Run Time
Run time can represent a change in expected behavior for the user. The most noticeable change in behavior will be that the user no longer uses a click of the mouse button to action their task items.
Authenticating User’s E-mail responses
The K2 Server will transmit and receive the user’s response using the listener account’s mailbox and respond accordingly. The server polls the Exchange server once every 30 seconds for new responses. No actual user authentication is performed, so the destination user would not have needed to login or be logged in to action the SmartActions via e-mail. Provided that the specified destination user responds to the e-mail with the appropriate keywords, then the K2 Server will respond accordingly.
User Expectations
The following should be considered when implementing K2 SmartActions which can be used to assist the Information Worker to accepting K2 SmartActions as a means of communicating with the K2 Server.
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Important: For performance reasons, all configured actions are listed in the e-mail but may not be available to action via SmartActions. It is up to the process designer and K2 administrator to configure the notification and server responses to guide the user when actions cannot be executed without opening the form. |
User Form Expectation
If the information worker by rote attempts to open the task list item by clicking on the URL present in the e-mail, K2 Workspace will open, but the landing page will display an error relating to the absence of the user form. The task list item would however still be active and viable. The form error may be misinterpreted to mean that there is a problem with the task list item. Some of the recommendations below can be implemented to mitigate this:
If the user base is expecting a user form:
- The e-mail notification can be used to notify them that no form exists and that e-mail should be used
- If there is a form and SmartActions is implemented as an alternative to actioning items then the same would apply
User Security
The destination user will receive the task list item via e-mail. To provide a valid response to the K2 Server, the process must comply with the following criteria:
- The serial number for the process must be appended as part of the received message, without the serial number the K2 User will not be able to action the process via e-mail
- For the user to respond, the e-mail address of the destination user must comply with the following criteria
- E-mail address must be resolvable to FQN via security providers (e.g. ADUM)
- That FQN must have the work list item assigned/delegated to them.
The destination user receives an e-mail which provides the following:
- Indicates to the user that there’s a task item that must be actioned
- Provide information to the destination user and explain what to do and how to action the task item
Security Considerations
The e-mailed task notification is secure and even if an external party could 'forge' an e-mail, the attempt at breaching security will only be successful if the external party has access to the item.
What the user needs to do:
The action required by the destination user is to respond or reply to the e-mail sent by the K2 Server. When the user responds, they need to respond with specific keywords that the K2 Server can process and produce an appropriate automated response. If a user sends a response that is out of scope for the K2 Server to process, then an automated response will inform the user that this is the case and they will be directed to use the Help facility (this is not the same as the K2 Help file,or the blue I –Button help).
