Business Process Designer

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Introduction The Business Process Designer lets you define and build you workflows that can then be used to standardize and automate your business processes. You can define a logical sequence of activities in a workflow that can then be repeated reliably. The process defined in a workflow can be broken up into a number of stages. Each installed App can have its own set of workflows.

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Tool Bar

• Grid

The Grid option displays a faint grid on the background of the canvas. While the grid is visible, the moving of a node on the canvas will snap in to the grid to allow for easier alignment of the nodes.

• Print

The Print option will provide a complete printout of your workflow including all stages. An additional print option is available in the Print drop down menu that can be used to print only the stage that is currently being displayed on the canvas.

• Manage Current Stage

The Manage Current Stage options lets you define some of the properties of the stage that is currently being displayed on the canvas.

• Move Stage

Left and Right arrow buttons are provided to allow you to move the position of a stage when more than one stage exisits

• Language

Provide language translations for the stage's display name and the checkpoints.

• Display Name

The display name of the stage. This can be visible both within the Business Process Designer and in apps that display process information

• Notes

Provide some notes to describe the stage

• Stage Checkpoints

Define the stage checkpoints that will be used within the workflow. Checkpoints help to display the progress of the workflow in apps that display process information. Checkpoints must be defined here first, before they can be used within your workflow.

• Reposition Canvas

The canvas can grow quickly as you expand on the functions being performed within your workflow. The Reposition Canvas allows you to quickly return to the top left hand corner of you canvas.

• Delete Current Stage

Deletes the current stage. This option is not available to use on the first stage of a process.

• Add New Stage

A process can contain multiple stages. Each stage has a self-contained workflow. When moving from one stage to the next you can only move forward and cannot return to a stage once past. Additional options for stage templates can be access from the drop down options.

• Add New Stage

Clicking on this option will add a new stage to the end of your process. Using the Manage Current Stage option you can rename the stage and change its position

• Save Current Stage as Template

The current stage can be saved saved as a template allowing it to be reused either within this process or or on other processes when creating new stages

• Add Stage from Template

Use this option to select from a list of saved template

• Stage Selector

• Save Process

• Validate Process

• Publishing Manager

• Manage Process Settings

• Upload a Process Definition File

• Download a Process Definition File

Process Sharing and Visibility

Process owners will be able to view their own processes, and processes which have been shared with them from the Business Process List.

When creating or editing a process it is possible via the Manage Process Settings and Grant Access To option to share your process with:

• Roles
• Users
• Groups - Configured via the Organisational group structure

It is possible to share processes with multiple users, roles and groups. Once a process has been shared, the user will be able to view the process from the Business Process list.

To remove visibility to a specific User, Role or Group simply select the Trash Can icon next to the item you wish to stop sharing the process with.

To enforce the above sharing and visibility controls, ensure the system setting security.bpm_access_controls.enabled is set to On from the administration console:

• Home > System > Settings > Advanced

Process Versioning

When designing processes, you will have a Published version which is the one which will be used if the process is invoked, as well as a full history of all previous versions of the process.

Each process can have it's draft version edited, and then validated before being promoted as the new published version, which in turn will then be used when the process is invoked.

• You can only edit the draft version of a process. This allows you to make and save changes to the process without any impact on the Published version of the process.
• You can make as many edits and saves to the process whilst in draft as needed.
• To Promote a draft version to be published you must first validate and save your changes before using the Publish button under the Publishing Manager option to publish it.

• When Publishing a new version, it will be allocated a new incremental version number, and will be visible as being the Published version by the green Deactivate button.
• The previously published version will become deactivated and will be visible in the list of previous versions, which if needed can be re-activate and made the published version again by using the Activate button.
• It is possible to view the processes of both the currently published and deactivated versions of a process by clicking on the View Process Version button. This will allow you in Read Only mode to review any stages or nodes and their properties.
• Any processes which are currently active when a new version of a process is published will not be effected, the new version will only be invoked from that point in time.

