Task Management

Guide to visualization and management of tasks extracted from workflows

Task Management

Tasks are the operational units that compose Zuora Workflows. They are automatically extracted from each workflow’s JSON export during synchronization.

Overview

What is a Task?

A Task in Zuora Workflow Manager represents:

• An action or step within a Zuora Workflow
• An element that executes when the workflow is triggered
• A node in the workflow graph with connections to other tasks

Automatic Extraction

Tasks are automatically extracted from the workflow’s JSON export:

// In the Workflow Model
public function syncTasksFromJson(): int
{
    $tasksData = $this->json_export['tasks'];

    foreach ($tasksData as $taskData) {
        $this->tasks()->updateOrCreate(
            ['task_id' => $taskData['id']],
            $taskAttributes
        );
    }
}

No manual task creation is needed.

Relationships

Customer
  └─ Workflows (hasMany)
      └─ Tasks (hasMany)

Task Structure

Main Attributes

Field	Type	Description
id	Integer	Internal task ID
task_id	String	Zuora Task ID
workflow_id	Integer	Parent workflow ID
name	String	Task name
description	String?	Auto-generated description
action_type	String?	Action type (Email, Export, SOAP, etc.)
object	String?	Zuora object it acts on
state	String	Task state (default: ‘pending’)
priority	String	Priority (High, Medium, Low)
call_type	String?	API call type
next_task_id	String?	Next task ID
created_on	DateTime	Creation date from Zuora
updated_on	DateTime	Update date from Zuora

Advanced Attributes

Field	Type	Description
parameters	JSON	Task configuration parameters
tags	Array	Associated tags
assignment	Array	Task assignments
zuora_org_id	String?	Zuora organization ID
zuora_org_ids	Array	List of org IDs
subprocess_id	String?	Subprocess ID
concurrent_limit	Integer	Concurrent execution limit

Task Types

Common Action Types

Type	Description	Example
Email	Send email	Send Invoice Email
Export	Export data	Export Subscriptions
SOAP	Call SOAP API	Call REST API
Wait	Wait for a time period	Wait 24 hours
Decision	Logical branching	Check Subscription Status
Subprocess	Call another workflow	Call Renewal Workflow
DataFlow	Data operation	Transform Data

Visualizing by Type

The Tasks table shows the action_type as a colored badge:

• 🟧 Email - Orange color
• 🟦 Export - Blue color
• 🟩 SOAP - Green color
• 🟨 Decision - Yellow color
• ⬜ Wait - Gray color

Viewing Tasks

Tasks List

1. Navigate to Tasks in the sidebar under Zuora Management

The Tasks table shows:

Column	Description
ID	Internal task ID
Name	Task name
Workflow	Parent workflow (clickable)
Action Type	Action type (badge)
Priority	Priority (badge)
State	State (badge)
Created On	Creation date
Actions	Available actions

Filters

The Tasks table has advanced filters:

Filter by Workflow

Filter tasks by a specific workflow:

1. Click on the Workflow filter
2. Select the workflow
3. Table shows only tasks from that workflow

Filter by Action Type

Filter by action type:

1. Click on the Action Type filter
2. Select the type (Email, Export, etc.)
3. Table shows only tasks of that type

Filter by Priority

Filter by priority:

1. Click on the Priority filter
2. Select: High, Medium, Low
3. Table shows only tasks with that priority

Filter by State

Filter by state:

1. Click on the State filter
2. Select the state
3. Table shows only tasks with that state

Navigation Badge

The Tasks icon in the sidebar shows a badge with the total number of tasks.

Task Details

Detail Page

Click on a task to see complete details.

Information Tab

Shows general information:

• Task ID: Internal ID
• Zuora Task ID: ID from Zuora
• Name: Complete name
• Description: Auto-generated description
• Workflow: Link to parent workflow

Parameters Tab

Shows task configuration parameters in JSON:

{
  "email": {
    "subject": "Invoice #12345",
    "to": "[e-mail]",
    "template": "invoice_template"
  }
}

For Email tasks, you’ll see:

• subject: Email subject
• to: Recipient(s)
• template: Email template used

For Export tasks, you’ll see:

• where_clause: SQL condition
• export_format: Export format (CSV, etc.)
• limit: Record limit

Tags Tab

Shows associated tags:

• Tags for categorization
• Tags for search
• Tags for organization

Assignment Tab

Shows task assignments:

• Assigned users
• Assigned groups
• Assignment rules

Metadata Tab

Shows metadata:

• Created On: Creation date from Zuora
• Updated On: Update date from Zuora
• Zuora Org ID: Organization ID
• Subprocess ID: Subprocess ID

Searching Tasks

Global Search

Use the global search (magnifying glass icon or Cmd/Ctrl + K):

• Search by task name
• Search by action type
• Search by workflow name

Table Search

1. Use the search bar above the table
2. Type the search term
3. Table filters automatically

Search Fields

Global search includes:

• Name: Task name
• Description: Task description
• Action Type: Action type
• Workflow Name: Parent workflow name

Task Synchronization

Automatic Synchronization

Tasks are synchronized automatically when:

1. A workflow is synchronized from Zuora
2. The JSON export is downloaded
3. The syncTasksFromJson() method is executed

No separate synchronization is needed for tasks. They are synchronized together with the workflow.

