Build Your First Application Pega

Tutorial: Building Your First Application

Friday, May 06, 2011

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© Copyright 2011 Pegasystems Inc., Cambridge, MA All rights reserved.

This document describes products and services of Pegasystems Inc. It may contain trade secrets and proprietary information. The document and product are protected by copyright and distributed under licenses restricting their use, copying distribution, or transmittal in any form without prior written authorization of Pegasystems Inc. This document is current as of the date of publication only. Changes in the document may be made from time to time at the discretion of Pegasystems. This document remains the property of Pegasystems and must be returned to it upon request. This document does not imply any commitment to offer or deliver the products or services described. This document may include references to Pegasystems product features that have not been licensed by your company. If you have questions about whether a particular capability is included in your installation, please consult your Pegasystems service consultant. For Pegasystems trademarks and registered trademarks, all rights reserved. Other brand or product names are trademarks of their respective holders. Although Pegasystems Inc. strives for accuracy in its publications, any publication may contain inaccuracies or typographical errors. This document or Help System could contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically added to the information herein. Pegasystems Inc. may make improvements and/or changes in the information described herein at any time.

This document is the property of: Pegasystems Inc. 101 Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142-1590

Phone: (617) 374-9600 Fax: (617) 374-9620 www.pega.com

Updated: Friday, May 06, 2011

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About this tutorial Audience

1

The scenario

2

Tutorial structure

2

Conventions

2

Navigation

3

Images

3

Application login

3

Errors and enhancements

3

Prerequisites

4

Importing the starter kit

4

About the starter kit

6

Business objectives, work type, use cases, and requirements

6

Globex's Onboarding project's business objectives

7

Equipment Request process and work type

7

Business process atomic use cases

7

Actors

8

Business requirements

8

Use case descriptions

8

Step 1: Create the application profile

11

Part A: Capture basic project details

11

Part B: Capture essential process steps using the Discovery Map

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Part C: Complete capturing information in the Application Profiler

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Review Step 2: Generate the base application Part A: Running the Application Accelerator Review 2

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27 28 28 33

Step 3: Review the application structure Part A: Update the OnboardingFW RuleSet

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Part B: Review the class structure

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Part C: Review the rules generated by the Application Accelerator

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Part D: Use the standard heat map to review the number and types of rules in the application

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Review Step 4: Adjust the initial process

42 44

Part A: Run the process

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Part B: Edit the flow

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Part C: Review the updated process

59

Review Step 5: Create a data model

61 62

Part A: Create a single value property

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Part B: Create properties using the Property Wizard

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Part C: Create embedded properties

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Review Step 6: Extend the default user interface

77 78

Part A: Customize the CoreSummary section

80

Part B: Create the sections for selecting hardware and software items

86

Part C: Create the Budgets Section

96

Part D: Create the ReviewSelections section

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Part E: Add sections to harnesses and flow actions

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Review Step 7: Refine the process definition

103 104

Part A: Modify the user interface for the Review step

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Part B: Edit the flow to refine the process

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Review 3

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107

Step 8: Create a finished user interface

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Part A: Customize the Header section

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Part B: Add manager's note to the Header section

112

Review Step 9: Create decision rules

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Part A: Create when condition rules to control sections

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Part B: Create rules to calculate budget amounts and totals

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Review

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Step 10: Document the application

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Part A: Document the application

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Review

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114

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Introduction The Building Your First Application tutorial walks you through the steps of building a Process Commander application. In the business scenario for this tutorial, you are an application developer working at a fictional software company named Globex. Globex is growing by leaps and bounds, and is having a surge in hiring new employees for a number of its departments. To increase the speed that the company can adapt to this surge, management is sponsoring development of an Onboarding application. They picture this application automating and managing all of the Globex processes involved in onboarding a new hire. Within this broad Onboarding framework, your task is to design and develop the piece that handles equipment setup for a new hire, while other teams at Globex work on the other onboarding-related processes. Eventually, Globex wants to integrate all of the onboarding-related processes and applications. This tutorial is about the equipment setup process. The application you build simplifies and automates an existing manual process currently used by Globex’s HR staff to ensure new hires have the necessary equipment on their first day.

You begin by reviewing Globex's requirements and creating an Application Profile. Using this profile, you create the basic structure of the application using the Application Accelerator. You continue by filling in this basic structure with the class structure, flow, and data models needed to meet these requirements. Later steps cover evolving and refining the application to include decision and declarative rules to streamline the application's functionality. Each step of this process is broken down into smaller tasks, with a review section at the end.

About this tutorial Audience This tutorial is intended for Process Commander users who wish to review the steps involved in creating a Process Commander application and improve their skills. The tutorial content assumes the reader has access to Process Commander V6.1 SP2, and is familiar with the Designer Studio1 and with creating rules, editing flows, and running processes in the Designer Studio.

1The Designer Studio is available to users who are associated with an access group that identifies the Developer

rule as their current portal. It provides tools and resources organized into a development environment that speeds application planning, construction, testing, and updating.

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The scenario You are an application developer working at a fictional software company named Globex. Globex is growing by leaps and bounds, and is having a surge in hiring new employees for a number of its departments. To increase the speed that the company can adapt to this surge, management is sponsoring development of an Onboarding application. They picture this application automating and managing all of the Globex processes involved in onboarding a new hire. Within this broad Onboarding framework, you’ve been charged with developing the piece that handles equipment setup for a new hire. The steps of the tutorial cover work that, in a large company, might be done by several colleagues rather than one developer. The header for each step indicates the role of the employee who would typically do the work in that step.

Tutorial structure A diagram of the general flow of application development helps indicate where you are in the process. The highlighted stage in the diagram indicates the focus of the current tutorial step. This is the image for the step on creating a data model:

Each step in the tutorial follows this pattern: n

The first screen of the step displays the relevant diagram, describes the situation within the scenario (where relevant), indicates the skills you will exercise, and provides information you may need to complete the step.

n

The step is broken down into parts. Each part provides text and images to help you accomplish the step’s goals.

n

At the end of the step, a review screen summarizes the work you did and provides links for learning more about the skills you used in the step.

Conventions The tutorial follows a few display conventions:

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n

A value that appears within the application, such as the name of a property or a field, appears highlighted in the tutorial, such as GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work and Name.

n

A menu option you are to select appears as New > Data Model > Property.

n

A reference to a button you are to click appears as “Click Create”, or may show an image of the button: “Click ”.

n

A small icon to the left of blue text ( ) indicates that more information is available. Click the icon to expand the area and see the additional information. Click to collapse the area again.

Navigation At the bottom of the first screen of each step are links to the parts of the step. You can proceed using these links, or by using the Previous Topic / Next Topic links that appear below the step links. The left panel of the tutorial window has four sections to help you understand and navigate through the tutorial: n

TOC (table of contents) provides links to all the steps and parts of the tutorial. Click any closed book icon ( ) to expand that entry and see the steps within it. Click any link to display the screen related to it.

n

Glossary defines key words and concepts found in the tutorial.

n

In the Search feature, provide a word or phrase and click Search. The display shows a set of screen titles, with the screen most likely to satisfy your search at the top. Click any link to display that screen. Click the magnifying glass icon to the right of the Search button to add the current search term to your list of favorites (see next).

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The Favorites feature lists searches and topics that you have tagged as your favorites. To add a screen to the list of Favorite Topics, display it in the right panel and click the

icon at the extreme left of the task bar.

Images The tutorial includes many images to illustrate the text. Hover the mouse over any image to expand it to a larger size for easier viewing. Click away from the image to return it to its original size. If images appear clipped on the left hand side of the content area, widen the content area (the right panel) of the tutorial window to avoid this behavior.

Application login The initial import creates default administrator login credentials: Name

[email protected]

Password

rules

You can create additional operator IDs within the GLBX.com structure if necessary.

Errors and enhancements If you find errors in the tutorial, or have suggestions for making it more useful, feel free to write to [email protected].

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Prerequisites Before beginning the course in your Process Commander system, verify the following conditions: Condition

How to verify

You have access to a V6.1 SP2 system, and Your organization should provide you an operator have an operator ID with which to access the sys- ID and the URL to the system. After you log into tem. the system using that operator ID, select the Help > About menu item to confirm the version of your system. You have Microsoft Visio 2003 or higher installed Open your Windows control panel and doubleon your client machine. click Add/Remove Programs. See if Visio is listed. Your operator ID references an access group con- When you are logged into your system, access taining the PegaRULES:SysAdm4 role the operator menu (the menu with your name) at the top of the Designer Studio window. Select Access Group from the menu. The system does not contain RuleSets named GLBX, GLBXInt, OnboardingFW, OnboardingFWInt

On the left panel of the Designer Studio, select the Rules Explorer. Expand the SysAdmin category. Click the RuleSet branch to view a list of RuleSets in the right panel. If a list does not appear, select INSTANCES from the drop-down list at the left of the top toolbar.

The system does not contain an organization named GLBX.

On the left panel of the Designer Studio, select the Rules Explorer. Expand the Organization category. Click the Organization branch to view a list of organizations in the right panel. If a list does not appear, select INSTANCES from dropdown list at the left of the top toolbar.

Importing the starter kit Before beginning Step 1 of the tutorial, you must import some Process Commander resources that set up the appropriate organization and operators for the tutorial scenario, and provide some additional assets needed for the tutorial steps. 1. Download file Build_Your_App_Organization.zip from http://pdn.pega.com/DevNet/eLearning/byfpca/Content/Resources/Zips/Build_Your_App_Organization.zip and save it to a location on your network. 2. Log on to your V6.1 SP2 system using the operator ID that your organization has assigned to you for accessing that system. 3. Open the Import & Export landing page by clicking

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> Application > Import & Export > Import.

4. Click Browse, and select the downloaded file.

5. Click Upload File. 6. Check the following boxes - Overwrite Existing Rules, Overwrite Existing Data.

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7. Click Import. When the system indicates that all of the records have been copied, click Done. The resources are ready for you to begin Step 1 of the tutorial. Because Step 1 of the tutorial starts by having you log in with a different operator ID, log out of the system before beginning Step 1.

About the starter kit When you import the starter kit, the following assets are imported into your Process Commander system. Assets

Description

GLBX organization and the related rules and data instances

The GLBX organization and related rules and data instances provide the business context for the tutorial scenario. Items such as the GLBX organization, related operator IDs, and related access groups are imported.

Two data tables named "Hardware These data tables and their supporting rules provide sample data values used in the Items" and "Software Items" and their tutorial scenario. supporting rules. Two activities named "getHardware" and "getSoftware".

These activities are used to retrieve the sample data values from the data tables and make the values available for display at runtime.

Business objectives, work type, use cases, and requirements As described, the Globex organization wants an Onboarding application. Within this broad Onboarding framework, you’ve been charged with the piece that handles the process for requesting the equipment setup for a new hire. This section describes the needed background information about the application and the process. You will use this information in subsequent steps of the tutorial. Note: The Globex scenario and the details describing Globex's process, the use cases,and requirements are intentionally simple to allow you to more quickly complete the tutorial steps while also illustrating the key concepts. In a real-world situation, an implementation is typically more complex than this tutorial scenario. In a real-world situation, the process, use cases, and requirements will involve more details than are provided for this scenario. Throughout this tutorial, assume that the Globex subject matter experts have provided this information.

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Globex's Onboarding project's business objectives Business objectives describe why the application is being developed. They are the project goals that, when reached, provide the sought-after business return or benefit. The business objectives that Globex wants to achieve with the overall Onboarding application are: n

Automate the approval process for employee onboarding requests

n

Reduce turn-around time for new hire equipment setup

Equipment Request process and work type You find out from the Globex business subject matter experts that their manual (paper-based) equipment request process today involves: n

Entering information about the new hire (name, department, hiring manager's name)

n

Specifying the hardware items to be purchased and set up for the new hire.

n

Specifying the software items.

n

Approving the equipment request or, alternatively, rejecting the equipment request.

n

Stamping the filled-out paper form as "Approved" (if approved) or "Rejected" (if rejected).

The template from which these forms are created is called the work type. For this application, the work type is Equipment Request. A specific created instance is called the work item.

