Workflow properties - milestones

To facilitate tracking of the progress of a workflow, you can define key points-milestones-in a workflow. When the running workflow reaches a milestone, a specified message is written to a log file and, depending on its assigned level (1 to 99), the milestone displays for workflow participants, trackers, and the user who launched the workflow.

Each milestone can be used in one or more steps. You can place a milestone either before or after an Activity step, or after the Launch step. The status message can be either specific text, or it can include the values of one or more data fields.

The Milestone table displays all milestones in the workflow definition—milestones inherited from a base workflow and milestones created in the current workflow. You cannot delete an inherited milestone and you can change only the level and the message. See Workflow Preferences - Workflow to hide inherited items.

Your FileNet® license agreement determines the level of functionality that you see in Process Designer. As a consequence, some of the options described here might not be available for your system. See your system administrator for more information.

To define a milestone

1. If Workflow Properties is not open, select the Action menu, then select Workflow Properties and display the Milestones tab.
2. Enter a name for the milestone.
3. Specify a message level. Valid levels are integers from 1 to 99.
4. Enter the message that will be recorded in the log when this milestone is reached. At runtime, the message displays in step processors and Process Tracker. The maximum runtime display length is 250 characters; characters beyond 250 will be truncated.
   • For a literal text string, enclose the text in double quotation marks. For example:

     "Pending final approval"

   • To use the value of a data field, enter the field name. For example:

     "Credited to account #: "+ convert(acct_num, string)

   NOTE  Expressions such as the one shown in the second example are resolved before the runtime display limit of 250 characters is calculated.

   For assistance in entering a message expression, click Edit at the right side of the expression field to access the Expression Builder dialog box.

To view the steps in the workflow where the selected milestone is used

Click Milestone Usage, and select the appropriate map. See Milestone Usage for additional information.

TIP To use a milestone

On the appropriate step, use the Step Assignments tab to place the milestone either before or after a step.

Milestones can be assigned before and after Activity and Submap steps, and after the Launch step. Milestones cannot be assigned to System steps.

Alternative ways to use milestones

Define multiple milestones in a workflow, each with a specific status message. For example, for a loan application, you could define three milestones— Submitted, InReview, Approved —each with corresponding message text. You would assign each of these milestones to the appropriate step in the workflow.

Define one milestone in the workflow with a data field for the status message. At the appropriate steps in the workflow, assign the milestone and assign the appropriate text for the status data field.