Prepare your custom data

Before Cellosign sets up the custom data of your project, prepare a short list of the fields you want to keep: one row for each field. This page tells you what to decide, and gives you a template.

Note

Today, Cellosign staff create the custom data from your list. In the next release you’ll be able to do it yourself in Manager Studio. The same preparation applies.

Downloads:

• Custom data template (CSV): an empty list with a few sample rows. It opens in Excel.
• The Tidewell Lending example (CSV): the 44 fields of the loan company example.

1. Start from the dashboards

Write down what each team needs to see, as questions:

• How many cases are in each stage right now?
• Which cases wait for me, and which are late?
• How much did we approve this month, and how fast?
• Why do we reject, and where do our customers come from?

Every number, filter and column in those answers is a field. For example “late cases” needs a due date, or a true/false field such as “Over SLA”.

2. Decide the stages

Most dashboards are built on one list field: the stage of the case. List the stages in the order a case goes through them, with the exits too, for example:

started Application started · in_review In review · documents_requested Waiting for documents · approved Approved · rejected Rejected · expired Expired

Your workflow sets the stage after each step, so a counter for each stage gives you a funnel.

3. List the fields

For each field, fill in one row of the template:

Column of the template	What to write	Example
Record	Process: one value for the whole case (shown as the rows of a widget, can be filtered). Form: one value for each form of the case (shown when you open a row).	Process
Name	A short key in English: lowercase letters, digits and _. It never changes.	requested_amount
Label	The column title on the dashboards, in the language of your users.	Requested amount
Type	Text, Number (whole numbers), True/false, List, Date and time, or Attachment.	Number
Values	For a list: each value as code = label, separated by ;. The code is what the workflow writes; users see the label.	car = Car loan; personal = Personal loan
Default	The value of a new record, if any. Usually empty; for a stage, the first stage.	started
Where the value comes from	A form field, a workflow decision, or a calculation.	Loan application form, field amount
When it is written	The step after which the value is known.	When the application is submitted

Tips:

• Use lists wherever the values are known: products, branches, reasons, outcomes. Dashboards filter lists by their values, and the labels can change later without touching your data.
• Give form fields the same codes. If the application form’s radio buttons have the values car and personal, the workflow can write them as they are.
• Calculate in the workflow, store the result. Dashboards don’t calculate. Store “Days to disbursement” or “Risk grade” as fields, calculated by a script.
• Numbers are whole numbers. Store amounts in whole units. For a rate such as 7.9%, use a list or a text field.
• Dates for deadlines. A “Decision due” date lets a table show the most urgent cases first.
• Name the case. The dashboard search looks in the process name, not in custom data. Plan a process name such as “Customer – Product – Amount”.

4. Check privacy

Everyone who can see a case on a dashboard sees all its custom data. Leave out ID numbers, card numbers, health details and anything your teams don’t need on a dashboard. They can stay in the forms.

5. Send it

Send the filled-in template to Cellosign support, with the project name. We create the custom data and tell you when it’s ready. Then:

1. Add Database Tasks to your workflow to write the fields. See How a workflow writes custom data.
2. Run a few test cases.
3. Build the dashboards. See Configure a generic widget.

You can ask for more fields later. Existing cases keep their data, and new fields start empty.