Guided Workflows in HMIS

Author: Ran Chang | Date Created: June 25th, 2024 | Date Updated: May 15th, 2025

What this is

This article will help you get started with guided workflows in HMIS. You'll learn how to pause and return to a workflow, understand which fields during a guided workflow must be completed, know when to use the Default Last button, and how to finish a workflow.

Step-by-Step Video

Click here to watch the video. Press play to begin.

What is a guided workflow

HMIS will guide you through various data entry processes, such as Intake & Enrollments, Updates, and Exits, through a feature called a guided workflow, which is designed to make the data entry process easy for HMIS users to follow! Guided workflows are a series of rules, forms, and assessments that are assigned to a specific process. 

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How to begin

When you click to start an Intake for a client, you will notice a guided workflow will be triggered:

1. On the left side of the page, you will now see the Intake guided workflow navigation steps:

   

2. The Pause button can be found below the guided workflow steps. HMIS allows you to pause a workflow at anytime and return to it later:

3. To return to a paused workflow at anytime, navigate to the Home workspace, and click on the Paused Operations option in the menu group:

4. On the Paused Operations page, you can view a list of all the Paused Workflows you currently have open:

5. When you're working on an assessment, the red asterisk indicates a required question. As you go through completing required assessment forms in a workflow, a red asterisk will indicate a required field on a form.

6. If you miss a required question and try to move on to the next page, blue alert text will appear at the top of the screen indicating the fields you must still complete. Blue text will appear at the top of the screen to indicate a missed field if you accidentally did not complete a required field. 

7. The Default Last... button will appear above certain sections of forms throughout HMIS. This button will pull in any available information last filled out by other HMIS users for this client. This button is especially helpful when you’re completing an Update or Exit Assessment for a client. You can hover over the “i” icon for more information about what this button does: 

8. The most important part of any guided workflow is hitting the Finish button at the end. Navigating away from any guided workflow before clicking on the Finish button on the final page will cause data quality issues!