1 Getting Started with Process Workspace

Oracle Business Process Management Workspace (Process Workspace) is a customizable web-based interface enabling you to access and manage tasks and process instances according to roles and responsibilities.

Learn how to start and log in to Process Workspace, navigate its interface, and configure your preferences.

• Understanding Process Workspace

• Navigating Process Workspace

• About the Process Workspace Tasks Page

• About the Process Workspace Activity Guides Page

• About the Process Workspace Process Tracking Page

• About Process Workspace Dashboards

1.1 Understanding Process Workspace

Process Workspace enables process participants to interact with the applications you create using Oracle BPM.

The Process Workspace user interface provides tabs for each of the following:

• Tasks: This page enables process participants to view and work with their assigned tasks.

• Case Management: Adaptive Case Management supports the modeling and running of very flexible and data-intensive business processes.

• Process Tracking: This page enables process participants to view running process instances.

• Standard Dashboards: This page provides out-of-the-box dashboards for monitoring process performance, task performance, and workload.

• Custom Dashboards: This page enables process participants to define and use custom dashboards based on the measurement data generated by process instances.

Business administrators typically configure and maintain organizations and roles. For more information, see "Modeling Your Organization" in the Developing Business Processes with Oracle Business Process Management Studio guide.

Process analysts typically use the Oracle Business Process Analysis Suite or Business Process Composer to create process models. They can also use the process analyst role within Oracle BPM Studio.

Process developers typically use Oracle BPM Studio to model and implement the components of a business application. They may occasionally use Business Process Composer for modeling basic processes.

Table 1-1 lists and describes the users for whom Process Workspace is designed.

Table 1-1 Users of Oracle Business Process Management Workspace

User Profile	Description
Process Participants	This is the most basic profile, common to all users. It enables you to: Organize, find, claim, and perform work assigned or delegated either to you or to your group Delegate work to another user Create and manage personal rules—for example, whom to send tasks to when you are on vacation Define and share views Manage personal preferences View and create reports and dashboards These users may be spread throughout the organization or work outside the company. A process participant may be one who not only initiates the process, but can also track its progress and, if appropriate, withdraw it.
Process Owners	Users who manage one or more business process. They act on tasks belonging to the process but assigned to other users, in addition to their own end-user access. They want to know how process instances are moving in those processes. To get this perspective, they typically use dashboards. These users usually reside on the business side of the house as part of the operations organization. They may also be supervisors.
Administrators	Includes two types of administrative users: Business administrators: Users responsible for administering Process Workspace—for example, adding mapped attributes, changing the look and feel, or ensuring that the web application is both running and accessible. Administers tasks that are in an errored state, for example, tasks that must be reassigned or suspended. They can also change application preferences and map attributes, and manage rules for any user or group, in addition to their own end-user access. They typically need access to Fusion Middleware Control Console as well as to the computers where Process Workspace resides. Process administrators: Users responsible for administering processes—for example, creating shared views; assigning or removing roles, permissions, and groups; and mapping roles.
Supervisors	Users with other process participants reporting to them. To ensure that process instances execute as expected, supervisors can: Access staff work Reassign and delegate work as needed Handle escalations from individuals reporting to them Generate reports regarding work distribution and productivity Specify extended user properties

1.1.1 Starting and Logging In to Process Workspace

To start Process Workspace, you must install Oracle SOA Suite, and make sure that the Service Integration server is running. See your installation documentation for more information.

To start and log into Process Workspace:

1. Go to

   http://host_name:port_number/bpm/workspace/

   The host_name is the name of the host computer on which Oracle SOA Suite is installed.

   The port_number is the one used at installation.

2. Enter the user name and password.

   You can use the preseeded user name to log in as an administrator. If you have loaded the demo user community in the identity store, you can use the other users such as jstein or jcooper.

   The user name and password must exist in the user community provided to JAZN.

3. Click Login.

Note:

• If you expect to have a large number of users using Process Workspace simultaneously, then set the session time-out value to no more than 5 minutes. To do this, expand the Process Workspace .ear file, open the web.xml file, and update the time-out parameter. This value overrides the timeout value set in weblogic.xml.

• Alternatively, in the WebLogic console, click Deployments, then OracleBPMWorkspace (not oracle.bpm.workspace), then the Configuration tab. Set the Session Timeout (in seconds) value. This updates weblogic.xml.

• If user identities are stored in Microsoft Active Directory, then authentication can fail at times because Oracle WebLogic Server, where Process Workspace is running, cannot communicate with the Active Directory installation. This can occur when Oracle WebLogic Server and Active Directory are in separate domains.

  To resolve this issue, add the entry for the Active Directory host's address to the /etc/hosts file on machine where Process Workspace is running.

1.1.2 Setting Accessibility Preferences in Process Workspace

After logging in to Process Workspace, you can configure accessibility options from any page. This changes the user preferences, which are retained through all sessions until you change them again.

To set accessibility options:

1. In the upper right corner of Process Workspace, click Preferences.

   The Preferences page appears.

2. In the Preferences pane, click Accessibility.

   The Select Accessibility page appears, as shown in Figure 1-1.

   Figure 1-1 Select Accessibility panel

   
   Description of "Figure 1-1 Select Accessibility panel"
3. Select I use a screen reader if you use a screen reader.
4. Select I use high contrast colors to increase the contrast between objects on the console.
5. Select I use large fonts to increase the font size.
6. Click OK.

1.1.3 Providing a Digital Certificate in Process Workspace

A digital certificate establishes the participant's credentials. It is issued by a certification authority (CA). It contains your name, a serial number, expiration dates, a copy of the certificate holder's public key (used for encrypting messages and digital signatures), and the digital signature of the certificate-issuing authority so that a recipient can verify that the certificate is real. For more information, see Using the Evidence Store Service and Digital Signatures.

