Perceptive Content: Concepts and Terminology

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Application Plans	Document Keys	Queue Actions
Annotations	Drawers	Routes
Batches	Envoy	Rules
Capture Profiles	External Messaging Agent	Scanner Profiles
Custom Properties	Filters	User Profiles
Device Profiles	Folders	Views
Documents	Folder Types	Workflows
Document Types	Forms	Workflow Queues
Document Type Lists	Groups

Application Plans

The application plan defines how documents are indexed upon capture into Perceptive Content, and can be one of two types visible to users, LearnMode or Manual. Application plans can be specified inside capture profiles.

LearnMode application plans require the correct data source open, typically an SAP screen, in order to map data fields in another business application to Perceptive Content properties.
Manual application plans do not require any other data source, and allow the user manually enter the appropriate data in a text field, choose the correct choice from a list, or specify default values like date or current user name.

Annotations

Annotations are digital visual additions to a document, such as stamps or sticky notes. Annotations do not permanently modify the document or any of its properties, and are useful for marking documents with information for other users. Notable examples of annotations include traditional 'received' stamps, shapes like arrows or circles to indicate areas of note, or sticky notes and texts to record notes on the document.

Batches

Perceptive Content supports a high-volume scanning process that utilizes the batch capture mode defined in a capture profile. While in this mode, documents are stored in collections called batches until the batch process is complete. During batch mode, documents are scanned, quality assured to ensure all the documents are legible, and linked in three distinct phases.

Capture Profiles

When bringing documents into Perceptive Content, capture profiles define how Perceptive Content manages documents immediately after they are captured. A capture profile is configured with a specific source type, mode type, send to workflow, document keys, and additional settings specific to the source and type..

Source types include file, scanner, and ImageNow printer.
- File is for uploading a document on the user's workstation, and involves selecting the document's location. Perceptive Content imports this document as-is, without converting the file type.
- Scanner is used in conjunction with licensed scanner stations and scanner profiles, and allows for capturing a large amount of physical documents quickly.
- ImageNow Printer is used for "printing" documents to a local virtual printer. Perceptive Content converts the file type to a TIFF on import.
Mode types include single, batch, and package.
- Single capture mode is used for capturing a single document straight into a drawer and/or workflow. The user is prompted with a dialog of proposed document keys according to the application plan for each document as it is captured.
- Batch capture mode allows users to capture documents in bulk and index at a later time. Batch capture includes a QA phase, where documents are inspected and approved within Perceptive Content, and a linking phase, where the documents are then indexed according to the application plan.
- Package capture mode indexes captured documents into a set of predefined baskets. This option is not used at CMU.
Send to Workflow allows a document to be immediately assigned a workflow on capture when configured. It can prompt users for the workflow to use for each document or contain a predefined workflow to use for all documents.
Document keys allow for a capture profile to define values for document keys on import. Most often, this is used in conjunction with single mode to define the destination drawer. In other cases, these settings are set as 'application' to be later set by the application plan.
Source specific settings include the default directory and the option to remove files after capture for file sources, and the scanner profile for scanner sources.
Mode specific settings include selecting the application plan for single mode, and various batch settings (including bypass QA processing step) for batch mode.

Custom Properties

By default, each document has document keys for storing metadata about the document. Additional information can be captured via custom properties in one of seven different types:

Composite properties can be a combination of two or more other properties.
Date properties are in a date format, and can include numerical representations of month, day, and year or three-letter weekday (e.g. Fri 05/12/2017) or any combination thereof.
Flag properties denote a binary positive/negative choice selection (e.g. true or false).
List properties allow a dropdown list selection of pre-defined choices.
Number properties accept numerical including decimal values only. It can be customized to be a currency value.
String properties consist of text fields for entering values with no validation, similar to the pre-defined fields.
User properties can pull a list of users from a predefined list or a group, and display the value as a username (Global ID) or full name in either a firstname lastname or lastname, firstname format (with optional prefixes and suffixes)

Device Profiles

A device profile links the scanner hardware device to Perceptive Content. Each scanner connected to a workstation has a separate device profile, and device profiles are set in scanner profiles, which are used to create capture profiles.

