Choose the implementation for each activity in your BPD and set the required properties.
Before you begin
To perform this task, you must be in the IBM® Process Designer desktop editor.
About this task
The following table lists the options available when you choose the implementation for an activity and provides a link to detailed information and procedures. To learn more about the types of tasks that are available, see Task types.Table 1.
Implementation options available for activities in process diagrams
Implementation option Description See...
User Task Select this option if an
activity is to be started or completed by a user (human performer). For example, if an activity requires that managers enter employee data, choose User Task and select or create a client- side human service or a heritage human service to implement the task.
Building a client-side human serviceBuilding a heritage human service
System Task Select this option if an
activity is to be completed by an automated system or service. For example, if an activity requires integration with an external system, such as a database,
choose System Task and select or create an
Integration service to implement the task.
Decision Task Select this option when you want a decision or condition in a business rule to determine which
process implementation is started. For example, if you want Process Designer to implement an activity when a condition evaluates to
true, choose Decision
Task and select or create
a decision service to implement the task.
Service types
Script Choose this option if you
plan to create a script to implement an activity. A Script activity runs a Java™ script.
Using JavaScript variables and objects inside Process Designer
Subprocess Use this option to
encapsulate logically related steps within a parent process. Steps in a subprocess can directly access business objects (variables) from the parent process. No data mapping is required. However, unlike a linked process, a subprocess can be
accessed and instantiated only from the parent BPD, and it is not reusable by any other process or subprocess. Therefore, use a subprocess for those implementations that are limited to a single business process definition (BPD).
Subprocess types
Linked Process You can implement an
activity by using a linked process. Linked processes encapsulate logically
related steps within a
process while retaining the high-level view of the
parent process. Linked processes differ from subprocesses because they can be accessed and instantiated from
processes other than a single parent process.
Working with linked processes
1. 2. 3. 4.
Tip: To learn how to make an activity conditional, see "Configuring conditional
activities".
Procedure
When the implementation that you want to use is created, such as a service, complete the following steps to select it:
Open the Process Designer desktop editor. Open a process application that contains a BPD.
Select the activity that you want to use in the BPD diagram, and then go to the Implementation properties.
Under Implementation, select an option from the displayed list. For example, choose User Task if the implementation for the current activity is a human
service with a coach. (The preceding table describes each available option.) Tip: To implement the task as either a client-side human service or a heritage human
service, see Implementing a BPD activity as a human service.
Event Subprocess Use this specialized
subprocess to model event-handling logic for a process or subprocess. It is triggered upon
occurrence of a configured start event, and it is not connected to other steps through a sequence flow. It has access to the business objects (variables) of its parent process, and can encapsulate steps that use those variables. When triggered, an event subprocess can either interrupt the execution of its parent or can run in parallel.
Modeling event subprocesses
None Select this option if you are
not ready to associate an implementation. Use this option to create a
temporary placeholder activity in your process diagram until an
implementation is available. If you run a process that includes an activity with this option selected, the task
completes immediately after it starts.
5. 6. 7. 8. A. B.
Click Select to choose the implementation from the library. If the implementation does not yet exist, click New to create it. (The previous table provides instructions for creating implementations.) If you choose System Task for your
implementation option, you must specify extra properties, as outlined in the following steps.
(System Tasks only) Select Delete task on completion if you want to run an automated service that does not require routing. When you select this check box, audit data for the task is not retained by the Process Server. By default, this option is disabled.
(User Tasks only) In the Task Header section, specify the following properties:
Table 2. Properties in the Task Header section
(User Tasks only) In the Priority Settings section, specify values as needed.Tip: If you prefer to use a JavaScript expression with predefined variables to establish the priority settings, click JS for options.
Under Priority, select one of the default priority codes from the list: Highest,
High, Normal (the default), Low, or Lowest.
Under Due In, enter a value in the text box and then choose Minutes, Hours, or Days from the list. (When you choose Days, you can use the text box after the list to specify hours and minutes.) You can also use the variable selector next to the text box to choose an existing variable from the library. At run time,
Property Action
Clean State Select to clear the runtime execution
state of an activity after it is complete. By default, this option is disabled.
Enable this option only when you do not
want to store execution data (such as variable values) for viewing after the process finished execution.
Subject Type a descriptive subject for the task
that is generated in IBM Process Portal when you run the BPD. You can also use the IBM BPM embedded JavaScript syntax (for example,
<#=tw.local.mySubject#>) to express the subject.
Narrative Type an optional description. You can
also use the IBM BPM embedded JavaScript syntax to express the narrative. Restriction: Do not use JavaScript variable references in task narratives if you need the data to be available after the task completes. When a task is complete, IBM BPM removes the data for completed tasks to conserve space. Instead, store the data items in another location, such as a database.
C. D. E. 9. - -
option from the list: Minutes, Hours, or Days.
Under Schedule, select an option from the list. For example, select 24x7 if you want 24 hours a day, seven days a week to be the time period in which the resulting tasks from the current activity can be due. You can leave the
Schedule, Timezone, and Holiday Schedule fields set to (use default). If you do, the work schedule that is specified for the BPD is used. For more information, see "Setting the due date and work schedule for a BPD".
Under Timezone, select the time zone that you want to apply to the tasks that result from the current activity. For example, you can select US/Pacific for users who work in California.
Under Holiday Schedule, leave the setting at (use default) as described in
the preceding note, or click JS if you prefer to use a JavaScript expression. Each holiday schedule is made up of a list of dates. If you choose JavaScript, you can enter either a String (or String-generated JavaScript) or a JavaScript
that returns a TWHolidaySchedule variable. If you use a String, IBM BPM
looks up the Holiday Schedule by name according to those rules. If you use a
TWHolidaySchedule variable, IBM BPM assumes that the holiday schedule is
appropriately specified. (Go to the System Data toolkit and open the
TWHolidaySchedule variable to view its parameters.)
(User Tasks only) In the Processing Behavior section, select Automatically
flow to next task if you want the next task in the sequence to run automatically.
Implementing a BPD activity as a human service
If an activity in the business process definition (BPD) is to be completed by a user, you can implement the activity as a client-side human service or a heritage human service.
Creating loops for a BPD activity
When you want the runtime task that results from a BPD activity to be run more than once, you can create a loop. You can create simple loops and multi-instance loops in IBM Business Process Manager.
Parent topic:Creating a business process definition (BPD)
Related tasks:
Setting the work schedule for a BPD Automatically starting the user's next task
Related information:
Service types
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