IDL Workflow
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
IDLWorkflow is used to describe and run workflows within the IDL Konsis product family. A workflow is a graphic representation of several tasks that must be performed in a specific order of users as part of an overall process. IDLWorkflow can be used on the one hand to describe the processes in detail, so that they are available as a daily guideline or as a system for controlling the processes.
Note: IDLWorkflow is a new development, which at the present time is not yet working with the machine known in IDL Konsis.
If a guideline is drawn up, e.g. together with an IDL advisor, in line with needs and the company’s internal structures, it can be called up and printed out as required. The guidelines help users to accompany a process or to familiarize new users with the process steps. When a workflow is created and run, a user can start the individual work steps directly from the workflow interface.
IDLWorkflow is divided into two application modules: The application module WORKFLOWED contains an administration of all the workflows stored in the system. These workflows can be viewed and edited. In addition, new workflows are created in WORKFLOWED. The other application module is WORKFLOWTA. This module is used to control the execution of a workflow. This displays all the workflows that are in execution. The user will see upcoming to-do items and an overview diagram will show which to-do items of a workflow have already been completed.
2 Workflow Editor
To start the workflow editor, you can either open the Tools / System Administration menu in the resource tree and then switch to the IDLWORKFLOW folder. Or the short word WORKFLOWED is entered in the short word field and confirmed with Return.
Workflow Overview
First, the application module WORKFLOWED displays a table of all the workflows stored in the database. The name of the workflows is displayed in the template Workflow column. The "Active Workflows" column shows how many times a workflow has been started. A workflow is stored in the database for each workflow that is started. If workflows exist, the workflow is automatically blocked against changes, because otherwise the workflows would be changed subsequently. Workflows can be deleted individually in WORKFLOWTA. The other information is used to make it clear when and by which user a workflow was created.
There are several actions that can be performed on the workflows. These can be controlled either by the small tool bar at the top right of the display area or by right-clicking on a selected workflow.
The star can be used to create a new workflow. The creation is done in a special wizard, which is described later. A workflow is loaded either by double-clicking or by clicking on the folder icon. After loading, the workflow is displayed and the available tools are displayed. A workflow can be deleted through the red delete cross. The Play button is used to create a workflow. If you want to update the table, you must press the green double arrow.
2.1 Rebuild Workflow
To create a completely new workflow, the star button must be pressed. This is available in the workflow overview toolbar or in the large tool bar of WORKFLOWED.
Workflow Wizard
First, the workflow must be assigned a name. The name may be multilingual. The name is entered in the description field, and the language is selected in the selection box at the bottom. The green check mark confirms the entry of a language. Another language can be added to the tab with the star icon. Once all languages have been created, the wizard exits with the Finish button. This button is not activated until at least one language has been entered.
A newly created workflow is not automatically created in the database. The workflow is not saved until you click on the diskette symbol. A new workflow automatically starts with a start and end node that are connected to each other through an activity.
2.2 Load Workflow
A workflow can be displayed by double-clicking its name in the workflow list. The workflow is shown graphically in a tree view. In addition, a reduced overview display and a bar with tools are displayed. The toolbar will be left inactive if the workflow cannot be edited. In general, workflows are blocked if at least one workflow has already been started. However, locked workflows can be viewed in full.
2.3 Delete Workflow
Before delete, a workflow must be selected in the workflow table. An open workflow cannot be deleted. It must be closed before the delete. If workflows are available, these are automatically removed with. The delete of workflows is denied if a workflow is used in a different workflow than a sub-workflow. An error message indicates where these references are contained in the workflows. Either the related entries must be removed, or the corresponding workflows must also be deleted in a previous step.
2.4 Execute Workflow
The Play button can be used to start a new workflow.
Create workflow
A dialog displays information about the workflow in the upper section. First, there is information about names and unique identification number in the database. This section contains further information on the overall duration of the workflow, provided that a duration has been set aside for all activities.
The following section asks for a start date and an end date. These can either be specified directly or the workflow starts immediately and the exit is derived based on a minimum duration.
The auto-send mail to all workflow editors works only if the mail service is configured. This is described in a separate chapter. The emails are sent with the creation of the workflow. The prerequisite is also that all users have stored a correct email address in the USE application module. The system does not check or confirm that the email has been sent or received.
Open workflows are started from the Play button within the graph view. It is important that the workflow has been completely saved in the database before. Please note that after the start of a workflow, the workflow may no longer be changed and saved.
2.5 Edit Workflow
If a workflow is opened without active workflows, the user has a toolbar with node elements that can be dragged into the tree view via drag&drop. In the tree view you can arrange and move the nodes with the mouse. The center of an account must not be touched for postponement. This is used to drag new edges. A square in the middle shows where the creation mode for edges of the respective node is. You can delete nodes and edges by right-clicking. Alternatively, you can use the space bar. Edges can be pinned. To do this, one edge is selected so that two squares light up. The squares can be dragged with the mouse to another node.
Edit workflow
Work sequences can also be started from this window via a Play button. To start a workflow, the workflow must be saved in advance. The diskette symbol must be pressed for this. There is a combination of the play button and the diskette symbol, which first triggers the saving of the workflow and then creates a workflow.
Task is a node that describes a work step. Work steps have a name and a description. The description is intended as a guide for the user in implementing the work step. Work steps usually refer to work steps in internal service units, but can also be used for work steps that are not part of the system.
Milestones are used to mark work progress. Milestones have a special ID that can be assigned to the milestone node multiple times. Milestones with the same ID represent the same milestone. A milestone is only considered to have been reached when all previous activities for all milestones in the same ID have been completed.
