You create a workflow type as follows:
Choose the workflow subject type.
The subject type is a repository item that represents the main element in the process that will be modeled by the workflow. For example, an expense report could be a workflow subject type, with the workflow modeling the steps involved in processing the report.
Create the repository items and database schema.
Each workflow type must define its own database schema and repository items. This provides isolation between the data stored for different types of processes, allowing for independent deployment and management of data associated with any given workflow type. For example, the data associated with registration workflows is stored in one set of tables, while the data for ATG Content Administration workflows resides in a different set of tables. The two sets of data can be managed independently (for example, you could clean out one set of tables completely without affecting the other).
When you create a new type of workflow, you create several new database tables, as well as the associated repository item descriptors. See the Registration Workflow section for information about the tables and repository items used by registration workflows.
Configure the workflow components.
Each workflow type requires you to configure a number of Nucleus components and XML files, as discussed throughout this chapter.
Create the workflow definition in the ACC.
For each workflow type, the workflow editor is customized to expose the relevant item type and its properties, and to display only those custom expressions and actions that have been configured for the corresponding subject type.
To accomplish this, ATG 9.3 maintains a global registry of ACC workflow agent components at
/atg/registry/WorkflowAgents. When you create and configure a new type of workflow, you must add the corresponding workflow agent component to this global registry. From the workflow agent, the ACC can determine the corresponding workflow subject type and all the custom process configuration information. Because the agent component also points to the registry in which the workflows themselves are stored, the ACC can load all of the existing workflow definitions corresponding to each subject type, and write out new workflow definitions to the appropriate registries.For information about editing workflows in the ACC, see the ATG Personalization Guide for Business Users.
