Creating and Maintaining Workflows
- Former user (Deleted)
- Stonebranch (Deactivated)
- IT Stonebranch
Overview
A Workflow is a task comprised of one or more tasks of one or more task types, including other Workflows.
To create a Workflow, you enter task Details just as you would for any task, and then design the Workflow on the Workflow Editor, where you add, connect, and organize the tasks that will comprise the Workflow.
During and after a Workflow run, you can view detailed results of the run in the Workflow Task Instance Details, and monitor the status of the Workflow on the Workflow Monitor.
Although a typical Workflow is a single group of tasks, a Workflow can contain multiple groups of tasks and/or individual tasks. Each task in a group of tasks is connected to one or more other tasks in that group. Each connection is made from one task (the predecessor) to another task (the successor). There is no limit to the number of connections that can be made to or from a task.
The following sample Workflow contains a single group of tasks.
When you launch a Workflow, the first predecessor task in all task groups, and all individual tasks, begin to run. In this example, task stonebranch-saptask-01 would begin to run.
Built-In Variables
The following built-in variables can be used in a Workflow task to pass data where appropriate:
Creating a Workflow Task
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Step 1 |
From the Automation Center navigation pane, select Tasks > Workflow Tasks. The Workflow Tasks list displays a list of all currently defined Workflow tasks. |
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Step 2 |
Enter/select Details for a new Workflow task, using the field descriptions below as a guide.
To display more of the Details fields on the screen, you can either:
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Step 3 |
Click a |
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Step 4 |
Click the Edit Workflow button to display a blank Workflow Editor canvas. |
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Step 5 |
Follow the instructions provided below for designing the Workflow in the Workflow Editor. |
Note
To open an existing record on the list, either:
- Click a record in the list to display its record Details below the list. (To clear record Details below the list, click the
button that displays above and below the Details.) - Clicking the Details icon next to a record name in the list, or right-click a record in the list and then click Open in the Action menu that displays, to display a pop-up version of the record Details.
- Right-click a record in the a list, or open a record and right-click in the record Details, and then click Open In Tab in the Action menu that displays, to display the record Details under a new tab on the record list page (see Record Details as Tabs).
Workflow Task Details
The following Workflow Task Details is for an existing Workflow task.
Depending on the values that you enter / select for these fields, and whether or not the Workflow task has ever been launched, more (or less) fields may display. See the field descriptions, below, for a description of all fields that may display in the Workflow Task Details.
For information on how to access additional details - such as Metadata and complete database Details - for Workflows (or any type of record), see Records.
Workflow Task Details Field Descriptions
The following table describes the fields, buttons, and tabs that display in Workflow Task Details.
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Field Name |
Description |
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General |
This section contains general information about the Workflow task. |
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Name |
User-defined name of this task (Maximum = 255 alphanumeric characters); variables supported. It is the responsibility of the user to develop a workable naming scheme for tasks. |
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Version |
System-supplied; version number of the current record, which is incremented by the Controller every time a user updates a record. Click the Versions tab to view previous versions. For details, see Record Versioning. |
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Description |
Description of this record. Maximum length is 255 characters. |
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Member of Business Services |
User-defined; Allows you to select one or more Business Services that this record belongs to. (You also can Check All or Uncheck All Business Services for this record.) You can select up to 62 Business Services for any record type, and enter a maximum of 2048 characters for each Business Service. If the Business Service Visibility Restricted Universal Controller system property is set to true, depending on your assigned (or inherited) Permissions or Roles, Business Services available for selection may be restricted. |
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Resolve Name Immediately |
If enabled, the Instance Name of the task instance will be resolved immediately at trigger/launch time. |
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Time Zone Preference |
User-defined; Allows you to specify the time zone that will be applied to the task. Options:
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Hold on Start |
If enabled, when the task is launched it appears in the Activity Monitor with a status of Held. The task runs when the user releases it. |
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Hold Reason |
Information about why the task will be put on hold when it starts. |
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Virtual Resource Priority |
Priority for acquiring a resource when two or more tasks are waiting for the resource. This priority applies to all resources required by the task. Options: 1 (high) - 100 (low). Default is 10. |
| Mutually Exclusive With Self |
If enabled, the task will not be allowed to run concurrently with itself. Task will not start until the instance that is running finishes. An instance will transition to Exclusive Wait status if it cannot start due to another instance already running. |
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Workflow Details |
This section contains assorted detailed information about the Workflow task. |
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Show/Hide Skipped Tasks |
Specification to either show or hide tasks that have been skipped in a Workflow (see Skipping a Task). Options:
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Auto Layout |
If Show/Hide Skipped Tasks = Hide Skipped; specification for the layout of the Workflow Monitor.
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Default Calendar |
Default calendar used by the Workflow. If the Workflow is launched by a trigger, the trigger calendar overrides this default calendar. |
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Override Inherited Calendar |
If enabled, uses the selected Default Calendar for this Workflow instead of the calendar used in the trigger or parent Workflow. |
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Wait / Delay Options |
This section contains specifications for waiting to start and/or delaying on start the task. |
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Wait To Start |
Amount of time to wait before starting a task from the time that it was launched.
