The difference between Workflows and Runs
Manifestly has two things that look similar and behave very differently. Getting the distinction straight makes everything else easier to follow.
A workflow is the template: the steps, in order, with their instructions, assignments, due dates and logic. You write it once. Nobody does work in a workflow.
A run is one time through that workflow. Starting a run takes a copy of the workflow as it stands at that moment and gives it to people to work through. The work, the data collected, the comments and the completions all live in the run.
One workflow, many runs. A monthly close workflow has twelve runs a year. An employee onboarding workflow has one run per new hire, each with a different person's details in it.
What belongs in which
| Workflow | Run |
|---|---|
| Steps and their instructions | Which steps are ticked off |
| Which role does each step | Which person does each step |
| Due dates as a relative gap, for example two days after the run starts | Real dates on the calendar |
| Which questions get asked | The answers |
| Conditional rules | Which steps the rules made applicable this time |
The consequence that catches people out
Because a run is a copy taken at the moment it started, editing a workflow does not change the runs already going. Fix a typo in a workflow today and the run somebody started yesterday still shows the typo. That is deliberate: nobody's part-finished work shifts underneath them.
When you do want a change to reach runs that are already in flight, you push it to them explicitly. See Updating Runs When a Workflow Changes.
Which one am I looking at
- The Workflows page lists your templates. The button on each row says Run, because that is what you do with a template.
- The Runs page lists work in progress and work finished. Each row belongs to a workflow and has its own name, participants and progress.
Video walkthrough
This video walks through the difference between a workflow and a run.