This section uses the EcoVida registration workflow type to show how to create and configure a workflow type. The EcoVida demo application was provided with earlier versions of some ATG products. However, the way a workflow type is configured has not changed substantially in ATG 9.3, so looking at the registration workflow’s configuration files can still be very helpful for understanding and debugging workflow setup.
This workflow type models the process of registering a new partner (builder or reseller) in a portal community:
The prospective reseller comes to the EcoVida partner portal and submits an application.
The EcoVida portal initiates an approval workflow.
Because the partner is in the east region, the application is routed to the Eastern regional channel manager for review. Mandy, the channel manager, claims the task.
Mandy completes the reseller approval task.
The workflow then routes the registration request to a finance manager to perform a credit check. Frank, a finance manager, claims the task and does a credit check.
Frank approves the reseller.
Mandy is notified that the partner has passed the credit check and been approved.
A personalized e-mail is sent to the partner informing them of their approval.
The workflow ends.
To implement this use case, EcoVida includes a company registration page, where a prospective partner can specify the company’s name, address, region, and contact information, as well as bank account information. A registration approval workflow is initiated upon the completion of the registration form. The subject of the registration workflow is the registration request, which is a repository item (of type company-registration-request) created upon the form submission.
The workflow consists of two tasks, and the associated outcomes and actions. The first task is the channel review, initially assigned to the channel-manager role. Upon approval, the workflow progresses to the credit check task, which is assigned to the finance-manager role. If the company passes the credit check, a series of custom actions are executed, which create all the necessary partner accounts, including the new organization and organizational roles, a portal community, and a user account for the company’s contact.
Various e-mail messages are sent to the user or the channel manager depending on the outcomes of the two tasks. Finally, the registration request is deleted, and the workflow ends.
In order for the channel review task to be executed by the channel manager associated with the appropriate region, EcoVida defines three profile groups: ChannelManagerEast, ChannelManagerCentral, and ChannelManagerWest. The registration request is dynamically routed to the appropriate profile group depending on the zip code submitted during registration.
EcoVida also includes a registration_approval gear that allows EcoVida employees to perform tasks along the registration approval workflow. This gear is accessible only to channel managers and Finance. It allows the user to display all of the active workflow tasks that are accessible to him or her, claim and release tasks, and execute task outcomes. In this simple UI, once a task has been claimed by the user, only he or she can execute the task. The user can also release the task back into the pool, to allow others to claim and execute it.