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Wait Time |
If Wait To Start = Time or Relative Time; Time of day (in 24-hour time) to wait until before starting the task. |
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Wait Day Constraint |
If Wait To Start = Time or Relative Time; Specification for whether or not to advance the wait time to another day. Valid values:
Default is – None --. |
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Wait Duration |
If Wait To Start = Duration; Number of days, hours, minutes, and seconds to wait before starting the task. |
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Wait Duration In Seconds |
If Wait To Start = Seconds; Number of seconds to wait before starting the task. |
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Delay On Start |
Amount of time to delay the start of a task, after it has been launched, from the time that it is eligible to start; that is, all dependencies have been met. For example: it is not being held, it is not waiting on any predecessors, or there is no wait time specified.
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Delay Duration |
If Delay On Start = Duration; Number of days, hours, minutes, and seconds to delay after starting the task. |
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Delay Duration In Seconds |
If Delay On Start = Seconds; Number of seconds to delay after starting the task. |
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Workflow Only |
Specification for whether or not to apply the Wait To Start and Delay On Start specifications only if the task is in a Workflow.
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Time Options |
This section contains time-related specifications for the task. |
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Late Start |
If enabled, and if the task instance starts after the time or period specified, the task instance is flagged as late. You can specify a time or duration to determine a late start (see Late Start Type). To determine whether a task instance started late, open the task instance and locate the Started Late field; the field is checked if the instance started after the specified time. The Started Late field displays in the task instance Details only if the user specified a Late Start in the task Details. |
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Late Start Type |
Required if Late Start is enabled. Options:
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Late Start Time |
If Late Start Type = Time; Time after which the task start time is considered late. Use HH:MM, 24-hour time. |
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Late Start Day Constraint |
If Late Start Type = Time; Specification for whether or not to advance the late start time to another day.
Default is – None --. |
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Late Start Nth Amount |
If Late Start Day Constraint = Nth Day; Number of days to advance. |
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Late Start Duration |
If Late Start Type = Duration; Duration (amount of relative time) after which the task is considered to have started late. For a task within a workflow, the duration is the period between the time the workflow starts and the time the task itself starts. For example, a task might have a Late Start Duration of 60 minutes. If the workflow starts at 9:00 a.m. but the task itself does not start until 10:30, the task has started late. For a task that is not within a workflow, Late Start Duration has meaning only if the task has been held upon starting. For example, if a task has a Late Start Duration of 60 minutes and the Hold on Start field is enabled, if the task is not released from hold within the amount of time specified in the Late Start Duration field, the task has started late. |
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Late Finish |
If enabled, and if the task instance finishes after the time or period specified, the task instance is flagged as late. You can specify a time or duration to determine a late finish (see Late Finish Type). To determine whether a task instance finished late, open the task instance and locate the Finished Late field; the field is checked if the instance finished after the specified time or lasted longer than expected. This field only appears on the task instance if the user specified a Late Finish in the task definition. |
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Late Finish Type |
Required if Late Finish is enabled. Options:
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Late Finish Offset Type |
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Late Finish Percentage Offset ( + ) |
Required if Late Finish Offset Type = Percentage; Percentage of Average Duration to use as an offset. The late finish time is calculated by adding the offset to the Average Duration. |
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Late Finish Duration Offset ( + ) |
Required if Late Finish Offset Type = Duration; Duration to use as an offset. The late finish time is calculated by adding the offset to the Average Duration. |
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Late Finish Duration Offset Unit |
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Late Finish Time |
If Late Finish Type = Time; Time after which the task finish time is considered late. Use HH:MM, 24-hour time. |
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Late Finish Day Constraint |
If Late Finish Type = Time; Specification for whether or not to advance the late finish time to another day.
Default is – None --. |
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Late Finish Nth Amount |
If Late Finish Day Constraint = Nth Day; Number of days to advance. |
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Late Finish Duration |
If Late Finish Type = Duration; Longest amount of time this task instance should take to run. |
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Early Finish |
If enabled, and if the task instance finishes before the time or period specified, the task instance is flagged as early. You can specify a time or duration to determine an early finish (see Early Finish Type). To determine whether a task instance finished early, open the task instance and locate the Finished Early field; the field is checked if the instance finished before the specified time or did not last as long as expected. This field only appears on the task instance if the user added Early Finish specifications to the task definition. |
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Early Finish Type |
Required if Early Finish is enabled. Options:
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Early Finish Offset Type |
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Early Finish Percentage Offset ( - ) |
Required if Early Finish Offset Type = Percentage; Percentage of Average Duration to use as an offset. The early finish time is calculated by subtracting the offset from the Average Duration. |
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Early Finish Duration Offset ( - ) |
Required if Early Finish Offset Type = Duration; Duration to use as an offset. The early finish time is calculated by subtracting the offset from the Average Duration. |
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Early Finish Duration Offset Unit |
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Early Finish Time |
If Early Finish Type = Time; Time before which the task finish time is considered early. That is, enter a time at which the task should still be running. Use HH:MM, 24-hour time. |
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Early Finish Day Constraint |
If Early Finish Type = Time; Specification for whether or not to advance the early finish time to another day.
Default is – None --. |
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Early Finish Nth Amount |
If Early Finish Day Constraint = Nth Day; Number of days to advance. |
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Early Finish Duration |
If Early Finish Type = Duration; Shortest amount of time this task instance should take to run. |
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User Estimated Duration |
Required if Early Finish Type or Late Finish Type = Average Duration; Estimated amount of time it should normally take to run this task. The Controller uses this information to calculate the User Estimated End Time on a task instance record. User Estimated Duration is used when the Average Duration is not available; for example, on the first launch of a task. |
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Critical Path Options |
This section contains Critical Path-related specifications for the task. |
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Calculate Critical Path |
If enabled (checked), the Controller calculates the |