Business process atomic use cases To facilitate reuse, a business process is broken down into atomic use cases. Each atomic use case represents one action owned by a single actor. By using atomic use cases in the system, it is easy to trace where a use case is implemented in the application user interface, and assess whether the application is being built appropriately. The following table illustrates Globex's manual process steps broken down into atomic use cases and the actor involved in each use case. Manual Business Process Step

Associated Atomic Use Case

Typical Actor

Enter information about the new hire

Enter New Hire Info

HR Staff Member

Specify the hardware items

Select Hardware

HR Staff Member

Specify the software items

Select Software

HR Staff Member

Approve the equipment request

Approve

Hiring Manager

Reject the equipment request

Reject

Hiring Manager

Stamp the filled-out paper form

Update Status

System

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Actors An actor takes action on work at a specific business process point. The actors in this process are: n

HR Staff Member: Begins the process and fills out the request for the new hire’s equipment setup

n

Hiring Manager: Approves equipment requests for the new hires in his or her department

n

System: Updates status of the work

The system itself meets the definition of an actor for this application, because it takes action on work at specific process points. In this particular process, the Globex subject matter experts have identified points at which the system will update the status of the work item as it moves through the process: after the Approve step and after the Reject step.

Business requirements Requirements describe the capabilities the application must fulfill, and typically provide additional details for an atomic use case. They can be viewed as the “success criteria” for the project: the stakeholders expect to see these items implemented to say the project was a success. A Process Commander application enables you to capture requirements in the system itself, so that they can be associated to use cases and tracked as the application is developed. For this project, Globex's subject matter experts have provided a list of business requirements to enter into the system in Step 1 of the tutorial. Note: The list below is not intended to represent the complete and exhaustive list of all business requirements a realworld equipment request process would typically have. In a real-world situation, an implementation is typically more complex that this tutorial scenario. Requirement name

Description

ER001_Create_ER

System should enable an employee to create an equipment request.

ER002_Calculate_Cost

System should calculate the cost of selected items during the process.

ER003_Calculate_Remainder

System should calculate the remaining budget (where remaining budget is the department budget minus the equipment total cost).

ER004_Add_Note

System should enable a manager to add a note to the equipment request.

Use case descriptions Globex's subject matter experts have provided the descriptions for each atomic use case in their process. In a realworld situation, an implementation is typically more complex and would likely have more use cases and more complex descriptions. Enter New Hire Info When the process is started, the system displays fields for entering the information about the new hire.

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First Name (entry field) Last Name (entry field) Department (drop-down list) Manager (entry field) HR Staff Member specifies the information. Select Hardware System displays a repeating structure with one row per item selected: Hardware (drop-down list) Price (read-only field) HR Staff Member makes selections from the Hardware list. Select Software System displays a repeating structure with one row per item selected: Software (drop-down list) Price (read-only field) HR Staff Member makes selections from the Software list. Approve System displays: Department Budget (read-only field) Hardware Total (read-only field; running total calculated from selections) Software Total (read-only field; running total calculated from selections) Remaining Budget (read-only field; running total calculated from subtracting the total costs from the Department Budget) Two lists for the selected Hardware and Software items: Hardware (read-only field) Price (read-only field) Software (read-only field) Price (read-only field) An Approve button to approve the request and an optional Note text box. Hiring Manager optionally enters a note and clicks the Approve button. Reject System displays:

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Department Budget (read-only field) Hardware Total (read-only field; running total calculated from selections) Software Total (read-only field; running total calculated from selections) Remaining Budget (read-only field; running total calculated from subtracting the total costs from the Department Budget) Two lists for the selected Hardware and Software items: Hardware (read-only field) Price (read-only field) Software (read-only field) Price (read-only field) A Reject button to reject the request and a Rejection Note text box to record the reason for the rejection. Hiring Manager enters a rejection note and clicks the Reject button. Continue on to Step 1 of the tutorial.

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Step 1: Create the application profile Typically performed by

Business Analysts

In the previous step

Purpose of this step To...

So that...

No previous step

Capture descriptions of the use cases and application requirements

Later steps can relate specific parts of the application to individual use cases and requirements

In this step, you use the Application Profiler tool to capture the project's objectives, use cases, and requirements directly in the system. The input to this step is used in the next step to generate the base structure of the application.

Creating an application profile using the Application Profiler is the first step when creating an application. It answers the question “What will I build?” In going through the Application Profiler, important information about the project is captured such as its business objectives, the stakeholder requirements, and the business process. Typically, a business analyst runs the Application Profiler with subject matter experts and other team members to directly capture that information from them. Within this tutorial's scenario, the project given to you is the Globex project described in the Business objectives, work type, use cases, and requirements topic. The Globex organization wants an Onboarding application that can provide automation and efficiency for getting a new hire started in the company. In this tutorial step, you run the Application Profiler and specify details about the project. The details you need to input are provided as you go through the exercise. Running the Application Profiler results in two items: l

An application profile object, which the system uses as the basis for generating the basic structure of the application. You build out this application in subsequent steps.

l

An application profile document, which is typically used by the project sponsors to review the project, validate that it is proceeding in the expected direction, and size the effort.

Continue to the next topic to begin this step of the tutorial.

Part A: Capture basic project details The first task in the Application Profiler is to capture basic project details. For the Globex scenario, use the following project details.

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For this field

Enter this value

Profile option

New Application

Build

New Framework And Implementation

Build on Framework

None

Application Name

Onboarding

Project Name

Onboarding Version 1

Project Led By

External Consultants

Organization Name

Globex

Business Objectives

Two objectives: Automate the approval process for employee onboarding requests Reduce turn-around time for new hire equipment setup

Project Description

Globex (GLBX) is a fast growing software company. Making the onboarding process more efficient will increase the ability for the company to grow successfully.

1. Log on to the system as [email protected] with the password rules to access the Designer Studio1. (That operator ID is the one provided in the zip file archive that needs to be installed before beginning the tutorial. See Prerequisites for details.) 2. Start the Application Profiler by selecting New Application > Application Profile from the Application menu.

3. In the Application Overview window that displays when the Application Profiler starts, specify the details as listed in the table above. You can copy text from the table and paste it into the fields.

1The Designer Studio is available to users who are associated with an access group that identifies the Developer

rule as their current portal. It provides tools and resources organized into a development environment that speeds application planning, construction, testing, and updating.

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To add the second business objective, click second business objective.

. A new line is displayed and you can paste in the text for the

Confirm that the completed Application Overview window looks like the following image, then click OK to save the project details.

4. Select Actors from the Actions menu in the upper right area of the Application Profiler:

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5. In the Actors window that opens, leave the Actors Background Information field blank. Specify the following information for the actors that participate in Globex's current process for onboarding. Click to add two more rows.

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Name

Type

Access

HR Staff Member

Operator

Browser

Hiring Manager

Operator

Browser

System

This System

System Agent

twice

This information will be used in the use cases that are entered in the Application Profiler. 6. Click OK to save the information in the Actors window. 7. After closing the Actors window, the current step is the Processes step. This step is for entering details about the business processes that are part of this application. Your assignment in Globex's Onboarding project is their Equipment Request process, as described in the Business objectives, work type, use cases, and requirements topic. Therefore, you first want to update the default values for the work type and the process name to reflect the Equipment Request process. 8. Select the drop-down menu next to the default Onboarding label to update the work type information.

9. In the Edit Work Type window, update the following fields to the indicated values. Confirm that the

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Complexity field is set to Low (the default value). Then click OK to save the updates. Field

Value

Name

EquipmentRequest

Display Label

Equipment Request

Complexity

Low (the default value)

Prefix

ER

Description

Equipment request work item

10. To update the process name to reflect the fact that the process concerns an equipment request, select the drop-down menu next to the default label (StartOnboarding) and select Rename.

In the Edit Flow Name Details window, note that the system has supplied a default value based on the updated work type name (StartEquipmentRequest). Add spaces to the default value to set it to Start Equipment Request. Click OK.

At this point, the system refreshes the display for the Processes step and it should look like the following image.

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Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Part B: Capture essential process steps using the Discovery Map The second task in the Application Profiler is to capture the essential process steps using the Discovery Map1. The main area on the Processes step displays the Discovery Map. The Discovery Map is an inventory of the essential process steps that affect or alter the work item as it proceeds from its creation to its final resolution. Colored shapes represent these essential steps. Note: The Globex scenario and the details describing Globex's process, the use cases,and requirements are intentionally simple to allow you to more quickly complete the tutorial steps while also illustrating the key concepts. In a real-world situation, an implementation is typically more complex. In this tutorial, assume that the Globex subject matter experts have provided this information. Globex's subject matter experts have identified the following essential process steps that affect the Equipment Request work item: l

Select Hardware

l

Select Software

l

Approve

1A Discovery Map is a graphical design tool integrated into the Processes tab of the Application Profiler and Appli-

cation Accelerator. A Discovery Map provides a high-level presentation of steps in the starting business flows in the application including the subflows and alternate paths.

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l

Update Status (system updates the work item status after approval)

l

Reject (alternate step to the Approve step)

l

Update Status (system updates the work item status after rejection)

Add the essential process steps to the Discovery Map using these steps: 1. In the Discovery Map, click the Step Name label on the default initial shape. Type Select Hardware. 2. Double-click the open shape space next to the Select Hardware shape to add a new green shape. Click the shape's label and type Select Software. 3. Double-click the open shape space next to the Select Software shape to add a new green shape. Click the shape's label and type Approve. 4. Double-click the open shape space next to the Approve shape to add a new green shape. Click the shape's label and type Update Status. 5. Right-click the Update Status shape, and select Add New Alternate Step to add the Reject step, because Globex's subject matter experts have identified the Reject step as an alternate step in the process. A double red line appears in between the Update Status shape and the new shape to indicate where the alternate steps begin. Click the new shape's label and type Reject. 6. Double-click the open shape space to the right of the Reject shape to add an Update Status step (in which the system updates the work item status after rejection). Click the new shape's label and type Update Status. (You might have to widen the Designer Studio window to add this shape.) At this point, the Discovery Map should look like the following image.

The following steps describe how to capture the details of Globex's atomic use cases and requirements in the system and associate them with the appropriate shapes. This table shows the relationship between the shapes and the atomic use cases and requirements, using the information provided by Globex's subject matter experts. Some requirements are associated with more than one use case. Because Globex's subject matter experts have not identified a requirement associated with the "Update Status" use case, a requirement is not entered for that use case. The name of the use case is the same as the name of its associated shape.

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Shape

Actor

Use Case Description

Select HR Staff System displays a repeating strucHardware Member ture with one row per item selected:

Associated Requirements Name: ER001_Create_ER Details:

Hardware (drop-down list) Price (read-only field) HR Staff Member makes selections from the Hardware list.

System should enable an employee to create an equipment request. Importance: 1 - Critical

Select HR Staff System displays a repeating strucSoftware Member ture with one row per item selected:

Name: ER001_Create_ER Details:

Software (drop-down list) Price (read-only field) HR Staff Member makes selections from the Software list.

System should enable an employee to create an equipment request. Importance: 1 - Critical

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Shape

Actor

Use Case Description

Approve

Hiring System displays a list for: Name: ER002_Calculate_Cost Manager Department Budget (read-only field) Details: Hardware Total (read-only field; running total calculated from selections) Software Total (read-only field; running total calculated from selections) Remaining Budget (read-only field; running total calculated from subtracting the total costs from the Department Budget)

Associated Requirements

System should calculate the cost of selected items during the process. Importance: 2 - Very Important Name: ER003_Calculate_Remainder

Details: System displays a repeating structure listing the selected hardware and System should calculate the remaining software items: budget (where remaining budget is the department budget minus the equipHardware (read-only field) ment total cost). Price (read-only field) Importance: Software (read-only field) Price (read-only field) 2 - Very Important System displays an Approve button to approve the request and an optional Note text box.

Name: ER004_Add_Note

Note (optional; entry note box)

System should enable a manager to add a note to the equipment request.

Hiring Manager optionally enters a note and clicks the Approve button.

Details:

Importance: 4 - Desirable

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Shape

Actor

Use Case Description

Reject

Hiring System displays a list for: Name: ER002_Calculate_Cost Manager Department Budget (read-only field) Details: Hardware Total (read-only field; running total calculated from selections) Software Total (read-only field; running total calculated from selections) Remaining Budget (read-only field; running total calculated from subtracting the total costs from the Department Budget)

Associated Requirements

System should calculate the cost of selected items during the process. Importance: 2 - Very Important Name: ER003_Calculate_Remainder

Details: System displays a repeating structure listing the selected hardware and System should calculate the remaining software items: budget (where remaining budget is the department budget minus the equipHardware (read-only field) ment total cost). Price (read-only field) Importance: Software (read-only field) Price (read-only field) 2 - Very Important System displays a Reject button to Name: ER004_Add_Note reject the request and a Rejection Note text box to record the reason for Details: the rejection. System should enable a manager to add a note to the equipment request. Rejection Note (entry note box; required) Importance: Hiring Manager enters a rejection 4 - Desirable note and clicks the Reject button.

Update Status

System System automatically updates the status of an Equipment Request as required.

