Building a Process is only the start. Before anyone can be observed, you publish the Process so it can be assigned — and over the year you will edit, duplicate, and archive Processes as your needs change. Every Process moves through the same life cycle: you build it on the Unpublished tab, Publish it to the Published tab so it can be assigned, and Archive it to the Archived tab once its run is done.
This article explains the three Process tabs and the actions you use to manage a Process from one stage to the next. For building the Steps that go inside a Process, see How to Build Process Steps; to start from a ready-made Process, see Using Pre-Defined Processes.
Who Is This Article For?
Publishing and managing Processes is the Process Manager's job. An Account Owner or Super Admin chooses who the Process Managers are in Account Settings > Observations, and a Process Manager can be any User level. If you cannot publish or manage a Process, ask your administrator whether you have been added as a Process Manager. For more on setting that up, see Observations Settings.
This article is for these User levels, when they have been named a Process Manager:
User
Admin
Super Admin
Account Owner
The Three Process Tabs
Your Process list is split into three tabs, one for each stage of a Process's life:
Published — Processes that are live and ready to be assigned to Observers and Observees. This is the default view. Each row shows the Title, Created and Updated dates, Start Date and Due Date (a dash appears until a Process is assigned), a Managers count, and an Assign button that reads Unassigned (red) or Assigned (#/#) (green).
Unpublished — Processes you are still working on, plus the two Pre-Defined Processes. Nothing here can be assigned yet. Each row shows the Title, Created and Updated dates, a Publish column, and a Duplicate column.
Archived — Processes (and assignments) you have set aside. They can no longer be edited, worked on, or assigned, but they are kept so you can review or restore them later.
Each tab has a search box, and every row has a ⋯ menu on the right with the actions available for that Process. The options in the menu change depending on the tab and whether the Process has been assigned — the sections below walk through each one.
Publishing a Process
Publishing moves a Process from the Unpublished tab to the Published tab so it can be assigned.
From the Unpublished tab, find the Process you want to publish and click the Publish button in its row. The Process moves to the Published tab right away, and a "Process successfully published." message confirms it. There is no extra confirmation step.
A few rules govern what can be published:
A Process needs at least one Step. The Publish button only appears once a Process has at least one Step, since there is nothing to observe without one. If you do not see a Publish button, open the Process and add a Step first.
Pre-Defined Processes cannot be published as-is. The First Year Teacher Cycle and Experienced Teacher Cycle have Publish turned off. To use one, duplicate it first and publish your copy. See Using Pre-Defined Processes.
Once a Process is on the Published tab, you can assign it. For that, see How to Assign Observers and Observees to a Process.
Managing a Process: the ⋯ Menu
Every Process row has a ⋯ menu with the actions you can take on it. Which options appear depends on the tab and whether the Process has been assigned. View Steps, Edit, and Duplicate are always available; Publish appears on the Unpublished tab; and Archive follows the rule described in the next section.
View Steps opens the Process in a read-only view that lists every Main-Step and Sub-Step with its description. It does not change anything or create a copy — it is just a look, useful for confirming what a Process contains before you publish, assign, or duplicate it.
Edit opens the Process so you can change its details and Steps. You can edit a Process whether it is Unpublished or Published, but editing a Process that has already been assigned follows a few rules so that work already underway is not lost:
Text changes always apply. Edits to the Description, Step names, and similar text fields are reflected in any assigned copies of the Process.
You can always add Steps. New Steps are added to assigned Processes too, even if they fall earlier than where Observers currently are.
A Step that someone has started cannot be removed. You can remove a Step only if no Observer or Observee has begun it. If you try to remove a Step that is already in progress, Sibme blocks it and explains why.
Duplicate makes a copy of the Process named Copy - [Original Process Name] and opens it on the Process edit page so you can adjust it. The original is left untouched. Duplicate is handy for reusing a Process you have already built, or for adapting a Pre-Defined Process. The same Duplicate action is also available as a button in the Duplicate column on the Unpublished tab. For more on duplicating a ready-made Process, see Using Pre-Defined Processes.
Archiving a Process
When you are done with a Process, you archive it.
Archiving is the right choice any time you want to set a Process aside without losing it — whether or not it has been assigned. When you archive a Process, it moves to the Archived tab along with all of its assignments and the work done on it, and it can no longer be edited, worked on, or assigned. Archiving happens immediately — there is no confirmation modal — and a "Process successfully archived." message confirms it.
The Archived Tab: Unarchiving and Archived Assignments
The Archived tab is the home for everything you have set aside. It is split into two sub-views, selected by the Processes and Assignments buttons below the tab:
Processes lists archived Processes with their Title, Created By, Archived By, Created and Updated dates, and an Unarchive button. When there is nothing to show, it reads "No Archived Processes yet."
Assignments lists archived individual assignments with their Title, Observee, Observers, Assigned and Updated dates, Start and Due dates, and an Unarchive button. When there is nothing to show, it reads "No Archived Assignments yet."
To bring a Process back, click Unarchive in its row. The Process returns to the Published tab with its Assignment Managers, Observers, and Observees intact, and a "Process successfully unarchived." message confirms it. Unarchiving happens immediately, with no confirmation step.
What's Next
How to Assign Observers and Observees to a Process | Sibme Help Center