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Process Designer GUI

This chapter discusses the following:

• Overview: GUI Sections
• Main Menu
• Workflow Editing Panel
• Palette for Elements and Adornments
• The Properties Editor (Example: Activity)
• The Script Editor
• Process Designer GUI

Introduction to the Process Designer GUI Elements

Overview: GUI Sections

The Process Designer GUI contains the following elements, please see the next figure and the list below.

Figure 14: ConSol CM Process Designer - GUI elements

Main Menu

The main menu contains the menu items as text entries and a menu icon list.

Menu main entry	Menu sub entry	Icon	Note
File	New ...		Create a new workflow.
	Load ...		Load a workflow. Opens table with existing workflows, see section Loading a Workflow.
	Delete ...		Delete a workflow. Opens table with existing workflows, see section Deleting a Workflow.
	Import ...		Import a workflow from a (proprietary workflow format) file.
	Save ...		Save workflow (existing version).
	Save as new version		Save the workflow as a new version.
	Export ...		Export the workflow to a file. Opens file browser of the operation system. The workflow is saved in a proprietary workflow format (.par).
	Deploy ...		(Save as new version and) deploy the workflow, i.e. install the workflow in the system. The system might prompt you for a decision: Keep position of the tickets in the process (see section Actions During Workflow Deployment). Start at START node again.
	Log in		Log in to the Process Designer. Usually the login window is displayed directly after the start of the Process Designer. As login an account with administrator permissions or with the permissions to manage workflows (see ConSol CM Administrator Manual, section Role Administration) is required.
	Log out		Log out. Does not exit the Process Designer.
	Exit		Exit/stop the Process Designer application.
Edit	Clear current tab		Delete the entire workflow, all elements in the main editing panel.
Options	Local configuration		Display pop-up window where you can select the display language of the Process Designer. All languages which have been configured for the system (see section Global Configuration in the ConSol CM Administrator Manual) are available. The labels in the workflow in the main editing panel will be displayed in the selected language.
View	Normal zoom		Display workflow in default zoom (like at start of Process Designer).
	Expand all scopes		Display all scopes in the expanded version. See also Process Designer GUI section below.
	Collapse all scopes		Display all scopes in the collapsed version. See also Process Designer GUI section below.
	Hide/Show palette		Do (not) display palette in GUI.
	Hide/Show properties		Do (not) display Properties Editor in GUI.
	Hide/Show explorer		Do (not) display explorer (tree).
	Show ticket transfer history		Opens a pop-up window where the parameters for the ticket transfer during the deployment of a new workflow are displayed: Workflow name Name of the workflow. Version Version of the old workflow. Start time Start of the transfer, will be the start time of the Deploy operation. End time End of the transfer, after this time the new workflow will be in full operation. Transferred tickets Number of tickets which have been transferred, i.e. which had to be touched by the system during workflow deployment. Should be identical to the sum of open tickets in all queues which use the workflow. Details Additional information concerning the deployment with ticket transfer.
	IDE log		Opens the Log File Editor in the lower half of the screen and displays the user-specific log file of the Process Designer: <USER_HOME_DIR>\.cmas\wfeditorR1\var\log
Help	About		Display version information about the Process Designer and about the Java virtual machine it uses in the current configuration (this is the JVM of the browser plug-in).

Workflow Editing Panel

To design a workflow define the workflow elements using the graphical layout mode of the Process Designer and add the scripts to the elements where required.

A new element can be added to the workflow using drag-and-drop of the element from the palette.

A new element as successor of an existing element can also be created by using the context menu (right mouse click) of an existing element, e.g. for an activity (see the following figure). The new element and the connection to this element will be created.

Figure 15: ConSol CM Process Designer - Context menu for a workflow activity

A new connection between elements is established using the left mouse button while pressing the CTRL key and just drawing the line. If the connection goes from one scope to another, the scope entry and exit points are added automatically.

Figure 16: ConSol CM Process Designer - Adding new elements and connections

You might consider using a global scope for each workflow. Please refer to the Best Practices section for more information about how to design good workflows.

Loading a Workflow

When you have selected the icon or menu item Load, a table with all available workflows is displayed.

Figure 17: ConSol CM Process Designer - Load a workflow

The table can be sorted based on a column by clicking on the little triangle icon next to the column header.

The table contains the following columns:

• name
  The name of the workflow as set in the name property of the workflow (click into the white space around the global scope to see it for a workflow).
• version
  The version of the workflow. This is assigned automatically by the ConSol CM system. When a scenario has been exported and is imported again, the numbering will start with 1.0 anew.
• status
  For older workflows this field is empty. The workflows which are deployed are described by currently deployed.
• modification date
  The date of the last modification (date when the workflow was saved) is indicated.
• workflow description
  The description which has been entered into the field workflow description (not description!).

