Bookshelf Home | Contents | Index | Search | PDF

Siebel Business Process Designer Administration Guide > Introduction to Siebel Workflow > Understanding Workflow Processes >

Workflow Processes Administration Overview

---

Workflow Processes can vary from a simple process such as entering a product order to a complex process such as managing call center workflow. Complex processes can comprise multiple smaller processes.

Workflow Processes Views

Workflow Processes are administered through the Siebel Business Process Designer on the Siebel Client. Instructions for accessing and using the Workflow Processes views are in Designing Workflow Processes.

Using Workflow Processes

Workflow processes can be invoked from events in the Siebel application or from external systems. Within the Siebel application, a process can be invoked from a workflow policy, a runtime event (such as an insert of a record or a button click), or a server component.

From an external system, processes can be invoked using COM or CORBA. Procedures for invoking a workflow process are in Running Workflow Processes.

Sample Workflow Process Scenarios

To help you understand how Workflow Processes works, see the usage scenarios Scenario 1: New Service Request and Scenario 2: New Lead. You can view the sample scenarios in detail by connecting to the sample database installed during your Siebel Client installation.

To access the sample database

Launch Siebel Call Center.
Enter sadmin/sadmin as the username and password.
Select Sample in the Connect to dialog box.
Navigate to the Workflow Processes screen.
From the Show drop-down list, click All Processes.

Scenario 1: New Service Request

ABC Computing defines its business process for a new service request with Workflow Processes. The diagram demonstrates the steps and decision points involved when a new service request comes into the organization. The steps and decision points are displayed in the diagram in such a way that the flow of the work is clear.

Each step is interpreted as follows:

Start. This is the start step initiating the process instance. The work item is the new service request.
Assign Service Request. This is a subprocess task. The service request is assigned to the appropriate agent based on the assignment rules defined in the Assign Service Request subprocess.
Severity. This is a decision step. The service request priority determines the next step in the process instance of the three possible paths: Critical, High, or Medium.
Send Email. This is an automated business service task. If the service request priority is critical, an email is sent to the assigned agent. This task calls the Outbound Communications Manager business service.
Priority High. This is a Siebel Operation update task. This step updates the service request priority to High.
Substatus Assigned. This is a Siebel Operation update task. This step updates the sub status to Assigned.
Email Error Activity. This is a Siebel Operation insert task. This task is triggered if an error is returned in the Send Email task.
Priority Very High and Dispatch. This is a Siebel Operation update task. This step changes the service request priority to Very High and the sub status to Dispatch.
End. This step defines the completion of the process.

Scenario 2: New Lead

WYZ Computing defines its business process for creating a new lead with Workflow Processes. The process calls Assignment Manager to assign a lead and contains subprocess steps for High Quality Leads and Low Quality Leads.

The subprocess steps are interpreted as follows:

Start. This is the start step that initiates the process instance.
Assign Lead. This is a business service task. It calls the Assignment Manager server component to assign the leads using Assignment Manager rules.
Assign Error Activity. This is a Siebel Operation insert task that is triggered if an error is returned from the Assign Lead step.
Quality. This is a decision point. The quality of the lead determines the path that the work item takes.
High Quality Lead. This is a subprocess step that calls the High Quality Lead workflow process.
Low Quality Lead. This is a subprocess step that calls the Low Quality Lead workflow process.
Create Opportunity Note. This is a Siebel Operation insert task that inserts a note in the Opportunity business object.
End. This step defines the completion of the process.

Bookshelf Home | Contents | Index | Search | PDF