Documents

All files inside Perceptive Content are referred to as documents. Documents can be stored as one of many file types, including PDFs, DOCXs, and JPGs, but are most commonly TIFFs. A document is stored in a drawer, is linked to from a folder, and is routed through a workflow.

Document Types

The document type is essentially how one person would describe a particular document to another document colloquially, including things like "transcript", "application", "invoice", and "contract". On a document in Perceptive Content, the document type is a specific document key on a document used for indexing that is typically chosen from a list or applied automatically via an application plan.

Document Type Lists

A document type list is simply a filtered list of document types defined in Perceptive Content. It is used most commonly in an application plan, where the user can select from a filtered list of applicable document types.

Document Keys

Each document in Perceptive Content has 9 properties, or document keys, used for indexing documents. Some keys are managed by the system (specifically, name and path), whereas other keys are managed by the user in conjunction with workflow processes, application plans, or some other process (including drawer, type, and five user-customizable fields as field1-5). Additional custom properties can be added in cases where additional information needs to be captured.

Drawers

In Perceptive Content, drawers are analogous to a file directory on a computer: they are a collection of documents with a specific set of security permissions applied. Drawers will each have a set of groups associated for defining the level of access a user has to the drawer. In effect, every document lives in a drawer, and only users with the correct permissions to the drawer will be able to view or edit any documents inside that drawer, even if that document is in a workflow process or folder that the user has access to view or edit.

Envoy

Envoy is a licensed add-on to Perceptive Content that allows for integration with other business applications, such as SAP. Envoy is completely invisible to end-users, working entirely in the background typically through scripts on workflow queues. Envoy is used as the outgoing communications channel, in that it does not also receive any data like external messaging agent does.

External Messaging Agent

External Messaging Agent (EMA) is a core component of Perceptive Content that allows external systems to trigger events within the Perceptive Content system. Through EMA, other business applications can perform asynchronous tasks within Perceptive Content, typically updating document keys and custom properties. EMA is driven by an SQL database, and processes items within a certain SQL table on a set schedule, and is thus used as the incoming communications channel.

Filters

Filters allow the user to search for documents based on certain criteria, either defined automatically or through a prompt, and are a component of views. Filters can be public or private.

Public filters are created by the Perceptive Content administrators and visible to everyone, such as "Multi-Find" search filters
Private filters are created by a user and only visible to the user that created it. Private filters can be published by an administrator to convert them to public filters, but cannot be made back into private filters.

Folders

A folder (previously called a "project") in Perceptive Content is a collection of shortcuts to documents. Folders are distinct from drawers in that a folder does not contain a document like a drawer does, only a link to the document inside its respective drawer. Folders are typically created automatically by the system, but can be created by users with appropriate permissions.

Folder Types

Folders in Perceptive Content have a defined folder type, analogous to a document type. The folder type is used for creating views to display an appropriately filtered list of folders.

Forms

Perceptive Content forms, or eForms, are customized forms that work similar to web forms in a browser. Users can enter data in the form and save it as a document within Perceptive Content.

Groups

Groups, also referred to as security groups, are collections of users for the purposes of defining permissions or access. Access to documents is typically assigned to a group on the drawer, whereas approver permissions on workflow queues are assigned on the queue itself through groups with a "WF" in the group name.

Queue Actions

Workflow queues can have defined queue actions occur on inbound items, within queue items, or on outbound items.

Inbound queue actions are applied to items entering the workflow queue, and can be specified to wait a certain amount of time before acting. Users cannot see items in a workflow queue until after the inbound action, if one is set, has executed.
Within queue actions are applied to items that have been in the workflow queue for a specified amount of time.
Outbound queue actions are applied immediately to items leaving the workflow queue.

Routes

In a workflow process, documents move between workflow queues along established routes. Routes are inbound, outbound, or bidirectional depending on the particular logic of a workflow process. There are six kinds of routes: sequential, sequential-auto, conditional, parallel, conditional parallel, and load balance. The specific abilities to route are assigned to groups on each workflow queue.