7. Perform the following steps on the first shape (Select Hardware) to capture the atomic use case, as well as the relevant requirement for that shape. After you complete these steps on the first shape, repeat the steps for the remaining shapes according to the preceding table. Note: If your V6.1 SP2 system has had hotfix HFix-3278 installed, the window and fields in which you enter the use case and requirements information look slightly different from what is stated in the following steps and shown in the images. If your system has HFix-3278 installed, the window has more than two tabs. In that

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case, enter the appropriate use case information on the Details tab and the use case descriptions on the Description tab (instead of on the Use Case tab as stated in the following steps). a. Double-click the shape. After a few moments (depending on the speed of your network), the Details window opens. b. Enter the relevant information on the Use Case and Requirements tabs using the following steps: i. On the Use Case tab: l

Confirm that the Shape field is set to Human Based Step (the default value). In this step, the HR Staff Member selects the hardware items.

l

Confirm that the Use Case field is set to the shape label (the default value). For the first shape, the value should be Select Hardware. The system uses the shape label as the default for the use case name. Globex's subject matter experts have agreed to use these default use case names.

l

Confirm that the Status field is set to New (the default value).

l

In the Actors field, specify HR Staff Member. To use the autocomplete feature, type the first letter (H) into the field and press your keyboard's down arrow key. The system displays the available choices. (The choices for actors are the ones you entered previously. Click the HR Staff Member choice to select it from the displayed choices.

l

Confirm that the Use Existing Sub Process field is set to None (the default value).

l

Confirm that the Trigger field is empty (no value) and the Complexity field is set to Low. (The complexity values of the captured use cases are used in the Application Profiler to calculate project sizings for developing the project. This is not a concern in this tutorial scenario, so retain the default value.)

l

In the Business Objective field, select the Automate the approval process for employee onboarding requests choice.

l

In the Description field, enter the description of the Select_Hardware use case: System displays a repeating structure with one row per item selected: Hardware (drop-down list) Price (read-only field) You can also copy and paste the text from the table above.

22

i. On the Requirements tab: l

In the Name field, enter the name for the requirement associated with this use case (ER001_Create_ER). Note that the autocomplete in the Name field does not display any choices because this requirement has not been previously entered into the system. Click the Expand icon ( ) to the left of the field to display the editor field. Enter the requirement's details in this field: System should enable an employee to create an equipment request.

l

Confirm that the Category field is set to Business Rule (the default value).

l

For the Importance field, select Critical (as indicated in the preceding table for this requirement).

l

Confirm that the Status field is set to New (the default value), and that the External Req ID field is empty (the default).

c. Click OK to save the use case and requirement information and complete association with that step.

23

In the Discovery Map, the Select Hardware shape now has a document icon, which indicates a use case description is captured and associated with that step.

8. To save the work you have completed in the profile up to this point, select Actions > Save. 9. For each of the remaining shapes, repeat the previous steps to associate their use cases and requirements. You can copy text from the table and paste it into entry fields. Note that once a requirement has been entered in the system for a previous use case, you do not re-enter its information to associate it with a use case. Use the autocomplete feature to select the previously entered requirement: type the first letter in the Name field (E) and press your keyboard's down arrow. The system displays the previously entered requirements for you to select from. For example, when entering the requirement for the Select Software shape, after typing E into the Name field and pressing the down arrow key, the system displays ER001_Create_ER as a choice. After clicking that choice, press your keyboard's Tab key to move your cursor to the next field. After a moment (depending on the speed of your network) the system automatically fills in the Importance and other fields with the previously entered information for ER001_Create_ ER. (Depending on the speed of your network, this might take a few moments to display.) Some use cases have more than one requirement associated with them. To add additional requirements in the Requirements tab, click

to add a new row for entry.

For the two Update Status shapes, in the Shape field, select Automated Step (instead of the default Human Based Step value).

After entering the use cases and requirements information, confirm that all of the shapes in the Discovery Map display the document icon and that the two Update Status shapes are yellow. The Discovery Map should look like the following image.

24

Save the profile by selecting Actions > Save. Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Part C: Complete capturing information in the Application Profiler The Globex subject matter experts inform you that they want the first use case that they identified captured as the use case for the starting screen of the process, because they want the system to display the fields to enter that information when the HR Staff Member begins the process. 1. Select the drop-down menu next to the Start Equipment Request label and select Add > Use case for starting screen. 2. In the window that opens, specify the following items in the fields on the Use Case tab: Field

Specified value

Use Case

Enter New Hire Info

Status

New

Actors

HR Staff Member

Trigger

Web Browser (Use the SmartPrompt to select the value by putting your cursor in the field and pressing your keyboard's down arrow. The system displays the available choices. Double-click Web Browser to select it for the field.)

Complexity

Low

Business Objective

Automate the approval process for employee onboarding requests

Description

When the HR Staff member selects to start the process, the system displays fields for entering the information about the new hire. HR staff member enters the following information about the new hire: First Name (entry field) Last Name (entry field) Department (drop-down list) Manager (entry field)

25

3. Click the Requirements tab. In the Name field, use the autocomplete to select the ER001_Create_ER requirement and press your keyboard's Tab button to move to the next field. After a few moments, the system fills in the previously specified values for the remaining fields. 4. Click OK in the window to save the use case. At this point, you have captured all of the details for the process-related requirements of the project. Each step of the Application Profiler is designed to capture details of the project related to a specific area. These steps are listed along the left side once you start the Application Profiler. For example, the Integration step is for capturing details of connections to external systems the application would have to make, the Reports step is for capturing details of the types of reports expected from the application, and the Project Roles step is for capturing estimates of the staffing resources needed for the project. While larger-scale projects would likely require you to enter information for all of these areas of the project, it is not needed for this Globex scenario, and you can move directly to the Profile Review part. (Note that even though this project is for a simple process and the use cases and requirements have been kept intentionally simple, larger-scale projects would follow this same progression of steps.) 5. Click Profile Review in the Application Profiler's left side navigation. The display shows the work type you specified in the Application Profiler, as well as supporting types typically used in a Process Commander application. (The system includes these by default.) You can optionally expand the EquipmentRequest work type and see the list of use cases you entered.

6. Click the Finish button to complete creation of the application profile. The system works to generate the data it needs to create the application profile object. Once the system is done, the profile is completed and the completion window displays.

26

Optional: Create a Word document of the information in the created application profile that can be circulated to stakeholders by selecting Actions > Document. In the Document window, click Create Document. If you have Microsoft Word on your local system, the program opens and displays the application profile document. You can save a copy to your local system, or close Word without saving. When you are done reviewing the document, close the Document window. Typically the application is generated at this point. However, for this tutorial, move to Step 2 and complete Step 2 before generating the application. Click Close to close the Application Profiler and complete this step of the tutorial. Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Review In this step, you created a profile for the Onboarding application by running the Application Profiler. You created a Discovery Map that inventories the steps of the business process that the application is to implement, and you entered information about the use cases and associated requirements. To read more about the skills you used in this step, see: l

Implementation and Methdology - Getting Started (

l

Business Analyst Resources overview (

l

About Direct Capture of Objectives [KB 26133] (

l

Creating an Application Profile [KB 26128] (

)

) )

)

In the next step of the tutorial, you generate a starting application structure based on this profile. Move to the next step in the tutorial.

27

Step 2: Generate the base application Typically performed by

Business Analysts, with assistance from System Architects (SAs)

In the previous step, you

Purpose of this step To...

So that...

Built the application profile

Record your decisions about names and the primary process

From the application profile, the Application Accelerator can automatically generate rules that provide a solid base starting point for later steps

This tutorial step generates the base application structure, using the information that you captured with the Application Profiler. In subsequent tutorial steps, from that base, you build out and customize the application to the organization's specific needs.

Generating a base application using the Application Accelerator is the second step in creating a Process Commander application. The Application Accelerator takes the profile created by the Application Profiler and turns it into a working application. It automates building a specific application by generating a base starting structure that you can extend with requirements for a specific implementation. In this tutorial step, you run the Application Accelerator, customize some details for the specific implementation of an application for requesting new hire equipment, and generate the base application. At the end of this tutorial step, a working application is created in the system. Continue to the next topic to begin this step of the tutorial.

Part A: Running the Application Accelerator The Application Accelerator generates a basic application structure automatically from the application profile you created at the end of Step 1.C of this tutorial. The structure provides a starting point for later tutorial steps. The following steps describe customizing some of the information from the profile to better align with the Globex team's expectations, and then generating the base application.

28

1. In the Designer Studio, start the Application Accelerator1 by selecting New Application > Application Accelerator from the Application menu.

2. In the Application Overview window that opens when the wizard starts, click the Select the Application Profile field and select the entry that starts with Profile for Onboarding. That entry is the application profile created in Step 1.C of this tutorial. The Application Overview window refreshes to display the default values from the profile. 3. In the New Implementation Name field, change the default value to EquipReq.

1The Application Accelerator is a wizard that integrates with an Application Profile to launch an automated, best-

practice process that jump-starts the creation of new application and the extension of existing applications and frameworks.

29

4. Confirm the following values in the Application Overview window: l

Framework Name is OnboardingFW

l

Both Version fields display 01.01.01

l

Business Objectives displays the two business objectives you entered in Step 1.A of this tutorial.

5. Click OK to save the changes. 6. By default, the Application Accelerator begins on the Base and RuleSets step. In this step, the system displays default names based on the values from the application profile created in Step 1.C and the GLBX organization structure. For this tutorial, these default values should be used. Confirm the following settings: l

Parent Class is OnboardingFW

l

RuleSet Name is OnboardingFW

l

Organization Name is GLBX.com and Organization Class is GLBX-

l

Division Name is GLBXDiv, Division Class is GLBXDiv-, and Division RuleSet is GLBXGLBXDiv

l

Application Class is EquipReq and Application RuleSet is GLBXEquipReq

l

Modify test operators checkbox is clear

7. Select the Processes step of the Application Accelerator. Confirm that the Discovery Map you created in

30

Step 1.B is displayed. At this point, for a larger application, the business analyst would typically work with the subject matter experts to provide information to update the other areas of the Application Accelerator before generating the base application. In this tutorial scenario, the system provides default selections on the other steps based on the information from the profile that you created earlier and entered in the preceding steps. No further updates are needed before generating the base application structure. 8. Select the Review Objects step and confirm that the displayed use cases and requirements match the following images. These are the use cases and requirements you entered into the Application Profiler in Step 1.B of the tutorial. Expand the EquipmentRequest work type to display the use cases.

Select the Requirements tab to see the requirements.

9. Select the Create Application step. In this step, the system displays a list of the rules that the system will generate for the starting structure. 10. Click Build the Application. As the system creates the rules and classes for the application, progress is indicated in the Status column by the clockwise circling arrows ( available, click Finish.

31

). When the Status column displays all check marks and the Finish button is

11. Click the Switch to new application button that appears. The system refreshes the Designer Studio window to display the newly generated OnboardingFW application.

As part of this process, the Application Accelerator updated the [email protected] operator ID to set OnboardingFW as its default application. From now on, whenever you log into the system using [email protected] (password rules), the Designer Studio will display the OnboardingFW application by default.

32

Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Review In this step, you generated a starter structure for the Onboarding application by running the Application Accelerator, using information in the profile that you previously created. To read more about the skills you used in this step, see: l

Introduction to the SmartBPM Implementation Methodology [KB 25665] (

l

Business Analyst Resources overview (

l

About the Direct Capture of Objectives [KB 26133] (

l

Using the Application Accelerator [KB 26129] (

)

) )

)

Because this is a starter application that you will extend to meet your stakeholders' needs, it's best to review the generated items to gain an understanding of what was created. In the next step of the tutorial, you review the generated items. Move to the next step in the tutorial.

33

Step 3: Review the application structure Typically performed by

Lead System Architects (LSA)

In the previous step, you

Purpose of this step To...

Generated a base Build upon the RuleSets application structure generated in the previous step and familiarize youself with the generated base structure

So that... You are familiar with assets generated in the previous step and have the appropriate RuleSet prerequisites for creating and saving rules as you build out the process (screens, flow, logic) in the subsequent tutorial steps

This step builds upon the base GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work application structure that was generated in the previous step. You explore the generated application structure, and set the prerequisites for the RuleSet into which new rules are saved as you create them in the application development process.

The Application Accelerator that you used in Step 2 created your application and populated it with a structure and assets that promote efficient development and reusability. For this tutorial, you also need to connect the RuleSet generated by the Application Accelerator with one that you imported before beginning the tutorial. That step would not be necessary in a real business setting. In this step of the tutorial you: l

Update the OnboardingFW RuleSet to add the GLBX RuleSet as a prerequisite and turn off “check-in / checkout” of rules.

l

Review the class structure created for your application by the Application Accelerator.

l

Review the rules the Application Explorer created for your application.

l

Use the Heat Map to review your application’s assets.

