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Workflows in mWater provide a powerful way to automate, structure, and track complex processes across teams and deployments. Each workflow is based on a defined workflow type, which outlines its steps, actions, variables, and automation logic. Once deployed, workflows can be triggered by users or system events such as survey submissions, overdue balances, or manual actions, and guide users through a series of steps toward completion. Along the way, automations handle transitions, notifications, assignments, and integrations with other mWater features. By defining workflow types, deploying them to specific teams, and configuring roles and permissions, organizations can standardize operations while maintaining flexibility across regions and use cases.
This
advanced capability means that critical field operations, from water
point repair and maintenance to community engagement and data
verification, can be executed with unprecedented consistency and
accountability. Consistent use of workflows leads to efficient,
transparent, and scalable programs, driving greater impact and
empowering local teams with clear, guided processes that adapt to
diverse on-the-ground realities.
Manage any simple task with the Task Management workflow
- Select (or create) the appropriate workflow type for your process, for example water point repair
- Deploy it to the relevant people, for example your office supervisors and field technicians
- Then appointed users can launch the workflow from the Portal or App, and the process can flow through different steps as designed, for example:
1) Reporting a problem with a water source
2) Verifying the problem
3) Tracking repair visits
4) Verifying the problem is solved
5) Closing the workflow
Example workflow in the app
At each step, there can be one or more actions such as filling out a survey with details about the problem, notifying managers, and assigning the workflow to a user.
This guide is split into five parts:
1) Quickstart: Deploying, starting and completing an example workflow
2) The terminology of workflows
3) Using workflows
4) Viewing workflow data
5) Creating your own workflow types
Examples of workflow types
Water Point Repair Process
When a field officer submits a survey showing a broken handpump, a workflow automatically starts. It assigns a technician, notifies the regional manager, and tracks progress through steps like inspection, repair, and verification, closing only after an approval form confirms functionality.
Water Quality Alert Response
When a lab test survey detects contamination above safe limits, a workflow is triggered automatically. It alerts health officers, creates a response checklist, assigns sampling tasks for nearby sites, and keeps updating stakeholders until the issue is resolved.
Sensor Pressure Limit Trigger
When a smart sensor detects water pressure dropping below a safe threshold, a workflow instantly begins. It notifies maintenance teams, logs the affected asset, and starts an investigation sequence that can include on-site checks, follow-up surveys, and escalation if repairs are delayed.
Community Feedback Loop
A workflow begins whenever a community member submits feedback through a public form. It routes the issue to the correct regional team, tracks responses, and closes the loop by notifying the community once the issue is resolved, ensuring accountability and transparency.
Monitoring Contractor Performance
Each time a new construction contract is approved, a workflow launches to monitor milestones. As contractors upload progress surveys or site photos, automations update the project’s status, send alerts if deadlines slip, and compile a summary report at completion.
And many more
Quickstart: Deploying, starting and completing an example workflow
Let's go through an example scenario to familiarize ourselves with workflows.
This video covers deploying, starting, and completing a basic repair workflow.
The Terminology of workflows
Workflow Type:
The template or blueprint for a process. It defines the steps,
potential actions, variables, and roles for any workflow created from
it. For example, "Water Point Repair" would be a workflow type.
Workflow:
A single, active instance of a workflow type that a user interacts
with. When you start a "Water Point Repair" process for a specific
broken pump, you create a workflow.
Sub-workflow:
A separate, new workflow that is automatically started by an automation
within another (parent) workflow. This allows for branching processes
or handling related but distinct tasks, such as a "Water Point Repair"
workflow triggering a "Spare Part Request" workflow.
Trigger:
The event that starts a workflow. This can be manual (a user clicking a
button) or automatic (a survey response meeting certain criteria).
Step:
A stable point in a workflow where the process pauses, awaiting one or
more actions to be taken before it can move forward. A workflow is
always in a single step at any given moment.
Action:
A specific task that can be performed within a step to move the
workflow forward. Examples include filling out a form, completing a
checklist, or pressing a button.
Automation:
A process that is automatically executed as a result of an action.
Automations can move the workflow to a new step, send notifications,
assign tasks, and more.
