Setting Up PeopleSoft CRM Workflow

This chapter provides an overview of PeopleSoft Customer Relationship Management (PeopleSoft CRM) workflow and discusses how to:

Define PeopleSoft Process Scheduler settings for workflow.
Define workflow actions.
Define workflow email templates.

Understanding PeopleSoft CRM Workflow

This section discusses:

PeopleSoft CRM workflow and PeopleTools workflow.
Workflow actions.
Workflow triggers.
Workflow email templates.

PeopleSoft CRM Workflow and PeopleTools Workflow

PeopleTools workflow enables you to send automated notifications. You define PeopleTools workflow using three types of PeopleTools objects: business processes, activities, and events. You create and configure these objects using PeopleSoft Application Designer. You must be familiar with PeopleCode to define the conditions under which the system sends notifications and to configure the notification content.

PeopleSoft CRM workflow coexists with PeopleTools workflow. PeopleSoft CRM provides a front-end for setting up workflow with less coding than would otherwise be needed.

PeopleSoft CRM workflow:

Provides predefined business processes, activities, and events for the components that support PeopleSoft CRM.
Leverages the Active Analytics Framework (AAF) that you use to specify the events that trigger the evaluation of business rules, and indicates workflow actions that the system performs if the evaluation of the conditions are true.

PeopleSoft CRM workflow enables you to trigger processes (such as application engine or application class processes) as well as notifications.
Provides a component that you use to define the text of email notifications.

This applies to workflow email notifications that are used when setting up business projects.

Important! PeopleSoft CRM workflow is available only for specific PeopleSoft CRM components. These components are discussed in the following sections. To define workflow for components that do not support PeopleSoft CRM workflow, you can use standard PeopleTools workflow.

Workflow Actions

Use the Workflow Action component to set up CRM workflow actions that trigger processes or notifications.

Processes

If the action is a process such as an Application Engine process, simply reference the process and, if necessary, provide a run control ID. (The run control ID is necessary only if the process has input parameters.) You can include multiple processes in a workflow action, but only one run control ID.

Notifications

If the action is a notification, you can configure the notification to be sent to a worklist or to an email address. The content of a worklist notification is limited, consisting mainly of a link to the related transaction. Email notifications can include message text in addition to a link. When you set up an email notification, select a correspondence email template to provide the notification text.

Like email, workflow notifications can have a priority of low, medium, or high. This enables administrators to set a priority to each workflow action. When that action is triggered at run-time, the worklist notification is sent with the predefined priority and appears in the CRM worklist with that priority. The priorities are the same (high, medium, and low) as those that are used for worklist notifications throughout CRM.

Important! You use email templates that are created from correspondence management to send emails through workflow. There is one exception where the native workflow email templates are still being used, and it's in setting up business projects. When you want to send email to someone about a certain task or phase event that occurs, the email templates that are defined under Set Up CRM, Common Definition, Workflow, Email Template are used. In this chapter, these types of templates are called native workflow email templates to differentiate from the workflow email templates that are created from correspondence management.

You can send notifications to individuals, provider groups, or sales teams. Provider group definitions have a setting that controls whether the notification goes to a group address (either a group worklist or a group email address) or whether it is broadcast to each member of the provider group. This setting applies only to automated notifications, not to manual notifications.

When you define a notification, you need to reference three PeopleTools workflow objects: a business process, an activity, and an event. Because PeopleSoft CRM delivers generic objects, you do not have to use PeopleTools to create them. You do, however, need to know which of the delivered objects to select. This information is included in the documentation for defining workflow actions. Normally, one business process and one or two activities exist for each functional area that supports CRM workflow. Two events are always available: one for sending email notifications and one for sending worklist notifications.

To send notifications to multiple people, you can include multiple notifications in the workflow action.

Roles

To control who receives the notification, you select a role: either a static role that references a list of user IDs or a query role with appropriate binds for the variables. For example, to send a notification to a case's assigned agent, you use a query role and bind in the case ID.

PeopleSoft software provides several query roles, but you can also create your own. To do this, you need to understand how to use PeopleSoft Query. You also need to make sure that the query returns the right type of values for the specified delivery method; the query needs to return user IDs if the notification goes to a worklist, and it needs to return either person IDs or email addresses if the notification goes to an email address.

The role that you enter in a workflow action must return the appropriate type of value for the routing method (email or worklist), according to these rules:

A role that returns a list of user IDs results in worklist notifications.