Sequential routes are the most commonly used route, taking a document from one queue to the next with little variation. Multiple sequential routes can be defined on a workflow queue, which allows the user to select the next queue from a list of potential destination queues.
Sequential-auto routes are similar to sequential routes, but does not present a list of destinations to the user when routing forward. Sequential-auto routes are used when a queue has a singular, linear path.
Conditional routes are determined dynamically by logic contained within rules on workflow queues.
Parallel routes allows a document to be routed to multiple queues simultaneously for processing by more than one user or group at a time. When all applicable parties have processed and routed the document forward, the document is rejoined in a join queue and continues forward along a single path again.
Parallel conditional routes are a combination of conditional routes and parallel routes, allowing dynamic splitting and rejoining based on defined logic and criteria.
Load balance routes allows for a high-volume workflow process to distribute items to workflow queues evenly, either by routing a flat percentage to each queue or routing documents to the workflow queue with the fewest number of items.

Workflow queues can be configured to enable route back, route recall, or route from anywhere.

Route back allows the user to send the document back to the previous queue in its history. Routing back is enacted by the user of the current queue by selecting the "Route back" option.
Route recall allows users that have routed a document forward to pull the document back to the previous queue. Route recall is enacted by a user by selecting the previously routed document and selecting the "Recall workflow item" option.
Route from anywhere queues allow users to send the document to that queue from anywhere in the workflow process. When a user selects the "Route anywhere" option, the user is presented with a dialog of potential destination queues.

Rules

Based on a defined set of criteria, Perceptive Content can perform certain actions on items in workflow queues via rules. Rules can be routing rules or alarm rules. Typical rule criteria include a workflow queue exceeding a set value of documents, a document spending more than a set value of time in a queue without activity, and the arrival of items to a specified workflow queue.

Alarm rules notify users via email, message center notifications, audible sounds, or visual alerts in the client.
Routing rules move documents around or set custom properties.

Scanner Profiles

Scanner profiles specify the capture settings to use with hardware scanners. Different scanner profiles are needed when configuring distinct profiles with options like color and black-and-white scanning, or simplex (single-sided) or duplex (double-sided) scanning. Scanner profiles use a specific device profile, and are used in capture profiles.

User Profiles

In Perceptive Content, a user profile is the same as a user account. CMU's implementation of Perceptive Content uses the user's global ID as the username. Groups consist of user profiles for the purposes of assigning permissions.

Views

A view is a predefined set of criteria used as a basis for finding documents in Perceptive Content. Views can be customized to display or hide certain columns in a defined order. Views also serve as the basis for the subset of documents that filters further refine. Most views typically include all documents in a specific drawer, and use filters to locate specific documents. Access to a view is granted by assigning rights, typically to a group, on the view itself.

Workflows

A workflow (or more specifically, a workflow process) is a series of workflow queues, routes, tasks, and rules reflecting the review path a workflow item must take in order to meet the needs of a business process.

Workflow Queues

Within a workflow process, documents move between workflow queues via established routes. To support the business process, workflow queues can be created as work queues, system queues, super queues, or automated system queues (ASQ).

Work queues contain items for which users manually perform specific actions on within the queue, and is the most common queue used.
System queues do not require user intervention, and perform actions automatically via a rule or script.
Super queues allows for items to be redistributed in a collection of identically-configured subqueues that perform the same work function. This allows workflow process designers to define rules and routes in a single location. This type of workflow queue is rarely used.
Automated System Queues (ASQ) include transfer ASQs, convert form ASQs, and integration ASQs. These are specialty queues used to perform advanced programmatic functions, such as sending web service notifications to other business applications or converting Forms to TIFF files for annotating, routing, or emailing.

Furthermore, queues can be configured as a complete queue or join queue.

Complete queues are the last queue in a workflow process, and items that reach it receive the "complete" status.
Join queues are queues used in conjunction with parallel routes to merge sibling items back into a single workflow item.

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