Continue to the next topic to begin this step of the tutorial.

Part A: Update the OnboardingFW RuleSet The RuleSets generated by the Application Accelerator have rule check-out specified by default. This is the default setting because in a typical development effort involving more than one person, it is important to enforce rule check-

34

out. If Developer A has checked out a rule, Developer B cannot make changes to it until Developer A has checked it in again. Rule check-out helps prevent colleagues from accidentally overwriting each others’ work. In this tutorial scenario, the work is done on your own. Turning off rule check-out for the RuleSets into which one saves rules reduces the number of steps involved each time one wants to create or update a rule. In this tutorial, rules are saved to the OnboardingFW RuleSet. Rule check-out for the rules in a RuleSet is governed by a checkbox on the RuleSet form. The following steps describe turning off rule check-out in the OnboardingFW RuleSet: 1. In the Application Explorer under GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work, expand the SysAdmin category and then expand the RuleSet category to see the list of RuleSets: l

GLBX

l

GLBXInt

l

OnboardingFW

l

OnboardingFWInt

2. Click OnboardingFW to open its rule form. Even though there are four RuleSets in this application, check-out is turned off for only the OnboardingFW RuleSet. The reason is that this is the only RuleSet in which rules are saved in the course of performing the steps of this tutorial. Because the steps of the tutorial do not involve updating or saving rules into the other three RuleSets, their check-out settings can be left as they are.

35

3. Click the Security tab and clear the Use check-out? checkbox.

Before beginning Step 1 of the tutorial, you imported some Process Commander resources that set up the GLBX organization and operators for the tutorial scenario. One of those resources is the GLBX RuleSet. So that the rules that you save to the OnboardingFW RuleSet can use rules in the GLBX RuleSet, you must add the GLBX RuleSet as a prerequisite to the OnboardingFW RuleSet. 4. Click the Versions tab. 5. Click the Expand icon ( ) at the left of the 01-01-01 to view the Required RuleSets And Versions section.

6. Click that is within the Required RuleSets And Versions section to add a new row after the two existing rows. 7. In the new row, use the SmartPrompt1 to choose from the list of available RuleSets: a. Set your cursor in the entry field in the new row. b. Press your keyboard's down arrow key. The system displays a list of appropriate choices. c. Scroll down through the list until you see GLBX, then double-click GLBX to select it for the entry field. 8. Type a colon (:) and 01-01-01 after GLBX in that row. The new row should look like the following image.

1A SmartPrompt text box, used on many rule and data forms, makes a dynamic selection list available for fast user

entry. Optionally, SmartPrompt processing can be added to fields on work object forms.

36

9. Click

to save the updated OnboardingFW RuleSet.

10. Close the form for the OnboardingFW RuleSet by clicking the

icon in its tab.

Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Part B: Review the class structure Classes represent the applicability, or scope, of rules such as properties, sections, and flows. Your application is a hierarchy of classes, with more specific classes inheriting from more generic classes. In general, if there is a rule in a generic class in your application, and a rule of the same name in a more specific class that inherits from the first class, the rule in the more specific class is the one the application uses. Your application cannot use rules that are not part of the classes in its hierarchy. Use the Application Explorer in the left panel of the Designer Studio to review your application’s class structure. Your application’s class hierarchy includes classes created by the Application Accelerator and standard classes provided by Process Commander (as well as any standard classes from Frameworks your application uses). Most rules operate on ("apply to") objects of a specific class. However, rules that apply to a parent class are also available to child classes of that parent. In your application, objects in the EquipmentRequest child class have access to the rules in its parent class.

37

Right-click EquipmentRequest and select Structure from the context menu to open the Class Structure Viewer and see the relationships among all the elements of your application.

38

Use the + and – icons in the Class Structure Viewer to explore the relationships. The full name of the EquipmentRequest class is GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work-EquipmentRequest. This class is a direct child of GLBXFW-OnboardingFW-Work-, which is a child of GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-, and so on. The top class in the hierarchy is named @baseclass. Close the viewer. Right-click EquipmentRequest again, and select Inheritance to open the Class Inheritance display and see the inheritance relationships among all the classes in your application.

39

Close the Class Inheritance display. Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Part C: Review the rules generated by the Application Accelerator Along with the application’s class structure and starter flows, the Application Accelerator creates RuleSets to hold the rules your application requires. In the Application Explorer, use the + and – controls to navigate the tree display and review the rules, RuleSets, and RuleSet versions that the Application Accelerator created.

40

During the following tutorial steps, you modify some of these generated rules and create others as you build out the application to match its requirements. Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Part D: Use the standard heat map to review the number and types of rules in the application A heat map provides another way of visualizing your application’s assets. Select Heat Map to see the heat map.

> Application > Inventory >

(The arrangement of rectangles that you see might not precisely match the following image. Narrowing the Designer Studio window changes the display.) Note: If you did not complete Steps 1 and 2, and instead imported the zip file at the start of this tutorial step, the number of rules is different than the one shown in this image.

41

Click the label of any rectangle to see a list of its contents. Heat maps color the rectangles according to a stated criterion to provide additional information. You can choose a criterion in the Shaded by drop-down list. The heat map typically shows, by color gradation, the number of recently updated rules in each category rectangle. Close the heat map (click

in the Application-Inventory tab).

Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Review In this step you reviewed your application's structure and underlying items, and optionally simplified the development process by turning off rule check-in/check-out behavior. To read more about the skills you used in this step, see: l

How class inheritance works [KB 25169] (

)

l

Video overview of the Enterprise Application Accelerator (

l

Application category - Inventory page - Inventory Reports, 6Rs, and Heat Map gadgets [Developer Help] (

)

In the next step of the tutorial, you adjust the draft flow generated by the Application Accelerator.

42

)

Move to the next step in the tutorial.

43

Step 4: Adjust the initial process Typically performed by

Business Analysts

In the previous step, you

Purpose of this step To...

Specified appropriate Revise and extend the settings for the process in the default default RuleSets gen- flow erated in Step 2 and explored the generated application structure.

So that... The process begins to look more like the business process desired by the stakeholders, and you can run it for them to get their feedback

This step builds upon the base Start Equipment Request process that was generated in Step 2. You customize some of the process defaults until it reaches a point where stakeholders can review it and provide useful feedback on its development.

After the Application Accelerator generates the application structure, the business analyst can run the process (as defined in the Discovery Map) immediately, and give stakeholders the opportunity to review the working process and user interface, without waiting for all of the pieces to be developed. Early reviews let stakeholders verify that the process satisfies the project's business requirements. The stakeholders can validate that the application is developing as they expect, and the developer can quickly incorporate stakeholder feedback. As you saw in Step 3, generating the application using the Application Accelerator creates a base structure for the application. The goal is to extend this generated base to deliver an application that meets the project’s requirements and objectives. One of the generated rules is a draft flow1. The Application Accelerator uses the process steps you created in the Discovery Map to create this rule. This tutorial step describes how to run the process, and then adjust the draft flow to have the process align more with the Globex team's expectations. Continue to the next topic to begin this step of the tutorial.

1A flow defines a business process or part of a business process. A flow governs how work objects are created,

progress through the system, and become resolved. A flow consists of a network of shapes and connectors (lines), each with associated parameters and values.

44

Part A: Run the process The goal of running the process at this point in the project is to see what might need adjusting to better meet the expectations of the subject matter experts and stakeholders. 1. In the Designer Studio, select the Run ( ) menu from the toolbar, and select Run Process.

The words you entered in the Application Accelerator for the process -- Start Equipment Request -- appear as the first part of the label of the menu choice. 2. Select the menu choice that begins with the words Start Equipment Request to run the initial process that was generated by the Application Accelerator. As you progress through the process, temporary messages ("nn system alerts") might appear. These messages support performance tuning and you can ignore them.

The system presents the user interface screens that are in the base structure created by the Application Accelerator. A new tab is opened in the Designer Studio for the new work item. Click Create in the first screen and Submit in the subsequent screens to advance through the process. You do not have to enter any values in the fields.

45

3. As you progress from one screen to another by clicking Submit, observe the following items: l

46

The screens generated by default follow the steps you set in the Discovery Map, and use the names you entered on the shapes. By running the process at this point, you can quickly see whether the

process follows the steps provided by the Globex subject matter experts. l

Text in some of the screens indicates that certain items do not exist (such as "Flow Action does not yet exist."). The steps in the next tutorial topic address these items.

l

The final screen of the process shows a confirmation message: "Thank you for your input". Notice that the work item's status is set to New. Because this is the primary path of the process and the work item is not being sent to another process, you want the work item's status set to Resolved at this point. That is, you would like the work item's status in the header to reflect that all of the required elements of the work are complete ("resolved"). You would also like the work item's status to change from New to Pending-Approval as it moves to the Approve process step.

4. Close the tab for the work item by clicking the

Continue to the next tutorial topic.

47

icon in the tab.

Part B: Edit the flow The following steps describe editing the generated flow so that the items noted in the previous topic are addressed. 1. In the Application Explorer, expand EquipmentRequest to see the rule categories underneath it. Expand the Process category and then expand the Flow category. Click StartEquipmentRequest.

2. Click the Flow Editor1 icon ( ) to open the flow in the flow editor. The flow editor uses Microsoft Visio. You might be prompted to enable macros in Visio. If so, select to enable macros.

1This displays the application flow in an editable Visio diagram.

48

3. In the displayed flow diagram, observe the following items: l

The flow is in draft mode. You can tell when a flow is in draft mode by the yellow rectangle with the word Draft at the top of the flow diagram. Draft mode allows you to work with shapes in the flow without having to create all of the underlying rules for the shapes.

l

The shapes from the Discovery Map that are specified as Human Based Steps (green shapes) are represented as assignment shapes in the flow diagram.

l

The Discovery Map shapes that are specified as System Steps (yellow shapes) are represented as utility shapes.

l

The Discovery Map shapes that are specified as alternate steps (Reject and Update Status) appear in a separate branch.

4. Click to save the flow with the flow diagram. After the system completes saving the flow, a warning ( ) shape might appear in the diagram. This image marks where a shape's required values or underlying rules are incomplete. When a flow is saved, the system validates whether rules exist for each shape in the flow. Ignore any ( ) warnings that appear at this point, because the missing rules are created in the following steps of this topic. 5. Create flow action rules for the locations in the running process where the user interface is displaying "Flow Action does not yet exist" by following these steps: a. Select the connector that runs between the SelectHardware shape and the SelectSoftware shape. The Connector Properties panel displays in the upper left corner.

49

b. In the Connector Properties panel, enter SelectHardware in the Flow Action field. Do not use spaces in this field, because this value is the flow action rule name, which does not allow spaces.

c. Click next to the Flow Action field. In the New Rule dialog for the flow action, confirm the following values:

50

o

Applies To is GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work-EquipmentRequest

o

Action Name is SelectHardware

o

RuleSet is OnboardingFW

o

Version is 01-01-01

o

Template is blank (the default)

d. Click Create to create the flow action rule.

e. Click

to save the SelectHardware flow action. Then click

in its tab to close that tab.

f. In the Connector Properties panel in the flow editor, do not change any other values in the other fields in the panel. Click Apply in the Connector Properties panel. (Ignore the Action field. This warning clears the next time you click references to the new SelectHardware flow action rule.)

warning next to the Flow

to save the rule and the system validates

g. Repeat steps 5.a through 5.f for the connector that runs between the SelectSoftware shape and the Approve shape. Enter SelectSoftware in the Flow Action field, and confirm the following values in the New Rule dialog for the flow action: o

Applies To is GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work-EquipmentRequest

o

Action Name is SelectSoftware

o

RuleSet is OnboardingFW

o

Version is 01-01-01

o

Template is blank (the default)

Remember to save (

) the new SelectSoftware flow action rule.

h. Select the connector that runs between the Approve shape and the UpdateStatus shape. In the

51

Connector Properties panel, use the SmartPrompt in the Flow Action field to see the list of available flow action rules. The first choices displayed by the SmartPrompt are the two flow actions just created, SelectHardware and SelectSoftware. Double-click the More in the SmartPrompt list to see the list of standard flow action rules. Double-click Approve to select it for the Flow Action field.

i. Click Apply. 6. When the process first creates the work item, the work item's status is set to New. Adjust the flow to set the status of the work item to Open as it enters the first assignment (Select Hardware) and to Pending-Approval as it enters the Approve step. a. Select the Select Hardware assignment shape. b. In the Assignment Properties panel, use the SmartPrompt in the StatusWork field to select the standard Open status value. (You might have to expand the Assignment Properties panel to see the field labels and locate the StatusWork field). Click Apply.

c. Select the Approve assignment shape.

