Bookshelf v7.5: Siebel Workflow Terminology

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Siebel Workflow Terminology

Table 106, Table 107, and Table 108 describe the common terms for Workflow Processes, Workflow Policies, and State Model.

Table 106. Workflow Processes Terms
Term	Definition
Arguments	Data passed to or received from a process or step.
Branch	A possible outcome of a workflow process step. A branch can have one or more conditions. A branch is followed by a step in the workflow process definition. If all of the conditions for the branch are met, the work item proceeds to the step following the branch.
Business object	A group of one or more business components. A business object represents an entity in the Siebel application that you would like to monitor. A workflow process is based on one and only one business object. Business objects are defined in Siebel Tools.
Business process	A process that is associated with operational objectives and business relationships. A business process is a set of one or more linked procedures, which collectively realize a business objective. An example of a business process is managing a new service request.
Business service	A type of step in a process in which an automated call is made to a service, such as the Outbound Communications service that handles inbound and outbound messaging. A workflow process definition can have one or more business service steps.
Connector	A definition of the relationship between two workflow process steps.
Decision point	A type of step in a workflow process definition in which the work item branches off to different steps depending on a set of conditions. A decision point consists of all possible branches for that point in the business process. Each branch consists of one or more conditions that must be met for a work item to follow that branch. A workflow process definition can have one or more decision steps.
End	A type of workflow process step that specifies when a process instance is finished.
Exception	A type of workflow process step that specifies when a process instance should follow an alternative branch instead of the normal branch path.
Process property	A storage field that contains values for use in steps as input and output arguments or for performing evaluations.
Process Simulator	A Workflow Processes view featuring a graphical flowchart interface used for debugging workflow processes.
Siebel Operation	A type of workflow process step that handles database operations such as insert, query, or update of a business component record or field.
Start	A type of step that defines the conditions for initiating an instance of a workflow process. When the conditions have been met, the process instance is initiated. A workflow process definition has one and only one start step.
Step	An activity within a workflow process. Steps are logically linked together to create a process definition.
Step instance	The instance of a process definition step that has been initiated. A start step is initiated when all conditions defined for the start step have been met. A decision step is initiated when all conditions for a decision branch have been met. All other steps are initiated when the previous step has completed.
Stop	A type of workflow process step that specifies the conditions that cause a process instance to terminate prior to completion.
Subprocess	A workflow process embedded into another workflow process as part of the workflow process definition. A subprocess has its own workflow process definition. A subprocess is a type of step. There can be one or more subprocess steps in a workflow process.
Wait	A type of workflow process step that specifies when a process instance should pause in execution and the duration of the pause.
Workflow process	The representation of a business process. A workflow process comprises one or more steps that indicate when a business process starts and ends and includes information about individual activities within the business process.
Workflow process instance	An instance of a workflow process that has been initiated. A process instance is initiated when the input conditions for a process definition have been met. A process instance consists of one or more step instances and contains one or more work items.
Work item	The representation of the work being processed in the context of a step within a process instance. A work item is an instance of a business object.

Table 107. Workflow Policies Terms
Term	Definition
Business object	A group of one or more business components. A business object represents an entity in Siebel that you would like to monitor. A workflow policy object is based on one and only one business object. Business objects are defined in Siebel Tools.
Business rule	The definition of how an organization wants to carry out a process in its operations.
Object type	An entity in Siebel Tools displayed as a node on the Object Explorer. For example, workflow policy objects, workflow policy components, workflow policy columns, and policy programs are all object types.
Policy action	An event that Siebel executes when all policy conditions are true and all the workflow policy properties are satisfied. Policy actions are based on programs. Policy actions are defined in the Workflow Policies Actions view. Once you define a policy action, it can be used in a workflow policy.
Policy condition	A policy condition is an expression that is compared against the data in the Siebel database. The result of the comparison is either true or false. Workflow policy conditions are defined in the Workflow Policies Policies view. A policy condition is defined by selecting a workflow policy column, selecting a comparison operator, and entering or selecting a value, if appropriate.
Program	The definition of an event. Types of events are Send Email, Send Page, Database Operation, Send Message Broadcast, and Run External Program. Different properties are associated with a program based on the event type. Some of the properties that can be defined for a program include the fields that can be substituted into a message, the possible recipients of a message, and the database columns that you would like to update. Programs are defined in Siebel Tools.
Workflow policy	A systematic expression of a business rule. A workflow policy contains one or more policy conditions and one or more policy actions. If all the policy conditions for a workflow policy are true, then the policy action occurs. (That is, when all policy conditions are met.) A workflow policy is contained by one workflow policy group and is related to one workflow policy object. A workflow policy contains additional properties that govern its behavior. Workflow policies are defined in the Workflow Policies Policies view.
Workflow policy column	A column that defines the column on the Siebel database table that you would like to monitor. You use workflow policy columns when defining workflow policy conditions for a workflow policy. A workflow policy column must be associated with a workflow policy component for it to be used in a workflow policy. A workflow policy column that is associated with a workflow policy component is called a workflow policy component column. Workflow policy columns are defined in Siebel Tools.
Workflow policy component	Components that define the Siebel database tables you would like to monitor. Workflow policy components also define the relationships between tables. Workflow policy components contain workflow policy columns. Workflow policy components are defined in Siebel Tools.
Workflow policy component column	A workflow policy column that is associated with a workflow policy component. Workflow policy component columns define the database columns that can be used in workflow policy conditions for a workflow policy. Workflow policy component columns are defined in Siebel Tools.
Workflow policy group	A group of one or more workflow policies. Workflow policy groups allow you to group workflow policies sharing common desired behavior. Siebel Server processes monitor workflow policy groups. For example, workflow policies that need to be monitored hourly would be in a different workflow policy group than those that need to be monitored weekly. Workflow policy groups are defined in the Workflow Policies Groups view.
Workflow policy object	A group of one or more workflow policy components. A workflow policy object represents an entity in the Siebel application that you would like to monitor. A workflow policy is based on one and only one workflow policy object. Workflow policy objects are defined in Siebel Tools.

Table 108. State Models Terms
Term	Definition
State machine	The engine that enforces the transitions between states for an object during its lifetime. A state represents the status of an object or where the object is in its lifetime, such as Open, Closed, or Pending. The state can also control whether or not the data of that object can be modified. As an example, a service request that is in a Closed state may be considered "frozen," such that its attributes cannot be modified.
State model	The blueprint of acceptable states and state transitions that the state machine enforces. The state machine then checks to see that these objects go through the desired process defined in the state model.
State transition	A transition that defines the allowable migration of an object from one state to the next. For instance, a closed service request that must be re-opened may go from the Closed state to an Open state, and may go from Open to Pending, but may not transition directly from Closed to Pending. The allowable migration of a service request from Closed to Open, or Open to Pending, represents defined state transitions.