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Configuring complex processes

Updated on May 11, 2022

Reach your business goals and solve cases that require additional processing by configuring advanced options for processes.

For example, you can define different paths that a process can follow after a decision point. You can also create subprocesses to support additional work that your case requires.
Typically, you build processes in Case Designer. For advanced configuration, you can build a process by adding shapes to a flow diagram. If you build a process by using a flow diagram, for future edits you also need to edit the process by using the flow diagram.

Shapes and connectors

When you work with the flow diagram, you first select flow shapes, and then connect the shapes by dragging connectors. Every shape represents an action or a set of closely related actions in a process, such as an assignment that a user completes at run time, or an automation that an application performs. Connectors show the direction in which a case moves forward and define the order of actions in a process. You can label shapes and connectors for more straightforward communication of events in a case.

Compared to Case Designer, the flow diagram offers additional shapes and configurations. For example, you can create a subprocess that gathers related tasks, and then you can reuse the subprocess in different processes. As a result, you create granular and efficient software. For example, in a hiring application, you can create a subprocess for preparing an offer, and then reuse the subprocess in other processes that users use to review candidates for different positions in a company. You can also use a decision point that determines the path of the process based on the decision result. For example, in a recruitment process, the decision point determines actions that occur after accepting or rejecting a candidate. For more information about shapes, see Flow shapes.

For example: The following figure shows a process that visualizes a final part of a recruitment process. After a user, such as a hiring manager, reviews the results of a candidate's job interview, the process reaches a decision point. If the manager approves the candidate, a subprocess for preparing an offer starts. If the manager rejects the candidate, the case moves to a different stage.
Flow diagram
A flow diagram with a process configured to define actions after rejecting or accepting a candidate.
Pega Platform conforms to the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) standard by using a subset of BPMN, but also extends the standard with smart shapes such as the Capture signature, Cascading approval, and Wait shape. The flow diagram includes a smart shapes palette that provides a set of frequently used, pre-configured utilities and sub-processes. The shapes in the palette can be used in process flows with little or no additional configuration beyond what BPMN supports. Pega continues to define and redefine the BPM space by favoring a more robust approach that supports advanced enterprise BPM constructs, such as business rules and case management (for example, treating GUI calls as a service instead of as an intrinsic part of the BPM flow).
  • Creating a stand-alone process

    Create a stand-alone process to support or supplement the steps in a case life cycle. By creating a process outside the context of a case life cycle, you can reuse the process in other case types.

  • Changing the path of a process

    You can change the path of a process, or flow, to support out-of-sequence events. By adding different structures to your flow, such as loops and branches, you can improve the flexibility of the cases that you create.

  • Subprocesses

    A subprocess is a process that starts after another process calls it. To create a subprocess, add a specific step to a process in the life cycle of a case or add specific shapes to a flow diagram. Subprocesses modularize the events in the life cycle of a case and increase reusability of your resources, as you can implement the same subprocess in multiple scenarios.

  • About Flow Actions

    A flow action controls how users interact with user forms to complete assignments. After selecting one flow action, users may fill in a section of the form to complete (perform) the assignment.

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