This includes all static (user list) roles and all query roles that return user IDs. Both individuals and provider groups have user IDs. To send email notifications to members of a static role, create a query role that finds the person IDs that are associated with the user IDs.
A query role that returns a list of person IDs results in email notifications.

The system programmatically derives the primary email address for each person ID that the query returns. People who do not have primary email addresses do not receive the notification. Provider groups do not have person IDs. To use person IDs as the basis for addressing email to provider groups, write the query so that it returns the person IDs of all members of the group.
A query role that returns a list of email addresses results in email notifications.

If the query returns data in the format <address>@<service>.<domain>, the system treats the values as email addresses. Both individuals and provider groups have email addresses.

To send notifications using multiple channels, include multiple notifications in the workflow action. The PeopleTools Security documentation discusses these rules in detail. The PeopleSoft Query documentation discusses how to create role queries.

See Also

Enterprise PeopleTools PeopleBook: Security Administration

Enterprise PeopleTools PeopleBook: PeopleSoft Query

Workflow Triggers

These mechanisms exist for triggering a workflow action:

AAF.
Business project workflow.
Return material authorization (RMA) workflow.

AAF

AAF is the most common way used to trigger a workflow notification and is adopted by major CRM transactions. The framework provides a flexible environment where functional users build business rules using the simple if-then structure. If the evaluation of the business rules is true, the associated actions (in this case workflow actions) are invoked automatically.

Here's the high-level procedure on how to set up a workflow action to be triggered by AAF:

Create a correspondence template (if it is not already available).
Create a role query (if it is not already available).
If the workflow action is to run an application class or application engine process, create the process.
Configure the workflow action as part of the policy building process. Use the elements that are created in the previous steps.

Refer to the AAF documentation on configuring workflow actions if you plan to enable workflow actions through AAF.

See Configuring Workflow Actions.

Business Project Workflow

Business projects are structured, workflow-enabled task lists that coordinate and track work involving multiple people or processes. The term workflow-enabled refers to task lists that can trigger workflow actions at specific points during the business project. Business projects always run in the context of a parent object such as a case, an order, or a service order.

The following table describes how you trigger workflow actions in business projects:

Element	Description
Event definition.	Select predefined events from drop-down list boxes in the Task component (on the Assign/Events page) or in the Business Project component (on the Events page). Values depend on the component that you use, but they fall into three general categories: initiation, completion, and time out of a business project or one of its component objects.
Workflow action selection.	Associate events with a workflow action on the same page where you select the event.
Workflow email template selection.	When setting up email notifications, select a native workflow email template on the same page where you select the workflow action.

RMA Workflow

The RMA component in PeopleSoft Support contains PeopleCode that triggers specific predefined workflow actions delivered with PeopleSoft software. To activate the workflow, you assign users to the roles referenced in the delivered actions. You can modify the PeopleCode to reference different workflow actions. The following table describes RMA workflow actions:

Element	Description
Event definition.	None. The events are predefined in PeopleCode.
Workflow action selection.	None. The workflow action is predefined in PeopleCode.
Workflow email template selection.	None. Email text comes from a message catalog entry that you select in the workflow action definition.

Interactions

When the system sends a notification using AAF or business project workflow, the system logs the notification as an interaction, which you can then view on the 360-Degree View page or other interaction lists.

See Also

AAF Overview

Setting Up Business Projects

Setting Up Customer Self-Service

Understanding Material Return Processing

Working with Interactions

Workflow Email Templates

Native workflow email templates provide the text for email notifications that are sent by the business project workflow actions. They are defined under Set Up CRM, Common Definition, Workflow, Email Template. Workflow email templates are not used for RMA notifications. Those notifications derive their content from the message catalog.

Note. Native workflow email templates are different from the email templates that are used in correspondence requests, manual notifications, and automatic workflow notifications. They are used only by workflow actions available in business projects and in the specific hard-coded locations described here.

Hard-Coded Template Usage

The following notifications are hard-coded to use a delivered template, which you can modify:

Manual notifications that send case resolutions.

When a user tries to email a solution on the Case page, the default text in the Send Notification page comes from the workflow email template EMAIL_RESOLUTION. If ERMS is installed, the system uses the Outbound Email page.
Manual notifications that send case notes.

When a user tries to send an email in the notes summary view of the Case - Notes page, the default text on the Send Notification page comes from the workflow email template SEND_SELECTED_NOTES. If ERMS is installed, the system uses the Outbound Email page.