Manual Synchronization

To force task synchronization for a workflow:

1. Navigate to Workflows
2. Click on the workflow
3. Click the Sync Tasks button in the detail page

Task Updates

When a workflow is synchronized:

1. New tasks are created
2. Existing tasks are updated
3. Tasks no longer present are deleted (cleanup)

Automatic cleanup ensures tasks are always synchronized with the Zuora workflow.

Priority Management

Priority Levels

Priority	Description	When to use
High	Critical, must be executed immediately	Tasks with direct customer impact
Medium	Normal, executed in standard order	Standard operational tasks
Low	Not critical, can be delayed	Report or analytics tasks

Priority Visualization

Priority is shown as a colored badge:

• 🔴 High - Red
• 🟡 Medium - Yellow
• 🟢 Low - Green

Modifying Priority

Priority is synchronized from Zuora and cannot be modified manually. To change priority, modify the workflow in Zuora.

Task States

Available States

State	Description	When occurs
pending	Waiting for execution	Task created but not yet executed
running	Currently executing	Task in progress of processing
completed	Execution completed successfully	Task executed successfully
failed	Execution failed	Task generated an error
skipped	Skipped by condition	Decision task didn’t select this path

By default, all tasks are synchronized with state pending. The state is updated by Zuora during workflow execution.

Analysis and Reporting

Analysis by Workflow

View all tasks from a workflow:

1. Open the workflow
2. Click on Tasks tab
3. See complete list of tasks

This is useful for:

• Understanding the workflow flow
• Identifying critical tasks
• Analyzing task dependencies

Analysis by Action Type

Analyze task type distribution:

1. Use Action Type filter
2. Select each type
3. Count the results

Example of utility:

• How many Email tasks in the system?
• Which API calls are made most often?
• Are there “Wait” tasks that are too long?

Analysis by Priority

Identify critical tasks:

1. Use Priority filter → High
2. Review all high-priority tasks
3. Analyze if they are truly critical

Best Practices

Workflow Analysis

Structured approach:

1. First pass: Overview

   • Total number of tasks
   • Distribution by action type
   • Average priority

2. Second pass: Detail

   • High priority tasks
   • Tasks with complex dependencies
   • External integration tasks

3. Third pass: Optimization

   • Identify duplicate tasks
   • Look for simplification opportunities
   • Validate flow logic

Troubleshooting

Common problems:

1. Missing tasks:

   • Verify workflow is synchronized
   • Check that JSON export is complete
   • Verify tasks exist in Zuora

2. Duplicate tasks:

   • Verify that task_id is unique
   • Check that workflow is synchronized only once
   • Verify that syncTasksFromJson() works correctly

3. Incorrect parameters:

   • Check that parameters JSON is valid
   • Verify all required fields are present
   • Compare with original JSON export

Performance

Optimizations:

1. Eager Loading:

   • Always load the related workflow:
     $tasks = Task::with('workflow')->get();
     

2. Indexes:

   • Ensure indexes are present:
     • workflow_id
     • task_id
     • action_type

3. Pagination:

   • Use pagination for many tasks:
     Task::with('workflow')->paginate(50);
     

API Reference

Task Model

// Relationships
$task->workflow;    // Parent workflow
$task->workflow_id; // ID of the workflow

// Common filters
Task::where('workflow_id', $workflowId)->get();
Task::where('action_type', 'Email')->get();
Task::where('priority', 'High')->get();

// Eager loading
Task::with('workflow')->get();

// Pagination
Task::with('workflow')->paginate(50);

// Sorting
Task::orderBy('created_on', 'desc')->get();
Task::orderBy('priority', 'desc')->get();

TaskPolicy

Permissions defined in TaskPolicy:

Permission	Description
viewAny	View tasks list
view	View task details

Tasks cannot be created, modified, or deleted manually. They are managed through workflow synchronization.

Next Steps

After analyzing tasks:

Workflow Management

Manage and visualize workflows

Workflow Synchronization

Learn how to synchronize workflows

Graph Visualization

Explore interactive graphs

Analysis and Reports

Create reports and analyze data