Starting Workplace

Workplace is provided with Business Automation Workflow on containers and can be configured to work with any number of traditional or container-based Business Automation Workflow systems that are federated using Process Federation Server.

Deployment options

Workplace runs as an application in the Application Engine and is available for use in the Business Automation Navigator.

With an IBM Cloud Pak® for Business Automation license, Workplace is included when you choose a Business Automation Workflow deployment or a Workstream Services deployment, and contains Workstream Services.

As of Cloud Pak for Business Automation 21.0.2, Workplace is also available with Workflow Process Service. For more information, see IBM Workflow Process Service.

Depending on the environment, Workplace can display the following instances.
  • In an IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation environment:
    • Case instances from case solutions that have been promoted to workflow projects but don't use any Business Automation Workflow processes.
    • Case instances from case solutions that have been promoted to workflow projects and use Business Automation Workflow processes.
    • Case instances from case solutions that have not been promoted to workflow projects.
    • Business Automation Workflow process instances from Business Automation Workflow processes.
  • If Process Federation Server is configured:
    • Workplace can display only indexed case instances from an IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation environment.
    • Workplace cannot display case instances from a traditional Business Automation Workflow environment, where case instances are not indexed.
    For more information, see this technote.

Getting started

You can access Workplace through a web browser. Log in to the Workplace application using the following URL and the credentials that you were provided by an administrator:
https://navigator_hostname/navigator?desktop=workplace
where navigator_hostname corresponds to the navigator_configuration.hostname property in your custom resource file. If you are using self-signed certificates, you must first go to the following URLs and accept the self-signed certificates.
  • https://workflow_hostname where workflow_hostname corresponds to the baw_configuration.hostname property in your custom resource file.
  • https://pfs_hostname/rest/bpm/federated/v1/systems where pfs_hostname corresponds to the pfs_configuration.hostname property in your custom resource file. Remember to log in with your LDAP user name and password.
  • https://ae_hostname/ where ae_hostname either corresponds to the application_engine_configuration.hostname property or the shared_configuration.sc_deployment_hostname_suffix property in your custom resource file.

To get you started using Workplace, watch this video:
Video camera icon Get started with Workplace
Note that even though the video shows a slightly earlier version of the user interface, the functionality is still valid.

Getting started with Workplace in Workflow Process Service
Use the following URL and the credentials that you were provided to log in to Workplace in Workflow Process Service:
https://hostname/Workplace

where hostname corresponds to the EXTERNAL_HOSTNAME parameter that is defined in the docker-compose.yml file.

Workplace in Workflow Process Service offers a slightly limited set of capabilities, with optional enablement to the full set. For more information, see IBM Workflow Process Service. For installation information, see Installing IBM Workflow Process Service.