Implementing activities

Choose the implementation for each activity in your process diagram and set required properties.

About this task

The following table lists the options available when choosing the implementation for an activity and provides a link to detailed information and procedures. To learn more about the types of tasks that are available, see "Task types".

Table 1. Implementation options available for activities in process diagrams
Implementation option	Description	See...
User Task	Select this option if an activity is to be started or completed by a user (human performer). For example, if an activity requires that managers enter employee data, choose User Task and select or create a Human service to implement the task.	Building a Human service
System Task	Select this option if an activity is to be completed by an automated system or service. For example, if an activity requires integration with an external system, such as a database, choose System Task and select or create an Integration service to implement the task.	Service types
Decision Task	Select this option when you want a decision or condition in a business rule to determine which process implementation is started. For example, if you want Process Designer to implement an activity when a condition evaluates to `true`, choose Decision Task and select or create a Decision service to implement the task.	Service types
Script	Choose this option if you plan to create a script to implement an activity. A Script activity runs a Java™ script.	Using JavaScript variables and objects
Subprocess	Use this option to encapsulate logically related steps within a parent process. Steps in a subprocess can directly access business objects (variables) from the parent process. No data mapping is required. However, unlike a linked process, a subprocess can be accessed and instantiated only from the parent BPD, and it is not reusable by any other process or subprocess. Therefore, use a subprocess for those implementations that are limited to a single business process definition (BPD).	Subprocess types
Linked Process	You can implement an activity by using a linked process. Linked processes encapsulate logically related steps within a process while retaining the high-level view of the parent process. Linked processes differ from subprocesses because they can be accessed and instantiated from processes other than a single parent process.	Working with linked processes
Event Subprocess	Use this specialized subprocess to model event-handling logic for a process or subprocess. It is triggered upon occurrence of a configured start event, and it is not connected to other steps through a sequence flow. It has access to the business objects (variables) of its parent process, and can encapsulate steps that use those variables. When triggered, an event subprocess can either interrupt the execution of its parent or can run in parallel.	Modeling event subprocesses
None	Select this option if you are not ready to associate an implementation. Use this option to create a temporary placeholder activity in your process diagram until an implementation is available. If you run a process that includes an activity with this option selected, the task completes immediately after it starts.

Tip: To learn how to make an activity conditional, see "Configuring conditional activities".

Procedure

When the implementation that you want to use is created, such as a service, complete the following steps to select it:

Select the activity that you want to use in the BPD diagram, and then go to the Implementation properties.
Under Implementation, select an option from the displayed list. For example, choose User Task if the implementation for the current activity is a Human Service with a Coach. (The preceding table describes each available option.)
Click Select to choose the implementation from the library. If the implementation does not yet exist, click New to create it. (The previous table provides instructions for creating implementations.) If you choose System Task for your implementation option, you must specify additional properties, as outlined in the following steps.
(System Tasks only) Select Delete task on completion if you want to run an automated service that does not require routing. When you select this check box, audit data for the task is not retained by the Process Server. By default, this option is disabled.
(User Tasks and System Tasks only) Select Clean State if you want to clear the runtime execution state of an activity after it is complete. By default, this option is disabled. Enable this option only when you do not want to store execution data (such as variable values) for viewing after the process finished execution.

In the Task Header section, specify the following properties:

Table 2. Properties in the Task Header section
Property	Action
Subject	Type a descriptive subject for the task that is generated in IBM Process Portal when you run the BPD. You can also use the IBM BPM embedded JavaScript syntax (for example, `<#=tw.local.mySubject#>`) to express the subject.
Narrative	Type an optional description. You can also use the IBM BPM embedded JavaScript syntax to express the narrative. Restriction: Do not use JavaScript variable references in task narratives if you need the data to be available after the task completes. Once a task is complete, IBM BPM removes the data for completed tasks to conserve space. Instead, store the data items in another location, such as a database.

In the Priority Settings section, specify values as needed.
Tip: If you prefer to use a JavaScript expression with predefined variables to establish the priority settings, click JS for options.
1. Under Priority, select one of the default priority codes from the list: Very Urgent, Urgent, Normal, Low, or Very Low.
2. Under Due In, enter a value in the text box and then choose Minutes, Hours, or Days from the list. (When you choose Days, you can use the text box after the list to specify hours and minutes.) You can also use the variable selector next to the text box to choose an existing variable from the library. At run time, the variable reflects the specified value for the time period. Select the required option from the list: Minutes, Hours, or Days.
3. Under Schedule, select an option from the list. For example, select 24x7 if you want 24 hours a day, seven days a week to be the time period in which the resulting tasks from the current activity can be due. You can leave the Schedule, Timezone, and Holiday Schedule fields set to (use default). If you do, the work schedule specified for the BPD is used. For more information, see "Setting the due date and work schedule for a BPD".
4. Under Timezone, select the time zone that you want to apply to the tasks that result from the current activity. For example, you can select US/Pacific for users who work in California.
5. Under Holiday Schedule, leave the setting at (use default) as described in the preceding note, or click JS if you prefer to use a JavaScript expression. Each holiday schedule is made up of a list of dates. If you choose JavaScript, you can enter either a String (or String-generated JavaScript) or a JavaScript that returns a TWHolidaySchedule variable. If you use a String, IBM BPM looks up the Holiday Schedule by name according to those rules. If you use a TWHolidaySchedule variable, IBM BPM assumes that the holiday schedule is appropriately specified. (Go to the System Data toolkit and open the TWHolidaySchedule variable to view its parameters.)
In the Processing Behavior section, select Automatically flow to next task if you want the next task in the sequence to run automatically. For more information, see "Automatically launching the user's next task".