User-defined workflows in app-based collaborative workspace system

A method of operating a computer system as an online collaborative work platform, comprising:

• co-operating a set of first subsystems to provide a project-oriented social network environment in which a plurality of system users collaboratively interact with user-defined application objects, the first subsystems including commenting, tasks and status subsystems providing corresponding multi-user functions with respect to the application objects, the application objects storing user data and user-determined application functions executed in the social network environment to display the user data and to interlink the application objects into project-scale organizations;
• and
• operating a second subsystem as a workflow subsystem including a workflow builder and a workflow engine, the workflow builder providing a graphical user interface enabling a user to define workflows for the application objects, the workflows being cause-effect structures each identifying a respective trigger for a respective application object that causes the workflow to be executed and each defining a respective action performed on or by the respective application object in response to the respective trigger, the workflow engine receiving system events including the triggers and executing the workflows corresponding to the triggers.

A collaborative workspace system including a workflow subsystem providing a visual business process specification tool allowing users to specify actions within business processes defined in the collaborative workspace system, the workflow subsystem including a visual workflow builder providing a graphical user interface including drag-and-drop functions used to link together causes and effects to model the business processes in an open and transparent social context of the collaborative workspace system, a cause specifying a trigger for a workflow, and an effect specifying an action performed in response to the cause, the workflow subsystem including a workflow engine operative to (i) interpret events from apps, (ii) match them with defined workflows, and (iii) start a given workflow if the trigger conditions are met, the workflow subsystem providing an integrated and consistent user experience allowing users to build combinations of custom made data-structures and custom workflows within the collaborative workspace system, the workflows being hooked into the collaborative workspace system to enable sharing of information among users in the open and transparent social context.