creators show as “Requestor” on these Tasks when they are created in Cirkus..
Public Requests are a feature of Pro workspaces, and have some limits applied, see Public Requests article for more information
Submit a Public Booking Request (Private Cloud/SSO)
If you have Cirkus in a private server, and a Task Template has Public Request checked, you can copy the link and distribute it outside of Cirkus.
However, you also have the option to have your requestors authenticate through your SSO (OKTA or Azure/Entra) server before being able to submit a request.
In this case we will send a confirmation email to their captured SSO email address.
This is a server configuration.
Task Approvals
When a Task is submitted which requires approval (as per the template set up), a notification is sent by email, push notification and to the Inbox of all the approvers.
The Approvers can review the request and either Approve or Deny it.
If they Approve the request, the Requestor is notified, and the Assignees are notified about a new task assignment.
If the Request is denied, the Requestor is notified, and they can edit and resubmit it using the options menu if desired.
On re-submission it will go through the Approval process again.