52

d. In the Assignment Properties panel, use the SmartPrompt in the StatusWork field to select the standard Pending-Approval status value. (You might have to expand the Assignment Properties panel to see the field labels and locate the StatusWork field). Click Apply.

7. Use the following steps to select the standard status value for the Update Status step that follows the Approve step. Recall that the Globex subject matter experts specified that this Update Status step follows the Approve step, and in this process step, the system updates the status of the work item: a. Select the UpdateStatus utility shape that follows the Approve assignment. The Utility Properties panel displays in the upper left corner. The Rule field displays the name of the standard rule UpdateStatus. Because the name on the shape is UpdateStatus, and a standard rule with that name already exists, the system uses that rule as the default for this shape. b. In the Utility Properties panel, in the StatusWork field, use the SmartPrompt to list the available choices. Double-click Resolved-Completed in the list.

c. In the Utility Properties panel, in the Name field, update the value to Update Status Resolved-Completed. It is a best practice to provide the specified status in the name of the utility shape in the diagram. d. Click Apply.

53

8. Click

to save the flow with the updates to this point. The system validates the references made to rules

in the shapes, and clears the warnings ( ) on the shapes in the main branch of the flow. The main branch of the flow should look like the following image:

9. Use the following steps to incorporate the alternate process steps (Reject and Update Status) into the flow diagram: a. In the branch with the alternate steps, select the FlowEnd ( press your keyboard's Delete key to delete it.

) shape at the end of that branch and

b. Select the disconnected head (arrow) of the connector that exits the bottom of the UpdateStatus utility shape and drag the head to connect to the connection point at the top of the remaining FlowEnd ( ) shape. c. Select the UpdateStatus utility shape and drag it until it is to the right of the UpdateStatus Resolved-Completed shape. (The system automatically redraws the connectors. You adjust these in the next step.)

54

d. Select the tail of the connector at the bottom of the Reject assignment shape and drag it to connect at the rightmost connection point on the bottom of the Approve assignment shape.

e. With that connector selected, in the Connector Properties panel, in the Flow Action field, use the SmartPrompt to select the standard Reject flow action rule. Click Apply.

55

f. Select the UpdateStatus shape. In the Utility Properties panel, in the StatusWork field, use the SmartPrompt to select the standard Resolved-Rejected status. In the Name field, update the value to Update Status - Resolved-Rejected. Click Apply. g. Because the rejection action is handled by the Reject connector shape, delete the Reject assignment shape by selecting it and pressing your keyboard's Delete key. h. Because the approve and rejection actions are handled by the connectors, rename the Approve assignment shape to reflect that fact. Select the Approve shape. In the Assignment Properties panel, in the Name field, update the value to Review. Click Apply. The flow should look like the following image.

56

10. Click

to save the flow with the updated flow diagram.

11. Select the connector labeled Approve, 100%. In the Connector Properties panel, in the Likelihood field, enter 70. Click Apply.

57

12. Select the connector labeled Reject, 100%. In the Connector Properties panel, in the Likelihood field, enter 30. Click Apply. In a Process Commander application, a likelihood value is a value between 1 and 100, which is interpreted as a probability associated with that path in the process. For example, a likelihood of 70 on a connector labeled Approve means that the subject matter experts expect participants in the process to choose the Approve action 70% of the time. These values determine the presentation order of actions in the user interface, so that the actions most likely to be chosen are displayed first. The flow should look like the following image.

13. Click

to exit the flow editor.

If a message displays asking if you want to save changes to the flow diagram, click Yes. 14. Close the flow rule form by clicking Continue to the next tutorial topic.

58

on its tab.

Part C: Review the updated process The following steps describe how to run the process to see how it has changed with the updates made in Step 4.B. 1. Run the updated process using the Run ( ) menu from the Quick Launch toolbar as you did earlier (clicking Create and Submit to continue to each process step), and notice the differences. l

The user interface no longer displays text saying that something does not exist

l

At the point where the process reaches the Review shape, the Status in the work item heading is set to Pending - Approval

l

The user interface at this point now displays the section heading as Approve this selection OR

l

The alternate Reject step is provided as a choice in an action drop-down list

l

A Note field is displayed to enter a note

The system automatically provides that section heading and that note feature because you used the SmartPrompt in the Flow Action field for that connector and selected the standard Approve flow action rule from the SmartPrompt list. Recall that the ER004_Add_Note requirement provided by the Globex subject matter experts describes enabling the hiring manager to add a note when approving the request. Notice that the standard Approve rule meets that requirement.

2. When you click Submit and reach the final screen of the process, the work item status now displays Resolved - Completed. This is a result of specifying the status for the Update Status - Resolved-Completed shape in the flow diagram.

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3. When you reach the final screen of the process, close the process tab by clicking the

in its tab.

4. Run the process again, this time selecting the Reject choice from the drop-down list in the Approve this selection OR section.

The system automatically provides an entry field for the hiring manager to enter a rejection note. In Step 4.B, the standard Reject flow action rule was specified for the Reject connector, and this standard rule provides that user interface.

5. Click Submit. Notice that after selecting the Reject choice and completing the process, the work item status now displays Resolved-Rejected. This is a result of specifying the status for the Update Status Resolved-Rejected shape in the flow diagram. 6. Close the process tab by clicking the Continue to the next tutorial topic.

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in its tab.

Review In this step you adjusted the process generated by the Application Accelerator by: n

Incorporating the Reject step into the flow

n

Naming the connector shapes (flow actions)

n

Specifying the work item's status for the Update Status process steps

You also created the two flow action rules that will present the user interface at the Select Hardware and Select Software points in the process. You will associate the user interface with those flow actions in a subsequent step of this tutorial. To read more about the skills you used in this step, see n

Flows - Concepts and terms [Developer Help] (

n

About Flow rules [Developer Help] (

n

How to create and test a flow model [KB 25166] (

)

) )

In the next tutorial step, you begin working on the data model for this application. Move to the next step in the tutorial.

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Step 5: Create a data model Typically performed by

In the previous step, you

Purpose of this step To...

Business Analysts and Sys- Revised and Extend the system-protem Architects extended the default vided data model with process items specific to the application being built

So that... Later steps have the data properties needed to display values in the user interface and store values entered in the work item

All Process Commander applications collect, process, and display data. The organization and structure of this data is called the data model. The Process Commander system provides a base data model for every application. This base data model includes standard items such as the pyStatusWork property for the work item's status. Typically, you extend the system-provided data model with items that are specific to the application being built. Properties hold the data associated with a process and work item. They can appear in fields in the user interface or can be hidden from view. Properties are used to store values, and the property rule can define the on-the-glass display of those values (such as displaying a value as read only or as a drop-down list). For example, in the Onboarding application, the values entered into the user interface fields of First Name and Last Name are stored in properties associated with those fields. The following table lists the fields that are to appear in the StartEquipmentRequest flow’s user interface. In this tutorial step, you create the corresponding properties that are to display values in the user interface and to store values that are entered into the work item. Field Used

62

Corresponding Property

Department

.Department

First Name

.FirstName

Last Name

.LastName

Manager

.Manager

Department Budget

.DepartmentBudget

Remaining Budget

.RemainingBudget

Hardware Total

.HardwareTotal

Software Total

.SoftwareTotal

Field Used

Corresponding Property

Hardware Items

.HardwareItems()

Software Items

.SoftwareItems()

Continue to the next topic to begin this step of the tutorial.

Part A: Create a single value property Create a single value property to hold the Department information. 1. In the Application Explorer, right-click the GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work class. Select New > Data Model > Property from the context menu.

2. In the New Instance of a Rule dialog, enter Department for the Property Name. Confirm the Applies To, RuleSet,Version, and Type fields are set to GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work, OnboardingFW, 01-0101, and Text.

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3. Click Create . The Property form for this new property rule displays. 4. In the Property form, use the SmartPrompt in the Control field to select PromptSelect.

64

5. In the Table Type field, select Local List. The Table Values list box displays. 6. In the Table Values list box, enter these values in the table: HR Documentation Engineering Legal Facilities Select the first row (1) to enter the first value, then click

65

to add rows and enter the remaining values.

7. Confirm that the values for the remaining fields on the General tab match the following image.

66

8. Click Save (

) to save the Department property, then click the

Continue to the next tutorial topic.

67

icon to close the rule form's tab.

Part B: Create properties using the Property Wizard Use the Property Wizard to create several properties at once. 1. In the Application Explorer, right-click GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work and select Define Properties from the context menu. The Define Properties wizard opens.

2. Confirm that the RuleSet and RuleSet Version fields are set to OnboardingFW and 01-01-01. If they contain different values, specify the values as shown.

3. Create the following properties. The wizard will automatically generate property names from the contents of the Description fields, removing any spaces.

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Description

Mode

Type

First Name

Single Value

Text

Last Name

Single Value

Text

Manager

Singe Value

Text

Department Budget

Single Value

Decimal

Remaining Budget

Single Value

Decimal

Hardware Total

Single Value

Decimal

Software Total

Single Value

Decimal

4. Click Next>> to advance to the Define Display step. Specify the following settings:

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Name

Display As

Details

First Name

TextBox

Default

Last Name

TextBox

Default

Manager

TextBox

Default

Department Budget

TextBox

CurrencyAmount

Remaining Budget

TextBox

CurrencyAmount

Hardware Total

TextBox

CurrencyAmount

Software Total

TextBox

CurrencyAmount

5. Click Finish. Use the Application Explorer to verify that the properties were created under the GLBX-FWOnboardingFW-Work class.

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6. Click the

icon to close the Define Properties wizard's tab.

Continue to the next tutorial topic.

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Part C: Create embedded properties Now you will create properties of mode Page List. Individual properties that belong to a Page type of property (one of mode Page, Page List1, or Page Group) are called embedded properties. The Page mode property is called an embedded page2. Here, the embedded properties are created automatically when you associate the Page mode property with a data class. The properties already defined in the class become the individual properties for that page. 1. In the Application Explorer, under GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work, expand the Data Model category if it is not already expanded. Right-click Property and select New from the context menu.

The New Rule dialog opens. 2. In the New Rule dialog, enter Hardware Items in the Property Name field.

1A Page List mode property is a data structure consisting of an ordered list of zero or more pages, each identified by

an integer index (starting with 1). Page List is one of the eleven modes a property rule may have. Pages must be created with sequential subscripts: 1 before 2, 2 before 3 and so on. 2An embedded page is a clipboard page that has the value of a property of mode Page. Any page on the clipboard that is not a top-level page is an embedded page. Process Commander uses a recursive page structure. Pages contain properties that can have single or multiple pages as their values. For example, the Obj-Browse method creates an array of embedded pages (all of the same class) that contain its results.

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3. Confirm the Applies To, RuleSet,Version, and Type fields are set to GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work, OnboardingFW, 01-01-01, and Text. 4. Click Create. The Property form for this new property rule displays. 5. In the Property Mode field, select Page List from the drop-down list. 6. In the Page Class field, type GLBX, and then use the SmartPrompt to see the classes beginning with GLBX-. Select the GLBX-Data-Hardware class. This associates this Page List with the data table that is based on class GLBX-Data-Hardware and the values in that data table.

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7. Confirm that the General tab matches the following image.

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8. Click the Advanced tab. 9. Check the Auto-populate Property checkbox. This enables the property values to be automatically populated at run-time with the values from the associated data table.

10. Do not make changes to the other fields, and click Save (

) to save the property.

11. Use the Application Explorer to verify the newly created HardwareItems property appears. Click the to close the rule form's tab.

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icon

12. Repeat steps 1 to 11 above to create the SoftwareItems property. Property Name

Software Items

Property Mode

Page List

Page Class

GLBX-Data-Software

At this point, confirm that the HardwareItems and SoftwareItems properties are listed in the Application Explorer, and each has an embedded property named Price.

The two Price properties came from the zip file you imported before beginning this tutorial. You did not create them. The zip file provided the data classes specified for the HardwareItems and SoftwareItems properties, and the system automatically creates the Price property when you associate the embedded page with the data class. Continue to the next tutorial topic.

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Review In this step you created a data model for your application by: n

Creating a single-value property

n

Creating multiple properties using the Property Wizard

n

Creating embedded properties

To read more about the skills you used in this step, see n

Introduction to Properties [KB 26322] (

)

n

Property Mode definition [Developer Help] (

n

Page definition [Developer Help] (

)

)

In this step, you created the process-specific properties that display and capture information for the equipment request process. Now a user interface is needed to use that information. The user interface should be designed to meet the stakeholders' use cases and requirements. In the next tutorial step, you develop an initial user interface that the business analyst can bring to the stakeholders to get their input. Move to the next step in the tutorial.

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Step 6: Extend the default user interface Typically performed by

In the previous step, you

Purpose of this step To...