Stages

All Workflow is defined in one or more stages. Stages simplify process complexity by breaking it into smaller pieces. One important rule is that you cannot return to a stage once you have left it. If you reach a condition which would logically require you to revisit previous actions you can build looping or reprocessing inside each defined stage.

Adding a Stage

A new BPM Workflow contains a single stage called 'Stage One'. To add a new stage click on the + next to the list of stages. A new stage contains two nodes; a 'Start' node and an 'End' node.

Stage Properties

The Stage properties can be accessed by clicking on the 'Manage Current Stage' button.

• Name - The name is displayed in the tabbed list of stages
• Description - Used to describe the purpose of the stage
• Checkpoints - defined points within a workflow that act as milestones for the progress

* Checkpoints can be marked as Mandatory or Optional - Mandatory Checkpoints must be achieved before moving onto a subsequent Stage.

Stage and Checkpoint definitions are important considerations. Hornbill's business process workflow automatically builds a Graphical Head's Up Display based on the Stage and Checkpoint names which then represents the process to both the support teams working on the request which the process is supporting, and if enabled on a Service by Service basis, the requester can view the progress through the process via the self service portals, by viewing the stages only, or stages and checkpoints.

Nodes

Workflow is made up of a two or more nodes which have specific process functions. Nodes are connected to each other by lines, which can include branching from outcomes when associated with decision nodes.

• Start

The Start Node indicates the starting point of the workflow. There are no parameters and you can can only have one per stage.

• Automated Task

Automated Tasks are definable automated actions that will occur within the workflow. The available automated tasks are provided by each application that utilizes Business Process Workflows. Each application can provide automated tasks that are relevant to the application being used.

• Authorization

Used to define the decision makers for authorisations, set their approval weightings, add expiry options on the decision, and if required include useful variables from the parent request to assist with the decision making in the authorisation task information.

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• Auto Assign Authorisation

This node is used to invoke authorisation tasks for approvers which have been predefined using the Automated Task > Entity > Request > Suspend > Wait for List of Request Authorisers node. This node has no requirement to define approval weightings etc as these will have been configured in the preceding Wait for List of Request Authorisers node. Options do include the configuration of outcomes, the authorisation task details and lifespan setting including optional due and expiry dates.

• Decision

These nodes can be used after a number of other nodes including, Human Tasks, or Automated tasks where multiple outcomes are possible. The Decision node can be used to facilitate the drawing of multiple outcome lines to other nodes, and for each outcome to be individually set. It is also possible to join decision nodes, to other decision nodes through the use of a No Match outcome. This caters for situations where multiple outcomes per decision are needed and not simply the three which are available from a single decision node.

• Human Tasks

This is for a synchronous manual activity that needs to be carried out. The workflow will wait for someone to update the activity with one of the expected outcomes. You need to define the name and details of the activity, allocate a role or an individual co-worker, and expected outcomes, as well as optionally including variables from the linked parent request which may assist in the completion of the task.

Read more...

• Integration Call

This node is used to invoke automated actions in a business process using either integrations with 3rd party solutions using Hornbill's Integration Bridge, or by invoking automations defined in 3rd party tools like Microsoft Orchestrator or HP OO. options will include choosing the connector to use, selecting the Method (automation) you wish to invoke and then supplying the required input parameters relevant to the connector and method you have chosen.

• End

This stage will terminate the workflow. You can only use this node in the final stage.

• Next Stage

This will take you either to the next sequential or a later stage and will only be available when you have 2 stages or more. You cannot go to a previous stage.

• Abort

This node will end the workflow and will cause the heads up display to show as red.

• Set Checkpoint

This node will allow you to set a visible indicator that a task / or important milestone in the process has been met - In order to use this node, checkpoints must have been defined for the stage of the process (Stage Properties). It is also possible to mark a checkpoint as having been met on the all the above nodes as a configuration option.

