Use the Phase model menu item of the Work Type Modeller to create a phase plan that defines all the phases a work type can inhabit. Use the same menu to edit elements of a phase plan.

Create a phase plan

Follow these steps to create a phase plan and add phases to it.

1. Select Open Modeller from your Launchpad. Then click Work types in the left-hand menu to open the Work Type Modeller.
2. Double-click the work type for which you want to create the phase plan.
3. On the left-hand navigation menu, click Phase model.
4. On the right of the header banner, click Add Phase.
5. In the Add new phase blade, enter the phase Name and Short Name, and optionally enter any further information. If your phase plan starts from this point, click the Start toggle to on. 
   

Phase Behaviour

6. Click Confirm after completing the fields.  
7. You can now see your phase in your phase plan. Click and drag the phase plan to move it around the screen, or double-click it to edit.  
8. Repeat the steps above to create any other phases you want to add. 

Continue adding phases and transitions until you have built your required phase plan. Drag new phases dropped onto the plan to the position you want them in. 

Add a transition between phases

Once you have two or more phases in your plan, click Add Transition to create a path between the phases of the work item.

1. On the work type banner, click Add Transition to open the Add new transition blade.
2. Enter a Name, From Phase, To Phase, and optionally configure the Behaviour toggles. Click Confirm.
   

Transition Behaviour

3. Your transition is represented as an arrow between your phases. 
   

Edit elements of a phase plan

To edit any phase or phase transition in a phase plan, double-click the element to open the Edit blade. Make whatever changes you require and click Confirm to apply the change.

For information on configuring phase related subfeatures, see the Understanding Global Features article.

Create a copy of a plan

When you create a derived type of a work type, the derived type inherits the parent's phase plan. To edit the derived type's phase plan, click Create Copy of Plan on the right-hand side of the phase plan banner. The copy of the plan allows you to change an inherited plan without having to create a new one or edit the parent, which would affect other matters.

The Edit phase plan details blade opens, where you must enter a new name for the plan. You can now edit the new plan's elements and save the plan for your derived work type. You can remove phases and transitions by right-clicking and deleting them or add phases and transitions from the banner icons.

Edit an inherited phase plan

You can change the phase plan for a work type by editing the phase plan it inherits from its parent. This allows you to make changes to the phase plans of multiple related work types in one simple process.

1. Select Open Modeller from your Launchpad. Then click Work types in the left-hand menu to open the Work Type Modeller.
2. Double-click the work type whose phase plan you want to edit.
3. You can access the phase plan either from the left-hand navigation menu (Phase model) or from the Edit plan link on the Advanced Settings widget.
4. On the right-hand side of the phase plan banner, click Edit Inherited Plan to open the phase plan for the parent work type.
5. You can now edit the phase plan using the icons on the top banner. Any changes are inherited by all the work types below this work type in the hierarchy.  
   For example: In the screenshot below, any edits to the top-level Payment Request phase plan pass on to Disbursements, Secured Debt, and Settlements.  
   

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This article showed you how to create a phase plan, phases and transitions in the plan, and how to edit elements of the plan. 

You can add a phase to a phase plan in Modeller to tailor the workflow of a work type to your specific requirements.

Steps to add a phase to a phase plan

1. If you are already in the phase model, then jump to Step 3, otherwise open Launchpad > Modeller > Work-Type Modeller. Double-click the work type to add the phase.
2. You can access the phase plan from the left-hand navigation menu (Phase model) or the Edit plan link on the Advanced Settings widget.
3. Click the Add Phase + icon on the work type banner to open the Add new phase form.
4. Enter a Name, Short Name, and optionally, any further information. Click Confirm.
   
5. Your new phase drops onto your phase plan, where you can drag it to another location on the screen.
   

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You can now successfully add a phase to your phase plan.

You can add a transition to a phase plan to allow users to move from one phase to another.

Steps to add a transition to a phase plan

1. If you are already in the phase model, skip to step 3. Otherwise, open Launchpad > Modeller > work type Modeller. Double-click a work type to add a transition.
2. You can access the phase plan from the left-hand navigation menu (Phase model) or the Edit plan link on the Advanced Settings widget.
3. On the work type banner, click the Add Transition+ icon to open the Add new transition form.
4. Enter a Name, From Phase, To Phase, and optionally configure the Behaviour toggles. Click Confirm.
   
5. Your transition is represented as an arrow between your phases.
   

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You can now successfully add a transition to a phase plan.

A phase feature is a capability that you enable on a specific phase of a work type. Instead of a behaviour being on for the whole work type, a phase feature switches it on only while a work item sits in the phase you choose.

For example, you can allow finance transactions to be recorded on an active phase but not on a draft phase, or mark a proceedings phase as the point at which a matter becomes litigated. The same work type can behave differently at each stage of its lifecycle.

A phase feature is always a combination of three things: the work type, the phase, and the feature. Clio Operate checks that combination and uses the result to show or hide widgets and pages, filter list views, apply the rules that decide what a work item can do, and trigger automatic actions such as spawning a related work item.

Some phase features are simple on or off switches. Others carry their own configuration, such as which approval model runs, which offer types are available, or which transitions a data table takes on success or failure. You can also use phase features to filter list views. A list view can be scoped to show only work items whose current phase has a given feature enabled, configured through the burger menu under Manage this list view.

Are phase features on by default?

A phase feature only takes effect on the phases where it is switched on, so it is always a deliberate setting rather than something that happens on its own. Whether a feature is already switched on depends on how the work type was built. Work types created from a starter or accelerator configuration usually have the relevant features enabled, while a work type built from scratch has none until you add them. 

