Build one workflow. Run it a thousand ways.
Metadata in Aproove is a management platform that lets a single workflow template flex to different project types, stakeholders, deadlines, and routing logic at runtime. Metadata keys are typed (date, email, dropdown, boolean, datagrid, JSON), captured through forms, API calls, hot folder ingestion, or manual entry, and bound at the project, task, or note level. Once captured, metadata is available everywhere in Aproove: as workflow variables, as dashboard columns, as routing logic, in email notifications, and as identifiers in third-party API calls.
What it is
Metadata is Aproove's first-class metadata management framwork for structured project information. The model has three parts:
- Metadata Keys are the variables themselves: a project's brand, region, format, deadline, requester, regulatory class, anything you want to track.
- Metadata Types define what each key is: dates, emails, phone numbers, dropdown lists with predefined values, booleans, datagrids, JSON objects. Type definitions include validator rules and they drive the right UI component automatically (date picker for dates, dropdown for predefined values, checkbox for boolean).
- Metadata Sets group keys together for administrative convenience.
Metadata binds at three levels: project (information about the whole project), task (information specific to one step in the workflow), or note (information attached to a specific annotation through a Note Tag).
Once metadata exists in Aproove, it can be used almost anywhere: to drive workflow step configuration, set deadlines, designate stakeholders or conflict managers, populate dashboard columns, fill email notification templates, route decisions, or carry identifiers in callbacks to third-party systems.
How it works
Capture: four ingestion paths. Metadata enters Aproove four ways:
- Forms. Users enter metadata through custom forms at the project creation wizard, the project dashboard, a workflow task, a workflow step, or a Note Tag. Forms can mark fields as mandatory and validate against type rules.
- API. External systems send metadata to Aproove through the API. Any data sent that is not a functional Aproove parameter is automatically converted into a metadata key on the receiving project.
- Hot folder ingestion. A JSON file dropped into the project's hot folder populates metadata keys directly.
- Manual administrator entry. Administrators can populate metadata directly in the project configuration.
Use as workflow variables. For document management and workflow, step settings like deadlines, assignees, conflict managers, next-step routing, and notification recipients can reference metadata keys as variables. At runtime, Aproove replaces the variable with the actual metadata value. The same workflow template handles different projects because each project's metadata drives a different step configuration.
Formulas at runtime. Workflow settings can embed PHP formulas that operate on metadata values: format conversions, date arithmetic, conditional logic. A deadline can be computed from an incoming Unix timestamp; a routing decision can be made from a compound expression across multiple metadata keys.
Dashboard columns. Administrators expose metadata keys to dashboards through a Schema. Users select which exposed keys they want to see in their My Projects view and arrange columns to suit their work. Filter and sort on metadata that originated in a third-party system, or on metadata captured from an internal form.
Interactive Forms for third-party query. Forms can contain Button and Search components bound to HTTP/S calls. When the user clicks Search, the form sends a query to an external system (DAM, PIM, ERP) and the returned data populates form fields automatically. Aproove already runs this pattern in production for DAM lookup, PIM enrichment, and similar workflows.
Update anytime. Metadata values can be updated by uploading a new JSON file to the hot folder, by a createAndUpdate API call, or by a user amending data inside a form. The new value automatically takes effect everywhere it is referenced.
Benefits
- One workflow template, many project configurations. A generic workflow with metadata-driven variables handles different project types, deadlines, and stakeholders without separate workflow builds for each variant.
- Third-party system data inside Aproove. Metadata from external systems (DAM, PIM, ERP, planning tools) displays in Aproove dashboards, drives workflow logic, and stays in sync through API or hot folder updates.
- Dashboards that fit the user. Users select which metadata columns they want to see, sort, and filter, without administrator involvement for routine personalization.
- Validated structured data, not free text. Typed metadata enforces the right format at input (a date is a date, an email is an email), so downstream logic and reporting can trust the values.
- Runtime computation, not static configuration. PHP formulas inside workflow settings transform metadata values at execution time, so a single workflow handles input that needs to be converted, combined, or evaluated conditionally.
- No new workflow build to handle a new variant. Adding a new project type often just means adding a metadata key or a form field, not designing a new workflow.
- Schema-controlled governance. The administrator controls which metadata keys are visible to which users in dashboards, while form content remains accessible to anyone working through the form.
- Documents with structured workflows. Metadata connects document management and workflow execution, so files, tasks, notes, system callbacks, and more can all follow the same project data.
Who it's for
- Workflow architects and process owners building generic workflows that need to flex across project types, regions, brands, or regulatory classes.
- Integration engineers connecting Aproove to upstream systems (DAM, PIM, ERP, planning) where project data originates elsewhere.
- Operations and PMO teams who need dashboard views tailored to their portfolio dimensions (campaign, region, product line, audit class).
- Enterprise customers running many project variants through one platform: marketing operations, packaging, regulated content, multi-brand programs.
Under the hood
Metadata is stored against the project, task, or note it belongs to. Keys are referenced in workflow step settings by name. The workflow engine resolves metadata variables at runtime, supports PHP formula evaluation inside settings, and exposes metadata to form components, dashboard schemas, email templates, and API callbacks. The createAndUpdate API endpoint is the primary write path for third-party systems. Hot folder ingestion accepts JSON for batch updates. Type definitions enforce validation at the input layer.
Detailed technotes are available on metadata configuration, hot folder ingestion (TN 29), and metadata use cases (TN 30).
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"Within a short period, we were able to reduce 25 workflows into a single workflow. The team saw a 15-week reduction in getting new marketing packages from idea to market. More importantly, it ensured that all the packages were compliant with regulatory requirements. All steps, comments, and approval are captured and saved for any audits."
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