System Architects and Busi- Extended the sysRevise the default rules ness Analysts tem-provided data and create new rules that model with items spe- provide the user interface cific to the applifor the work item cation being built

So that... The work item begins to look more like what is desired by the stakeholders, and you can run the process and display the work item for them to get their feedback

The project has a series of requirements for the application user interface. They include: n

The HR Staff Member has to be able to enter basic new-hire information, including first and last name, department, and manager

n

The HR Staff Member needs a method to specify the hardware and software package for the new hire

n

The Hiring Manager needs to be able to see what the budget limit is for equipping this position, and the cost of the selections made so far, so that the Hiring Manager knows whether to approve the work item

In addition, the user interface should comply with standard usability guidelines, including these: n

It should be clear at all times what the current operator can do

n

The user interface should require a minimum of scrolling to see all elements of the current form

To learn more about interface design, see Top Ten Usability Guardrails [KB 26006]. The application already includes some user interface resources, created in Step 2. These include: Item

Name

Four harness rules

Confirm New Perform Review

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Four section rules

CoreSummary Header NewHeader WorkObjectInfo

You can see these in the Application Explorer by expanding the User Interface category under GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work, and expanding the Harness and Section categories.

Before beginning this tutorial, you imported a zip file of resources. This collection included the following items: l

Two activities: getHardware and getSoftware

l

Two data tables and their associated classes: GLBX-Data-Hardware and GLBX-Data-Software

These items are provided because creating activities and data tables falls outside the scope of this tutorial. These data tables provide values that are used in some of the user interface controls you create in this tutorial step. In Step 4, you created two flow action rules, but did not associate them with user interface resources. You make those associations in this step. The data model, which you built in Step 5, provides all the properties you need for this step. To promote modularity and reuse, a best practice is to create sections to hold needed user interface elements, and then combine those sections in a meaningful way within the harnesses associated with the various steps of the process. This tutorial step describes how to: 1. Update an existing section 2. Create new sections 3. Add properties and controls to the sections 4. Add the sections to harnesses and flow actions Continue to the next topic to begin this step of the tutorial.

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Part A: Customize the CoreSummary section Recall from the introduction to the Globex business scenario, that the stakeholders want the fields for entering the new employee details to appear on the starting screen when the HR Staff Member starts the process. In the application’s workflow, when a new work item is created, the system displays a form for the operator to enter information. The New harness rule provides the user interface for that form. The standard New harness rule that is generated by the Application Accelerator contains a standard section named CoreSummary. This section does not display properties that satisfy the application's requirements:

To illustrate adapting existing user interface elements, the following steps describe how to modify the standard CoreSummary section to serve the needs of this application: 1. In the Application Explorer, under GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work, expand the User Interface category, and then expand the Harness category.

2. Click New to open the New harness rule form.

3. Click to change to wireframe mode. Wireframe mode makes it easy to identify the names of the included sections used in the harness.

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4. Within the harness rule form, select the Section Include for GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work.CoreSummary to highlight it, and then click the open rule icon ( ) to open the section's rule form.

If a warning appears, click OK to dismiss it. This warning appears because you are opening the rule form for an included section. The warning is an alert that indicates the open New harness rule form will not reflect changes made to its included sections unless you click the refresh button to refresh the form. If you update a section (in its own tab in the Designer Studio) while the harness is open, and then return to the harness and save it without first refreshing it to see the updated included section, the system re-saves the section as it exists in the harness, undoing the updates you made in the section rule.

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5. Close (do not save) the New harness rule form by clicking the

icon in its tab.

6. In the CoreSummary rule form, click to change to wireframe mode. Use the following steps to add a SmartLayout1 (Double) to the section, just below the existing layout: a. Click the down arrow at the right end of the Layout control group.

b. Select the Layout choice, and holding down your mouse button, drag it into the section just below the existing layout. When an orange line appears, release your mouse button. The Select Layout Type window opens.

1A SmartLayout is a grid (corresponding to an HTML element) of paired cells on a harness, section, or

flow action form that has columns of uniform width, uniform styles, and uniform characteristics. Each pair of cells holds one label and one property value or other form control. Using SmartLayouts rather than "freeform" table layouts produces attractive work object forms with less developer effort.

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c. In the Select Layout Type window, confirm that the Template radio button is selected and its associated drop-down list is set to Double. Then click OK.

At this point, the section rule form should look like the following image.

83

7. Select the original layout and delete it by clicking the Delete Row icon ( that you added (Smart Layout (Double) - 2).

). The remaining layout is the one

8. Use the following steps to add labels and fields to this layout to display the new hire's first and last names, the hiring manager's name, and provide a drop-down list for the user to select the new hire's department: a. Apply the FirstName property to the first field by dragging it into the layout from the Application Explorer: i. In the Application Explorer, if not already expanded, expand the Data Model category, and then the Property category until you see the properties you created in Step 5. ii. Locate the FirstName property in the Application Explorer, select the blue dot to the left of its name and drag it into the first box in the first Field column (the second column in the layout).

iii. When you see the outline of the box turn to orange, release your mouse button. The First Name property is added into the field and the property description appears as the associated label in the Label column.

84

iv. Click the Property Viewer icon ( panel opens.

) to examine this property's options. The Cell Properties

v. Make sure that Visible is set to Always and select the Required checkbox.

b. Repeat step 7.a for the LastName, Department, and Manager properties. Drag each property to the

85

appropriate layout cell according to the following image. The Cell Properties panel reflects the data for the currently selected cell.

9. Click to save the updated CoreSummary section. Close the CoreSummary section rule form by clicking the icon in its tab. Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Part B: Create the sections for selecting hardware and software items Globex's requirements for the work item include having selection lists for the user to select the hardware and software items for the new hire. The following steps describe how to create section rules that provide the user interface controls for these lists at runtime. As you perform these steps, a warning message might display stating "The Property Panel is Dirty. Do you want to save the changes?". If that message appears, click OK . It indicates that a Cell Properties panel has unsaved changes. 1. In Step 6.A, you expanded the User Interface category under the GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work class in the Application Explorer. Right-click on Section and select New from the context menu. 2. In the New Instance of a Rule dialog, enter SelectHardware for the Purpose field. Confirm the Applies To, RuleSet, and Version fields are set to GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work, OnboardingFW, and 01-01-01, and the Template field is blank. Click Create. 3. Switch to wireframe mode by clicking

.

4. Add a Repeat Grid under the default layout by adding a layout as you did in Step 6.A, and in the Set Layout Type window, select the Repeating radio button and select Grid in the drop-down menu. Then delete the default layout (Smart Layout (Double) -1).

86

5. Open the properties panel for the Repeat Grid by selecting the Repeat Grid and clicking the magnifying glass (

).

6. In the Repeat Grid properties panel, make sure the Source is set to Property. In the List/Group field, use

87

the SmartPrompt to select HardwareItems. Set the Edit Mode to Read/Write.

7. Complete headings for the first two columns of the repeat grid. Select the top cell of the first column. The properties panel refreshes to reflect the currently selected cell's data. Type Hardware in the Value field. Select the top cell of the second column. Type Price in the Value field.

8. Add a DynamicSelect control to the cell below the Hardware heading by clicking the down arrow at the right end of the Advanced control group, selecting the DynamicSelect choice, and dragging it into the cell.

88

9. Click next to the cell with the DynamicSelect to open its properties panel. In the Property field, use the SmartPrompt to display the list of choices. Double-click More to see the full list of available properties. Scroll down until you locate the .pyLabel property, and double-click it to specify it for the Property field.

10. Use the following steps to specify the method for the system to use at runtime to get the contents of the DynamicSelect list. In this tutorial, an activity is used to get the hardware items to populate this

89

DynamicSelect. The activity was provided in the zip file you imported into the system before beginning the tutorial. a. Click the magnifying glass ( icSelect control.

) beside the Control field to display the parameters form for the Dynam-

b. Specify the following parameters: Parameter Method for Generating Dynamic Select

Setting Select the Activity radio button.

Activity Information: Applies To

Use the SmartPrompt to select GLBX-Data-Hardware.

Activity Name

After selecting the class for the Applies To field, use the SmartPrompt to select getHardware.

Class of Returned Results

Use the SmartPrompt to select GLBX-Data-Hardware.

Common DynamicSelect Information:

90

Select ID

Hardware

Default Caption

Select Hardware...

Property for Option Display

pyLabel

Property for Option Value

pyLabel

Enable Caching

Select this checkbox.

c. Do not change any other fields in the window, and click OK to save your choices and close the parameters window. 11. Use the following steps to specify the runtime (client-side) event that will trigger the change in the displayed values. Here, we want the price displayed in the Price column to refresh whenever the selected item in the Hardware column changes. The event typically used to do this for selection lists is the "On Change" event. a. In the Cell Properties panel, in the Behavior field, click the magnifying glass ( ) to open the Client Event Editor. In the Event field, select On Change, and set the Action field to Refresh this

91

Section.

b. Do not change any of the other fields and click Save to save your choices and close the Client Event Editor. 12. In the Cell Properties panel for the DynamicSelect control, make sure the Visible field is set to Always. Do not change the values for the other fields. The properties panel should look like the following image.

13. Use the following steps to specify that the Price property of the HardwareItems embedded property is displayed in the Price column. a. Select the cell under the Price column heading to display its cell data in the properties panel. In the Property field, use the SmartPrompt to select the Price property. In the Control field, use the autocomplete to specify the CurrencyAmount control: type the first three characters (Cur), and the system displays a list of suggestions. If the All Matches tab is not selected, select it to see all matching results. Double-click CurrencyAmount to select it.

92

b. Make sure the Visible field is set to Always and the Read Only checkbox is selected. Do not change the values in the remaining fields. 14. In the repeat grid, delete the two unused columns by clicking in a cell in the column and then clicking the Delete Column icon ( the delete icon (

15. Click

). The grid should have the two columns Hardware and Price, and a third column for

).

to save the SelectHardware section. Click the

icon in its tab to close the rule form.

16. Following the procedure in steps 1 through 15 above, create another section called SelectSoftware. When you add the repeat grid, where you previously specified hardware-related values, specify the following items related to the software choices: l

In the Repeat Grid properties panel, make sure the Source is set to Property. In the List/Group field, use the SmartPrompt to specify SoftwareItems. Set the Edit Mode to Read/Write.

l

Specify Software as the heading for the first column.

l

For the DynamicSelect parameters, specify the following parameters: Parameter Method for Generating Dynamic Select

Setting Select the Activity radio button.

Activity Information: Applies To

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Use the SmartPrompt to select

Parameter

Setting GLBX-Data-Software.

Activity Name

After selecting the class for the Applies To field, use the SmartPrompt to select getSoftware.

Class of Returned Results

Use the SmartPrompt to select: GLBX-Data-Software.

Common DynamicSelect Information: Select ID

Software

Default Caption

Select Software...

Property for Option Display

pyLabel

Property for Option Value

pyLabel

Enable Caching

Select this checkbox.

The parameters form for the software DynamicSelect should look like the following image.

94

17. The section for selecting software items should look like the following image.

95

18. Save (

) the SelectSoftware section. Click the

icon in its tab to close the rule form.

Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Part C: Create the Budgets Section The use case descriptions for this process call for displaying information about the department budget, the totals for costs of the selected hardware and software items, and the remaining budget (department budget less the costs for the selected items). Use the following steps to create a Budgets section to display this information in the process's user interface. 1. Create a new section called Budgets (right-click GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work and select New > User Interface > Section). Save it to the OnboardingFW RuleSet. 2. Turn on wireframe mode. Add a Layout (Single) under the default layout by dragging a layout and specifying Single for the Template field. Delete the default Smart Layout (Double) - 1. 3. Populate the Smart Layout (Single) - 1 with the budget-related properties by dragging the properties from the Application Explorer into the Field column, as you did for the CoreSummary section. The result should match the following image.

96

4. For each control, in its properties panel (select the cell and click to open) confirm that the Visible field is set to Always and that the Read Only checkbox is selected. (If the Read Only checkbox is not selected, select it). Open the DepartmentBudget property from its properties panel using the edit icon ( ) and observe that its default control, CurrencyAmount, is set in the property’s General tab. This is true for all the currency properties in this application’s data model. 5. Save (

) the section. Click the

to close the rule form.

Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Part D: Create the ReviewSelections section The use case descriptions from Globex's subject matter experts call for displaying the budget information and the selected hardware and software items when the hiring manager is approving or rejecting the equipment request. The hiring manager would like to see the relationship between the selected items and the impact on the department budget to help decide whether to approve the equipment request. To display the required information in the process's user interface, use the following steps to create a ReviewSelections section containing the Budget section and two sections (ReviewHardware and ReviewSoftware) that display the hardware and software selections for the new hire. 1. Create a new section called ReviewSelections (right-click GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work and select New > User Interface > Section). Add the Budgets section to it and delete any default layouts. To add the Budgets section, turn on wireframe mode, then select the blue dot next to the Budgets section in the Application Explorer and drag it into the ReviewSelections section rule form. Click section rule.

to save the ReviewSelections

2. Create a new section called ReviewHardware. Turn on wireframe mode. Add a Repeat Grid to this section and remove any other layouts. 3. In the ReviewHardware section's Repeat Grid, specify Hardware and Price as the headings for the first two columns, as you did when creating the SelectHardware section.

97

4. Open the properties panel for the Repeat Grid. In the List/Group field, use the SmartPrompt to select HardwareItems. (Note: After using the SmartPrompt to select HardwareItems from the list, the List/Group field displays .HardwareItems, with a leading period (.) before the property name.) Set the Edit Mode field to Read Only. For reviewing, the hardware list should be read-only. 5. In the Repeat Grid, select the cell under the Hardware heading. In the properties panel for this cell, use the SmartPrompt in the Property field to select pyLabel (the text .pyLabel should appear in the field). In the Control field, use the autocomplete to specify pxDisplayText. Set Visible to Always and make sure the Wrap Text checkbox is checked. 6. Select the cell under the Price heading. The properties panel updates to display the cell's properties. Use the SmartPrompt to select Price for the Property field (the text .Price should appear in the field). Set the Control to CurrencyAmount. In the Advanced tab of the properties panel, specify text-align:right for the Inline Style field. 7. Remove unneeded columns from the repeat grid, including the column with the ReviewHardware section. Click the in the rule form's tab to close the form.

icon, and save the

8. Follow the same procedure to create, populate, and save a section called ReviewSoftware. Click the the rule form's tab to close the form.

in

9. Return to the ReviewSelections section rule form. To make the best use of the screen display area, and to reduce the amount the user will have to scroll to read all the material on the review page, the ReviewHardware and ReviewSoftware sections should appear side by side in the ReviewSelections section. In the ReviewSelections section, below the Budgets section, add a Free Form layout with three columns and one row.

98

10. Drag the ReviewHardware section from the Application Explorer into the first cell of this layout. Drag the ReviewSoftware section into the third cell. Adjust the widths of the cells to align the layout with the Budgets section above it, as illustrated in the following image.

11. Save (

) the ReviewSelections section. Click the

to close its tab.

Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Part E: Add sections to harnesses and flow actions Now that the sections with the needed fields and controls are available, use the following steps to add them to the harnesses and flow actions used by the process's user interface.

99

1. In the Application Explorer, under EquipmentRequest, expand the User Interface category. Expand the Flow Action category to see the two flow actions you created in Step 4. Click the SelectHardware flow action to open its rule form. Add the SelectHardware section to the flow action by dragging it from the Application Explorer into the flow action rule form. Save (

) the updated flow action rule.

2. Open the SelectSoftware flow action. Add the SelectSoftware section to it. Save ( action rule.

) the updated flow

3. In the Application Explorer, under GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work, expand the User Interface category, then the Section category to see the section names. Click Header to open the Header section. Click the wireframes.

4. Drag the ReviewSelections section into the Header section rule form, below the existing layouts.

100

to show

5. Save (

) the Header section and click

to close its tab.

6. Run ( ) the process. Create a work item, select hardware and software, and approve the selections. When the process is completed, close its tab by clicking . As you go through the process, notice that the budget and amount-remaining entries in the budget section do not change yet. You'll create the logic to manage this in a later step. Notice that the grids for the Hardware and Software items do not show a selection drop-down in the work item until you add the first row by clicking .

7. To ensure an initial row is created when the process begins, use the following steps to update the pyDefault model to set the first item in the Repeat Grids in the HardwareItems and SoftwareItems sections to an empty value. The pyDefault model rule was created by the Application Accelerator when it created the base application structure in Step 2. Models are used to set property values. This pyDefault model is used to set values for the work item when the process starts.

101

a. In the Application Explorer, underneath EquipmentRequest, expand the Technical category and then expand the Model category.

b. Click pyDefault to open its rule form. Notice that it already contains one row, to set the prefix for the work item. c. Add two rows by clicking the add row icon. In the first new row, specify .HardwareItems(1).Price in the first field and "" (two double quotes) in the second field. In the next row, specify .SoftwareItems(1).Price in the first field and "" (two double quotes) in the second field.

d. Accept the default values for the remaining fields. Save (

) the rule and close (

) its tab.

8. Run the process again. This time, at the Select Hardware step, the grid displays an initial row upon reaching the step.

9. Complete the process and then close (

102

) its tab.

Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Review In this step, you built a user interface for the process by: n

Updating an existing section

n

Creating new sections

n

Adding sections to harnesses and flow actions, so that the fields and controls specified by Globex's subject matter experts display at the appropriate points in the application flow.

To read more about the skills you used in this step, see n

About Section rules [Developer Help] (

)

n

How to add a Grid layout to a section [KB 26089] (

n

Harness, Section, and Flow Action forms - Adding a Dynamic Select control to a field [Developer Help] (

n

How to configure cascading dynamic select controls [KB 25898] (

) )

)

The application correctly creates a work item and you can add information to it. However, the displayed budget information does not yet change, and Globex's subject matter experts have some thoughts about improving the application. In the next tutorial step, you receive their expanded requirements and make refinements to meet their request. Move to the next step in the tutorial.

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Step 7: Refine the process definition Typically performed by

Business Analysts

In the previous step, you

Purpose of this step

Revised the default rules and created new rules that provide the user interface for the work item

Refine the process to The additional stakeholder requirements are incorporate additional met. requests from Globex's stakeholders: to provide action buttons for the hiring manager's actions and to add a path to return the work item to the Select Hardware step when the hiring manager rejects the request.

To...

So that...

After reviewing the process at this point, the Globex stakeholders request some additional behavior: l

Use buttons instead of a drop-down menu for the user interface at the Review step.

l

When a hiring manager rejects an equipment request, return the work item to the Select Hardware step in the process, so that the selections can be updated.

This tutorial step describes how to:

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l

Change the harness used in the Review step to provide for action buttons.

l

Edit the flow to update the process so that the work item returns to the Select Hardware step when the hiring manager selects the Reject action.

Continue to the next topic to begin this step of the tutorial.

Part A: Modify the user interface for the Review step Globex's stakeholders prefer to give the hiring manager action buttons to choose the Approve and Reject actions, instead of the drop-down menu. The standard Perform_Buttons harness provides this user interface.

1. Open the StartEquipmentRequest flow in the flow editor (open the flow in the Designer Studio, then click ). 2. Select the Review assignment shape. 3. In the Assignment Properties panel, in the HarnessPurpose field, use the SmartPrompt to specify Perform_ Buttons (double-click More in the initial list to see the Perform_Buttons choice).

4. Click Apply to apply the change. Keep the flow rule form open for the next tutorial topic. Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Part B: Edit the flow to refine the process Use the following steps to refine the process so that the work item returns to the Select Hardware step when the hiring manager selects the Reject action. 1. Select the tail end of the connector that runs between the Update Status - Resolved-Rejected shape and the FlowEnd ( ) shape, and move it to the connection point on the right side of the Update Status Resolved-Rejected shape.

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2. Select the head end (arrow head) and move it to the right hand connection point on the top of the SelectHardware assignment shape. The flow should look like the following image.

3. Click

to save the updated flow. Click

to exit the flow editor. Click

to close the tab.

4. Run ( ) the process: a. Select hardware and software items. b. Notice when the process reaches the Review step, the user interface displays buttons for the Approve

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and Reject actions.

c. Click Reject. Enter a rejection note and click Submit. Notice that the work item header displays Open for the Status, and that the work item is in an assignment step (the link at the bottom of the form that says "StartEquipmentRequest - Assigned To:").

d. Click the link at the bottom of the form. The user interface for the SelectHardware flow action displays, because the updated process moves the work item to this step when the hiring manager takes the reject action. e. Update the hardware and software selections, clicking Submit to proceed through the process. On the Review step, click Approve this selection. Update the note to indicate the equipment request is acceptable, and click Submit. 5. Click

to close the tab.

Review In this step you refined the process by:

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l

Changing the Review assignment to use the Perform_ Buttons harness.

l

Updating the flow to move the work item to the Select Hardware step when the manager rejects an equipment request.

To read more about the skills you used in this step, see n

Flow form - Editing Utility shape properties [Developer Help] (

)

n

Flow form - Editing in Visio - Connectors and flow actions [Developer Help] (

n

Introduction to process definition and flow rules - Utility and Connector sections [KB 25463] (

) )

In the next tutorial step, you will complete the remaining updates to the user interface and prepare it for the stakeholders' review. Move to the next step in the tutorial.

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Step 8: Create a finished user interface Typically performed by

System Architects

In the previous step, you

Purpose of this step To...

So that...

Refined the process to add a path for when the manager rejects the work item

Refine the user interface so that the work item reflects what the stakeholders request

The work item displays the information as described in the use cases and requirements

After reviewing the addition of the alternative reject path, management has requested the following changes to the header portion of the work item form so that it matches what is described in the use cases and requirements: l

Remove the default Subject, Duplicate ID, Aging Since, and Urgency Adjustment fields.

l

Add a label that reflects the name of the framework (Globex Onboarding).

l

Add the following information: first and last names of the employee, department, and manager's name.

l

Add a text area control for the rejection note from the hiring manager, to be displayed when the manager rejects a request and the work item returns to the Select Hardware step. The manager uses this note to inform the HR staff member why the request was rejected and what changes to make.

Continue to the next topic to begin this step of the tutorial.

Part A: Customize the Header section The Perform and Perform_Buttons harnesses both use the Header section to display information at the top of the work item. Recall that the Header section was initially generated by the Application Accelerator. As a result, the section includes some defaults that the stakeholders do not need. In addition, the stakeholders would like to see information such as the name of the new hire, the department, and the manager's name in the work item header as it goes through the process. The Header section rule defines what is displayed in the work item's header. Use the following steps to remove the default information and add the information required by Globex's stakeholders. 1. In the Application Explorer, under GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work, expand the User Interface category, then the Section category to see the section names. Click Header to open the Header section. Click

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to show

the wireframes. 2. The Header section generated by the Application Accelerator includes two layouts by default. Select each layout in turn, and click the Delete Row button (

).

3. Add a layout (select Template Double) above the included ReviewSelections section. 4. Select the upper-left cell in the new layout. Type Globex Onboarding and click erties panel. Select the Advanced tab. 5. Next to the Inline Style field, click

to open the Cell Prop-

to open the Style Editor.

6. In the Style Editor dialog, select the following values from the drop-down menus: font family - Arial, font size - 16, and font weight - bold. Do not change the values of the other fields.

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7. Click Save in the Style Editor. Close the Cell Properties panel. 8. With the cell containing Globex Onboarding selected, click the Merge Right ( spans the Label and Field columns.

) icon, so that the text

9. In the Application Explorer, expand the Data Model category and the Property category until you see the properties created in Step 5. 10. In turn, add the FirstName, LastName, Department, and Manager properties to the layout by selecting the blue dot next to a property and dragging it into a cell in one of the Field columns. Add each property until the layout matches the following image.

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11. In the first Field column (the second column), select the cell to the right of the First Name label and click to open the Cell Properties panel. 12. Rather than using text input fields, use pxDisplayText controls to display the work item information. The pxDisplayText control displays property values in a read-only field, making it a good UI component for informational headers.In the Control field, use the autocomplete to specify pxDisplayText. Repeat this step for each of the other three cells containing property values.

13. Click

to save the updated Header section.

Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Part B: Add manager's note to the Header section The following steps describe how to add the heading text and the control to display the hiring manager's note in the work item's header. In the next tutorial step, you add logic to determine if the control can accept text input based on where in the process the work item is currently located.

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1. In the Header section, add a new layout between the top layout and the included ReviewSelections section. Select Single for the Template field.

2. In the upper-left cell of the new layout, type Manager notes. Use the Style Editor to give the text a bold weight. 3. Select the cell below Manager notes. In the Layout toolbar, click the Merge Right icon ( 4. Drag a Text Area control into the merged cell.

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).

5. Using the Cell Properties ( 6. Save (

) for the Text Area control, in the Property field, specify .pyNote.

) the Header section. Leave the tab open, as it is used in the next tutorial step.

7. Optional: Run the process to see the changes made in this tutorial step reflected in the work item's header. Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Review In this step you enhanced the user interface by customizing the Header section, which is used at the top of the work form. You also added a text area for a manager's note, which is further enhanced in the next step. To read more about the skills you used in this step, see n

How to create attractive flow actions using SmartLayouts [KB 25623] (

)

In the next tutorial step, you enhance the behavior of the manager's note and the budget and hardware and software selection information, to conditionally display them in the work item. Move to the next step in the tutorial.