• Start Parallel Processing

This node can be used where there is a need in a process stage to invoke more than one stream of actions, and for these to run in parallel. Adding this node, will enable multiple process streams to be defined, and these will run independently until brought back together by the Finish Parallel Processing node. An examples of where this would be used, would be where two tasks need to be assigned to different teams, but there is no dependency or need for one to be completed before the other, so they can be created and invoked in parallel.

• Finish Parallel Processing

Use this node to bring together and finish the individual process lines which had been initiated from a Start Parallel Processing node.

Groups

A BPM Process has the possibility of having a large number of nodes which can result in a very busy and difficult to follow workflow. A Group feature is available that allows you to group together a number of nodes which can then be minimized and viewed as a single Group container. The nodes within the Group can be displayed again by maximizing the Group container.

• Create a New Group

Using a right mouse click on the workflow canvas will display a context menu with an option for a New Empty Group. Resize the Group to a size that would accommodate the nodes that you

• Naming a Group

Once a Group Box is highlight you can click on the Cog icon in the main workflow toolbar to open the properties of the Group and change then name

• Deleting a Group

A Delete icon is provided in the title bar of the Group container. Clicking on the delete icon will only delete the Group container. The nodes contained in the Group will remain intact and retain the layout that they were in within the Group.

Workflow Failure and Recovery

Under certain conditions it is possible that workflows may fail. Failure of a workflow will be represented by the Head's Up Display on a request turning Red, and will be accompanied by an error message. Typical reasons why a workflow failure may occur include:

• Analyst permission rights to perform actions in the workflow
• Configuration errors in workflow design
• Deletion of email templates, or mailboxes defined in a workflow.

Workflow Recovery

In the event of workflow failure, under certain conditions it is possible to correct the reason for the workflow failure and to restart the workflow from the point of the failure.

Conditions under which a workflow can be restarted

• Adjusting analyst rights to perform the action in the workflow which caused the failure - for example rights to send an email from a specific mailbox
• Adding an email template which is missing / deleted / misspelt in the workflow definition which caused the failure.

It is important to understand that once a workflow has been created in the admin tool, and the workflow has been started in a request, it is not possible to go back to the workflow, take corrective action and effect the reason for failure on a workflow which is running / In flight. The reason for this, is that as soon as a request invokes a business process, the workflow definition for that workflow is written to the database, and this definition is used.

It is possible to correct data which the process definition is expecting, for example for an email notification, if the process is expecting to use an email template that is misspelt, missing or has been deleted, it is possible to create an email template which reflects the misspelt, missing or deleted value defined in the process, and for the process to be restarted.

• In this scenario it is important to correct both the issue for the workflow in flight, but also in the actual workflow which will be used in subsequent requests.

How to restart a failed workflow

In order to restart a failed workflow you will need to be have been assigned the 'Service Desk Admin' role. When you view a request with a failed workflow, you will see a 'Restart Process' button on the Head's Up DIsplay. Without the specified role the restart button will not be visible.

Before pressing the restart button, ensure you have taken the required corrective action.

On pressing the restart button, the process will attempt to be restarted. There are two possible outcomes.

• If the process has been successfully restarted, the Head's Up Display will return to green, and a successful restart message will be presented.
• If the process can't be restarted, the Head's Up Display will remain red, and a failure message will be presented.

It is possible that the process can't be restarted, or you may have further failure issues which have been invoked once the original failure reason has been resolved. In this case the error message will indicate the source of the failure, and further corrective action may be required before successfully restarting the process again.

In the event of a successful or unsuccessful attempt to restart the process, an email will be sent to the email address specified in the app setting: app.email.restartBPM.feedback in the Service Manger configuration in the admin console. The email will contain the original failure details, if successfully restarted, and both the original failure reason, and the reason why the process can't be restarted if unsuccessful. The email will enable further failure diagnosis.