To load a workflow, select it in the list and click Load. Only single selection is possible.

Deleting a Workflow

When you have selected the icon or menu item Delete, a table with all available workflows is displayed.

Figure 18: ConSol CM Process Designer - Delete a workflow

The table can be sorted based on a column by clicking on the little triangle icon next to the column header.

The table contains the following columns:

• name
  The name of the workflow as set in the name property of the workflow (click into the white space around the global scope to see it for a workflow).
• version
  The version of the workflow. This is assigned automatically by the ConSol CM system. When a scenario has been exported and is imported again, the numbering will start with 1.0 anew.
• status
  For older workflows this field is empty. The workflows which are deployed are described by currently deployed.
• modification date
  The date of the last modification (date when the workflow was saved) is indicated.
• workflow description
  The description which has been entered into the field workflow description (not description!).

To delete one or more workflow(s), select it/them in the list and click Delete. For every workflow you are prompted to confirm the deletion, so when you have marked a great number of workflows to delete and then you realize that you would like to keep one of them this is possible without canceling the entire operation.

You might want to delete all or almost all older workflows before exporting a scenario, because a great number of workflows increases the size of the scenario considerably. For export and import of scenarios, please refer to the respective section in the ConSol CM Administrator Manual.

Palette for Elements and Adornments

As a default setting the palette is displayed in the top right corner. You can hide (and re-display) the palette using the main menu entry Hide/Show palette under View.

The palette contains two types of workflow components:

• elements
• adornments

Elements

Elements are basic components which form the workflow and represent the process logic.

Icon	Element	Note	Section
	Start node	Is set automatically, no other start node than the default start node can be added.	Workflow Components: START Node
	End node	A workflow can contain one or more end nodes.	Workflow Components: END Nodes
	Activity	The actions in the workflow, manual or automatic.	Workflow Components: Activities
	Scope	The highest hierarchy level in workflows	Workflow Components: Scopes
	Decision	Decision node which has a true and a false exit point.	Workflow Components: Decision Nodes
	Jump-in	Entry point for tickets from other workflows/queues.	Jump-out and Jump-in Nodes
	Jump-out	Exit point for tickets. A target queue has to be defined. A target node can be defined but is optional.	Jump-out and Jump-in Nodes

Adornments

Adornments are objects which are assigned to a workflow activity or to a scope. Please see indicated sections for detailed explanations.

Icon	Adornment	Note	Section
	Time trigger	Can measure time intervals. Fires when the end of the interval has been reached. Can optionally use a business calendar.	Time Triggers
	Mail trigger	Fires when an e-mail for the ticket has come in.	Mail Triggers
	Business event trigger	Fires when an event has occurred. The type of event can be specified (e.g. change of engineer, change of priority).	Business Event Triggers
	ACF (Activity Control Form)	Defines the ACF which should be displayed when the activity is executed. ACFs are defined in the Admin Tool.	Activity Control Forms (ACFs)

Activity Types

Activities can have additional icons to indicate if the activity is manual or there are conditions. Please see indicated sections for detailed explanations.

Icon	Name	Description	Section
	Manual	Indicates that the activity is a manual activity, i.e. the engineer has to click it in the Web Client.	Activity type
	Precondition	Indicates that the activity has a condition script attached. The condition script is executed when the previous activity has been performed. The activity with the precondition icon is only displayed if the condition script returns true.	Precondition

The Properties Editor (Example: Activity)

The Properties Editor is opened for the element which has been selected in the main editing panel and contains component-specific parameters. Some general parameters are present for all components, some are present only for a certain type of component.

Figure 19: ConSol CM Process Designer - Selected activity in workflow

Figure 20: ConSol CM Process Designer - Properties Editor

Properties:

• name
  Mandatory. This is the technical object name. When an object is newly created, you can edit the label and the object name will be generated automatically from the label (umlauts are omitted). Afterwards, the object name is never changed automatically but can be edited manually. Allowed characters for names are:
  • letters (small or capital), but no umlauts
  • underscores
  • numbers
• label
  The localized name of the element. All languages which have been configured for the system are available and can be filled. In the Web Client of the engineer the description will be displayed according to the browser locale. If it is not available, the label will be displayed using the default locale.

  

  Figure 21: ConSol CM Process Designer - Localization for labels

• description
  Optional. A localized text can be entered which will be displayed as mouse-over in the Web Client. This might help the engineer to understand what will happen when the respective workflow activity is executed.