Tokens

Workflow email templates can incorporate variables to provide the recipient with useful contextual information. Tokens can reference data from any field (including a derived field) that is part of the component interface selected for the originating object. For example, a notification sent in response to a change in case priority can reference both the previous and new values from the Priority field in the case component.

You reference variables by creating tokens for specific field values and by inserting those tokens into the notification text. Tokens follow the format %n, where n is an integer. When you create a token, you select whether it displays the current field value, the previous field value, or the object name of the field.

If you reference data in a child record, you can format the workflow email template to include information for each row in that child record by enclosing the text in curly brackets ( {} ).

For example, the system stores case notes in the RC_CASE_NOTE record, which is a child of the main case record RC_CASE. To create a notification that includes information about each case note, you define tokens for the fields that you want to include, and then you enclose the repeated text for each note in curly brackets, as in the following example:

{Note Created Date: %2 Note Summary: %3 Full text of note: %4 ************************************************************* }

If the notification includes multiple rows of information, you can include a row of asterisks and extra blank rows to separate consecutive notes, as shown in the preceding example.

Components and Component Interfaces

When you create workflow email templates, you identify the component where the triggering event occurs and the component interface that displays the record and field names. The component interface controls prompting for the Record and Field Name fields when you create tokens.

The component and component interface that you reference depend on where the workflow email template is used. For example, workflow email templates that are used with business projects reference the RC_BP_STATUS component and the RC_BP_STATUS component interface.

Defining PeopleSoft Process Scheduler Settings for Workflow

This section discusses how to define PeopleSoft Process Scheduler workflow settings.

Page Used to Define PeopleSoft Process Scheduler Settings for Workflow

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
CRM Workflow Defaults	RB_WF_DEFAULTS	Set Up CRM, Common Definitions, Workflow, Defaults, CRM Workflow Defaults	Define PeopleSoft Process Scheduler settings for workflow.

Defining PeopleSoft Process Scheduler Workflow Settings

Access the CRM Workflow Defaults page.

CRM Workflow Server

Server Name	Enter the PeopleSoft Process Scheduler server that runs notifications and processes triggered by workflow actions.
Process Dir (process directory)	Enter the directory for the error output of the workflow actions.

Group Worklist Symbolic ID

Use this group box when setting up group worklists.

See Defining Worklists.

See Also

Enterprise PeopleTools PeopleBook: PeopleSoft Process Scheduler

Defining Workflow Actions for Business Projects

This section provides an overview on roles used for business project notifications and discusses how to define workflow actions for business projects.

Note. Workflow notification is one of the actions that you can trigger using AAF. For the workflow actions that AAF handles, the configuration is consolidated within the framework (administrators no longer access the Workflow Action component to configure workflow actions for AAF). The workflow setup discussed in this section is primarily used for business project workflow actions. For information on how to define AAF workflow actions, refer to the AAF documentation. To define workflow actions, use the Actions component.

See Also

Working with Active Analytics Framework

Roles Used for Business Project Notifications

This table summarizes the valid combinations of events and query role results:

Role Configuration	Notification Channel	Event to Select
Static role (includes list of user IDs).	Worklist	Task Worklist Event or Business Project Worklist Evnt.
Role query that returns user IDs.	Worklist	Task Worklist Event or Business Project Worklist Evnt.
Role query that returns person IDs or email addresses.	Email	Email Event.

Note. The query role and the PeopleTools workflow event must be configured for the same type of notification.

When writing role queries for business projects, keep in mind the data that can be bound into the query:

If a business project-specific event triggers the notification, you can bind in any value from the RC_BP_STATUS record.
If a phase-specific event triggers the notification, you can bind in any value from the RC_ACTIV_STATUS record.
If a task-specific event triggers the notification, you can bind in any value from the RC_TASK_STATUS record.

Even though these records contain many fields, logically, only the key fields provide useful bind values. For example, you can use the business project instance ID to join any of these records to the RC_CASE record and return a user ID, person ID, or an email address for anyone associated with a case. This strategy enables you to send notifications to the agent who opened the case, the provider group or agent assigned to the case, the caller who reported the case, or any other person associated with the case.

