By default, when a case moves to the next or another stage, an application resolves open assignments in the current stage. For example, in a recruitment case, when your case moves from the Review to Offer stage, the application resolves open assignments in the Review stage. If you want to keep assignments open, configure stage transition by using the Utility shape, instead of typical shapes, to move a case further in a case life cycle.

As a best practice, create a process that stores the Utility shape, and then add the process in an appropriate stage in your case life cycle.

1. Create a process with the Utility shape:
   1. In the header of Dev Studio, click CreateProcessFlow.
      Note: A flow is a legacy name for a process.
   2. In the Label field, briefly describe the purpose of the process.For example: Enter Change stage with open work.
   3. In the Context section, select an application layer to store the process.
   4. Optional: To change the default identifier for the process, click Edit, and then provide a unique value in the Identifier field.
   5. In the Apply to field, click the Down arrow key, and then select a class that stores the process.
   6. In the Add to ruleset list, select a ruleset and a ruleset version to store the process.
   7. Click Create and open.
2. On the Diagram tab, remove the default Assignment shape by selecting the shape and clicking Delete.
3. On the toolbar, click Flow Shapes, and then click Utility.
4. Connect the Utility shape by dragging the connector end points to the connection points on the Start and End shapes.Result: The following figure shows a process with a Utility shape connected to the Start and End shapes:

   

   

5. Open the dialog box by double-clicking the Utility shape.
6. Optional: To provide a unique name for the shape, in the Utility properties dialog box, in the Utility field, enter a new name.For example: Enter Change stage.
7. In the Automation details section, in the Select type of rule list, select Activity.
8. In the Rule field, enter pxChangeStage.
9. In the Parameters section, define the stage that the case enters from the Utility shape:
   • To move the case to the next stage, select the ChangeToNextStage check box.
   • To move the case to another stage in the case life cycle, in the ChangeToStage field, enter a stage ID or stage name.
   Tip: You can configure the Utility shape to move the case to the next stage by selecting the ChangeToNextStage check box, and then providing another stage that the case enters when the ChangeToNextStage check box returns a false or invalid value.
10. Optional: To provide additional information for auditing reasons, in the AuditNote field, enter the audit note to add to the case history when the case moves to the Utility shape.
11. Leave the assignments open after the case moves to another stage by clearing the CleanUpProcesses check box.
12. Define properties to capture the run-time output details:
    1. In the CurrentStageLabel field, enter a label for the current stage to display at run time.
    2. In the CurrentStage field, enter the ID for the current stage.
    3. In the AutomationErrors field, enter a page of the Code-Automation-Errors class that stores the details if the pxChangeStage activity fails during processing.
13. Click Submit.

What to do next: Integrate the process that stores the Utility shape with your case life cycle, and decide whether to launch it every time, or only conditionally:

• To start the process with the Utility shape every time, see Adding a sequential process to a stage.
• To start the process with the Utility shape only conditionally, see Adding a sequential process to a stage and Conditionally starting a process.