Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow Guide > Adding Workflow Process Steps > Adding Steps and Connectors >

Adding a Sub Process Step

A sub process step is a type of workflow process step that allows you to start a separate workflow process from a workflow process. A workflow process can contain one or more sub process steps. You can also define a sub process step that supports Pass By Reference. For more information, see the following:

• Passing a Process Property In and Out of a Workflow Process Step.
• Using the Pass By Reference Feature with a Sub Process.
• See the topic about the Workflow Process object type in Siebel Object Types Reference.

To add a sub process step

1. Make sure the workflow process that the sub process step calls exists.

   An object definition for the workflow process that the sub process step calls must exist before you can add a sub process step. If it does not exist, then you must define it now. For more information, see Creating the Workflow Process Object Definition.

2. Add a sub process step to a workflow process.

   For more information, see Adding a Step to a Workflow Process.

3. Make sure the step you added in Step 1 is still chosen in the Process Designer.
4. In the Properties window, in the Subprocess Name property, choose the workflow process that the sub process step calls.
5. In the MVPW, add new input arguments and output arguments.

   For more information, see Defining a Step Argument in the MVPW and Adding an Input Argument on a Sub Process Step.

6. Define recipient arguments in the MVPW.

   For more information, see Recipient Argument Fields of a Process Property.

   To edit the workflow process that the sub process references, you can do the following:

   • Right-click the sub process step, and then click Edit Sub Process.
   • Double-click the sub process step.

Using a Sub Process Step with the Process Simulator

If you must use the Process Simulator, and if the workflow process you must simulate includes a sub process step, then you must publish and activate the workflow process that the sub process calls before you do the simulation. For more information, see Using the Process Simulator.

Adding an Input Argument on a Sub Process Step

You can add an input argument to a sub process step. This input argument allows you to populate a process property in the sub process step. For example, Siebel CRM passes the Object Id from the main workflow process to the sub process through an input argument. If the sub process references a different business object, then you must send the relevant row ID of the target object as the Object Id process property of the sub process.

If the sub process creates a child object, then the Object Id that Siebel CRM passes to a sub process must not contain the Object Id of the parent process. If a sub process creates a child object, then it is recommended that the Object Id that Siebel CRM passes to a sub process be null.

To add an input argument on a sub process step

• Add an input argument to a sub process step.

  For more information, see Defining a Step Argument in the MVPW.

Copying a Value from a Parent Workflow Process to a Sub Process

To copy a value to a record that a sub process updates or inserts, you can define a process property in the sub process, and then use an Input Argument on the sub process step to assign a value to this process property. A Siebel operation step in the sub process can then use this process property. The example in this topic copies the Order Name for an order into the Name field of a newly created opportunity.

To copy a value from a parent process to a sub process

1. Add a process property to the Opportunity Name sub process.

   For more information, see Defining a Custom Process Property.

2. Click the Order Parent Product Name sub process step.
3. In the Properties window, set the Subprocess Name property to Opportunity Name.
4. Assign Opportunity Name to the Name field of the opportunity that Siebel CRM creates in the Siebel operation step.

Using the Pass By Reference Feature with a Sub Process

If a sub process modifies a large amount of data, then it must also copy a large amount of data. This configuration can result in a negative impact on performance and scalability. You can use the Pass By Reference feature so that Siebel CRM passes a pointer to the data instead of copying the data.

Figure 12 includes an example workflow process that passes a large property set from the Create Siebel Message step to the 11i Process Order step.

Figure 12. Example Workflow Process That Uses Pass By Reference with a Sub Process Step

If you configure a sub process step to support Pass By Reference, then it is not necessary to map the output argument in the sub process step for the hierarchical properties that Siebel CRM passes. The sub process step overwrites the passed input hierarchical argument. Optionally, you can define the sub process step to modify the passed input hierarchical argument.

To use the pass by reference feature with a sub process

1. In the Workflow Processes list, choose a workflow process that another workflow process references as a sub process.
2. In the Properties window, set the Pass By Ref Hierarchy Argument process property to TRUE.

   In the Worfklow Processes list, Siebel Tools now includes a check mark for the Pass by Ref Hierarchy property of the workflow process that is the sub process.