To provide a digital certificate:

1. In the upper right corner of Process Workspace, click Preferences.

2. In the Preferences pane, click Certificates.

3. Upload the certificate you want to use to sign your decision, as shown in Figure 1-2.

   When signing a task outcome using your certificate, you must upload the entire chain of certificates through Process Workspace as a .P7B (PKCS7 format) file, not just the one certificate issued to you by the certificate issuer. The entire chain can be exported through Internet Explorer. Mozilla Firefox does not let you export the chain as a .P7B file. Therefore, you can perform the following steps:

   1. Export the chain from Mozilla Firefox as a .P12 file (PKCS12 format that also contains your private key).

   2. Import the .P12 file in Internet Explorer.

   3. Export it again from Internet Explorer as a .P7B file.

   4. Upload it through Process Workspace.

   Figure 1-2 Uploading a Certificate

   
   Description of "Figure 1-2 Uploading a Certificate"

   Note the following important points when providing your certificate to the system. Otherwise, you cannot use your certificate to sign your decisions on tasks.

   • The PKCS7 file format is a binary certificate format. Select this option if you have a standalone certificate file stored on your disk.

   • The PKCS12 file format is a keystore format. Select this option if you have your certificate stored inside a keystore.

     Note:

     An important point to note if you have the certificate stored inside a keystore. The Process Workspace only needs the public key for signature verification. It does not need the private key. Typically, a PKCS12 format may contain the user's private key (if you exported it from the browser). You can prevent access to the private key by following one of the options below:

     • Create a PKCS12 keystore with only the public key and the certification chain, but exclude the private key. Upload this keystore to Process Workspace.

     • Protect the private key with a separate password that is not entered into the Process Workspace preferences. The private key is normally contained in the PKCS12 within a separately encrypted PKCS8 structure. While the PKCS8 is often encrypted using the same password as the enclosing PKCS12, that is not mandatory. If the PKCS8 private key is encrypted using a different password, then provide the PKCS12 password at upload time.

   • If you want to copy and paste the contents of the certificate, select Type or Paste Certificate Contents and paste the BASE64-encoded text into the field. Do not paste a certificate in any other format into this field. Likewise, if you choose to upload a certificate, do not upload a BASE64-encoded certificate. Only PKCS12- and PKCS7- formatted files are supported for uploads.

4. Return to the task list by clicking the Home link in the upper right corner of Process Workspace.

5. Click a task to approve or reject.

   The task details are displayed.

6. Click either Approve or Reject.

   Details about the digital signature are displayed.

7. For a task that has a signature policy, click Sign.

   The Text Signing Report dialog box appears.

8. Select the certificate from the list to use to sign your decision.

9. Enter the master password of the Web browser that you are using.

10. Click OK.

    The Web browser signs the string displayed in the upper half of the Text Signing Request with the certificate you selected and invokes the action (approval or rejection) that you selected. The task status is appropriately updated in the human workflow service.

If you are a developer and want more information about how certificates are uploaded and used, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite.

1.1.4 Accessing Administration Capabilities

The upper right toolbar contains an Administration link that takes you to the Administration Areas.

Table 1-2 lists and describes the categories in the Administration Areas and tells where to find more information about each one.

Table 1-2 Categories in the Administration Areas

Category	Description	Information
Organization	Model an organization by defining organization units, business calendars, business holidays, roles, and other user properties. Note: If you are logged into Process Workspace, and changes are made to your organizational membership, you will not see these changes reflected in the interface until you log out and log back in again. This is because, for better performance, the organization unit information is cached when you log into Process Workspace.	Managing Your Organization in Process Workspace
Flex Fields (Mapped Attributes)	Create mappings needed for populating mapped attributes.	Managing Mapped Attributes (Flex Fields) in Process Workspace
Task Administration	Administer approval groups, task configuration, evidence search, and exceptions	Using Task Configuration in Process Workspace
Application Preferences	Customize the appearance of the worklist. Specify your preferred language and time zone.	Setting the Display of the Work Items Panel in Process Workspace How to Specify the Language Locale Information in Process Workspace

1.1.5 Setting Your Preferences in Process Workspace

The upper right toolbar contains a Preferences link.

Table 1-3 lists and describes the preferences you can set and tells you where to find information for setting each preference.

Table 1-3 Preferences

Preference	Description	Information
Providing a digital certificate	Provide a digital certificate from a certification authority to verify your credentials.	Providing a Digital Certificate in Process Workspace.
Setting rules	Set rules for tasks assigned to a user or group.	How to Create User Rules in Process Workspace How to Create Group Rules in Process Workspace
Setting notification preferences	Configure the notification settings to control how, when, and where you receive messages in cases when you have access to multiple communication channels (delivery types).	Specifying Notification Settings.
Setting accessibility preferences	Select accessibility preferences such as using a screen reader, using high contrast colors, and large fonts.	Setting Accessibility Preferences in Process Workspace

In addition to the preferences mentioned in this section, administrators can also set various preferences for how the Work Items panel is displayed in Process Workspace. For information about setting these application preferences, see Setting the Display of the Work Items Panel in Process Workspace.

1.2 Navigating Process Workspace

You can easily navigate Process Workspace. This chapter describes the various toolbars, buttons, and panels.

Figure 1-3 shows an example of Process Workspace Home page as it appears by default when you log in.

