WHAT IS WORKFLOW STUDIO?
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A workflow is a series of activities that model the steps involved in a business process. It is a logical, sequential representation of the actual activities performed by the people or systems that interface with a business model. In EmpowerID, the workflow is the primary means by which users interact with IT resources to accomplish specific organizational tasks. All workflows have at least two layers, :
- a process
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- layer that represents the workflow and how it functions in a business environment
- and a data layer that represents the information being captured by the workflow.
Workflows using these layers are generally automated and initiated by pre-determined processes and can be used to capture data for reporting, compliance, and other needs.
Other workflows are user-centric. They do not occur in response to automated system events, but require human interaction, whether that involves simply clicking a button to initiate a workflow or entering and manipulating data at various points of the workflow's lifecycle. Like automated workflows, user-centric workflows comprise process and data layers, but they contain an additional layer as well — the presentation layer. The presentation layer is that part of the workflow that :
a presentation layer that presents itself to the end-user.
Known as the form or lookup, the presentation layer gives users functional access to a workflow by providing the interface that allows them to work with business objects and data.
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In the EmpowerID model, users never directly interact with a workflow; rather, they interact with what is known as a request workflow. A request workflow is one of the resource types registered in the EmpowerID Identity Warehouse that is related to resource acquisition and management. A specific request workflow is an Identity Warehouse resource record corresponding to an EmpowerID workflow that is used to control who may interact with the workflow. |
A typical EmpowerID workflow is comprised of a number of components. Depending on the purpose of the workflow, not all of these need to be present.
FORMS
Forms provide components that allow users to enter information into a workflow, which can then be captured and used throughout the workflow. Form data is incorporated into a workflow in this way through a compilation and publication process by which Workflow Studio creates a special type of activity, known as a "Form activity." Once published, Form activities can be added to workflows, where the drag-and-drop property binding capabilities of Workflow Studio can be used to send form data to and from other workflow objects at runtime.
Form Components
Form components used in Workflow Studio comprise two category types: Primitives and RBAC Components. Primitives allow you to place simple objects such as drop-downs, calendar controls, and fields on a form, while RBAC Components allow you to place the properties of objects bound to EmpowerID-protected resources on a form. Each of these RBAC components can be used to return the properties of these protected resources for use in a workflow. For example, if you want to capture data specific to a workflow initiator with an EmpowerID identity, you can add an RBAC Component for a Person object to a form, incorporating into your form design only those properties (person attributes) relevant to your data needs.
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Workflow Studio provides for two types of forms in workflow use: the User Input form and the User Decision form. The type of form used depends on the type of functionality needed a at a given point in a workflow.
User Input forms allow users to enter information and submit the data back to the workflow for use in later activities. As such, User Input forms will appear to any user currently running the workflow at that point in the process in which the User Input form is placed. User Input forms can be used anywhere within a workflow and in most cases will be are the first form encountered in a workflow. For example if you have a workflow that allows users to submit a request for resources or some other "actionable" event, you can add the shape derived from a User Input form by which those users can enter and submit the details of their request back to the workflow, where it can be routed for further review by a designated approver. Once submitted, the workflow resumes to the next step in the process as directed by the business requirements of the workflow.
User Decision forms appear within a workflow at a point where the process depends on further user input or an approval to continue. Generally speaking, User Decision forms derive their data from the information entered into a User Input form and are used when a response to that data is needed. Based on the User Decision Form Base Activity developed by The Dot Net Factory, User Decision forms offer routing options and create workflow tasks on the Workflow Task list of any "approvers" for that form step in the workflow, as well as . They also provide email notifications about the request to all interested parties. When a workflow process encounters a User Decision Form activity, the workflow enters an idled state until a response occurs (or an escalation occurs that ends the process). Thus, using the scenario mentioned above, if a workflow user submits a request for resources via a User Input form, you could add the shape derived from a related User Decision form as the next step in the process, requiring an a user decision for the workflow to proceed to the next step.
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Activities, or shapes, are the building blocks of the EmpowerID workflow and contain the logic that defines a specific step or process within a given workflow. In EmpowerID, workflow activities can be either Form activities, Lookup activities, or Operation activities.
Form and Lookup activities comprise the presentation layer of an EmpowerID workflow. They are what users see and interact with when working in a workflow. EmpowerID captures the data entered into the form fields and/or drop-downs of these user interface elements of a workflow, binding it to the workflow in a way that ensures the integrity of the data is maintained throughout the workflow lifecycle.
Operation activities are activities based on the EmpowerID workflow authorization framework that the workflow uses to determine at runtime if the current user in a workflow process can execute the code in that activity against a specific object (such as changing his or her own profile picture). If the person can perform the task, the workflow continues; if the person cannot perform the task, EmpowerID routes the task to any designated approvers, who must approve the request for the code to be executed. Activities are joined to one another by lines to allow the workflow to progress from one workflow process to another.
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For both activity lines, the same Business Rule is applied. It is only the evaluation of the rule's logic that differs. For this example, the logic of the Business Rule could look like the following code:
return CurrentWorkflow.OperationActivity.OperationExecuted...
In a Workflow Studio workflow application, Operation and Form activities can be configured with rules, known as Escalations, that direct the workflow to take specific actions when conditions required to complete a business task process do not occur within a specific timeframe. They are scheduled time interval objects you create to raise certain events within the workflow when the time interval defined by the escalation expires.
These events can range from the sending of emails and dashboard notifications to users when a workflow process requires human interaction to continue, to directing the workflow to complete the process if human interaction with does not occur within a given period of time. Escalations ensure that a workflow process does not idle indefinitely while waiting for user input and become disabled when tasks pertaining to them are completed.
Workflow Studio provides several default actions that you can apply to an escalation to define what should occur occurs when the Escalations job raises the escalation. These actions are coded events derived from the that occur according to the scheduled schedule parameters entered into in the wizard . Form or Operation activity that allow you to define what should occur occurs when the escalation is raised in a workflow without the need to write code for that event. These default actions are available via the Escalations wizard and you can be added add them to an escalation at any time. They include the following:
- Complete Task —This directs the escalation to complete the activity with a hard-coded form decision if human intervention does not occur after a specified amount of time. If a succeeding rule has been added to the activity, you can direct the escalation to override that rule.
- Notify Approvers Manager —This directs the escalation to send an email notification to the manager of the approver in the event the approver does not respond within a specified amount of time. This requires that the manager be set on an account owned by the person.
- Re-Notify Approvers —This directs the escalation to send a reminding reminder email of the task awaiting their approval in the event the approver does not respond within a specified amount of time.
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