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Structure of an Example Workflow Policy


The basic underlying construct of a workflow policy is the rule. The structure of a rule is: if the conditions are true, then an action occurs. The rule contains a policy condition and a policy action. When the conditions of the workflow policy are met, an action is triggered. Figure 19 illustrates the parts of an example workflow policy.

Figure 19. Parts of an Example Workflow Policy

Parts that make up a typical workflow policy include:

  1. Workflow Policy. A workflow policy is a construct composed of conditions and actions. A workflow policy, based on the Workflow Policies rule structure, represents the rules the database monitors.
  2. Workflow Policy Condition. A workflow policy condition is a trigger: a circumstance or situation that causes something to happen.
  3. Workflow Policy Action. A workflow policy action is an action invoked by a workflow policy condition being fulfilled.
  4. Workflow Policy Program. A workflow policy program is a predefined program that provides arguments for the workflow policy action.
  5. Duration. A duration is the period of time for which workflow policy conditions exist for the conditions of the policy to be met. For more information, see Planning the Workflow Policy and Conditions.

NOTE:  The functionality available with a Workflow Policy can be supported by using a Workflow Process. It is recommended that a workflow policy be used to define conditions to invoke a workflow process. Use a Workflow Process to define actions.

Workflow Policy Condition

A workflow policy condition expresses an object/attribute relationship to a value. For example, a workflow policy condition can target data, such as Service Request Severity. The workflow policy condition compares that data to a value, such as 1-Critical. The combination of the data element, Service Request Severity, a comparison operation, such as equal (=), and the value, such as 1-Critical, define the policy condition.

The fact that a Service Request Severity is 1-Critical can be an issue only if the policy condition remains valid for some extended period of time, such as two hours. In this example, if the policy condition remains valid, a duration can be set for two hours on the workflow policy. The duration becomes part of the policy condition. The policy actions are not executed until the policy conditions are met for the specified duration.

A workflow policy action can also occur when a time duration is not set. For example, email is automatically sent to a sales manager each time a sales representative quotes a discount rate exceeding 25 percent on revenue less than $100,000.

A policy frequently has more than one condition. The conditions of the policy must be met before an action can occur. A service request with a severity of 1-High and a duration of two hours might be important only if another comparison is also valid, such as the Service Request Status is Open. The policy condition becomes the combination of these two comparison operations:

SR Severity = 1-Critical AND SR Status = Open

Workflow Policies only support AND linkages between policy conditions, not OR linkages. If you must monitor the SR Severity to be 1-Critical or 2-High and the SR Status is Open, you can use the IN operand to evaluate the OR of the SR Severity Condition.

SR Severity IN ('1-Critical', '2-High') AND SR Status = Open

Alternatively, OR linkages can be simulated by creating multiple policies for each key policy condition. The combination of workflow policies act similar to an OR linkage. For more information, see About Logical Operators in the Conditions Applet.

Workflow Policy Action

A workflow policy action is an event you need to occur when the conditions of your workflow policy are met. The parts of a workflow policy include:

  • An action, which is a type of request, such as Send an Urgent Page.
  • The action parameters, which are the arguments, such as the name of the recipient of the page and the alphanumeric text transmitted with the page.

You can specify several actions for one workflow policy, such as sending a page to one person and an email to another. You can reuse an action in multiple workflow policies. For a discussion of actions and action parameters, see About Defining Workflow Policy Objects.

NOTE:  In most cases, use a workflow policy action to run a workflow process.

You can pass a constant from a Workflow Policy Action into a Workflow Process. For more information, see Passing a Constant from a Workflow Policy Action into a Workflow Process.

Workflow Policy Program

A workflow policy program is a predefined program that provides arguments for the workflow policy action. A workflow policy action is based on the underlying program in Siebel Tools and inherits the program's arguments. A workflow policy program defines the particular action that takes place when the conditions of a workflow policy are met. Most functionality included in a workflow policy program can be executed using a workflow process.

You can use programs in multiple action definitions and you can use action definitions in multiple workflow policies.

Types of workflow policy programs include:

  • Send Message. Sends an email to one or more recipients.
  • Send Page. Sends a page to one or more recipients.
  • Send Broadcast Message. Inserts a message broadcast for one or more recipients.
  • DB Operation. Inserts or updates the data records of a Siebel database table for chosen workflow policy components.
  • External Program. Allows you to run an executable.
  • Assignment Request. For internal use only.
  • Generic Request Server. Submits a server request to a designated server component.

For reference information, see Properties of the Workflow Policy Program and Properties of the Workflow Policy Program Argument.

Predefined Workflow Policy Programs

Workflow policies use workflow policy actions based on workflow policy programs that are predefined in Siebel Tools. Some examples include:

  • Send Broadcast Message
  • Database Operation

For more information, see Predefined Workflow Policy Programs.

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