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Defining a Long-Running Workflow Process

This topic includes the following topics:

• Assigning a Subprocess to Users to Create a Collaborative Long-Running Workflow
• Configuring a Long-Running Workflow to Invoke a Task

A long-running workflow process is a persistent workflow that can last for hours, days, or months. An example of a long-running workflow process is an approval process that sends an order to an external system such as SAP, then waits for a response. For more information, see About the Long-Running Workflow Process.

NOTE:  When building a long-running workflow process, use user events and not run-time events to trigger a workflow process and resume a workflow process instance.

Assigning a Subprocess to Users to Create a Collaborative Long-Running Workflow

Using the Sub Process step, you can configure a workflow that assigns an interactive subprocess workflow to users to create a collaborative workflow process. An example of a collaborative workflow is one that includes a requirement for approvals. The route the workflow takes as it moves through workflow activities is a route across multiple users who work in collaboration to finish the job tasks required by the workflow process.

You use the Recipients properties on a Sub Process step to create collaborative workflows. Assignment occurs based on the login name, not on the Position or User ID. This login name can be a literal value, it can be held in a process property or a buscomp field, or it can be the result of an expression.

NOTE:  The Process Designer cannot validate the data supplied to make sure it represents a valid login name at design time.

To assign a Sub Process to a user

1. Create a Sub Process step.
2. In the Recipients tab of the MVPW, set the Recipient Name argument field to the login name of the user who is assigned the subprocess.

   For more information, see About Process Properties, and Argument Fields for a Recipient Argument.

Configuring a Long-Running Workflow to Invoke a Task

You can use a long-running workflow to assign a task to a user, then create an inbox item for the task and push it to the user's Inbox. The user can then click the inbox item to create a new instance of the task and run it. For example, in an Expense Report Approval long-running workflow, after the employee submits an expense report, a new task called Review Expense Report is created and assigned to the employee's manager. Because this case is a one-to-one assignment, the assignment can be made simply by looking up the manager's ID from the user's business component. After the manager's ID is retrieved, a new item is created in the manager's Inbox that refers to the Review Expense Report task.

To use a long-running workflow to assign a Task to a user

1. In the long-running workflow, at the point where a task needs to be called, determine the ID of the user to whom the new task instance is assigned.

   This logic is dependent on your business requirements, and it can be implemented as a Siebel operation in cases where the ID is already present in a business component. The logic can also be implemented as a business service call.

   When the assignment logic implies application of assignment rules, a business service interface to Siebel Assignment Manager can be used. The input to the service is variable, depending on the context that is needed for the assignment. The output, however, is always simply the ID of the user to whom the task is assigned.

2. Define a task step that creates a new item in the Inbox of the user that the task is assigned to, specified as the input argument Owner Id.

Adding a Task Step to a Workflow Process

When you add a Task step to a workflow process, the workflow creates a new UI task and assigns it to a user.

To add a Task step within an existing workflow process, open the Process Designer for the workflow. The Status property of the workflow is In Progress. If Status is not In Progress, revise the workflow process so that an editable In Progress copy is created.

For details on how to configure a Task step, see Defining a Task Step.