A workflow is the series of steps that each annotation job must go through to be considered completed, it also defines how a job can transition between steps. Different step types in the workflow enable the user to perform different tasks in the job's lifecycle and afford you different options.
A workflow must be defined before any annotation job has been created in the project. Once the first batch of jobs is created, the project's workflow is no longer editable.
Getting started
Once you have created an annotation project - and before creating any annotation jobs - you should verify that the project's workflow is the one you need and edit it as required. To do so:
Open a project and navigate to Project Settings.
Click the Workflow tab.
You'll see the current workflow displayed on a canvas. If you have not configured a workflow before, this will be the default SAVANT workflow.
Setting up your workflow
Click Edit Workflow in the top-right header to enter editing mode. This option will only be enabled until the first batch of annotation jobs is created; afterwards, it will be permanently disabled for the project. You'll be presented with three options to start your workflow:
Option | What it does |
Use existing (as is) | You can select a pre-existing workflow from the dropdown and use it exactly as it is — steps, connections, and settings all pre-populated. |
Use as template | You can select a pre-existing workflow from the dropdown and use it as a starting point, you can then modify and then save it as a new workflow. |
Create from new | Start creating a workflow from a blank canvas |
Filling in workflow details (left panel)
After choosing your workflow (which is not 'use existing'), the metadata panel on the left will become active. You will then need to specify the following.
Workflow Title (required)
Maximum 30 characters.
The character counter below the field shows your current count.
A red asterisk appears if the title field is empty when you try to save.
Description (optional)
Maximum 500 characters, with a live character counter.
Assignee rules
The left metadata panel also lets you define assignee rules:
Unique Assignees
Ensures that different users are assigned to the selected steps — no single user can work on more than one step in the same group.
Use the Select workflow steps dropdown to pick at least 2 steps.
Click Add Group. The group appears as a numbered row beneath.
Repeat to add multiple groups.
To remove a group, click the × icon on its row.
If the same combination of steps appears in both the Unique Assignees and Same Assignees sections, a duplicate warning is displayed and saving may be blocked.
Same Assignees
Ensures the same user is assigned to all selected steps within the group.
The process is identical to Unique Assignees — select at least 2 steps and click Add Group.
Adding steps to the canvas
The step palette sits above the canvas. There are three step types you can add:
Button | Purpose |
Annotation | A step where annotators work on frames |
QA | A quality-assurance review step |
Completed | Marks the end of the workflow — only one is allowed |
Random Sampling | A step that routes jobs based on either Percentage or ANSI selection. |
Completed | Marks the end of the workflow — only one is allowed. |
To add a step: Click the button, or drag it onto the canvas to place it at a specific position.
The Completed button is disabled and shows a tooltip once a Completed step already exists in the workflow.
Random Sampling steps cannot connect directly to other Random Sampling steps.
Likewise, Consensus steps cannot connect directly to other Consensus step types.
Connecting steps
All steps in the canvas must be connected to form a valid workflow. To connect steps:
Hover over a step node — connection handles (small dots) appear on its edges.
Drag from a source handle on one step to a target handle on another step.
An arrow is drawn between them indicating the flow direction.
To remove a connection, click on the arrow and hit "backspace" on your keyboard.
If the source step is Consensus, each outgoing connection must be assigned as either:
Successful next step
Unsuccessful next step
Consensus step can have at most:
One Successful next step
One Unsuccessful next step
Consensus connections must move forward in the flow and cannot create circular relationships.
If the source step is Random Sampling:
It cannot connect directly to another Random Sampling step.
Percentage mode cannot exceed 100% total across connected next steps.
ANSI mode supports exactly two branch types:
Random Sampling Step
Non-Random Sampling Step
The following apply when making any connections:
A Completed step cannot be used as a connection source (it is the last step of a workflow only).
A Start step cannot be used as a connection target (it is the entry point).
All steps must be connected to enable saving.
On adding the first annotation step, this automatically gets set as the start node, however this is editable - you can drag the start node handle to another step
Configuring individual steps
After adding a step, the Step details panel is opened. You can also access this by clicking on any step (node) and pressing the edit button.
You will find the following fields for the step configuration form.
Status Name (required)
Maximum 30 characters.
Only letters, numbers, and underscores are allowed. An inline validation message appears for invalid characters.
Description (optional)
Maximum 500 characters.
Step Type (required)
Choose: Annotation, QA, Consensus, Random Sampling or Completed.
Changing to Completed automatically turns off View All Required, Comment Required, Upload Frames, and Starting Point for that step as the checkbox options, as they are not needed for the 'Completed' step.
Consensus and Random Sampling each have their own dedicated configuration controls.
The following options are available depending on the step type:
Checkbox | Applies to | Meaning |
Starting Point | Annotation, QA, Consensus, Random Sampling | Marks this step as where the workflow begins. Only one step can be the starting point. |
View All Required* | Annotation, QA, Consensus | Users must view all assigned frames before they can submit the annotation job. |
Comment Required | Annotation, QA, Consensus | Users must add a comment before completing this step. |
Upload Frames* | Annotation, QA | Users can upload frames to the frame editor while working in this step. |
Download Frames* | All | Users can download frames from the frame editor from this step. |
Reference Annotations* | All | Shows reference annotations to users while they work. |
Frame Index Selection* | All (cannot be set for the starting step) | Restricts the step to specific frame indices; Multi-select to choose frame numbers 1–100. |
Consensus Type | Consensus | Currently Sequence Level Tagging. |
Sequence Tag Similarity | Consensus | Required percentage for Sequence Level Tagging: between 1 and 100 |
Support Premature Consensus (optional) | Consensus | Allows consensus before all assigned annotators complete the step. |
Selection Type | Random Sampling | Select between percentage or ANSI. |
Sampling distribution | Random Sampling | Combined total across connected targets must equal 100%. |
*These settings are only applied to frame annotation jobs, the setting is ignored if annotating timestamps on videos.
Click Save Step once the step is configured. The button is disabled until the Status Name is valid. Click the × button to discard changes and close the panel.
Saving or discarding
Once you are done editing, two buttons appear in the header:
Discard — cancels all changes and returns to the read-only view.
Save Workflow — saves the workflow. The button could be disabled (with a tooltip explaining why) when any of the following are unmet:
Workflow title is empty or needs updating if you used a template
Fewer than 2 steps on the canvas
Any step is disconnected
No Starting Point step has been set
No Completed step has been added
The unique and same assignee groups are the same
Save Workflow may also be disabled when:
Any Consensus step is missing a Successful next step.
Any Consensus step is missing an Unsuccessful next step.
A Random Sampling step has fewer than 2 next steps (Percentage mode).
Random Sampling percentages do not total 100% (Percentage mode).
ANSI sampling is missing a Random Sampling Step branch.
ANSI sampling is missing a Non-Random Sampling Step branch.
A step has no incoming path unless it is a Starting Point.
Any step has no path to a Completed step.
One or more default step names still use the new_step_* placeholder format.
Downloading the workflow
A download button is available on the canvas panel, allowing you to export an image of the workflow and a PDF Breakdown of all the configured steps in the workflow.
Read-only view
When not in edit mode, the canvas displays a Read Only badge. You can still pan, zoom, and inspect the workflow, and the Workflow Information panel shows:
Workflow title and description
Creator name and creation date
Configured Unique and Same Assignee groups
Step configurations by clicking on a step node
What next
Once you have set up the annotation workflow for your project, you are ready to start creating annotation jobs. The next guide in this series will guide you on how to create jobs for annotating timestamps on videos. If you want to create jobs for frame annotations, you can skip to that guide instead.