See Also

Configuring Workflow Actions

Pages Used to Define Workflow Actions

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Rule	RB_WF_RULE	Set Up CRM, Common Definitions, Workflow, Actions, Rule	Define general information about the workflow action.
Process	RB_WF_RULE_PRCS	Set Up CRM, Common Definitions, Workflow, Actions, Processes	Select processes to run when the specified workflow action is triggered.
Notifications	RB_WF_RULE_RTES	Set Up CRM, Common Definitions, Workflow, Actions, Notifications	Specify notifications for the workflow action.
Binds Required	RB_WF_RULE_BIND	Click the Role Binds button on the Notifications page.	Specify the value of any variables in the role query.

Creating a Workflow Action

Access the Rule page.

Active Flag

Select this check box to enable the workflow action.

Message Set Number and Message Number

Select a message set and a message to be used as the text for any email notifications that are sent. Messages are stored in the message catalog and organized by message set number. Each message set consists of a category of messages identified by individual message numbers.

This field is relevant only for RMA workflow actions. Otherwise, the system derives the email notification text from a workflow email template, and it does not use these fields.

Component Interface Name

Select the component interface that triggers the PeopleTools workflow event. The component interface must contain a method called Run Action Routes, which reevaluates the triggering event before a delayed or repeat invocation of the workflow action.

This field is relevant only for RMA workflow.

Run Control Record

The default run control record used to run the processes is RB_RUN_CNTL_WF. This is a generic run control record with no parameters. If the processes associated with this workflow action require a different run control record, enter that run control record here.

This field is relevant only for workflow actions that run processes.

Specifying Processes to Run

Access the Process page.

If multiple processes are listed, enter a schedule number to specify the order in which the processes run. Delay minutes and repeat minutes do not apply if the workflow process is invoked from business projects; the process takes place immediately.

See Specifying Process to Run in Workflow Actions.

Defining Notifications

Access the Notifications page.

Schedule Number

If multiple notifications are listed, enter a number to define the order in which the system sends the notifications.

Role Binds

If the role is a query role (rather than a static user list), click this button to display the Binds Required page, where you enter the bind values for the query used in the query role.

Business Process Name

Enter RC_BUS_PROJECT.

Activity Name

Enter RC_BUS_PROJECT_ROUTING.

Event Name

Values are:

Email Event for notifications sent to the recipient's email address.

Task Worklist Event for notifications sent to the task status worklist.

Business Project Worklist Evnt for notifications sent to the business project status worklist.

Delay Mins (delay minutes) and Repeat Times

Delay minutes and repeat minutes do not apply if the workflow notification is invoked from business projects; the notification takes place immediately.

To delay a notification, use the Workflow Configuration page in AAF to enter the number of delay minutes and repeat times that the system will send out a notification after a triggering event occurs.

For example, you could set up the system to send out a notification when a technician has not responded to a service call after 30 minutes have passed from the time the customer called in a problem.

Note. Delay minutes and repeat minutes do not apply if the workflow notification is invoked from business projects; the notification takes place immediately.

Defining Workflow Email Templates

This section discusses how to:

Define workflow email templates.
Define workflow email templates for business projects.

Note. To define native workflow email templates, use the Email Template component. These email templates are used for sending workflow notifications in business projects.

Page Used to Define Workflow Email Templates

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Email Template	RC_EMAIL_FORMAT	Set Up CRM, Common Definitions, Workflow, Email Template, Email Template	Define the content of an email notification sent by business project.

Defining Workflow Email Templates

Access the Email Template page.

Component Name

Displays the component where the triggering event occurs and whose fields you want to reference in the notification text.

Component Interface Name

Select the component interface associated with the component. The component interface populates the list of values for the Record (Table) Name and Field Name fields.

Email Template

Displays the unique name for the workflow email template.

Subject and Message Text

Enter the text to be used as the subject and message of a notification based on this template.

PeopleSoft Marketing uses the subject as the value for the Reason to Receive field in marketing worklist notifications.

Token Definition

Tokens are variables that represent data from a record and field that you specify.

Token	Enter a variable used to represent data to be included in the notification. Tokens use the format %n, where n is an integer.
Occurs level	Select the occurs level of the record that the token references.
Primary Record	Select the primary rowset for the component. Rowsets are hierarchical data objects that represent the scrolls, rows, records, and fields in the component buffer. To determine the primary rowset for a component, view the Structure tab of the component definition in Application Designer.
Record (Table) Name and Field Name	Select the record and field referenced by the token.
Display Type	Select to determine how the system formats the field value when it appears in a notification. Options are: Value: The current field value. Original Value: The previous value of a field that has changed. Formatted Value: The formatted current value for a date. Name: The object name of the field.

