MySource Matrix has been superseded by Squiz Matrix. This site will remain available for archival purposes only; it is not intended as a current source of Matrix information. For all the latest on Matrix, including documentation and release information, visit the Squiz Matrix site.
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Publishing Lifecycle
Content managed by MySource Matrix must move through a workflow before content can be published as Live - that is, the content must transition between the various asset statuses. The default MySource Matrix workflow and the various asset statuses are shown in the following diagram and explained in more detail below:
- Under Construction: When an asset is first created, it has the status Under Construction. An asset with this status cannot be seen by anyone except authorised content editors. Under Construction assets can be edited by authorised editors in MySource Matrix.
- Live: An asset with this status is considered published in a MySource Matrix system. Any changes made to Live asset are seen immediately in your site. Live assets with customised workflow schema applied may not be edited in MySource Matrix unless their status is changed to Under Construction or Safe Edit.
- Safe Edit: This allows you to make changes to Live content within MySource Matrix, without the changes being seen until the changes have been approved. It allows you to make changes to an existing site over a period of time, and only make the changes visible when you are ready. The current Live version of an asset is seen in the site, and appropriately authorised users may see the Safe Edit version.
- Up For Review: This status indicates the Live version of an asset is due for review. Each administrator for the asset receives a message notifying them that it is time to review the asset. If workflow has been associated with the asset, each of the users in the first step of the workflow also receives a message. MySource Matrix allows you to change the status of assets at a nominated future date and time, and this feature is often used to change the status of assets to Up For Review. A user can then change the status of the asset back to Live if it passes the review, or to the Safe Edit status if changes are required.
- Archive: An asset that has a status of Archive is not visible within your site, and is not editable within MySource Matrix.
You can change the status of a site or section of a site, and cascade that status change to the assets contained beneath in the hierarchy. MySource Matrix manages the status change as a transaction and will either change the status of all assets, or roll-back all assets to the original status.
In MySource Matrix it is possible to schedule a status change to take place for an asset at a particular date and time. Hence an asset may be scheduled to go from the Under Construction status to Live. If no workflow processes have been defined, the asset will be made Live at the scheduled time.
Workflow
You can define as many workflows as you wish, and you can define a standard workflow which you can duplicate and use as a template. A single workflow can be applied to your entire site, or you can apply different workflows to different areas of your site if appropriate. For example, you could apply one workflow to your standard site pages, another to your media releases, and another to your images.
MySource Matrix workflows may be composed of:
- single or multi-step workflow
- serial or parallel approval
- individual or role-based approval
MySource Matrix allows for the “manual” initiation of workflow when an asset is published, amended or archived, MySource Matrix allows workflows to be “automatically” initiated when content passes a nominated review or expiry date.
This feature is provided via an intuitive user interface which like all other parts of MySource Matrix is browser based and requires no programming skill to operate.
Where Workflow Applies
If no workflows are defined for an asset they follow the standard workflow, transitioning through the different statuses, as described before. However, you can define your own custom workflows, known as workflow schemas, to define an approval process on top of the default workflow. Workflow schemas apply on any transition to the Live status.
If the status of an asset is changed from Under Construction to Live, for example, the associated workflow schema is initiated and the asset must move through at least two intermediate workflow statuses Pending Approval and Approved to Go Live:
When a user initiates workflow for an asset, that is they change the status from Under Construction, the asset is first given the workflow status of Pending Approval. The asset stays with this status until all the approvals defined for the workflow schema are completed at which point the asset status is changed to Approved to Go Live. A system administrator or a user who has administrator privileges for the asset can then change the status of the asset to Live.
Defining a workflow
Workflow schema management is provided via an intuitive user interface, which like all other parts of MySource Matrix is browser based and requires no programming skill to operate. A workflow schema can be made up of multiple steps. The following example is a workflow schema with two steps:
- Step 1 – Edit Content
- Step 2 – QA Process
Each step can have several conditions that specify approval is required from users or a group of users. The condition is made up of a user or group of users, and logic applied to those users i.e. specifying either “All” or At Least N” members of the group have to approve the change.
In our example, the "Edit Content" step contains two conditions requiring approval from the following users:
- At least two Content Editors, AND
- All Content Approvers
The QA step has one condition requiring approval:
- At least one QA Manager