Test Module is an activity that is merely verifiable. This means that the user does not actively change anything in the system. It is used to establish control mechanisms as part of a cross-check workflow.
For large workflows, the magnifying glass overview display can be used to navigate the workflow graph.
Each workflow must be designed so that the workflow starts in the Start node, and the edges go in the direction of the exit node. Start and exit nodes are not removed or duplicated. A workflow always starts from the Start node.
Nodes can be edited either by right-clicking or by double-clicking. This opens another area in which the individual properties of a node are displayed. For small monitors, the workflow table can be hidden. There is an icon (semi-transparent table) in the toolbar.
Edit Activity
The Node Editor is used to enter the description for an activity. The Task ID field displays a number that is used to identify the activity in the database. If no number is displayed yet, the activity is not yet saved in the database. The number cannot be changed and is assigned automatically.
At the top left is the multilingual entry field for the activity description. Additional languages are added using the star tab. A new language is specified using the combo box and confirmed with the green check mark. This input field is coupled with the large input box "Instructions". The Instruction field provides step-by-step instructions. The user can perform the task of the activity using this guide. The linking of input fields refers to the selection of the language. If you select a different language for the activity name, the statement field will switch in addition to the name input lines.
The Duration section allows you to specify how long an activity takes to complete. Days and hours should not be mixed in a workflow. This means that either days or minutes are given everywhere. A mixture is to be avoided because the hourly rate may one day vary from case to case.
In rare cases, you can use the Role Selection Box to change an activity to a milestone or test module. However, it is still advisable to create a completely new node, configure it accordingly and then mount it into the graph.
If an application is specified under Application/Module, the corresponding Konsis application module can be started with a mouse click when running a workflow. In addition, additional boundary conditions can be stored by clicking on the Parameters button.
Alternatively, another workflow can be selected from one activity. This "sub-workflow" must already have been defined as a workflow. To do this, click on the button "Sub-Workflow". The button will appear when the mouse pointer is hooked onto the component.
The Editor field records the user that is to process the activity in the workflow first.
3 Run Workflow
A workflow starts from the workflow editor. A workflow can be started multiple times and run in parallel. All the workflows that are started can be displayed in the application module WORKFLOWTA. A table displays all pending tasks that must be completed next.
Using the filter mechanism of the table, certain facts can be extracted. It is usually worthwhile to filter by processor and task status.
Overview of workflows
The Play button colored green is used to perform a work step directly. However, this must have been selected in advance in the table. When the Trash icon is pressed, the system deletes not only the task, but the entire workflow. The green double arrow triggers a reload of the task table.
When you start WORKFLOWTA, the Workflow window is always open. As long as no activity or line has been selected in the task table, the area is empty. If a task is selected in the task table, the complete workflow is displayed in the workflow window and the selected cell is marked with a red frame. The workflow looks exactly the same as it was created in WORKFLOWED. However, there are additional decorations on the nodes. These show which nodes have already been processed and which states these nodes have. Completed task nodes are marked with a green checkmark.
To ensure that tasks are visible in the graphical representation, all tasks to be completed next are highlighted with an exclamation mark in the yellow triangle.
Tasks can be completed both from the table and from the graphical presentation. Here you can use the green Play button on the table, but the functionality can be achieved in table and graphs by right mouse button. If you have any follow-up applications or sub-workflows, you can start them directly from the shortcut menu.
When a task is started for editing, a window opens in which the complete description of the task is displayed. Follow-on applications or sub-workflows can also be started from this interface. In a special, editable field with the "Comment" description, comments on processing the task can be recorded. The task status can be changed with a combo box. Normally, after completion of the task, the "Completed’ button is selected. With OK, the user confirms the status change.
Please note that opening a task automatically changes the state from "unedited" to "in progress". This allows other users to see that another user has already turned to the task. If a task has been accidentally moved "in progress", the status can be reset manually to "unprocessed".
4 Configure Mail
The configuration for the mail addition must be done in the IDL Konsis Ini file. A separate department with the identifier [MAIL] will be created for this purpose. This setting must be made for each installation. The most important information is "mailHost". This must be done in all cases, otherwise the mail function will be deactivated and the button for mailing cannot be used.
Information about mail servers must be obtained from the administration. In the case of in-house systems, depending on the configuration, the local address mail can only work with the host server. In most cases, however, further authentication information is required on the mail server. In detail, the following information can be provided in the section of [MAIL]:
| Eigenschaft | Beschreibung | Beispiel |
|---|---|---|
| mailHost | Name des SMTP-Servers für den Mail-Ausgang | mail.company.org |
| mailUsername | Name des Benutzeraccounts | schmidt |
| mailPassword | Passwort des Benutzeraccounts | kfjwjrf2ed2 |
| mailPort | SMTP-Port für ausgehende Mails | 587 |
| mailProtokoll | Protokoll für ausgehende Mails | SMTP/SMTPS |
| mailProperties | sonstige, individuelle Einstellungen, per Semikolon getrennt. | mail.smtp.from=schmidt@company.org;mail.smtp.auth=true;mail.smtp.ssl.checkserveridentity=false |
| Property | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| mailHost | Name of SMTP server for mail output | mail.company.org |
| mailUsername | User account name | schmidt |
| mailPassword | User account password | kfjwjrf2ed2 |
| mailPort | Outgoing mail SMTP port | 587 |
| mailProtokoll | Outgoing Mail Log | SMTP/SMTPS |
| mailProperties | Other, individual settings, separated by semicolon. | mail.smtp.from=schmidt@company.org;mail.smtp.auth=true;mail.smtp.ssl.checkserveridentity=false |
The "mailProperties" property can be used to configure a number of special functions. This is based on the Java Mail API.