Managing business processes often feels like navigating a maze. Without clear visual indicators, it's challenging to pinpoint critical steps, understand tool usage, or highlight areas for improvement. Puzzle’s Conditional Step Coloring feature changes that by giving you the power to add colors to steps based on specific criteria, bringing clarity and focus to your workflows.
This feature is designed to make process mapping more intuitive, actionable, and efficient. Whether you’re presenting to clients, managing changes, or analyzing operations, Conditional Step Coloring equips you with a sharper lens to view your processes and make data-driven decisions with confidence.
What is Conditional Step Coloring?
Conditional Step Coloring allows you to assign colors to process steps automatically based on structured data fields in Puzzle. This means you can visually highlight steps that meet certain conditions, such as:
Steps with a "Draft" status.
Steps that utilize a specific tool, like Monday.com.
Steps involving a particular role, such as a Project Manager.
This feature acts like x-ray vision for your processes, making it easier to analyze, present, and refine workflows.
Key Benefits of Conditional Step Coloring
🌟 Highlight Important Steps: Quickly identify key elements in your workflows, such as drafts, automations, or tools, with just a glance. Custom colors make it simple to distinguish these steps and focus on what matters most.
👨🏫 Enhance Client Presentations: Conditional Step Coloring is perfect for client-facing presentations. It helps direct attention to proposed improvements or specific areas of the process, speeding up understanding and buy-in.
🛠️ Simplify Change Management: When you need to assess the impact of changes across processes, Conditional Step Coloring helps you spot where specific roles, tools, or data points are used, saving you time and effort.
How to Use Conditional Step Coloring (Step by Step Guide)
1️⃣ Accessing the Feature
1️⃣ Accessing the Feature
🖌️ Click on Conditional Coloring: Click the paintbrush icon in the left-hand toolbar to open Conditional Step Coloring. The panel displays existing rules and provides options to create new ones.
2️⃣ Creating and Configuring Rules
2️⃣ Creating and Configuring Rules
➕ Add a Rule: Click the + Add Rule button at the top of the sidebar to create a new rule.
✍️ Name Your Rule: Click the default name (e.g., "New Rule") to rename it. Type your desired name.
↕️ Expand the Rule: Click the arrow icon next to the rule to expand its settings and configure the criteria.
3️⃣ Assigning Colors and Defining Criteria
3️⃣ Assigning Colors and Defining Criteria
👉 Select Your Criteria:
Choose a criteria type from the dropdown menu. Options include:
Step Status
Tools
Attributes
Roles
🧠 Set Logical Statements:
Select a logical statement for your criteria:
IS
IS NOT
📝 Note: "IS NOT" statements are only available for the following criteria types:Step Status
Step Type
Executor
🔢 Add Multiple Criteria:
Combine multiple criteria in a single rule. For example:
Highlight all "Draft" steps assigned to the "Coordinator" role.
📝 Note: All criteria must be met for the rule to apply.
🎨 Assign a Color: Click the color swatch dropdown next to the rule name to select a color for highlighting the steps.
📝 Note: If the highlighted steps don't update as expected, refresh your page to apply the changes.
4️⃣ Managing Rules
4️⃣ Managing Rules
🟢 Toggle Rules: Turn rules on or off to tailor your view depending on the context. For example, during a client walkthrough, you can focus only on draft steps or tools to clarify your proposal.
❌ Delete Rules: To delete a rule, simply click the “X” next to your Rule name to remove the rule instantly.
Want to see Conditional Step Coloring in action? Watch our live demo on YouTube to explore how this feature can transform your process management.
Best Practices for Conditional Step Coloring
Define a Color Coding System: Standardize colors across your team or projects for consistency. For instance, use red for draft steps and green for testing steps.
Name Your Rules Accordingly: Maintain a brief description of your color coding criteria in the name for reference, ensuring clarity for you and your collaborators.
Focus on Key Criteria: Prioritize rules that align with project goals, such as steps with dependencies or steps affecting timelines.
Prepare for Presentations: Before client meetings, adjust coloring rules to draw attention to the most relevant steps for discussion.
Why Choose Puzzle’s Conditional Step Coloring?
Conditional Step Coloring is a strategic feature that goes beyond visuals. It integrates directly with your structured database, allowing for precise customization that helps you:
Identify critical workflow elements at a glance.
Facilitate collaboration and streamline discussions.
Make informed decisions quickly and confidently.
Get Started Today!
Ready to revolutionize how you manage and present your workflows? Log in to Puzzle, open the Conditional Step Coloring feature, and start creating custom rules. Gain instant visibility, streamline client presentations, and simplify change management like never before.
Take control of your processes with Conditional Step Coloring—your workflows will never be the same again.