Variables:
Fields that store information within a workflow. Some are fixed (like
name and description), while others can be custom-defined in the
workflow type (like "water point ID" or "region").
Deployment Variables:
Variables whose values are set when a workflow type is deployed. This
allows a single workflow type to be used by different teams with
specific information like their "admin" or "region".
Status:
A fixed label assigned to a workflow ("Draft", "Active", "Completed")
that allows for easy filtering and tracking. Each step in a workflow is
associated with a status.
Deployment:
The process of making a workflow type available for use. A workflow
type must be deployed before users can start creating workflows from it.
Permissions & Roles:
Subjects: The users or groups assigned to roles like admin, manager, observer, and viewer.
Creator: A special role for the user who initiated the workflow.
Observer: A user who can view workflows within a deployment.
Assignees: A list of users specifically assigned to a particular workflow instance.
You can read more technical detail here in our technical guide.
The Workflow page
From Workflow Types you can see which workflows you can initiate and keep track of. A workflow type is similar to a mWater survey in that you can deploy a workflow type as a workflow to specific users, branches, and teams.
Design
This is where the triggers, steps, actions and automations of a workflow type are defined.
Documentation
Describe the purpose and functioning of the workflow in detail.
Translate
Translate the workflow to other languages.
Settings
Set permissions for who can edit and view that workflow type.
Deploy
Here you can activate a workflow for a certain group of users and place users as Admins, Managers, Observers, Initiators and in Custom Roles. Only deployed workflow types can be filled out.
Overview
A diagram view of the workflow design that helps you understand how steps and actions connect.
Workflows
Start, view, and manage workflows themselves.
Using a workflow
Workflows help teams track tasks from start to finish. Each workflow represents a single item (e.g., a repair request, service call, or task) that moves through stages as people complete actions.
When you start a workflow, it begins in an initial step. The workflow header shows key details like status, priority, and related information. You can see all workflows you have access to in the workflows list, and filter by status, assignment, or other criteria.
Actions are tasks you can perform on a workflow. Examples include filling out an in-line form, completing a survey, or assigning someone. Actions appear as buttons or links when you open a workflow. If you don’t see an action, you may not have permission, it may have already been completed, or the workflow may be in a different step.To perform an action, click it and follow the prompts. For forms, fill in the required fields and submit.
For assignments, select the person or team. After you complete an action, the workflow may automatically move to the next step, or it may wait for other actions to be completed. If you’re assigned to a workflow, you’ll see it in your assigned list and may receive notifications. You can view workflow details, see the history of actions taken, and check who else is involved. Some workflows allow multiple people to work on them simultaneously, while others require actions to be completed in a specific order.
Workflows can also include alerts that highlight important information, such as overdue items or high-priority requests. These appear as colored indicators in the workflow header. Summary fields at the top show the most important details at a glance, so you don’t need to dig through the entire workflow to find key information.
As workflows progress, they move through different steps (e.g., "New" → "In Progress" → "Completed"). The current step is shown in the workflow header. Some actions are only available in certain steps, which is why you might see different options as the workflow progresses.If you need help with a specific workflow, check the workflow description or contact the person who created it.
Workflows are designed to guide you through the process, so follow the available actions and complete them in order when possible.
Viewing workflow data
Workflows are available as a data source you can use to create consoles, datagrids, maps, and visualizations. You can access data from each step and action, as well as variables and metadata such as when the workflow was created and completed.
There are many sections of data available when you've selected the workflow you want to visualize or display in a table.
Because actions inside workflows can be completed many times, shortcuts have been added so you can easily pick the latest action of each action type. These are the ones in the Latest Actions group. Most often, users need to get data from the latest action.
For example, if a repair action is conducted three times because the first two repair visits don't result in a successful repair, then you would typically want to know most about the latest, successful repair action. This way you can easily compare the date of the task creation and the repair completion.
If you want to run other expressions such as Total or First on actions, you can select the relevant field from with the All Actions group. For example, if you want see the cost of all spare parts used across all repair actions in a workflow, you could select the cost field of a repair action under All Actions and then get the total value that counts together all costs from each action of that type.
Create widgets to track your workflows
Designing your own workflows
See these step-by-step guides to practice creating workflows. You can use the principles covered to also edit duplicates of existing workflows:
