Importing custom process definitions

Important: IBM Cloud Pak® for Data Version 4.6 will reach end of support (EOS) on 31 July, 2025. For more information, see the Discontinuance of service announcement for IBM Cloud Pak for Data Version 4.X.

Upgrade to IBM Software Hub Version 5.1 before IBM Cloud Pak for Data Version 4.6 reaches end of support. For more information, see Upgrading IBM Software Hub in the IBM Software Hub Version 5.1 documentation.

After you create a process definition in Flowable, you can import the process definition to Cloud Pak for Data as a new workflow type.

Each workflow type can contain multiple process definitions (or workflow templates) that have the same start form properties and that are in the same namespace. For more information, see Designing and creating custom workflows.

Before you begin

Required permissions
To create a workflow type, you must have the Manage workflows permission.

About this task

A workflow type defines the set of resources and configurations that support a specific business process. For example, you could create a workflow type to manage requests for time off. For example, a user might to request:
  • Paid vacation
  • Medical leave
  • Bereavement
  • Parental leave
  • And so on

Each type of request might require different request forms, approval from a different number of managers, and so on. Therefore, you could create a process definition for each type of time off request. As long as each process definition has the same namespace and the same start form, they can be included in the workflow type for requests for time off.

Procedure

To import a process definition:

  1. Log in to the Cloud Pak for Data web client.
  2. From the navigation menu, select Administration > Workflows.
  3. On the Types tab, click New workflow type.
  4. Specify a name and a description for the workflow type.
  5. Click Next.
  6. Select the process definition files that you want to upload.
    You can import the following types of files to IBM Cloud Pak for Data:
    • BPMN files
    • BPMN 2.0 XML files
    • ZIP files containing BPMN or BPMN 2.0 XML files and other resource files for the process definitions
    Important:
  7. Click Next.
  8. Review the summary.
    If everything looks correct, click Create.
  9. Open the workflow type that you just created.
  10. On the Overview tab, specify which users can use this workflow type to submit requests.
    The following options are not mutually exclusive. You can use either option or both options.
    Option Description
    Specify which permissions a user must have to use the workflow configurations
    1. In the Access section, click Add permissions.
    2. Select the appropriate permissions from the list.
    3. Click Set.

    To use the workflow configurations, a user must have at least one of the permissions.
    Specify which users can use the workflow configurations
    • In the Access section, click Add users.
    • Specify the users you want to give access to.
    • Click Add.

    The users who have explicit access to the workflow configurations do not need to have the permissions that are specified in the Permissions table.

What to do next

After you import the process definition to Cloud Pak for Data, you can configure the workflows in the process definition.