Figure 1-3 Example of Process Workspace Home

Description of "Figure 1-3 Example of Process Workspace Home"

Use the top links to act on tasks, cases, process instances, dashboards, activity guides, reports, and to add custom pages. The links to these parts of Process Workspace are listed and described in Table 1-4.

Table 1-4 Toolbar for Tasks, Activity Guides, Process Instances, Dashboards, and More

Toolbar Link	Description
Tasks	The Tasks page displays tasks for the user based on the user's permissions and assigned groups and roles.
Case	The Case page displays Adaptive Case Management cases, which are less structured ad-hoc processes. See Working with Adaptive Case Management in Process Workspace .
Process Tracking	The Process Tracking page enables you to interact with business processes based on the roles assigned to you.
Dashboards	Dashboards provide analytical information to monitor process execution as well as user workloads. They provide summary information and enable you to navigate to instance-specific information.
More: Activity Guides, Reports, and Add Custom Page	Activity guides organize your tasks into milestones. Each milestone is a specific set of tasks for you to complete, either on your own or in collaboration with others. Reports provide analysis of various aspects of tasks and their life cycles. The following reports are available: Unattended Tasks Report, Tasks Priority Report, Tasks Cycle Time Report, Tasks Productivity Report, and Tasks Time Distribution Report. For more information about reports, see How To Create Reports. Process Workspace provides its own default layout, but you can customize that layout by adding new pages and panels. For more information, see Creating and Editing Custom Pages in Process Workspace.

The global navigation bar at the top right is for configuring and acting on Process Workspace itself—for example, logging out, and setting user preferences. If you are an administrator, then an Administration link also appears. Administrative tasks can include the choice to either show or hide the default tabs, or specify which tab page is displayed by default when the user logs in.

Table 1-5 describes the pages you access through the Home, Administration, and Preferences links.

Table 1-5 Toolbar for Oracle Business Process Management Workspace

Page	Description
Home	As described in Table 1-4, the logged-in user's list of tasks, details for a selected task, and all the functions needed to start acting on a task are provided.
Administration	The following administrative functions are available: Organization administration Specifying mapped attributes Specifying application preferences Administering tasks, including configuring tasks, performing evidence search, and administering approval groups
Preferences	Preference settings include: Setting rules for users or groups, including vacation rules, and setting vacation periods Uploading certificates Specifying user notification channels and message filters Specifying accessibility for screen readers, contrast colors, and font size

For more information about creating custom pages, see Creating and Editing Custom Pages in Process Workspace.

For information on specifying, showing, and hiding default tabs, see How to Specify_ Show_ or Hide the Default Tab Pages in Process Workspace.

1.2.1 About Task States

Every task has a state value assigned to it at all times to indicate the status of the task. As tasks are created, processed, and closed, their state value changes appropriately, depending on what is happening with the task.

Table 1-6 Task State Descriptions

Task State	Description	Common Action From State
ALERTED	When there is a recoverable fault that has happened with task assignment, the task is moved to ALERTED state and assigned to the error assignee.	Reassign Route Error Withdraw
ASSIGNED	The assignee state indicates a task has been assigned to a user, role, or group and its ready for action by a user.	Claim (if assigned to a group, role, or set of users). Reassign Custom actions, such as Approve, Reject Escalate Route Delegate Request information
COMPLETED	The task is complete. This is a terminal state.	-
DELETED	Task is deleted logically. Only To-Do tasks can be deleted. DELETED is a terminal state.	Purge to remove the task from the database
ERRORED	The task has encountered an unrecoverable error. This is a terminal state.	-
EXPIRED	The task is past its expiration date and has expired. This is a terminal state.	-
INFO_REQUESTED	Information is requested on a task.	Submit information, which moves the task back to the ASSIGNED state.
OUTCOME_UPDATED	A short-lived state to denote that a user has acted on a task. This state is used primarily to keep a historical record of the action.	-
STATE	When the owning SOA composite or BPM project is undeployed, all instances of that version of the composite or project are moved to STATE state.	-
SUSPENDED	Processing has stopped on the task. No action can be performed on the task in this state, and timers are frozen.	Resume, which moves the task back to the ASSIGNED state.
WITHDRAWN	The task is no longer needed. This is a terminal state.	-

1.3 About the Process Workspace Tasks Page

The Tasks page displays tasks for the user based on the user's permissions and assigned groups and roles.

After a user logs in, the Home page displays the My Tasks page by default.

You can configure Process Workspace to display another page or change the order in which the links in the navigation bar appear when a user logs in. This is explained in How to Specify_ Show_ or Hide the Default Tab Pages in Process Workspace. Each user can also configure their own default custom view.

The Tasks page enables you to do the following:

• Perform authorized actions on tasks in the worklist, acquire and check out shared tasks, define personal to-do tasks, and define subtasks.

• Filter tasks in a worklist view based on various criteria.

• Export the tasks to Excel

• Work with standard work queues, such as high priority tasks, tasks that are due soon, and so on.

  Work queues enable users to create a custom view to group a subset of tasks in the worklist—for example, high priority tasks, tasks due in 24 hours, expense approval tasks, and more.

• Define custom work queues.

• Gain proxy access to part of another user's worklist.

• Define custom vacation rules and delegation rules.

• Enable group owners to define task dispatching rules for shared tasks.

• Collect a complete workflow history and audit trail.

• Use digital signatures for tasks.

• Display a pop-up showing details about the process instance related to this task.

• Export tasks to Microsoft Excel.

• The admin can map the task outcomes of all the task types (approve, reject, complete, resolve, and so on.) to the images available through the workflow global configuration in Enterprise Manager.

  After mapping the task outcome to the images, you can take task outcome actions from the worklist task list tool bar by clicking on the available images.

