The most common ways to start a workflow are the manual start from the FireStart Client or Process Portal and automatically over a third-party system or over a timer event. All four ways result in the execution of the workflow, which can be viewed after starting the workflow.
Before starting the workflow, the Start event has to be configured depending on the way the workflow should be started. If the workflow does not start as intended, there might be an error in the configuration of the start event. So, you should probably re-check the configuration in that case.
Manual Start - FireStart Client
The start of the workflow is quite easy over the FireStart Client. In the Publish tab under the Process section, you can find Start Process. With a click on that button, the workflow starts the execution. Please note that the process should be deployed before. From now on tasks will be sent to the assigned person.
Manual Start - Process Portal
To start the workflow over the Process Portal, the model needs to be published, otherwise, you will not find the model in the Workflow section in tab Start. All published models can be started there. Select the model to start and with clicking the Start button, the workflow will be executed. The running workflow can be viewed under the Active tab. All finished workflows can be found under the Archive tab.
Automatic Start - Timer Event
That start is completely automatic, so it does not need any interaction from a person to start. When configured correctly the workflow starts with the configured timer event. Which could be an Interval, a specific Date or Time, it can be started Daily, Weekly, Monthly or Yearly, depending on the timer event you configured.
Automatic Start - Third-Party System
This needs a bit of an interaction of a user, as it can be triggered if an entry is added, updated or deleted. This depends again on the event you configured. It can also be triggered by more than one of these options but is not used/needed very often.
Once the workflow is executed it can be viewed under Workflows, and then click on the Archive/Finished tab.
If it is not finished yet the execution will be displayed under the Running tab.
By clicking the execution, the model opens and now you can see which paths were executed, especially when there is a condition you see which branch was executed.
If the workflow is currently opened, the process model of the execution can be displayed by clicking the button Open Process Model in the Main tab.