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Step 9: Create decision rules Typically performed by

Business Analysts

In the previous step, you

Purpose of this step

Refined the user interface so that the work item reflects the stakeholders request

Create decision rules to The application and the work item's conditionally display parts state can automatically respond to of the user interface changing conditions based on where the work item is in the process

To...

So that...

Decision rules automate business decisions, so that the application knows what to do, or display, under certain conditions. In the application you are building, there are three areas where decision rules help you create an informative and useful experience for the user: l

Deciding what amount to display as the onboarding budget for the current new hire.

l

Displaying the cost of hardware and software selected, and how much is left in the onboarding budget.

l

Displaying the ‘Manager’s note’ label and text area in the work object header only when there actually is a manager’s note to display.

Other typical uses of decision rules, which this application does not need, include: l

Routing the work object to a manager for approval under certain conditions

l

Automatically approving, or rejecting, a work object when it meets certain calculated conditions.

Decision rules can make use of the dependency network, an internal data structure that supports “forward chaining”, or automatic recalculation of certain property values based on changes to other property values. When property values change, the system automatically consults the dependency network to see whether the change affects other values. The dependency network operates invisibly and automatically. This can make it more difficult to test and debug forward-chaining relationships. Continue to the next topic to begin this step of the tutorial.

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Part A: Create when condition rules to control sections The stakeholders want the header ‘Manager notes’ to appear only when a manager has actually entered a note. They also want the budget information and the lists of selections to appear only at the Review step of the process. To govern these conditions, use when condition rules. A when condition rule evaluates a Boolean logical statement involving properties, and returns 'true' or 'false'. In this tutorial step, you create a when condition rule so that when it reports 'true', the associated user interface item displays. For the case of the manager note, you create a when condition rule that reports 'true' when the property pyNote is not empty. For the case of the budget and selection information, you create a when condition rule that reports 'true' when the work object status is Pending-Approval. (Recall that in Step 4.B, you set the StatusWork field to PendingApproval on the Review assignment shape.) 1. In the Header section rule form, turn on wireframe mode. Select the layout holding the Manager notes text area (the Smart Layout (Single) -2). Click

to display the properties panel for the layout.

2. In the properties panel, in the Visible When field, type NoteExists. 3. Click the edit icon (

) to the right of the field to create a new when condition rule with the name NoteExists.

4. Do not change the defaults in the New Instance of a Rule form, and click Create. The rule form opens.

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5. Click the Advanced tab of the rule form. Set conditions so that the when condition rule will return “true” when both of these conditions are met: l

.pyNote is not a blank text item (“”)

l

.pyNote is not a null value

Specify the values so that the Advanced tab of the rule form matches the following image. Note that you have to incorporate all of the conditions in the Logic field in the Logic of Table Elements section.

6. Save (

) the when condition rule and return to the Header section rule form.

7. In the Header section rule, select the Section Include for the ReviewSelections section. The properties panel refreshes to display the Section Include properties. In the Visible When field, type PendingApproval and click the edit icon ( ) to the right of that field to create a new when condition rule with the name PendingApproval.

8. In the New Instance of a Rule form, do not change the defaults. Click Create. The rule form opens. 9. On the Conditions tab of the rule form, click the blue "second value" text. The display changes to entry fields

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with SmartPrompts.

10. Click the

icon and select the work object's status is [given value] from the list.

11. Select Pending-Approval from the drop-down list.

12. Save (

) the when condition rule, and click

13. In the Header section rule form, click

to close its tab.

to save, and click

to close its tab.

Now when you run the process, the budget information and selected hardware and software lists only appear at the Review step. In addition, the ‘Manager notes’ label text area will only appear in the header when a manager has actually added a note (typically to provide a reason for rejecting the equipment plan and sending the equipment request back for revision). Continue to the next tutorial topic.

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Part B: Create rules to calculate budget amounts and totals Globex's stakeholders want the work item to display the amount of money available to equip the new hire with hardware and software at the Review step, so that the manager can easily see his or her budget and the impact of the selections on the budget. Each department has its own maximum amount, so the displayed value depends on the department in which the new hire will work. The stakeholders also want the work item to show the cost of hardware and software that is selected for the new employee, and how much is left in the budget. 1. Use the following steps to create a decision table rule that specifies the budget figures for each department: a. In the Application Explorer, right-click GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work, and select New > Decision > Decision Table from the context menu. b. In the New Instance of a Rule form, enter DepartmentBudget for the Purpose field. Confirm that the Applies To field is set to GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work, the RuleSet is set to OnboardingFW and the Version is 01-01-01. Click Create. c. Click the top cell of the Conditions column. The Decision Table Property Chooser opens. In this window: i. Use the SmartPrompt to select Department for the Property field. ii. Confirm that the Label field is set to Department. iii. Leave the Use Range checkbox unchecked.

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iv. Confirm that the Use Operator field is set to =.

v. Click Save. d. Specify the following values in the decision table, adding ‘else if’ rows ( ) for the second through fifth departments. Click in one of the cells in the Department column and use the SmartPrompt to select a value. Department

Return

HR

3000

Documentation

3500

Engineering

5000

Legal

4000

Facilities

1500

e. Because the user selects a choice using a drop-down menu during the process, it is highly unlikely that the table would have to evaluate any other department name. However, to secure against the unexpected, enter a zero (0) in the Return column of the otherwise row. The decision table should

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look like this:

f. Save (

) the decision table, and click

to close its tab.

2. Use the following steps to create a Declare Expression rule that automatically computes the budget for the department selected using this decision table: a. In the Application Explorer, under GLBX-FW-OnboardingFW-Work, expand the Data Model category, and then expand the Property category. Right-click on the DepartmentBudget property and select Define Expression from the context menu. b. In the New Instance of a Rule form, confirm that the Applies To field is GLBX-FW-OnboardingFWWork, the Target Property is .DepartmentBudget, the Page Context is empty, the RuleSet is OnboardingFW, and the Version is 01-01-01. Click Create. c. On the Expressions tab click 'Value of' in the line beginning Set .DepartmentBudget=. A dropdown menu appears. Select Result of Decision Table.

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d. A field with a SmartPrompt appears to the right of the drop-down menu. Use the SmartPrompt to select DepartmentBudget.

e. Save (

) the rule, and click

to close its tab.

3. Repeat step 2 to create three additional Declare Expression rules for properties HardwareTotal, SoftwareTotal, and RemainingBudget. Use the following specifications: l

For the HardwareTotal property, specify the expression as Set .HardwareTotal = Sum of .HardwareItems().Price. Click the Change Tracking tab, and set the Calculate Value field to Whenever Used to ensure that the target property value (HardwareTotal) matches the computed value at every point in the process where the property is used. Do not change any of the other fields. Click to save the rule, and click

to close its tab.

When you save the rule, a warning appears stating "For best performance, avoid the Whenever Used option for change tracking." This warning alerts you to the fact that the Whenever Used choice can be costly in terms of performance. By setting the Whenever Used option, each time the system reads the target property, the system evaluates this Declare Expression rule. If the property is used in many locations in the application, the system recomputes this expression multiple times, which can affect system performance. The warning message is an alert that you might want to reconsider that choice. Because this is a small application and these properties are only accessed at the Review step of the process, the level of recomputation is minimal and this alert can be ignored. l

For the SoftwareTotal property, specify the expression as Set .SoftwareTotal = Sum of .SoftwareItems().Price. Click the Change Tracking tab, and set the Calculate Value field to Whenever Used. Do not change any of the other fields. Click to save the rule (ignore the performance warning for the reasons described for the HardwareTotal property), and click its tab.

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to close

l

For the RemainingBudget property, specify the expression as Set .RemainingBudget = Value of .DepartmentBudget - (.HardwareTotal + .SoftwareTotal). Click the Change Tracking tab, and set the Calculate Value field to Whenever Used. Do not change any of the other fields. Click to save the rule (ignore the performance warning for the reasons described for the HardwareTotal property), and click to close its tab.

4. Run the process. When you get to the Review step, the work item should display: l

A budget figure appropriate for the selected department. (These figures are the ones specified in the DepartmentBudget decision table.)

l

Totals for the selected hardware and software.

l

The amount of the department budget remaining, less the totals for the selected hardware and software. (Note that you can make selections that exceed the budget. The application displays the budget figures, but is not enforcing them.)

The following image shows the work item when Legal is chosen for the Department, and the hardware and software are selected as shown. In the decision table, the budget for the Legal department is 4000, and the work item form displays $4000.

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Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Review In this step you enhanced the display of the work object by: l

Using when condition rules to govern the display of the budget and selected items information and the “Manager notes” area.

l

Providing a decision table and Declare Expression rules to display the correct budget and total amounts.

To read more about the skills you used in this step, see:

124

l

Declarative Expressions and Forward Chaining

l

How to create and execute test cases for decision tree and decision table rules

The application should now satisfy all the requirements that were set for it. The next tutorial step describes how to document the created application.  Move to the next step in the tutorial.

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Step 10: Document the application Typically performed by

Business Analysts

In the previous step, you

Purpose of this step To...

Created decision Document the current rules to conditionally state of the application display parts of the user interface to meet the stakeholders' final requirements and complete development of this application

So that... You can communicate details about the application to others.

With the application functioning and satisfying its requirements, it is time to document what you built. In this step you prepare and export a detailed application documentation package. The output document is for the guidance of colleagues who may need to extend, connect to, or support the application you have built. It is a Microsoft Word document that lists all of the use cases, work types, and rules associated with your application in sufficient detail so that other people in the organization can quickly understand how the application works. Creating such a document might also be a requirement of the company’s internal policies, regulatory bodies, or investors. Continue to the next topic to begin this step of the tutorial.

Part A: Document the application Process Commander provides an automated tool to create documentation quickly. You can then modify the resulting document by adding images, additional content, or other essential information, before saving a final copy.

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1. Click

> Application > Tools > Document. The Application Documentation wizard appears:

2. Confirm that your application appears in the Application field. Select ApplicationDocument in the Template field, and click Next >>. 3. In the Select RuleSets step, confirm that all RuleSets related to your application are selected.

127

4. Click Next >> to move to the Select Work Types step. Confirm that all work types and supporting use case categories are selected.

5. Click Next >> to move to the Select Criteria step. Select Full Application Documentation in the Detail Level drop-down menu. The system refreshes the display. Review the items on the Application Criteria and Work Type Criteria tabs to see what items are selected by default. You can select other unselected items if you wish, but do not clear any checkboxes that are selected after specifying the Full Application Documentation choice. 

128

6. Click Next to advance through the Order Flows, Define Diagrams, and Define Screenshot Data steps without modifying any values. 7. On the Capture Screens step, select a style from the Preview Style field and click Start Captures to collect screen captures of the significant steps in your application’s process. A progress bar shows the wizard’s progress.

8. When the capture is complete, the wizard moves automatically to the Create Document step. Click Create Document. The wizard launches Microsoft Word and assembles the document. When the document is ready, a confirmation message is displayed. You can then review the document.

The resulting document provides a great deal of information about your application, inserting flow diagrams, screen shots, and informative tables at relevant points. Notice that several sections have almost no information at all. Small applications, like the one you built in this tutorial, often do not exercise all dimensions of Process Commander. The light documentation in sections such as Data Management reflects the amount of attention applied to that area during this tutorial. If you decide to add text, further graphics, or other material to the document, remember to save a copy to prevent overwriting the next time you run the documentation wizard. When you are finished reviewing the document, close Microsoft Word and then click Cancel to end the Application Documentation wizard. Click

to close the wizard's tab.

This step completes the tutorial. You can log out of the Process Commander system if you want.

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Continue to the next tutorial topic.

Review This is the end of the tutorial. You have followed a hands-on process, from directly capturing the application's objectives and requirements in the system to documenting the complete, working application you have built. Creating this modest application has given you a chance to experience many of the features and challenges common to all Process Commander development projects. In a typical business environment, future directions for this application would typically include such items as: l

Routing the work item to a manager for approval

l

Routing the work item to a financial analyst when the cost of the selected items exceeds the department budget

l

Automatically approving, or rejecting, a work item if it meets certain calculated conditions

In following the steps of the tutorial, you might have had questions about what you were doing or why you had to do it. If that is the case, take advantage of the links to further resources provided at the end of each step. Those resources will help you address your Process Commander questions. Don't end your journey here! The material on the Pega Development Network provides instructions and examples covering many complex development tasks. The members of the forum community have a great deal of experience with Process Commander that they are eager to share. Process Commander is designed to help you meet big development challenges, and the more you work with it, the more its strengths will become clear to you.

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