Note:

If you change a user's privileges in Fusion Middleware Control Console while the user is logged in to Process Workspace, the changes take effect only after a subsequent login by the user. This is true for situations in which there are two active worklist sessions: one in which the user is logged in before the privileges are changed, and another in which the same user logs in after the privileges are changed. In the first case, the changes to the user's privileges do not take effect while the user is logged in. In the second case, when the user logs in to the second instance of Process Workspace, the changes to the user's privileges do take effect.

1.3.1 Navigating the Process Workspace Tasks Page

Figure 1-3 shows a sample Process Workspace tasks page as it appears by default when a user first logs in.

This page lists all the tasks and work items assigned to you, depending on your role.

At the far left is a list with My Tasks selected. Expand this list to select:

• A particular view showing the number of open tasks for each view.

  Selecting a particular view refreshes the task count to the latest number.

• A list of applications deployed to Process Workspace.

• Any links or applications you may have specified.

To keep this list visible while you work on tasks, click Pin. To hide it, click Unpin.

Table 1-7 lists and describes the items in the list of views, applications, and links.

Table 1-7 Views, Applications, and Links

Component	Description
Views	Inbox—Shows all tasks that result from any filters you used. The default shows all tasks. You can set the priority for each task in your inbox by selecting the priority number from the inline list that appears in the Priority column. Standard Views—Due Soon, High Priority, Past Day, Past Week, Past Month, Past Quarter, and New Tasks. The items displayed in the inbox depend on the role granted to the logged-in user. Everyone (the user role) sees My Tasks, Initiated Tasks, and Administrative Tasks. Users who are also supervisors see the My Tasks, Initiated Tasks, My Staff Tasks, and Administrative tabs. Users who are also administrators (the BPMProcessAdmin), but not supervisors, see the My Tasks, Initiated Tasks, and Administrative Tasks. Users who are supervisors and administrators see all the tabs— My Tasks, Initiated Tasks, My Staff Tasks, and Administrative Tasks.
Applications	The processes the user is authorized to initiate. This component enables you to search for the authorized applications.
Links	Links to external websites or applications you may have specified. For more information, see How to Enable Customized Applications and Links in Process Workspace.

In addition to the Views, Applications, and Links, the My Tasks page includes other components listed and described in Table 1-8.

Table 1-8 Components of the Tasks Page

Component	Description
Display Filters	Specify search criteria from the Search, Assignee, or Status fields. The category filters available depend on which view is selected. From the My Tasks page, the Assignee filters are: Me My Group Me & My Group Me & My Group All Me (Previously) - tasks worked on in the past Me (Review Only) For the following pages, tasks are filtered using the Search function. From the Initiated Tasks page, click Search to filter tasks on Creator From the My Staff Tasks page, click Search to filter tasks on Reportees From the Administrative Tasks page, click Search to filter tasks on Admin The Status filters include: Any Assigned Completed Suspended Withdrawn Expired Errored Alerted Information Requested You can also perform an advanced search using several other criteria. For more information about searches, see Searching for Tasks in Process Workspace.
Actions List	Select a group action (Claim) or a custom action (for example, Approve or Reject) that was defined for the human task. Claim appears for tasks assigned to a group or multiple users; one user must claim the task before it can be worked. Other possible actions for a task, such as system actions, are displayed on the Task Details page for a specific task. You can also create To-Do tasks and subtasks here. When you select an action from Actions, a comment window appears. You must enter a comment and click OK to update the task and refresh the task list table. Click Cancel to cancel the action.
Export to Excel	You can export tasks in a selected view.
Task Status	A bar chart shows the status of tasks in the current view.
Default Columns	Title—The title specified when the human task was created. Tasks associated with a purged or archived process instance do not appear. Number— A unique ID number assigned to the task. Creator—The user who created the task. For business user tasks, the creator field shows as null. Priority—The priority specified when the human task was created. The highest priority is 1; the lowest is 5. Assigned—The date that the task was assigned. Process—If this task is associated with a running process instance, the name of that instance. Clicking this link opens a pop-up with process details.
Task Details	To view task details, select the task in the Inbox. The task details are displayed in the lower half of the worklist. You can also view a task in the same window or a new window by hiding the task details pane in Edit Inbox Settings. Buttons on the Task Details page indicate available actions. Once you complete a task, The task details page closes or loads the next task based on settings in each task form. The task details page shows the next available task. The task details page closes, and takes the screen back to the task list. The task list refreshes to show the remaining tasks. Select a task to see the details page. The behavior of Task details page depends on the options you choose for After Task Completion option in the How to Specify After Tasks Completion Behavior of Task Details Pop Up Window.

1.3.2 Using the Process Workspace Task Details Page

Figure 1-4 shows an example of a Task Details page. This page is invoked by selecting a task from the inbox on the Process Workspace Tasks page. You can also view it in a pop-up browser window by double-clicking the task.

The Task Details page may appear differently depending on the tool used during design time to develop the task form it displays.

Figure 1-4 Example of a Task Details Page

Description of "Figure 1-4 Example of a Task Details Page"

The task details page has the following components:

• Basic information including the title of the task—for example, task 1—task number, creator, assignees, state, created date, the person who acquired the task, priority, expiration date, and other flex fields.

• Previous Task/Next Task icons—For moving from one task to the previous or next task in the task list.

• Action buttons—For custom actions defined for this human task during design time—for example, Resolved and Unresolved for a help desk request, or Approve and Reject for a loan request. After you complete your role in a task, for example, by making an approval, the task list refreshes accordingly and moves you to the next task in the task list.

  For the administrator, the task initiator, or the manager, Withdraw may also appear.

