Building a custom deployment service flow

A deployment service flow is created by default when you create a new process application and is used when you install a snapshot. You can customize the service flow to handle advanced requirements in your target environment.

Before you begin

Ensure that you have write access to the process application that you want to install. For more information about granting access to process applications, see Managing access to the Process Center repository.

About this task

You can add calls and scripts to the deployment service flow to perform specific functions when a process application is installed on a process server in another environment. The following list contains some of the tasks that a custom deployment service flow might handle.

Create or update database tables
Update necessary environment variables
Determine which snapshots are already installed
Migrate individual process instances
Create custom time schedules

For example, you can customize a deployment service flow to create tables on the target process server to hold data such as the options for drop-down menus that exist in your process. When you need to add to or change those menu options, you can modify the service flow so that those database updates are handled automatically during installation.

If your deployment service was created for a process application in the desktop Process Designer, you must first convert it to a deployment service flow in the web Process Designer before customizing it. For more information, see Converting heritage services.

Procedure

To add functionality to a deployment service flow, complete the following steps.

In the web Process Designer, open the process application that contains the deployment service flow.
From the Services > Deployment Service Flow category, open the deployment service flow.
In the diagram that opens, add the service calls and scripts that you need for your particular installation.
Save your changes.