  

  Figure 22: ConSol CM Process Designer - Localized description of an activity

  

  Figure 23: ConSol CM Web Client - Localized description of an activity as mouse-over

• sort index
  Defines:
  • For activities:
    The order of the activities in the list of Workflow activities in the Web Client. The higher the number the more at the bottom of the list the activity is offered in the Web Client.
  • For scopes:
    The order of the tickets in the ticket list (Web Client) in views. The higher the scope index the more at the bottom of the list the tickets are displayed.
• overlay
  Optional, for activities. Click into the orange space to define a standard ConSol CM overlay or one that has already been uploaded. Click on the file explorer (...) button to open the file explorer of the operation system for an upload of a new icon. When the ticket passes through an activity the overlay is added to the ticket icon in the Web Client. As a maximum, three overlays can be attached to a ticket icon. This mechanism can be used for several purposes, some examples are:
  • An escalation:
    The ticket has been created without any engineer taking care of it.
  • An e-mail:
    The ticket has received an e-mail.
  • A note for the engineer:
    E.g. another engineer has added a comment to my ticket.

  

  Figure 24: ConSol CM Process Designer - Properties Editor: Standard overlays and one customer-defined overlay

  

  Figure 25: ConSol CM Web Client - Ticket icons with overlays

• overlay range
  Only displayed when an overlay has been set.
  
  • activity
    The overlay is attached only as long as the ticket stands behind the activity. As soon as the next activity is executed, the overlay is deleted from the ticket icon.
  • scope
    The overlay is deleted when the ticket leaves the scope.
  • process
    Once the overlay has been attached to the ticket icon, it stays there for the rest of the process.
  • next overlay
    The overlay is attached to the ticket icon as long as no new overlay appears. In that case, only the new one is attached, the old one is deleted.
• precondition
  Optional, for activities. A script can be entered using the Script Editor (see section The Script Editor) which has to return true or false. The script is executed when the previous activity has been performed, i.e. when it becomes possible to display the activity with the precondition. In case true is returned, the activity is displayed, in case false is returned, the activity is not displayed. An activity which has a precondition is marked by the icon exclamation mark/precondition.
• script
  Optional, for activities. A script can be entered using the Script Editor (see section The Script Editor) which is executed when the ticket enters the activity.
• activity type
  Mandatory, for activities. Manual or Automatic has to be selected. A manual activity is displayed in the Web Client and has to be explicitly selected/executed by an engineer. In the Process Designer it is marked by the icon hand/manual.
  An automatic activity is executed without any engineer interaction. For a detailed explanation of the ConSol CM process logic, please see section Process Logic.
• history visibility
  Mandatory, but default value has been set (default). The value defines the display levels of the Web Client GUI where the action (that the activity has been performed) should be displayed:
  • 2nd level and 3rd level
  • only 3rd level
  • on every level
  • default
    This refers to the value defined in the Admin Tool under Ticket History for the activity configuration. Depending on the type of activity, one of the following parameters is used:
    
    • Manual activity or activity with overlay executed
    • Activity executed after escalation
    • Automatic activity executed

  

  Figure 26: ConSol CM Web Client - Display levels in ticket history

• disable auto update
  Defines ticket behavior of the ticket when an event has been fired or executed. Usually, after an event, a ticket update operation is performed automatically. In case a chain of events is used you should avoid triggering a ticket update operation after every single event. To avoid this, set disable auto update to true in all events except for the last one. Then, only after the last event, the ticket is updated.

• expose to customers
  Boolean. Available for manual activities only. If checked (i.e. if set to true), the activity will be offered as workflow activity in the ConSol CM portal, CM.Track. The activity will be offered in CM.Track if no condition is set or if the condition script returns true. If an ACF (Activity Control Form) is set for the activity, it will be offered as well. For details, please see section ACFs in CM.Track.
  

  

  Figure 27: ConSol CM Process Designer - Two activities which should be displayed for CM.Track customers ("exposed to customers")

  

  Figure 28: CM.Track (i.e. customer perspective) - Two activities which are displayed in CM.Track for customers ("exposed to customers")

The Script Editor

You use the Script Editor in the Process Designer to write Groovy scripts (i.e. pure Groovy and Java code is accepted). For explanations, recommendations, and examples concerning workflow programming using scripts, please see section Introduction to Workflow Programming.

Figure 29: ConSol CM Process Designer - Script Editor

The Script Editor provides the following features:

• Syntax highlighting
  Groovy code is highlighted according to key words.
• Code completion
  When you have entered the name of an object and the dot, the possible methods are suggested. Press CTRL + SPACE to activate code completion.
• Code check
  The entered code is controlled according to the correct use of general syntax and methods. The error code is displayed in the Compilation result panel.

GUI Tips and Tricks

Make sure you save the workflow on a regular basis while you work on it. Currently, there is no UNDO button. In case you have accidentally removed elements which you still need, please load one of the predecessors of the current workflows and continue work with it.