  The available task actions depend on the user role and the task. The task actions do not depend on the which view you have selected.

• Other Actions—System task actions, beyond the custom actions defined for the task—as described in Performing System Actions in Process Workspace.

• Content—The payload. The fields displayed are specific to how the human task was created during design time.

• History Details—These are described in Task History.

• Comments and Attachments:

  • Comments entered by various users who have participated in the workflow. A newly added comment and the commenter's user name are appended to the existing comments. A trail of comments is maintained throughout the life cycle of the task. To add a comment, you must have permission to update the task.

    For information about how to add a comment, see Adding Comments and Attachments to Tasks in Process Workspace.

  • Attachments are documents or reference URLs associated with a task. These are typically associated with the workflow as defined in the human task during design time, or attached and modified by any of the participants using the task list. To add or delete an attachment, you must have permission to update the task. When adding file attachments, you can use an absolute path name or browse for a file.

1.3.2.1 Task History

The task history maintains an audit trail of the actions performed by the participants in the workflow and a snapshot of the task payload and attachments at various points in the workflow. The short history for a task lists all versions created by the following tasks:

• Initiate task

• Reinitiate task

• Update outcome of task

• Completion of task

• Erroring of task

• Expiration of task

• Withdrawal of task

• Alerting of task to the error assignee

You can include the following actions in the short history list by modifying the shortHistoryActions element.

• Acquire

• Ad hoc route

• Auto release of task

• Delegate

• Escalate

• Information request on task

• Information submit for task

• Override routing slip

• Update outcome and route

• Push back

• Reassign

• Release

• Renew

• Resume

• Skip current assignment

• Suspend

• Update

The history provides a graphical view of a task flow, as shown in Figure 1-5.

Figure 1-5 History: Graphical View

Description of "Figure 1-5 History: Graphical View"

Table 1-9 describes the icons used in the History section.

Table 1-9 Icons for Task History

Icon	Description
	Indicates an approver in an ad hoc routing scenario.
	Indicates that the task has been approved.
	Indicates that the participant just receives a notification task and the business process does not wait for the participant's response. Participant cannot directly impact the outcome of a task, but in some cases can provide comments or add attachments.
	Indicates that a set of people must work in parallel. This pattern is commonly used for voting.
	Indicates that the participant belongs to a management chain.
	Indicates the simple case in which a participant maps to a user, group, or role.
	Indicates that the task is untouched.
	Indicates the end of the task flow.

Note:

The history of a parent task also displays the history of any subtasks it contains.

1.3.2.2 Performing System Actions in Process Workspace

After you select a task from the task list, the Actions list of the Task Details page displays system actions available on all tasks based on the user's privileges. Table 1-10 lists system actions.

Table 1-10 System Task Actions

Action	Description
Claim	Use this action to claim a task that is assigned to a group or multiple users. Claim is the only action available in the Task Action list for group or multiuser assignments. After a task is claimed, all applicable actions are listed.
Reassign	Use this action to assign a task to someone else. If you are a manager, you can delegate a task to reportees. A user with BPMWorkflowReassign privileges can delegate a task to anyone.
Escalate	Use this action to escalate a task that is assigned to a group or multiple users. You can add an optional comment in the comments area. The task is reassigned to whomever is specified by the administrator. If no escalation path is specified, then the task is escalated to your manager (up one level in a hierarchy).
Release	Use this action to release a claimed task. If a task is assigned to a group or multiple users, it can be released if the user who claimed the task cannot complete the task. Any of the other assignees can claim and complete the task.
Suspend and Resume	Use these actions to suspend or restart a task. These options are available only to users who have been granted the BPMWorkflowSuspend role. Other users can access the task by selecting Previous in the task filter or by looking up tasks in the Suspended status. A suspension is indefinite. It does not expire until Resume is used to resume working on the task.
Withdraw	Use this action to cancel a task. If you are the creator of a task and do not want to continue with it, for example, you want to cancel a vacation request, you can withdraw it and add an optional comment in the Comments area. The business process determines what happens next. You can use the Withdraw action on the home page by using the Creator task filter.
Pushback	Use this action to send a task down one level in the workflow to the previous assignee.
Renew	Use this task to extend a task's expiration date. You can add an optional comment in the comments area. The task expiration date is extended 1 week. A renewal appears in the task history. The renewal duration for a task can be controlled by an optional parameter. The default value is P7D (7 days).
Submit Information and Request Information	Use these actions if another user requests that you supply more information or to request more information from the task creator or any of the previous assignees. If reapproval is not required, then the task is assigned to the next approver or the next step in the business process.

For more information about the Task Details page, see Using the Process Workspace Task Details Page.

1.3.3 Customizing the Task List in Process Workspace

You can customize your task list in several ways, including adding worklist views, selecting which columns to display, setting the sorting order, and displaying a subset of the tasks based on filter criteria. You can customize your inbox view as well as any other view including views you have created yourself.

To increase the number of tasks retrieved, resize the task list display area.

1.3.3.1 How to Filter Tasks

Figure 1-6 shows the filter fields.

Figure 1-6 Filters: Assignee, Status, and Search

Description of "Figure 1-6 Filters: Assignee, Status, and Search"

Filters are used to display a subset of tasks and can be applied to your inbox view or other views. Filters are based on the following criteria:

• Search: In the Search field, enter a keyword to search task titles, comments, identification keys, and the flex string fields of tasks that qualify for the specified filter criterion. Use the Search drop-down list to perform a regular or advanced search.

• Assignee

  Select one of the following:

  • Me: Retrieves tasks directly assigned to the logged-in user.

