CRM Application

Step 1: Create Business Objects

The first step is to add Business Objects, to the application.This application requires six types of Business Object; Leads, Opportunities, Accounts, Contacts, Documents and Comments.

Step 2: Build Forms

In this application all of the Business Objects have but one form, except for Documents and Leads.

Documents have two forms.
The first Document form is the main form with information about the Document.
The second form is the Update Document form. This form is used when updating a Document. This is is a very basic form, with fields for Document name, which is automatically filled based on the original document, and File Upload. The File Upload field is used to select the updated document file.

Leads have two forms. The first form is used for the basic lead information (Name, Contact Information etc.). The second form is the Convert Lead form. The Convert Lead form is used when converting a Lead into an Opportunity. This Convert Lead form, asks for information about the conversion; the name for the new Opportunity and whether or not to create an Account alongside this new Opportunity. This process will be fully explained in the Building Workflow section.

The rest of the Business Objects have only one form associated with them. These forms are typical forms, which ask for information about the specific business object.

Step 3: Build Workflow

In this application, there are five processes.

The first process, the main process of this application, is the Convert Lead process. This process converts a Lead into an Opportunity. In this process, the user has the option to create an Account simultaneously with the Opportunity. This process is split with a Rule Based Decision, where one direction creates an Account and the other doesn't. In both cases , a new Opportunity is created and the original Lead is archived.

The second process is the Duplicate Lead process. This process is a button process. When a user presses the button on a Lead, the Lead is copied. All of the information is duplicated exactly into a new lead. It is possible to edit this information afterwards, to differentiate it from the original lead.

The third process is the Update Document process. This process is used when a user wants to update a document to a newer version. When a user presses a button on the Document form, they are brought to the Update Document form. Here they select a replacement document. The original document is copied into a backup and set as inactive. The updated document is given an increased revision number and maintains its place as the active document.

The fourth process relates to comments. This process allows users to add comments to a document. This is a button process. When a user presses the 'Add Comment' button on the document form, they are brought to the comment form. The subject of the comment is automatically filled with the name of the document.

The fifth, and final process, in this application is the Reply Comment process. On a comment, there is a 'Reply' button. This button allows a user to reply to a previous comment. When they press the button a new comment is created. The subject field is automatically filled and the previous comment is automatically quoted.

Step 4: Create Views and Related Lists

it is important that the correct information is displayed at all times. Creating views and related lists allows for ease of navigation. It also helps prevent empty fields from showing up in views and wasting space.

Between these steps, it is also useful to test the process with test objects and to make adjustments to forms and processes.