Adding workflow context to messages

When you want to chat about a specific workflow run -- "we missed step 3 on this morning's open", "the photo on this safety check is wrong" -- Pilla can attach the run to your message so there is no ambiguity about which one you mean. The reader sees the run name as a clickable card inside the chat and can tap through to the run itself.

What workflow context is

A normal chat message is just text. A message with workflow context has the workflow run pinned to it, shown as a small card under the message bubble with a tick-square icon and the run's name. Tap or click the card to open the run.

Workflow context can be attached to:

A team chat (so the whole team sees the message tied to that run), or
A DM (so a single teammate sees the message tied to that run).

The context is set up when you start the message -- you cannot retroactively add it to an existing message.

Starting a message with workflow context on the mobile app

The mobile app has two ways to do this.

From a swipe on a work card

On the Work Items tab, every workflow run is a card. Swiping the card sends you straight into a chat about that run:

Swipe right -- opens the team chat for that run's team, with the run already attached as context. The next message you send will carry the workflow context.
Swipe left -- opens the DM picker. Pick a teammate; the next screen opens a DM with that person and the workflow context attached.

This is the fastest way to start a contextual message because you do not have to retype which run you mean -- the swipe tells Pilla for you.

From inside the workflow run

When you have a workflow run open on mobile, a floating action bar sits at the bottom of the screen. The chat bubble icon on the left opens the team chat for the run with the workflow context already attached, the same as swiping right on the card.

What the recipient sees

Whichever way you started the message, the result looks the same to the reader:

The message bubble shows your text as normal.
Underneath the text, a card with a tick-square icon shows the workflow run's name.
Tapping or clicking the card opens the workflow run directly. On mobile this opens the work details screen; on the web app the run's panel opens on the right.

If someone replies to your contextual message in a team chat, the reply keeps the same workflow context attached -- so the whole thread stays anchored to that run.

Starting a message with workflow context on the web app

The web app has a row menu on every workflow run in the Workflow runs view's data table. The menu includes two actions for messaging:

Message team about this -- opens the team chat for the run, with the run pinned as context.
DM user about this -- opens a DM picker so you can message a specific teammate about the run, with the run pinned as context.

Both options only appear for runs that have actually started (not for templates and not for runs scheduled far in the future).

Tips

The context card always links to the workflow run, so anyone joining the chat later can click straight through to the run for full detail.
Swipe-to-chat on mobile is much faster than the manual "open chat then describe which run" flow. Once you get used to it, it becomes the default for run-specific questions.
Workflow context only attaches to the next message you send after opening the chat. After that one message, the context clears and you are back to a normal chat.
The team chat picks up the context automatically when you swipe right or use the chat bubble inside the run. You do not need to choose the team -- Pilla uses the run's team.