  • My Group: Retrieves the following:

    • Tasks that are assigned to groups to which the logged-in user belongs

    • Tasks that are assigned to an application role that the logged-in user is assigned

    • Tasks that are assigned to multiple users, one of which is the logged-in user

  • Me & My Group: Retrieves all tasks assigned to the user, whether through direct assignment, or by way of a group, application role, or list of users.

  • Me & My Group All: Retrieves all tasks that are assigned to groups to which the logged-in user belongs including tasks claimed by other group members.

  • Me (Previously): Retrieves tasks that the logged-in user has updated. Use Me (Previously) with the status filter set to Completed to see tasks that are completed.

  • Me (Review Only): Retrieves task for which the logged-in user is a reviewer.

• State: Select from the following: Any, Assigned, Completed, Suspended (can be resumed later), Withdrawn, Expired, Errored (while processing), Alerted, or Information Requested.

Note:

If a task is assigned separately to multiple reportees, when a manager looks at the My Staff Tasks list, the manager sees as many copies of that task as the number of reportees to whom that task is assigned.

1.3.3.1.1 Seeing your completed tasks

When you mark a task as Completed, it is no longer displayed in your Task List. To see all completed tasks, select Me (Previously) from the Assignee filter and Completed from the Status filter. The task list is automatically updated to show your completed tasks.

1.3.3.1.2 To filter tasks based on assignee or state

Select options from the Assignee and State lists. The task list is automatically updated based on the filter selections.

1.3.3.1.3 To filter tasks based on keyword search

1. In the Search field, enter a keyword to search task titles, comments, identification keys, and the flex string fields of tasks that qualify for the specified filter criterion.

2. Press Enter or click Search.

1.3.3.1.4 To filter tasks based on an advanced search

Mapped attribute labels can be used in an advanced search if you select task types for which mapped attribute have been defined.

See How to Specify Mapped Attributes for more information.

1. From the Search drop-down list, click Advanced.

2. (Optional) Select Save As View, provide a view name, and use the Display page to provide other information, as shown in Figure 1-7 and Figure 1-8. If you do not select Save As View, the Display page is not available and the Definition page is as seen in Figure 1-9.

   Note:

   Selecting Save As View creates a customized view. The saved view appears under My Views.

   Figure 1-7 Advanced Search: Definition Page

   
   Description of "Figure 1-7 Advanced Search: Definition Page"

   Figure 1-8 Advanced Search: Display Page

   
   Description of "Figure 1-8 Advanced Search: Display Page"

   Figure 1-9 Advanced Search Definition Tab - Display Tab Not Available

   
   Description of "Figure 1-9 Advanced Search Definition Tab - Display Tab Not Available"

   Table 1-11 describes the advanced search view columns available in the Display page.

   Note:

   The titles: User Conditions, Advanced Condition, Time Conditions, Basic Conditions and Custom Conditions correspond to the menu categories for adding conditions (see Figure 1-12).

   The saved view appears in the Views panel under My Views, as shown in Figure 1-10.

   Figure 1-10 Saving a View

   
   Description of "Figure 1-10 Saving a View"

3. Select an assignee, as shown in Figure 1-11.

   Figure 1-11 Selecting an Assignee for an Advanced Search

   
   Description of "Figure 1-11 Selecting an Assignee for an Advanced Search"

4. Select Any or All for matching multiple filters.

5. Add conditions (filters), as shown in Figure 1-12.

   Figure 1-12 Adding Filters for an Advanced Search on Tasks

   
   Description of "Figure 1-12 Adding Filters for an Advanced Search on Tasks"

   Table 1-11 describes the available conditions.

   Table 1-11 Advanced Search: User Conditions

   Condition	Description
   Acquired By	The name of the user who claimed the task in the case when the task is assigned to a group, application role, or to multiple users, and then claimed by the user.
   Approvers	The approvers of the task.
   Assignees	The assignees of the task.
   Creator	The name of the creator of the task.
   From User	The from user for the task.
   Original Assignee User	The name of the user who delegated the task in the case when the user delegates a task to another user.
   Owner Group	The group (if any) that owns the task instance. Task owners can be application roles, users, or groups. If the owner of the task is a group, this field is set.
   Owner Role	The application role (if any) that owns the task instance. Task owners can be application roles, users, or groups. If the owner of the task is an application role, this field is set.
   Owner User	The user (if any) that owns the task instance. Task owners can be application roles, users, or groups. If the owner of the task is a user, this field is set.
   Updated By	The user who last updated the task.

   Table 1-12 Advanced Search: Advanced Conditions

   Condition	Description
   Application Context	The application to which any application roles associated with the tasks (such as assignees, owners, and so on) belong.
   Component	The name of the task component that defines the task instance.
   Composite	The name of the composite that contains the task component that defines the task instance.
   Composite Distinguished Name	The unique name for the particular deployment of the composite that contains the task component that defines the task instance.
   Composite Version	The version of the composite that contains the task component that defines the task instance.
   Partition	The domain to which the composite that contains the task component that defines the task instance belongs.
   Task Display URL	The URL to display the details for the task.
   Workflow Pattern	-

   Table 1-13 Advanced Search: Basic Conditions

   Condition	Description
   Category	The category of the task.
   Identifier	The (optional) custom unique identifier for the task. This is an additional unique identifier to the standard task number.
   Long Summary	-
   Number	An integer that uniquely identifies the task instance. This task number is different from the instance ID shown in Enterprise Manager.
   Outcome	The outcome of the task, for example approved or rejected. This is only set on completed task instances.
   Percentage Complete	The percentage of the task completed (used with To-Do tasks).
   Priority	An integer that defines the priority of the task. A lower number indicates a higher priority; typically numbers 1 to 5 are used.
   Short Summary	-
   State	The state of the task instance.
   Task Definition Name	The name of the task component that defines the task instance.
   Title	The title of the task.