Phase features do not inherit down the hierarchy

Phase features do not inherit down the work-type hierarchy. A feature enabled on a phase in a parent work type is not carried onto the same phase in a child work type. Clio Operate checks each feature against the exact work type and phase, and does not fall back to the parent work type.

This is different from how phases themselves behave. When you add a phase to an inherited phase plan, that phase is added to the child work types as well. Enabling a feature on that phase is not. If a child work type needs the same phase feature as its parent, enable it again on the child.

Available phase features

The following phase features are available in Clio Operate. The set available on a work type depends on which global features are enabled and which features apply to that work type, and implementations can add their own, so an environment may show more.

Most phase features are a simple on or off switch. Some have additional configuration, where you set how the feature behaves on that phase. The Additional settings column shows what you configure. 

A dash in the Global feature column means the feature does not sit under a global feature, and a dash in the Additional settings column means there is nothing more to configure.
 

Example: configure an instruction phase plan to spawn a matter

In Clio Operate, an instruction represents a piece of work before you are engaged. Once an instruction is won, it spawns a matter, which becomes the active case. You configure this with the Transition Instruction to Matter on Phase feature, enabled on the instruction phase where the matter should be created.

When an instruction moves into that phase, Clio Operate creates the matter, links the two work items, and makes the instruction a child of the new matter.

Steps

1. Modeller > Work Types. 
2. Open the instruction work type and select phase plans.
3. Select the phase where the matter should spawn and Edit Phase.
4. Open Manage Phase Features
5. Enable the Spawn a new matter from the sharedo feature.
   
6. Save the phase plan.

Enabling the feature tells Clio Operate to create the matter from this phase. When an instruction enters the phase, the matter is created and linked automatically. You can enable the feature on more than one instruction phase if a matter can be spawned from several entry points. 

Enabling the feature controls when the matter is created. It does not determine what data carries over to it. See What carries over when a matter spawns from an instruction for the full breakdown of what always carries over and what depends on your configuration.

An instruction is the work item that captures a piece of work before your firm is engaged. Once it is ready to proceed, it spawns a matter, which becomes the active case. The instruction and the matter are separate work items: spawning creates the matter and links the two, it does not convert the instruction in place.

This article explains what data moves from the instruction to the matter when this happens, and what does not. Some of it carries over on every spawn. The rest depends on how your Clio Operate environment has been set up, so it varies between firms and sometimes between work types on the same firm.

If you need to set up spawning itself, see Phase Features for the Transition Instruction to Matter on Phase and Spawn a new matter from the sharedo settings.

Two kinds of carry-over

There are two distinct groups of behaviour, and telling them apart matters if you need to say whether something will carry over for a specific client or matter type:

• Always on. This group runs on every spawn, regardless of how the environment is set up. It is described in What always carries over below.
• Depends on configuration. This group only runs if it is part of that work type's spawn setup. It varies by firm and by work type, and is described in What depends on configuration below.

Key dates sit across both groups. Two specific dates always carry over as part of the core spawn action; every other key date depends on configuration. See the notes in each section.

What always carries over

What does not carry over

• Electronic signature. A new signature record is created for the matter at the point of spawning. It is not the instruction's signature copied across.
• Client organisation. The matter's client organisation field is set to your firm's default organisation, not the instruction's client. The client as a participant is a separate thing and carries over only if participant copying is configured, see below. Do not assume the two are linked: a matter can show the correct client participant while the client organisation field still shows the default.

What happens to the instruction itself

Carry-over is about the new matter, but closing the source instruction happens alongside it, covered in What depends on configuration below under "Closing the instruction."

Whether the instruction closes at all depends on how your environment is set up. If it stays open after spawning, this is why. Which phase it moves to, if it does close, is controlled by the Move instruction to this phase on matter spawn phase feature, which you can set in Modeller on whichever phase you want the instruction to land on. If no phase has this feature enabled, the instruction moves to a default closed phase instead.

Either way, moving the instruction to that phase is what applies the closure. There is no separate step that closes the instruction without also moving its phase.

What depends on configuration

Beyond the core spawn action, further data can carry over depending on how spawning was set up for your firm. This can vary between work types, so do not assume a specific item will or will not carry over without checking. Contact Clio Operate support to confirm what applies to a specific work type.

This list covers the steps included with Clio Operate. Some firms have extra steps added for a specific practice area, so you may see behaviour on your environment that is not listed here. If in doubt, contact Clio Operate support rather than assuming this list is exhaustive.

If something looks like it should have carried over but has not

• Confirm the setting applies first. The most common cause is that the relevant item in What depends on configuration is not part of that work type's setup. This is a configuration choice, not a fault.
• Jurisdiction is blank. Check the allowed jurisdiction options for the target case type. If the instruction's jurisdiction is not one of them, it is dropped silently.
• Client participant is missing. Check three things in order: whether participant copying applies to that work type, whether the configured role exists on the instruction, and whether the standard rules for adding participants automatically apply to that role. Remember that the client organisation field is separate from the client participant, see What does not carry over.
• Matter title looks different from the instruction's. This is expected. Title copying is off by default, see What always carries over.
• Something that appeared on the matter has disappeared. If it appeared because the instruction was moved under the matter rather than genuinely copied, unlinking or deleting the instruction removes it from the matter too. Genuine copies, such as documents or key dates copied under configuration, are not affected.

Learn how to create a phase plan for your work to show how your work is progressing.