As an example of a workflow app involving multiple users, let’s create an app in which an applicant submits an application and has it reviewed by the management department.
In Chapter 3, we ran the existing app “Work Request Flow” and experienced a workflow in which multiple people process the work. In that case, the person requesting the work nominated a processor at the destination and handed the task over to them.
First, we will modify the app created in the previous chapter to create an app in which a specific member of the management department is the processor, and check how it works. As we make modifications we will also add and set swimlanes, add tasks and reconnect the flow.
Next, we will change the swimlane settings and modify the app so that a previously set member becomes the processor.
Modifying the Workflow Diagram
We will create a workflow diagram like this by duplicating the app we created in the previous chapter and modify it.
Create a new app by duplicating an existing app
First, duplicate the app from the previous chapter.
- Click on your username in the top right corner of the page and select App Settings
- You will be taken to the app settings screen where a list of apps will be displayed. Click on the app you created in the previous chapter in the list to go to the app details screen
- Clicking “Copy as New App” above the workflow diagram will create an app called “(Copy) XX”
- Click Edit Property and change the app name to something more meaningful
Adding and Renaming BPMN Icons
Next, let’s modify the workflow diagram.
- Click the [Edit] button to launch the modeller and open the workflow diagram editing screen
- Add a swimlane and place a Human Task in it
- Change the names of each part
- Click on the index finger icon on the far right of the palette to enter selection mode
- On the workflow diagram, select the BPMS icon you want to rename
- Click the Settings button to open the settings dialog
- Change the name and close the dialog by clicking “Apply and Close” at the bottom right
- Please change the names as follows:
- Top swimlane: “Applicant”
- Bottom swimlane: “Manegement Dept.”
- Human task in “Applicant”: “Application”
- Human task in the “Manegement Dept.”: “Confirmation”
Reconnecting Flows
Finally, reconnect the flows.
- Enter selection mode
- Click on the flow that extends from the “Apply” task
- A white circle will appear where the flow and end event meet, so click and hold that circle and drag it to the “Confirmation” task
- Drag the end event and move it to the right of the “Confirmation” task
- Select [Flow] from the palette and connect the “Confirmation” task and the end event with a flow
This completes the workflow diagram modification.
Adding Data Items and Changing Editability Settings
Next, we will set the data items.
Click the [Data Item] tab at the top of the page to switch to the modeler. The data items that are already set are “Title” and “Contents” which is a [String (multiple lines)] data item. This time, let’s add numerical values and dates to these.
Adding Data Items
Click and add [Numeric] and [Date (Y/M/D)].
In this state, an error will occur because there is no [Field Name]. Enter the [Item Name] and [Field Name] in the settings screen as follows:
- [Numeric 1]
- Item Name: Number
- Field Name: q_number
- [Date (Y/M/D)]
- Item Name: Date
- Field Name: q_date
Now, in addition to the original “Title” which is [String (single line)] data and “Contents” which is [Text (multiple lines)] data, the process can now handle one numeric data item and one date data item.
Adding Data Items and Changing Editability Settings
In Questetra, you can configure which of the data items you have defined should be displayed/editable in the input form for each [Human Task].
Go back to the Workflow Diagram tab and open the settings dialog for the “Application” Human task.
The [Editing permission] tab is selected, and there are radio buttons. Each radio button has three icons: [
- Selecting [
- Data items designated as [
(Display only)] can be viewed in the form, but cannot be edited. If the task is simply to confirm the application details, there is no need to edit the data items.
- Data items designated as [
Next, you will need to set whether each data item can be edited/displayed on the processing screen for each task. The editability settings for data items are set as shown in the table below.
Select the radio buttons on the setting screen for each task and click [Apply and Close]. The settings for the “Application” Human task and the “Confirm” Human task will look like the following screenshots.
Setting the Processor
Next, let’s change the swimlane settings, that is, the settings of the person in charge of processing.
Currently, the account used to create the app is specified for both the “Applicant” and the “Management Department”. This means that you will have to submit the application and check it yourself. To fix this, let’s change the person in charge of the Management Department.
Select the Management Department swimlane and open the settings dialog.
Currently, the person in charge of the Management Dept. swimlane is you. To change it, click the pencil icon to the right.
Here, let’s specify “Canary” as the person in charge of processing the Management Dept. swimlane.
- Make sure that the “User” radio button is selected. If it is not selected, click “User”
- Click on the field where your username is displayed (the entry form to the right of “User”). Delete your name and enter “Canary”
- “Canary” will appear in the drop-down list, so click it to select it
- Click the OK button.
When you return to the Management Dept. swimlane settings screen, click [Apply and Close] to close the dialog.
Now, let’s take a look at how the app works. Click [Exit editing] to close the modeller.
Releasing the App and Checking its Operation
Click [Release developing Version 1] to release version 1 of the app you created. Once released, try it out right away.
Let’s use the app you created by going to [Workflow] at the top of the page and then [Start] on the left menu. You can start a new process by clicking the [Start and Operate First Step] button.
In the form that is displayed, can you enter the data items you set – Title, Contents, Number and Date?
These four data items are set as [Editable] in the Application task, so you can enter them on this screen. In this way, the data editing permission setting manages which task processing screen you can enter data on.