See Also

Enterprise PeopleTools PeopleBook: PeopleSoft Application Designer

Defining Workflow Email Templates for Business Projects

Access the Email Template page.

Component Name	Select RC_BP_STATUS.
Component Interface Name	Select RC_BP_STATUS.

Related Fields

When business projects are associated with cases, the associated workflow email templates can reference any field in the component buffer for the case. In particular, you may want to reference fields in the DERIVED_RC_WF record, which contains several fields specific to business projects, phases, and tasks.

The DERIVED_RC_WF fields that relate to business projects are populated for all business project events. The fields that relate to phases and tasks, however, are only populated by events related to phases and tasks.

For example, the DESCR_TASK field contains the task description. If included in a workflow email template associated with the Phs - Begins (phase begins) event, the field would be blank because the event is not task-specific.

Although this does not cause an error, it results in a blank value in the notification.

This table describes DERIVED_RC_WF fields that are related to business projects, phases, and tasks:

Field	Description
BP_STATUS_URL	Contains a uniform resource locator (URL) to the Business Project Status page.
TASK_STATUS_URL	Contains a URL to the Task Status page.
RC_BUS_PROCESS_ID	Contains the business project ID.
BUS_PROC_INSTANCE	Contains the business project instance ID.
RC_ACTIVITY_ID	Contains the phase ID.
RC_TASK_ID	Contains the task ID.
DESCR_BUS_PROCESS	Contains the business project description.
DESCR_ACTIVITY	Contains the phase description.
DESCR_TASK	Contains the task description.
RC_TASK_STATUS	Contains the task status.
TRANS_FROM_NODE	Contains the start phase of a phase transition within a business project.
DESCR_PARENT_OBJ	Contains the description of the business project parent object (that is, the description of the case from which the business project was initiated).

Note. Because the Task Status page can only be accessed from a link in a notification (it is not available through the menu structure), task-related notifications should always reference the TASK_STATUS_URL field. Also, the DESCR_PARENT_OBJ field is a useful field, as it provides the recipient with information about the case to which the business project relates.

Active Flag	Select this check box to enable the workflow action.
Message Set Number and Message Number	Select a message set and a message to be used as the text for any email notifications that are sent. Messages are stored in the message catalog and organized by message set number. Each message set consists of a category of messages identified by individual message numbers. This field is relevant only for RMA workflow actions. Otherwise, the system derives the email notification text from a workflow email template, and it does not use these fields.
Component Interface Name	Select the component interface that triggers the PeopleTools workflow event. The component interface must contain a method called Run Action Routes, which reevaluates the triggering event before a delayed or repeat invocation of the workflow action. This field is relevant only for RMA workflow.
Run Control Record	The default run control record used to run the processes is RB_RUN_CNTL_WF. This is a generic run control record with no parameters. If the processes associated with this workflow action require a different run control record, enter that run control record here. This field is relevant only for workflow actions that run processes.

Schedule Number	If multiple notifications are listed, enter a number to define the order in which the system sends the notifications.
Role Binds	If the role is a query role (rather than a static user list), click this button to display the Binds Required page, where you enter the bind values for the query used in the query role.
Business Process Name	Enter RC_BUS_PROJECT.
Activity Name	Enter RC_BUS_PROJECT_ROUTING.
Event Name	Values are: Email Event for notifications sent to the recipient's email address. Task Worklist Event for notifications sent to the task status worklist. Business Project Worklist Evnt for notifications sent to the business project status worklist.
Delay Mins (delay minutes) and Repeat Times	Delay minutes and repeat minutes do not apply if the workflow notification is invoked from business projects; the notification takes place immediately. To delay a notification, use the Workflow Configuration page in AAF to enter the number of delay minutes and repeat times that the system will send out a notification after a triggering event occurs. For example, you could set up the system to send out a notification when a technician has not responded to a service call after 30 minutes have passed from the time the customer called in a problem. Note. Delay minutes and repeat minutes do not apply if the workflow notification is invoked from business projects; the notification takes place immediately.

Component Name	Displays the component where the triggering event occurs and whose fields you want to reference in the notification text.
Component Interface Name	Select the component interface associated with the component. The component interface populates the list of values for the Record (Table) Name and Field Name fields.
Email Template	Displays the unique name for the workflow email template.
Subject and Message Text	Enter the text to be used as the subject and message of a notification based on this template. PeopleSoft Marketing uses the subject as the value for the Reason to Receive field in marketing worklist notifications.