Planning · Planning steps
Sub-workflow step
Split a portfolio item's work into child items, each with its own owner and workflow, and wait for them to hand back.
Split a portfolio item’s work into child items, each with its own owner and workflow, and wait for them to hand back.
Some items are too big, or too broad, for one person to plan alone. A Sub-workflow step splits the work into child items, for example one for integrations and one for data migration. Each child item runs its own planning workflow, with its own owner, steps, reviews and work streams. When a child finishes, it hands its work back into the parent item’s files, and the parent carries on with everything its children produced.
Sub-workflow steps are optional. They appear only if your organisation’s planning workflow includes one.
Before you start
- Open the parent item from Planning → Portfolio, and select the sub-workflow step in the step rail. See Portfolio item.
- Only the parent item’s owner can add, cancel or reinstate child items, and only while this step is the active one.
Understanding the step
The header shows the step’s name and how many child items have handed back, for example 2 of 3 handed back.
Each child item has a row:
| Item | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Icon | A green tick if the child has handed back, a grey cross if it was cancelled, or a blue dot if it is still in progress. |
| Name | The child item’s name. Select it to open the child. |
| Details | The child’s ID, the step it is on, and its owner. |
If there are no child items yet, the step says No child items yet. Before the parent reaches this step, it says Child items start when the item reaches this step.
Add a child item
- Enter a name in Add a child item, for example “Integrations”.
- Select Add.
The child item is created on its own child workflow and appears in the list. It also appears under its parent in the Portfolio list.
Cancel or reinstate a child item
If a child item is no longer needed:
- Select Cancel on its row.
- Confirm with Cancel item.
The child stays as a record but no longer counts towards this step. It becomes read-only.
To bring a cancelled child back, select Reinstate on its row.
Follow a child item
Select a child’s name to open it. A child item looks and works like any other portfolio item. Its breadcrumb shows its parent, so you can go back. See Portfolio item.
In the Portfolio list, child items sit under their parent. Select the arrow beside the parent’s name to show them. See Portfolio.
Approve the step
The step can be approved once every child item that still counts has handed back. Cancelled children do not count.
Until then, the approve button in the action bar is greyed out. Hover over it to see why, for example Add at least one child item first or 2 child items have not handed back yet.
What happens next
- Each child item finishes with a Hand-back step that copies its documents and files into the parent’s files. See Hand-back step.
- Those files appear in the parent’s context vault, grouped as handed back by child items, and Next reads them when it drafts the parent’s later steps. See Files and the context vault.
- Once the step is approved, the parent moves to its next step.