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Developing BPM Applications with Developer Studio
Defining rules with Rule Wizards : Using the Process Path Rule wizard
 

Using the Process Path Rule wizard

You can use the Process Path rule wizard to specify the timeout value for a selected process path; that is, a path or branch consisting of a set of worksteps within the process template. You can also specify the actions to be taken if the path is or is not completed within the specified time.
You can invoke the Process Path rule wizard multiple times on the same process template to create and define process path policy on different worksteps.
To apply a Process Path Time-out rule to a process or to a workstep:
1. From the Notification category, drag the Process Path () icon to the Content pane or to the selected Activity workstep(s) to which the rule is to be applied, to open the Process Path wizard.
2. From the Description page, review the description of the rule wizard and click Next to continue. Click Cancel at any time to exit the wizard.
3. From the Workstep Definition page, you can define when the timeout monitoring starts and when it ends.
a. Enter the name for this set of rules in the Name box.
b. Select the appropriate Rule Filter condition option to set the rule filter condition by filtering for process template name (filters for a specific process) or for application name (filters for all versions of an application).
c. In the Path Start box, define the start of the timeout monitoring by clicking the adjoining ellipsis button, which opens the Path Start dialog box. Select a workstep from the list, then select the status of the workstep from the Activity drop-down list. Click OK.
d. In the Path End box, define the end of the timeout monitoring, similar to that for Path Start
e. Click Next to continue.
4. From the Time Definition page, you can specify the duration or set the deadline to initiate one or more actions that will be taken if the process path is or is not completed within the specified time.
a. From the Path Timeout section, select either of the following options to set the period of the timeout:
*If you select the Duration option, you can define the workstep’s duration. as discussed in 2.b.
*If you select the Deadline option, you can enter the date and time, as discussed in 2.b.
b. Click Next to continue.
5. From the Actions page, you can specify the actions to be taken if the task is not completed in the specified time. You can define as many actions as required, or proceed to the next page without specifying any action.
a. Select any of the following actions from the drop-down list provided, then click Add to add the action:
*Send Mail: Opens the Send Mail dialog box. Type a valid e-mail address in the To and From boxes, as well as the Subject and Message in the respective boxes. You can also select the runtime values of dataslots or performers to be included in the e-mail by clicking the Dataslots or Performer option and selecting the values from the corresponding drop-down list. Click Select to add the dataslot or performer to the e-mail message.
*Alerts: allows you to add a defined alert. For information on defining Alerts, see Defining an alert.
*Change Priority: allows you to change priority of the current process instance or workstep. For each selection, you can choose either the current instance (or workstep) or use dataslot to select another instance (or workstep) at runtime. Changes include selecting another priority, increasing (or decreasing) the priority, or using the dataslot to select the priority at runtime.
*Change Duedate: allows you to change due date of the process instance or workstep. For each selection, you can choose either the current instance (or workstep) or use dataslot to select another instance (or workstep) at runtime. Changes include selecting a relative date (in terms of duration) or an absolute date.
*Modify Dataslot(s): allows you to modify dataslots of the current process instance or use dataslot to select another instance at runtime. For either selection, add the dataslots to be modified.
*Install Process Template. Installs the specified process template. You can choose to install any process template from the Progress Developer Studio for OpenEdge workspace folder, or select the process from a CHARACTER dataslot.
*Create Process Instance: allows you to create a process instance from the current process; or select the process from a dataslot (displays only CHARACTER dataslots); or select a process template from the Progress Developer Studio for OpenEdge workspace folder.
*DBAdapter. to add the DBAdapter managed adapter as an action and execute this adapter through rules or when a specified event is triggered. For more information regarding DBAdapter, see Chapter 6: "Database Managed Adapter" in Managed Adapter Guide.
*Generate: allows you to generate an event. You need to specify the event type and value in the respective boxes. You can add event attributes, whose values can be retrieved from dataslots.
*Schedule: allows you to schedule an event. Select either a relative date (based on duration) or an absolute date, for the specified event.
*Complete Process Instance: This is similar to the Create Process Instance action. This action allows you to complete the current process instance or use a dataslot (displays only CHARACTER dataslots) to select another process instance at runtime.
b. Click OK. The added action is displayed in the list provided.
c. Select the Monitor Timeout Occurrences checkbox to capture information about the workitems that were completed on time as well as those that were not completed on time.
d. Click Next to continue.
6. From the next Actions page, you can specify the actions to be taken when the task is completed within the specified time. You can define multiple actions, or proceed to the next page without specifying any action.
a. Select an action from the drop-down list provided, then click Add to add any of the following actions.
Action
Description
Send Mail
Sends a e-mail message. This operation is same as that for the previous wizard page.
Time Counter
Allows you to perform time functions (sum, maximum, minimum) on elapsed time expressed in units including hours, minutes, seconds, business hours, business minutes, and business seconds.
b. Click Next to continue.
7. From the Report Measures Distribution page, you can define how the measures calculated by the previous worksteps are to be distributed.
*Select the No distribution option to create an undistributed result.
*Select the By attribute option to define a distribution based on specified values of a selected dataslot. Click the adjoining ellipsis button to open the By attribute dialog box:
a. Select one of the process dataslots from the Attribute drop-down list.
b. Select the Aggregate entry checkbox to aggregate the measures and store the sum of all the occurrences of the selected attribute’s values.
c. You can select either of the following options:
*Explicit values option to enter explicit values that will specify the distribution. For example, if you select the CHARACTER "dsMgr" dataslot in the Attributes list that contains the names of managers, enter specific character values in the text box provided (Washington, Alfredo, or McMartin), then click Add to add each name to the list below. The rule will then only be applied to instances when one of these names occurs in the selected Attribute.
*Scale option to enter numeric values that will specify the distribution — this option is only valid for INTEGER dataslots. For example, if you select the INTEGER "percent" dataslot in the Attributes list that contains data on test results, enter values in the Start, End and Step boxes that provide a range for the distribution (example, 40 for the Start, 80 for the End, and 10 for the Step). This indicates that values will be reported that occur between 40 and 80 and at intervals of 10. Select the In Range checkbox to only report on values within the specified range. If it is not checked, all results are generated including those outside the specified range.
d. Click OK to implement the changes and return to the Distribution Definition page.
e. Click Next to continue.
8. From the Summary page, review the summary of the parameters you have selected for the Process Path rule wizard. Click Next to continue, or click Back if you want to return to previous pages and make corrections.
9. From the Save As page, modify (if required) the name of the rule file in the File Name box, or click the adjoining ellipsis button to change the location of the rule file.
10. Click Finish to create the new Process Path rule file in the specified location. The rule wizard also creates another rule file in the same folder with the name of Processpath_<WS_Name>_param.rtp. Progress Developer Studio for OpenEdge automatically compiles the rule file and creates a *.bpo file when you click Finish.