Also, since “Date” was added as date-type data, you can select a date from a calendar or enter the current date with a single click.
Using the correct data type makes handling data much easier.
Now enter the values you want in each field and click [Finish “Application”].
Processing the “Confirmation” task in the Management Department
Now, think back to the workflow diagram and the processors we set up earlier.
When the Application task is completed, the Confirmation task in the Management Dept. swimlane will be displayed.
You should have changed the processor for the Management Department swimlane to Canary. Log in to the Canary account and process the Confirmation task.
If you have forgotten who the Management Department processor is, open the app details screen and look at the workflow diagram. You can check the processor from the swimlane settings dialog.
If you switch the account to Canary and check My Tasks, you will see that a new task has arrived. The task has been assigned to the processor you specified. If you then open the processing screen, there is not a single field that can be entered. This is because the data editing permission setting for all fields in the Confirmation task was set to “Display Only”. Now, all you need to do is click a button, so let’s process it.
The app you created worked properly. As you can see, the Workflow diagram controls the process flow, the Data Items control the items displayed on the task processing screen, and the Processor controls who the task is delivered to.
What if there are multiple processors?
So what happens if there are multiple processors? Let’s check it out by slightly modifying the app we created. Log in with the account that created the app, click on the username in the top right corner of the page, go to [App Settings], and open the app details screen.
Version 1, which has already been released, can no longer be edited, so we will be editing Version 2 from now on. Click the Edit button to open the modeller.
Let’s add one more person to the Management Department swimlane as a processor. Let’s specify the organization “10 Management” which contains Sumatra and Canary as the processor.
- In the Management Department swimlane settings on the Workflow Diagram tab, select [Edit
] on the right side of the user Canary who is set as the Processor and edit it.
- When you select the “Organization” radio button, the same selection tool as for “User” will be displayed.
- Specify “10 Management Department” in one of the following ways:
- Enter “Management Department” in the input form to the right of the Organization radio button and “10 Management Department” will be displayed, so click it
- Click the [Select from Organization Tree] icon to display the organization tree. Select “10 Management Department” and click [Apply and Close]
- Enter “Management Department” in the input form to the right of the Organization radio button and “10 Management Department” will be displayed, so click it
- Click [OK] (you can leave the “Members directly belonging to this” after “10 Management Department” as it is)
- The processor for the Management Department swimlane is now the organization “10 Management Department”
- Apply this change, close the swimlane settings screen, click “End Editing” in the top right of the page to close the modeller and return to the App Details screen
Now that we’ve changed the person in charge of processing, let’s check how it works. To check how it works, you need to [Release] it, so click [Release developing version 2].
Once you’ve released the app, try running it.
- Click [Workflow] > [Start] in the side menu > [Start and Operate First Step] next to the created workflow app, and process the “Application” task
- Enter any values you like for Title, Contents, Number, and Date
- Once processed, let’s log in with the accounts of two people in the organization “10 Management Department”, namely “Sumatra” and “Canary”, and check the status
There is an increase in the number of tasks in [Offered] instead of [My Tasks]. This is also the case in the other user’s account.
The [Current Step] section of the task details displays the candidates who can process this task.
[Offered] means that the task is waiting for one of the candidates to take it on. When one of the candidates selects either [Accept] or [Accept and Operate], the task will be moved to that person’s [My Tasks] and will disappear from the other candidates’ [Offered] lists. In other words, the person who accepts the task first will process it.
Now, after processing the task from either account, go back to the account that started the process and check [Started Processes].
The process is indeed finished. This shows that multiple processors can be assigned to a single swimlane.
Assignee Settings for the “Applicant” Swimlane
So, what are the settings for the person in charge of the “Applicant” swimlane? Let’s check it in the modeller. Open the details page of the “Easy Application App” from [App Settings], and launch the modeller using the [Edit] button.
Let’s take a look at the settings dialog for the “Applicant” swimlane in the Workflow Diagram tab.
As you can see, in its current state you are the only user who can create tasks using this app.
Change who can start a process
In fact, the meaning of the processor is slightly different between swimlanes with a Start Event and those without. In swimlanes without a Start Event, the processor means a person who can process the tasks that occur in that swimlane. In contrast, in swimlanes with a Start Event, the processor means those who can start the process for the relevant work.
In other words, in the current state, only you can start the process and submit an application. However, if you use the organization to set the processor as shown above, you can specify all employees as the processor for the Applicant swimlane. This will allow all employees to start the process and submit an application.
Now, try editing the Operator and selecting “Organization,” “00 Whole Company,” and “Members who belong to this”. This makes it appear that any employee can become the processor for the Applicant swimlane.
Let’s now look again at the organizational chart for the tutorial organization that we saw in Chapter 3.
As you can see from the organizational chart, you are the only one who belongs directly to the organization “00 Whole Company”.
The other employees belong to organizations lower than “00 Whole Company”. To make them candidates, add the organization “00 Whole Company” and “Members who belong only sub organizations of this” as the swimlane operator.
Now all employees can apply.
The members who belong to organizations subordinate to organization “00” alone do not cover all employees belonging to organization 00. All employees are covered only when they are combined with members who belong directly to Organization 00.
Once you’ve done this, save the app and click [Release].
Can you [Start] a new process from accounts other than your own? If you can start the process from any account, then the setup was successful.
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