In IBM® Process
Designer,
you can create exposed process values (EPVs) to define a set of variables
you want to expose to specific users. These variables can be modified
by the users while instances of a process are running. For example,
if you create a process to handle expense reimbursement, you may want
to enable supervisors to change the allowed amounts for daily expenditures,
or the dollar amount that coincides with various levels of approvers.
By creating EPVs, you can provide this type of flexibility, allowing
users to adjust specific variable values as constants, thereby affecting
the flow of all running process instances, task assignments, and so
on.
Before you begin
To perform this task, you must be in the IBM Process
Designer desktop
editor.
Procedure
- Open the Process Designer desktop editor.
- Expand Data and select Exposed
Process Value. The New Exposed
Process Value window opens.
- In the Name field, type a name for
the value and click Finish. The
EPV configuration view opens.
- Configure the EPV:
- In the Documentation field, enter
a description of the EPV for the developers.
- To allow users to send feedback about this EPV, type
an email address in the Feedback E-mail Contact field.
The Manage Exposed Process Values page
in the Process Admin Console includes a feedback link that uses this
email address.
- In the External Description field,
enter a description of the EPV for the users. The description
that you provide here is displayed in the Manage Exposed Process Values
page in the Process Admin Console.
- Add one or several variables to the EPV by applying the
following steps:
- In the Exposed Process Value Variables section,
click Add to add a variable to this EPV.
For example, if you want to enable users to adjust the
dollar amounts that correspond with various levels of approvers for
an expense reimbursement process, add a variable for each available
level.
- In the Variable Details section,
in the External Name field, type the name of
the variable for the users. This name appears in
the Variable List for this EPV in the Process Admin Console.
- In the Variable Name field, type
the name of the variable for internal processing.
Note: Variable
names should start with a lowercase letter, with subsequent words
capitalized like so: myVar. Do not use underscores
or spaces in variable names. Variable names are case sensitive.
- In the External Description field,
type the text to describe this variable to users. This
description appears in the Variable List for this EPV in the Process
Admin Console.
- Optional: In the Default Value text
box, type a valid default for this variable.
- To enable in-progress tasks to use the updated value
of this variable when users edits its value, select the In-Progress
Tasks Use New Values check box.
- To select a variable type, click Select... and
select a business object or click New to create
a new custom business object (variable type).
- In the Exposing section, click Select to
choose the team whose members can manage this EPV and adjust its variable
values.
- Click Save in the main toolbar to
save your changes.
Results
The EPV is created, you can link it to a BPD, service,
or report.
You can reference the name of the EPV and its variables
like so: tw.epv.[epv_name].[epv_variable_name].
You
can use the EPV in a decision gateway to control the flow of a process.
You can also reference the EPV from any JavaScript code in a linked
BPD, such as the code within a server script service component.