Notifications and Escalations

Overview

Effective business process management requires keeping stakeholders informed and ensuring that work doesn't stall. Notifications keep people aware of what needs their attention, while Escalations ensure that overdue or problematic work receives appropriate intervention.

FlowOn BPM integrates with FlowOn Logic and Dynamics 365 to provide flexible notification and escalation capabilities. Rather than building a rigid notification system into the BPM engine itself, FlowOn leverages existing tools and integration capabilities to give you full control over how and when stakeholders are notified.

Notifications

Notifications are messages sent to stakeholders to inform them of events, assignments, or status changes in a business process.

In-App Notifications

Dynamics 365 provides out-of-the-box in-app notifications that alert users within the CRM interface. These notifications appear automatically based on task assignments and activity updates, providing a baseline level of awareness for users who are actively working in Dynamics 365.

Custom Notifications via FlowOn Logic

For notifications beyond in-app alerts, use FlowOn Logic Flows to create custom notification workflows:

Channel	Description
Email	Send email notifications via Dynamics 365 or external email services
SMS	Send text messages via SMS gateway integrations
Microsoft Teams	Post messages to Teams channels or direct messages
Push Notifications	Send mobile push notifications via integration services
Custom Channels	Integrate with any notification service via API

Triggering Notifications

Notifications can be triggered from multiple points in the process lifecycle:

Trigger Point	Use Case
On Entering	Notify assignee that a new task is waiting
On Exiting	Notify stakeholders that a stage is complete
Task Assignment	Alert user or team of new work
Due Date Approaching	Remind assignees of upcoming deadlines
Process Complete	Notify requestor that process has finished

Notification Design Questions

When designing your notification strategy, consider:

• Who needs to know? Identify all stakeholders who should be informed at each point in the process.
• What do they need to know? Include relevant information without overwhelming recipients.
• When do they need to know? Time notifications appropriately—not so early that the information isn't actionable, not so late that it's no longer useful.
• How should they be notified? Choose channels that match the urgency and nature of the information.

Example Notification Configuration

Stage: Document Review
On Entering:
  [Logic Flow] SendReviewNotification
    - Channel: Email
    - Recipient: Task.AssignedTo
    - Subject: "New Document Review Required: {Application.Name}"
    - Body: Uses Localized Resource "NotificationBody_DocumentReview"
    - Include: Link to task, due date, applicant details

Escalations

While notifications keep people informed, escalations ensure that work doesn't fall through the cracks. Escalations are triggered when work is overdue, stalled, or otherwise requires intervention beyond the normal process flow.

How Escalations Work

FlowOn BPM uses FlowOn Logic Flows combined with FlowOn Schedulers to implement escalation mechanisms:

1. FlowOn Scheduler runs periodically (hourly, daily, etc.)
2. Scheduled Flow queries for overdue or stalled work
3. Escalation Actions are taken (notifications, reassignments, status updates)

Escalation Patterns

Pattern	Description	Example
Reminder	Notify the assignee that work is overdue	Email reminder at 24 hours overdue
Manager Alert	Notify the stage owner or manager	Alert manager at 48 hours overdue
Reassignment	Reassign to backup or escalation queue	Reassign at 72 hours overdue
Status Update	Update records to reflect escalated state	Set EscalatedFlag = true

Configuring Escalations

1. Create an Escalation Flow in FlowOn Logic

The escalation flow should:

• Query process stages or tasks based on criteria (overdue, expired, stalled)
• Filter results to avoid duplicate escalations
• Define escalation actions (notifications, reassignments, status updates)
• Log escalation events for tracking and reporting

2. Schedule the Flow using FlowOn Scheduler

Frequency	Use Case
Hourly	Time-sensitive processes where quick response matters
Several times daily	Most business processes
Daily	Less time-sensitive processes or as a sweep

3. Monitor Results

Track escalation events to understand how well your processes are performing:

• How often are escalations triggered?
• Which stages or processes have the most escalations?
• Are escalations being resolved promptly?
• Are there patterns that suggest process improvements?

Example Escalation Flow

Step	Action
1	Query all stage instances where DueDate is in the past
2	Filter by status = "In Progress"
3	Exclude stages already escalated in last 24 hours
4	For each overdue stage:
5	→ Send email to Stage Owner with task details
6	→ Update escalation timestamp on stage record
7	→ If overdue > 48 hours: send notification to manager
8	→ If overdue > 72 hours: reassign to backup assignee

Escalation Tiers

A tiered approach ensures proportional response:

Tier	Condition	Action
Tier 1	Overdue by 1 day	Reminder to assignee
Tier 2	Overdue by 2 days	Alert to manager
Tier 3	Overdue by 3 days	Reassign to backup
Tier 4	Overdue by 5 days	Executive notification

info

For detailed information on creating scheduled workflows, see the FlowOn Logic Schedule documentation.