Answer
Work Folders, also called Work Items, can be created through the ANVL REST API when your source data matches the supported Work Item structure.
Before building, confirm how your external system or internal process maps to ANVL.
The most important mapping decisions are:
Which source record becomes the Work Item
Which ANVL Work Item Category should be assigned
Which ANVL Group/site the Work Item belongs to
Which source value should be used as the Work Item name or title
Which source details should be included in the Work Item description or related fields
Which source ID should be stored or tracked to prevent duplicates
The API documentation includes Work Items and Work Item Categories as documented API areas. Use the API documentation to confirm the exact endpoint, schema, required fields, and accepted values before building.
Steps
1. Confirm what should become a Work Item.
Identify the source record that should create a Work Item in ANVL.
Examples:
A work order from a maintenance system
A scheduled job from a planning system
A task from an internal application
A project, location, or operational activity that needs related ANVL workflow activity
What users see in ANVL
In ANVL, Work Items appear to end users as Work Folder(s). Users can view active and inactive Work Folders, search for existing folders, and open a folder to complete related work.
When a new Work Folder is created, users see these fields:
Name
Group
Unique ID
Category
Location
These are the same concepts your team should account for when mapping source system data to ANVL Work Item values.
2. Map the source record to an ANVL Work Item.
Use a simple mapping table before building.
Source data | ANVL Work Item value |
Source record ID | External reference or tracking value |
Source record name | Work Item name/title |
Source description or notes | Work Item description/details |
Source location, site, or business unit | ANVL Group/site |
Source work type | ANVL Work Item Category |
Source owner or assignee | ANVL owner/assignment, if supported |
Source date | ANVL date field, if supported |
3. Confirm the Work Item Category.
Select the Work Item Category that best describes the work being created.
Ask:
Does the category already exist in ANVL?
Does the category match how the work should be filtered or reported?
Is the category specific enough for users to understand the work?
Does your source system have a value that maps cleanly to the ANVL category?
4. Confirm the Group/site mapping.
Each Work Item should be created under the correct ANVL Group/site.
Ask:
Which source field identifies the site, facility, region, or operating unit?
What ANVL Group/site does that value map to?
Will one source value ever map to more than one ANVL Group/site?
Who maintains the source-to-ANVL Group/site mapping?
5. Check required fields.
Before building, confirm that your source system has the values needed for the Work Item endpoint.
At minimum, your team should confirm:
Work Item name/title
Work Item Category
Group/site
Any required IDs or reference values
Any required dates, status values, or assignment values supported by the endpoint
Use the documented schema for the exact field names and accepted formats.
6. Confirm user access to the Work Folder.
Confirm which frontline workers need access to the Work Folder.
Managers and leaders can see and manage Work Folders within their assigned Group(s) in ANVL Insights. Frontline workers must be added to a Work Folder before they can add workflows to it in ANVL Workflows.
Recommended approach:
Add frontline workers to the Work Folder through the API when the Work Folder is created
Confirm the user mapping before testing
Use manual updates in ANVL Insights only when a manager needs to adjust access
Ask:
Which users need to complete workflows in this Work Folder?
Does the source system identify the assigned user, crew, or team?
How does that source value map to ANVL users?
Should users be added automatically through the API?
Who will manage manual access changes in ANVL Insights when needed?
7. Test and validate.
Create a small test set first.
Confirm that:
Work Items are created successfully
The correct Work Item Category is applied
The correct Group/site is used
Source values appear in the expected ANVL fields
Duplicate records are not created
Users can find and use the Work Items as expected
8. Move to production.
After testing, confirm who will monitor the integration, review failed records, maintain mappings, and update the process if Work Item Categories, Groups/sites, or source system values change.