The out-of-the box configurable Work Item Workflows drive the Work Item Processes to effectively manage Project Action Items, Risks and Issues. For further details refer to:
From the General tab of the Workflow Edit page, you can define the general parameters. The States and Transitions can be set up from the graphical interface on the right. Once a Work Item Workflow is saved you can then access the Setup and Security pages.
From the Setup page you can define the Layout of the Workflow Item Entry page by selecting either the out-of-the-box Fields (light grey background color) or any available User Defined Fields (light blue background color) and dragging them to the desired position on the right pane.
From the Work Item Security dialog box, you can easily manage and grant the View/Modify/Create/Delete/Assign Rights to a Security Profile.
A Workflow Role may be needed if the work process requires review/approval by a role, at some point in the workflow, that does not fall under any of the readily available, out-of-the-box roles. The creation and assigning of a Workflow Role is the same for all workflows. For further details refer to Creating a Workflow Role and Associating a Workflow Role to a User articles.
Each Workflow created, drives, supports and represents a Work Item that will then be accessible from the left pane of the Project Edit Work Items tab provided users have been given the required access rights to the specific Work Item Workflow from their respective Security Profiles (Workflows > Work Item Workflows).