---
title: "Build a system"
description: "Chain SOP checklists, approvals, tasks and decision trees into one flow that OKiDO runs step by step."
url: "https://okido.io/en/docs/systems-decision-trees/build-a-system"
chapter: "Systems and decision trees"
chapterUrl: "https://okido.io/en/docs/systems-decision-trees.md"
plans: ["All plans"]
roles: "Owner, Admin"
language: "en"
edition: "2026-10-23"
---

# Build a system

> Chain SOP checklists, approvals, tasks and decision trees into one flow that OKiDO runs step by step.

A system links the parts of a bigger process into one flow, for example a client onboarding: first the onboarding checklist, then the creative director's sign-off, then the kickoff call. When you run it, OKiDO starts each step as soon as the step before it is done. You build a system once on a canvas, check it and publish it.

Only owners and admins can publish a system.

## Create a system

1. In the menu on the left, choose **Playbook** and open the folder the system belongs in.
2. Choose **Add** at the end of the folder, then **System**.
3. Enter a **Name** and, if you like, a **Description**.
   ![Creating a system with a name and a description](https://okido.io/docs/screenshots/en/create-system-dialog.webp)
4. Choose **Create System**.

The editor opens, with a **Start** node on the canvas.

## Add and connect the steps

1. In the **Node Palette** on the left, choose a node to add it to the canvas, for example **SOP**, **Approval** and **Task**. Add an **End** node too: every system needs one.
2. Drag the nodes into the order they run in, from top to bottom.
3. Drag from the dot at the bottom of a node to the dot at the top of the node that comes next. Start at the **Start** node and end at the **End** node.

The buttons in the lower-left corner of the canvas zoom in and out, or fit the whole system on the screen.

## Set up each step

1. Select a node on the canvas. Its properties open on the right.
2. Give the node a **Label**, the name it has in the flow, and fill in its settings:
   - **SOP**: the **SOP Template** that starts as a run.
   - **Approval**: the **Approver** (or, under **Approver Type**, a team) and the number of **Required Approvals**.
   - **Task**: the **Task Title**, the **Target Project** the task is created in, and its **Assignee**.
   - **Decision Tree**: the **Decision Tree** someone answers, and the **Assignee** who answers it. Each outcome of the tree gets its own way out of the node.
3. To keep your work without publishing it yet, choose **Save Draft**.
   ![A system with an SOP, an approval and a task between Start and End, and the properties of the task](https://okido.io/docs/screenshots/en/system-canvas.webp)

## Validate and publish

1. Choose **Validate**. OKiDO saves the draft and checks the system: every node needs its settings and has to be connected. If something is missing, a list shows what to fix.
2. When the system is valid, the button changes to **Publish**. Choose **Publish**.
   ![The system is valid and ready to publish](https://okido.io/docs/screenshots/en/system-validate-publish.webp)

The system is published and ready to run: see [Run a system](https://okido.io/en/docs/systems-decision-trees/run-a-system.md).

> **Tip:** To change a published system, open it and choose **Edit System**. When you publish again, the system gets a new version. Runs that have already started keep the version they started with.