Intelligent Process Automation Overview

Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) enables authorized users to create and manage automated workflows that perform predefined actions when specific conditions are met. IPA provides a no-code, form-based approach for automating business processes across supported OWL entities, such as Case and OWL Email.

With IPA, users can define what triggers a workflow, the conditions that must be satisfied, and the actions that should be performed. Workflows can include multiple trigger conditions using AND or OR logic and can perform multiple actions when the configured conditions are met.

Benefits of IPA

IPA helps organizations:

Reduce manual effort – Automate repetitive tasks and record-based processes that would otherwise require manual intervention.
Standardize business processes – Apply predefined business rules consistently across records.
Improve operational efficiency – Automatically respond to changes in Cases and OWL Email records.
Reduce missed follow-up activities – Automatically initiate configured actions when specific conditions are met.
Improve process control – Ensure that configured actions are performed consistently according to defined business rules.
Support scalability – Automate recurring processes without requiring users to continuously monitor records manually.

Uses of IPA

IPA can be used to:

Automate Case Management – Trigger Case updates, status changes, ownership changes, approvals, Legal Holds, and custom tasks based on defined conditions.
Automate Email-Driven Processes – Use OWL Email conditions, such as recipient email, to initiate configured workflow actions.
Streamline Case Investigations – Monitor Case information and automatically initiate follow-up actions when relevant changes occur.
Automate Approval Requests – Route records for manual approval when required.
Automate Ownership and Assignment – Add or update record owners based on configured workflow criteria.
Standardize Escalation and Follow-Up – Continuously monitor Cases and OWL Email records and automatically perform configured actions when the defined criteria are satisfied.

How IPA Works

Workflows are built in the Workflow Builder, a guided, form-based configuration. IPA uses an Entity-First Approach: you start by selecting the entity that triggers the workflow, then define the conditions and actions.

At a high level, an IPA workflow follows this process:

Select Entity → Define Trigger → Configure Conditions → Execute Actions

Select Entity – Select the supported OWL entity to which the workflow applies, such as Case or OWL Email.
Define Trigger – Specify the event or operation that initiates the workflow.
Configure Conditions – Define the criteria that determine when the workflow should execute. Multiple conditions can be combined using AND or OR logic.
Select Execution Type – Choose how the workflow monitors records. Currently, Continuous Monitoring is supported.
Execute Actions – Configure one or more actions to be performed when the trigger conditions are satisfied.

A workflow is created by providing a name and description, selecting the entity, configuring the response operation and organizational scope, defining trigger conditions, selecting the execution type, configuring one or more actions, and saving the workflow.

For detailed instructions on creating and configuring a workflow, see Create IPA Workflow.

Key Definitions

Concept	Description
Entity	The OWL record or object to which the workflow applies, such as Case or OWL Email.
Trigger	The event or operation that initiates the workflow.
Trigger Condition	The criteria that determine whether the workflow should execute.
Operator	Defines how the selected attribute is evaluated against the specified value.
Action	The operation performed when the workflow conditions are satisfied.
Execution Type	Defines how the workflow monitors records and determines when to execute. Currently, Continuous Monitoring is supported.
Execution Phase	Determines when an action is performed in relation to the approval process, such as Pre-Approval or Post-Approval.

High-Level Workflow Lifecycle

An IPA workflow follows a configurable lifecycle:

Trigger → Evaluate Conditions → Execute Actions

When the configured trigger occurs, IPA evaluates the defined conditions. If the conditions are satisfied, the workflow executes the configured actions according to their settings.

With Continuous Monitoring, IPA monitors records for changes and executes the configured actions whenever the defined conditions are matched. This provides a consistent, automated way to monitor records and perform business operations without requiring users to manually perform each step.

Example Workflows

An IPA rule follows this structure:

Entity → Attribute → Operator → Comparison Value → Action

Example 1: Act on a Case of a specific type

Element	Value
Entity	Case
Field/Attribute	`Case Type`
Operator	`Equals`
Value	Security Incident
Action	Update Case Status

The workflow triggers when the Case Type exactly matches "Security Incident," then updates the Case Status to the defined value.

Example 2: Require Approval Before Acting on an Incoming Email

This workflow routes an incoming email for manual approval before performing the configured action. It uses the Manual Approval Process action, which proceeds only after the required number of approvals is received.

Trigger Condition

Element	Value
Entity	Email Intake (OWL Email)
Field/Attribute	Recipient Email
Operator	Equals
Value	(The monitored recipient email address)

Action: Manual Approval Process

Parameter	Value
Reviewer	USER, ROLE, or DEPARTMENT
User / Role / Department IDs	(The reviewers who must provide approval.)
Approval Count	(The number of approvals required, such as 1.)

When an incoming email is addressed to the configured recipient, IPA sends an approval request to the selected reviewers.

Approval request notifications continue until the required Approval Count is reached. Once the required approvals are received, the workflow moves to the Post-Approval execution phase and performs the configured action.

Note: The specific attributes, operators, and actions available depend on the selected entity. Values such as statuses, types, and templates are chosen from the configured values in your organization.