Work units are the foundational building blocks for tracking and managing work in the Thena platform. While implemented using the ticket system under the hood, work units can be customized and aliased to match your specific business terminology and workflows.

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Understanding work units

Flexible foundation

Core system that adapts to your business language - call them tickets, cases, opportunities, or bugs

Unified backend

Consistent data model and APIs regardless of how work units are presented in your interface

Work units are defined at the team level, and each team can have only one type of work unit. This ensures consistent workflows and processes within team operations.

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Work units vs custom objects

Work units

• Built-in capabilities
• Standard fields (assignee, status, priority)
• Built-in workflows
• Automatic SLA tracking
• Smart assignment rules
• Sub-team-based routing
• Notification system

Custom objects

• Basic data storage
• No standard fields
• Manual workflow creation
• No built-in SLA tracking
• Custom assignment logic needed
• Manual routing setup
• Custom notification setup

While custom objects provide flexibility for data storage, work units come with out-of-the-box functionality designed for operational workflows, making them ideal for managing team processes.

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Implementation

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Core attributes

Every work unit, regardless of its alias, includes:

Standard fields

• Unique identifier
• Title and description
• Status and priority
• Assignment details
• Timestamps

Extensible properties

• Custom fields
• Dynamic forms
• Metadata
• Tags

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Common aliases

Work units can be presented differently based on your team’s needs:

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Customization options

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Example: Sales opportunities

Here’s how work units can be customized for a sales team:

Fields

Required information tracking: • Deal value and currency
• Probability percentage
• Expected close date
• Account and contacts
• Product/service details
• Competitor analysis

Workflows

Process automation: • Stage-based routing
• Approval flows
• Quote generation
• Win/loss tracking
• Revenue forecasting
• Team notifications

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Custom pipeline stages

These stages are implemented as custom statuses in the work unit. Each stage can be configured with mandatory fields that must be completed before moving to the next stage.

1

Lead qualification

Required fields: • Company size • Budget range • Decision timeline

2

Discovery

Required fields: • Requirements document • Technical assessment • Stakeholder map

3

Proposal

Required fields: • Solution scope • Pricing details • ROI calculation

4

Negotiation

Required fields: • Contract terms • Discount approvals • Legal review status

5

Closure

Required fields: • Final contract • Win/loss reason • Next steps/implementation plan

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Pipeline visualization

Each transition between stages is controlled by field validation. The work unit can only progress when all mandatory fields for the current stage are completed, ensuring data quality and process compliance.

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Best practices

  1. Consistent terminology

    • Use clear, team-specific aliases
    • Maintain consistent naming
    • Document terminology
    • Train team members

  2. Process alignment

    • Map to existing workflows
    • Define clear transitions
    • Set up automation
    • Monitor effectiveness

  3. Data integrity

    • Validate required fields
    • Maintain relationships
    • Track history
    • Ensure compliance

Ticket system

Core ticket implementation details

Custom fields

Extending work units with custom fields