   Table 1-14 Advanced Search: Time Conditions

   Condition	Description
   Assigned	The date that this task was assigned.
   Created	The date that the task instance was created.
   Due Date	The due date of the task (used with To-Do tasks).
   End Date	The end date of the task (used with To-Do tasks).
   Expires	The date on which the task instance expires.
   Start Date	The start date of the task (used with To-Do tasks).
   Updated Date	The date that the task instance was last updated.

   Table 1-15 Advanced Search: Custom Conditions

   Condition	Description
   Custom Date 1	Custom flex field 1 with Date datatype
   Custom Date 2	Custom flex field 2 with Date datatype
   Custom Number 1	Custom flex field 1 with Number datatype
   Custom Number 2	Custom flex field 2 with Number datatype
   Custom String 1	Custom flex field 1 with String datatype
   Custom String 2	Custom flex field 2 with String datatype

6. Add parameter values as exemplified in Figure 1-13.

   Figure 1-13 Advanced Search

   
   Description of "Figure 1-13 Advanced Search"

7. Browse for a task type or leave the field blank for all types. Mapped attribute labels can be selected in the query and display columns dialog boxes if the selected task types have mapped attribute mappings defined. Use the search option to search by task type, process name or category as shown in Figure 1-14.

   Figure 1-14 Task Type Browser

   
   Description of "Figure 1-14 Task Type Browser"

8. Specify whether to share either this view's definition or its data, and the users or groups to share it with.

9. Click Search.

   The task list appears with the tasks filtered according to your criteria.

1.3.3.2 How to Create and Customize Worklist Views

The Views menu, shown in Figure 1-15, displays your inbox, standard views, and any custom views you have created. Use it to create, share, and customize views.

Figure 1-15 Views Menu

Description of "Figure 1-15 Views Menu"

To create a worklist view:

1. In the Views section, click Add View.

   The Create User View dialog box appears as shown in Figure 1-16

   Figure 1-16 Creating a Worklist View

   
   Description of "Figure 1-16 Creating a Worklist View"
2. Use the Definition page of the Create User View dialog box to do the following:

   • Create View or Use Public View—Create your own view or browse for a public view to copy.

   • Name—Specify a name for your view.

   • Add to Standard Views—This option applies to administrators only. Administrators select this option to create the view as a standard view, which then appears in the Standard Views list for all worklist users.

   • Assignee—Select Me, My Group, Me & My Group, Me & My Group All, Me (Previously), Me (Review Only), Creator, Reportees, Admin, Owner.

   • Match—Select All or Any to match the conditions you added.

   • Add Condition—Select a filter from the list and click Add. For example, if you select startDate, and click Add, then a calendar and a list including on, equals, not equals, greater than, less than, and so on appears.

   • Task Type—Browse for a task type or leave the field blank for all types. Mapped attribute labels can be selected in the query and display columns dialog boxes if the selected task types have mapped attribute mappings defined.

   • Share View—You can grant access to another user to either the definition of this view, in which case the view conditions are applied to the grantee's data, or to the data itself, in which case the grantee can see the grantor's worklist view, including the data. Sharing a view with another user is similar to delegating all tasks that correspond to that view to the other user; that is, the other user can act on your behalf. Shared views are displayed under My Views.

3. Use the Display page of the Create User View dialog box, shown in Figure 1-17, to customize the fields that appear in the view.

   Figure 1-17 Displaying Fields in a Worklist View

   
   Description of "Figure 1-17 Displaying Fields in a Worklist View"

   • Select View Columns—Specify which columns you want to display in your task list. They can be standard task attributes or mapped attributes that were mapped for the specific task type. The default columns are the same as the columns in your inbox.

   • Sort by —Select a column or multiple columns on which to sort. Use the arrow buttons to specify the preferred sequence.

   • Sort Order—Select ascending or descending order.

   The sorting options selected are saved as a user preference.

4. Click OK.

   The saved view appears in the Views panel under My Views.

1.3.3.2.1 To customize an Inbox view

Note:

If you select to display the Task Display URL column, you must have an associated taskflow for the deployed task. The taskflow registration is performed during deployment. At that time, the Task Display URL column value is set. If the taskflow is not associated during deployment, the Task Display URL column does not display generic URL details for a task.

1. In the Views, Applications, and Links pane, select Views, then select the view you want to customize.

2. Click Edit View.

   The Edit User View dialog box appears as shown in Figure 1-18.

   Figure 1-18 Customizing Fields in a Worklist View

   
   Description of "Figure 1-18 Customizing Fields in a Worklist View"

3. Use the Edit User View dialog box to customize the view.

   When you select and move items from the Available Columns list to the Selected Columns list (or vice-versa), the items remain selected. Therefore, if you select items to move back, the previously selected items are also moved. Ensure that you deselect items after moving them between the lists if you intend to move additional columns.

   When you have finished making your settings, click OK.

1.3.4 Searching for Tasks in Process Workspace

For instructions on searching for tasks, see the following topics:

• To filter tasks based on keyword search

• To filter tasks based on an advanced search

1.3.5 Defining and Testing Screenflows in Process Workspace

Screenflows enable users to work on all of the tasks in a process in sequence. For example, when a user completes a task in a process, and if the next task is assigned to the same user, then the next task is automatically shown in the same flow, without the user having to return to the task list.

After deploying the BPM process and human tasks you can test if the screenflow works. Start the process instance and open the human task in Workspace. When you finish a task that is part of the screenflow, it immediately jumps to the next text in the screenflow without you going back to the tasklist.

