Table 98. Workflow Processes Terms
Term
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Definition
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Arguments
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Data passed to or received from a process or step.
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Branch
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A possible outcome of a workflow process step. A branch can have one or more conditions. A branch is followed by a step in the workflow process definition. If all of the conditions for the branch are met, the work item proceeds to the step following the branch.
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Business object
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A group of one or more business components. A business object represents an entity in the Siebel application that you would like to monitor. A workflow process is based on one and only one business object. Business objects are defined in Siebel Tools.
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Business process
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A process that is associated with operational objectives and business relationships. A business process is a set of one or more linked procedures, which collectively realize a business objective. An example of a business process is managing a new service request.
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Business service
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A type of step in a process in which an automated call is made to a service, such as the Outbound Communications service that handles inbound and outbound messaging. A workflow process definition can have one or more business service steps.
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Connector
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A definition of the relationship between two workflow process steps.
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Decision point
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A type of step in a workflow process definition in which the work item branches off to different steps depending on a set of conditions. A decision point consists of all possible branches for that point in the business process. Each branch consists of one or more conditions that must be met for a work item to follow that branch. A workflow process definition can have one or more decision steps.
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End
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A type of workflow process step that specifies when a process instance is finished.
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Exception
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A type of workflow process step that specifies when a process instance should follow an alternative branch instead of the normal branch path.
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Process property
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A storage field that contains values for use in steps as input and output arguments or for performing evaluations.
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Process Simulator
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A Workflow Processes view featuring a graphical flowchart interface used for debugging workflow processes.
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Siebel Operation
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A type of workflow process step that handles database operations such as insert, query, or update of a business component record or field.
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Start
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A type of step that defines the conditions for initiating an instance of a workflow process. When the conditions have been met, the process instance is initiated. A workflow process definition has one and only one start step.
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Step
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An activity within a workflow process. Steps are logically linked together to create a process definition.
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Step instance
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The instance of a process definition step that has been initiated. A start step is initiated when all conditions defined for the start step have been met. A decision step is initiated when all conditions for a decision branch have been met. All other steps are initiated when the previous step has completed.
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Stop
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A type of workflow process step that specifies the conditions that cause a process instance to terminate prior to completion.
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Subprocess
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A workflow process embedded into another workflow process as part of the workflow process definition. A subprocess has its own workflow process definition. A subprocess is a type of step. There can be one or more subprocess steps in a workflow process.
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Wait
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A type of workflow process step that specifies when a process instance should pause in execution and the duration of the pause.
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Workflow process
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The representation of a business process. A workflow process comprises one or more steps that indicate when a business process starts and ends and includes information about individual activities within the business process.
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Workflow process instance
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An instance of a workflow process that has been initiated. A process instance is initiated when the input conditions for a process definition have been met. A process instance consists of one or more step instances and contains one or more work items.
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Work item
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The representation of the work being processed in the context of a step within a process instance. A work item is an instance of a business object.
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