Hadrone PPM software comes with built-in, predefined workflows used for project verification and approval, approval of changes to the baseline project plan, assignment of project tasks, project settlement and closure, approval of budgets used to finance projects, and approval of competence availability plans and their rates. Users with appropriate permissions in Hadrone PPM are informed of the need to make decisions and within the software, they can make those decisions.
So why integrate Hadrone PPM with an external workflow system? Larger organizations with complex decision-making processes that depend on specific attributes (e.g., project budget size, category and other attributes) require advanced workflows tailored to these needs. In such cases, it makes sense to integrate with a dedicated system that allows for flexible workflow management.
What benefits arise from using an external workflow system?
Workflow systems are widely used in organizations and often it is expected that a newly implemented system (such as PPM) will integrate with the workflow technology that the Client already uses, avoiding the introduction of a new solution for the same task (managing workflows). Hadrone PPM has been designed to integrate with workflow systems.
Having a dedicated workflow solution offers the Client many benefits, including:
- the ability to freely design workflows using advanced, flexible features tailored for workflow management,
- managing project approval processes within the same system where other decisions are made (a single working environment for users),
- independence from the PPM software vendor when shaping workflows, especially in light of organizational and process changes that happen daily.
In which areas is such integration most commonly implemented?
Based on our experience with Hadrone PPM implementations, integrations with workflow systems are most often carried out in the following areas:
- verification and approval of the project,
- verification and approval of changes to the baseline project plan,
- transition to the next stage of the project,
- project settlement and closure.
Integrations performed by individual Clients are often specific, tailored to the needs of the organization and the capabilities and limitations of the IT systems. Below, we describe an example logic of such integrations, divided into the areas mentioned above.
Example: Verification and approval of the project
After the project is planned in Hadrone PPM, the Project Manager sends the project for verification. Hadrone PPM then sends a webhook, which can be captured by the workflow system to trigger the appropriate workflow for project verification and approval. The user does not need to switch from Hadrone PPM to the workflow system and manually start the workflow. With this integration, the workflow is automatically triggered. If the workflow system cannot capture webhooks, intermediary software (e.g., Apache Airflow) can be used between Hadrone PPM and the workflow system to receive the webhook and trigger the workflow through the workflow system's API.
This starts the project verification and final approval process. Depending on the characteristics of the project (e.g., category, classification values, budget size, etc.), the approval path may vary. This is where the power of the workflow system shows. It allows the flexible configuration of decision-making paths. Additionally, during the decision-making process, communication between the workflow system and Hadrone PPM will take place to fetch additional project data needed for decisions (so that users do not need to enter them manually). Finally, the effect of the decision (e.g., changing the project status to "approved" and adding the decision to the project decision log with a link to the specific workflow) will be reflected in Hadrone PPM using the API. Different people involved in the decision-making process do not need to switch between systems—everyone performs the steps in the familiar workflow environment, and some may not even be aware that Hadrone PPM exists, thus never having to log into it.
Project approval may also involve another integration— with the ERP system. After the project is approved, the ERP system may automatically create the corresponding object (e.g., Cost Centre, PSE element, controlling order), allowing for the later recording of expenses related to specific projects. The integration of Hadrone PPM with the ERP system regarding the project budget is described in the article „Integration of Hadrone PPM with ERP system (project budget)".
Example: Verification and approval of changes to the baseline project plan
The verification and approval of changes to the baseline project plan typically follows a process similar to the verification and approval of the project itself.
The Project Manager creates a change request in the project within Hadrone PPM, selecting the scope of changes they wish to make to the baseline project plan and sends it for approval. Hadrone PPM then sends a webhook that can be captured by the workflow system to trigger the appropriate workflow for verifying and approving changes to the baseline project plan. If the workflow system cannot capture webhooks, intermediary software (e.g., Apache Airflow) will handle this communication.
The process of verifying and final approval of changes to the baseline project plan may follow a similar flow to project approval. This process can be flexibly designed in the workflow system. During the change request process, communication between the workflow system and Hadrone PPM will occur to fetch additional project data needed for decision-making. Finally, the effect of the decision (e.g., the approved or rejected change to the baseline plan) will be reflected in Hadrone PPM, along with the decision being added to the project decision log, including a link to the specific workflow. As with the project approval process, the various individuals involved in the decision-making do not need to switch between systems—they perform all the steps in their familiar workflow environment.
Example: Transition to the next stage of the project
Hadrone PPM allows the creation of different stage schemas, tailored to specific types of projects with their own stages. For example, the stage schema for an IT project may have different stages than the schema for an investment or renovation project. The stages can be manually changed in the project by the Project Manager or automatically by an external workflow system. The latter solution is used when obtaining the necessary approvals for transitioning to the next stage is required within a decision-making process.
Approval steps may differ for different types of projects (which have different stages). The workflow system allows for the creation of dedicated workflows for controlled transitions between stages in various stage schemas to meet the organization's requirements. Communication between the workflow system and Hadrone PPM occurs via the Hadrone PPM API.
Who executes and maintains the workflow and Hadrone PPM integration?
The integration of the workflow system with Hadrone PPM is most often executed by an internal team managing workflows in the workflow system (or an external partner assigned to these tasks). This team prepares workflows for various organizational areas and processes, with the PPM area being just one of them. Our role is to support this team in terms of communication methods with Hadrone PPM (using appropriate webhooks and REST API methods). This gives the Client significant flexibility in shaping the initial workflows and later modifying them according to changing organizational needs, without requiring the involvement of the PPM software vendor.
The Client may also assign us to perform this integration. In that case, we select a technical partner familiar with both Hadrone PPM software and the workflow system used by the Client.
It is important to remember that integration between systems is not a one-time event. Integrations require maintenance work, which includes:
- monitoring the proper functioning of the integration,
- responding to errors in integration processes,
- modifying rules and the scope of integration based on organizational changes and updates in the integrated systems.
Depending on the Client's needs, the maintenance of the integration may be handled by an internal team or an external provider.