For more information about defining a screenflow, see Working with Screenflows in the BPM Studio Guide.

To test screenflows:

1. Deploy the BPM Process.
2. Deploy all the Human Tasks that are part of the process. Make sure you have the ScreenFlowMode parameter added in all human tasks that are part of the screenflow, except the last task.
   (Optional) Enter the result of the step here.
3. Instantiate the process.
4. Open the human task that is part of the process in Workspace.
5. Act on the task.
   If the task is part of the screenflow, you will see the next available task.

You can set a timeout parameter for screenflows. For more information, see How to Set a Timeout Parameter for Screenflows.

1.4 About the Process Workspace Activity Guides Page

Activity guides organize your tasks into milestones. Each milestone is a specific set of tasks for you to complete, either on your own or in collaboration with others.

For each milestone, the activity guide tells you which tasks to complete and in which order. You complete a milestone by completing all the tasks it contains for you. Depending on the nature of the task, you can save an unfinished task and resume it later.

Figure 1-19 shows an example of an activity guide.

Figure 1-19 Sample Activity Guide

Description of "Figure 1-19 Sample Activity Guide"

Using an activity guide, you can:

• Expand a milestone to see and act on the tasks it includes.

• View the status and percent completion of the overall business process in which you participate.

For more information about navigating the Activity Guides page, see Navigating Activity Guides.

1.5 About the Process Workspace Process Tracking Page

Use the Process Tracking page to interact with business processes based on the roles assigned to you.

Using the Process Tracking tab, you can do the following:

• View the list of process instances pending in your inbox.

• Execute tasks, that is, carry out a human task on a particular instance.

• Search for instances by different criteria.

• Save the searches as a view.

• View the details of an instance, including the audit trail.

• Create a new instance, if you have permission to do so.

• Attach a file to an instance.

• Add notes to an instance.

1.5.1 Navigating the Process Workspace Process Tracking Page

Figure 1-20 Process Workspace Process Tracking Page

Description of "Figure 1-20 Process Workspace Process Tracking Page"

The Process Tracking page has these sections:

• The Applications panel, which shows the list of applications available to you. Here you can perform basic Process Workspace actions, such as creating a new instance performing a given activity, or sorting applications.

  Hovering over the name of an application in the Applications panel displays a tool tip with the application's full name and revision number.

  The applications available in Process Workspace depend on the process design and the roles assigned to the user currently logged in. The list of available applications also depends on the BPM processes that are deployed and running. If no processes are running, or if you are not a participant able to execute an application in any of the processes currently running, then the applications panel is empty.

  In the applications panel, you can sort either of the following:

  • Only the default versions of applications

  • All active versions of applications

  You can sort either by name or by process version. You can filter the same applications by entering in the Search field either full or partial names or full or partial versions.

• The Views panel, on the lower left half, displays the views available to you in an expandable tree

• The Pending Components panel shows all suspended processes. If a new version of a process is deployed, and the previously deployed process has instances not yet migrated to the new version, then the previously deployed process is suspended. To resume it, either migrate or suspend any non-migrated instances. For information about resuming suspended processes, see How to Resume the Suspended Process Flow in Oracle Fusion Middleware Developing Business Processes with Oracle Business Process Management Studio.

• The Work Items panel, on the upper right half, shows the task items corresponding to the view you have selected in the Views panel. In this panel, you can choose the columns that are presented in a given view. A particular column arrangement is known as a presentation. Clicking Add/Remove columns displays the Presentation dialog box in which you can define columns.

  The following columns are available:

  • Actions

  • Activity

  • Activity Due Date

  • Copy

  • Creation Time

  • Deadline

  • Description

  • Has Attachments

  • Has Notes

  • Initiated

  • Initiator

  • Initiator Name

  • Instance #

  • Parent Copy

  • Participant

  • poID

  • Priority

  • Process Name

  • Process Due Date

  • Received

  • Status

  • Task Participant (that is, the participant that is currently executing an instance.)

  • Title

• The Work Item Detail panel, on the lower right half, shows detailed information about a work item that you have selected in the Work Items panel. It has these sections:

  • Details: Shows the priority, process name, when the instance is due to complete, status, creation time, and the assignee if any.

  • Open Activities: Shows the status of any gateways with threads that are still running.

  • Audit Trail: Shows audit details in either a list view, a tree view, or graphical view. You can select the type of activity or sub-process you want to audit: human activities, service activities business rule activities, subprocesses, events, gateways, script activities, other activities, or all of the above.

    If the process includes an input or output payload, then you can display the audit details for that message in a pop-up. Clicking on a particular activity displays the task history.

    For more information about viewing audit details, see Viewing History.

  • Comments: Enables you to add Comments to the process instance.

  • Attachments: Enables you to add attachments to the process instance.

    For more information about adding comments and attachments to a process instance, see Associating Comments and Attachments with a Process Instance.

1.6 About Process Workspace Dashboards

Dashboards provide analytical information to monitor process execution as well as user workloads.

Two types of dashboards are available in Oracle Business Process Management Workspace (Process Workspace):

• Process Monitor dashboards

• Standard dashboards

Process monitor dashboards allow you to monitor and optimize process execution by identifying bottlenecks and other performance problems.

Standard dashboards present the standard metrics gathered during the execution of a process as graphs. They provide summary information and enable you to navigate to instance-specific information.

Figure 1-21 shows the Standard Dashboards page.

Figure 1-21 Process Workspace Standard Dashboards Page

Description of "Figure 1-21 Process Workspace Standard Dashboards Page"

For additional information about dashboards, see Using Dashboards in Process Workspace.