This topic applies only to the IBM Business Automation Workflow Advanced configuration.

Adding a human task

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A human task is, quite simply, a unit of work done by a person. When used from the BPEL process editor, it can either send a process-related task out to a person for completion, or receive a message from a person into the process.

About this task

Assigning a task to a person involves the interaction between two editors within the IBM® Integration Designer environment. Use the BPEL process editor to compose a process that requires human interaction, and use the human task editor to configure the task itself.

For a more detailed introduction to people interaction, see Human tasks.

There are two ways to implement a human task. If the task is implemented within a BPEL process, it is called an inline task. Otherwise, it is referred to as a stand-alone task. Although the inline task is the only one actually implemented within a BPEL process, both kinds of tasks are related to BPEL processes. Consider the following scenarios:

To add a human task to a BPEL process, choose one of the following options:

Procedure

  1. Creating an inline to-do human task that will send a message to a human:
    1. From the palette, drop a human task activity (The human task activity icon) onto the canvas.
    2. On the window that appears, specify a name for the human task, select the interface that the human task will implement, and click OK.
      The human task editor will open.
    3. Use the settings in the human task editor to configure this human task.
      For instructions on how to use the editor, follow the links in the Related information section below.
    Note: This is an inline task, but it can also be modeled as a stand-alone task by creating a to-do task in the human task editor, and then wiring it to a BPEL process in the assembly editor.
  2. Creating an inline invocation task where a person can send a message to a BPEL process:
    1. On the canvas, select one of the following elements:
      • a receive activity,
      • a receive case element within a receive choice activity,
      • an OnEvent element within an event handler.
    2. Click the Authorization tab in the properties area.
    3. Click New to create a human task, and configure it as necessary in the human task editor.
    Note: This task can also be modeled as stand-alone invocation task by creating an invocation task in the human task editor, and then wiring it to a BPEL process in the assembly editor.
  3. Granting a human administrative power over a BPEL process:
    1. Chose the process as a whole, and click the Administration tab in the properties area.
    2. You can create the following two administrative settings:
      Option Description
      An administration task for the process Use this task to define the group of people that will have administrative rights in for the process as a whole.
      A default activity administrative task. This task would define the default administration settings for all of the activities within that process. For example, if an activity gets stuck during execution (perhaps a service call failed), the user will need administrative rights to recover the process instance. Although these administrative rights can be given for each activity individually, an activity that does not have an administrator attached will need to be able to fall back to this default administrative task.

Example

To see some examples of a human workflow that you can build and run yourself, go to http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/bpcsamp/index.html External link opens a new window or tab, and browse to either of the following options:
  • Human Task features > Single-person workflow
  • Human Task features > Dynamic staff assignment and 4-eyes principle
Note: You will need a connection to the internet to view this example.