If Customer Type = New, then management approval is required, and the process token will pick the new path; else, the process token moves ahead with the existing path.
You will add an exclusive gateway for the process token to switch either to a new path or a non-new path. And you will model a Management Approval Task which you will implement in Chapter 5, Human Workflow in BPM Process.
In this section, you will create gateways:
- Go to the BPM project navigator | SalesToContract process.
- Click on Component Palette | BPM | Gateways and select Exclusive Gateway.
- Click on the Process designer in the SalesRepresentative swimlane between the CustomerCheck business rule and the Is Business Analyst Review Required? gateway.
- In the Properties dialog under the option Enter Name enter the value
CheckCustomerType. - Click OK.
- Make the sequence flow from the CustomerCheck rule to the CheckCustomerType gateway, and from there to the Is Business Analyst Review required? gateway.
- Save.
- Click on Activities in the component palette and click User Task.
- You know that if the Customer Type is New, then Process Token moves to a new Human Task that handles management approval.
- Click on the
salesrepresentativeswimlane in front of check customer rule. - In the User Task properties, enter
ManagementApprovalas the name and click OK. - You will implement this Human task in Chapter 5, Human Workflow in BPM Process. However, for the time being, make a note of the following:
- The outcome of this task will be Approve or Reject
- The outcome of the ManagementApproval task goes to the Process Data object
'CustomerCheckOutcome'
- Click Component Palette | BPM | Gateway and select Exclusive Gateway.
- In the Properties dialog, enter CustomerCheckOutcome as the name of this gateway.
- Create a sequence flow from CustomerCheck rule to ManagementApproval.
- In the Properties tab for sequence flow, enter the name New and Condition | Simple Exp as
ApprovalFlow.customerType== true.
- Remember this: ApprovalFlow.customerType values are coming from the CustomerCheck rule.
- Make an unconditional sequence flow from the Management Approval task to the CheckCustomerOutcome gateway.
- Create a conditional sequence flow from the CheckCustomerOutcome gateway to the Enter Quote task with details such as:
- In the Description and Properties tabs, give the name
CustomerRejected - In the Properties tab, select Type = Condition and choose Simple Exp and enter the following expression:
CustomerCheck == "REJECT"
- In the Description and Properties tabs, give the name
- Create an unconditional sequence flow from the CheckCustomerOutcome gateway to the Is business Analyst Review Required? gateway. Your flow will resemble the following screenshot:
- When you have finished this, Save.
Note
For the sake of testing, I have implemented the user task ManagementApproval and created a UI project for it. However, you will perform the implementation steps for it in the next chapter.(Chapter 5, Human Workflow in BPM Process).
How it works...
An exclusive gateway used for conditional switch will define the flow of process. Gateways define what path the process token will take. Exclusive gateways have outgoing sequence flows.