New Employee Example

Use Case

The XYZ organisation requires a workflow process for engaging a new employee. The workflow's invocation signature should consist of a single XML document containing the employee details (see below for the schema). When a new employee is due to join the company, the following actions must be taken by staff in the appropriate departments:

HR Department

Prepare office accommodation, ordering items from a checklist where necessary.
Issue 'pre-induction information pack' containing company policy documents.
Book a place on the next scheduled induction course.

IT Department

Procure and configure a computer for the employee.
Allocate network user ID and temporary password*
Set up an email account*
Assign an extension number and enter the employee into the corporate telephone directory.
Grant access rights to the appropriate corporate resources.

Finance Department

Enter personnel details into salary system.

Interfaces

Input Document Schema

The input document is a string containing an XML document that conforms to the following XML schema (


    $OBE_HOME/examples/config/resources/NewEmployee.xsd

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xsd:schema targetNamespace="http://www.xyz.com/2004/Personnel/NewHire"
    xmlns:xyz="http://www.xyz.com/2004/Personnel/NewHire"
    xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
    elementFormDefault="qualified" attributeFormDefault="unqualified">
    <xsd:element name="new-employee">
        <xsd:complexType>
            <xsd:attribute name="name" type="xsd:string" use="required"/>
                <xsd:attribute name="department" use="required">
                    <xsd:simpleType>
                        <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">
                            <xsd:enumeration value="ENGINEERING"/>
                            <xsd:enumeration value="FINANCE"/>
                            <xsd:enumeration value="HR"/>
                            <xsd:enumeration value="IT"/>
                            <xsd:enumeration value="MARKETING"/>
                            <xsd:enumeration value="SALES"/>
                            <xsd:enumeration value="SUPPORT"/>
                        </xsd:restriction>
                    </xsd:simpleType>
                </xsd:attribute>
        </xsd:complexType>
    </xsd:element>
</xsd:schema>

Applications

obe.editDocument(IN STRING url)
obe.viewDocument(IN STRING url)

Procedures

createNetworkUser(IN STRING userName, IN STRING department, OUT STRING userID)
createEMailAccount(IN STRING userName, IN STRING userID, OUT STRING emailAddress)
grantAccessRights(IN STRING userID, IN STRING department)

Hints

Perform these activities as concurrently as possible, given the logical dependencies between the various tasks (for example, the IT department cannot finish configuring the computer until the network user ID and email addresses have been assigned).
To hold the workflow's XML input document, define a <xpdl:FormalParameter> containing an <xpdl:ExternalReference> with a location of NewEmployee.xsd
Use XPath 1.0 to extract required values from the XML input document.

Solution

Process Model Description

The workflow can be triggered by the NewEmployeeHired event (defined in $OBE_HOME/examples/config/BasicApplicationEvent.xml). Notice the <xpdl:ExtendedAttribute name="obe.Event"> element attached to the <WorkflowProcess> below: see how it initializes the mandatory¹ employee process attribute from the event by specifying it as an OUT parameter of the event.
Set Process Name (a10: auto-start, auto-finish) is the first activity, which invokes the assignProcessAttribute procedure to set the process instance name to that of the new employee, by extracting it from the XML document. The AND-split serves to branch the flow immediately to the HR Department's three manual tasks:

Prepare Office Accommodation (a1: manual-start, auto-finish)
Issue Information Pack (a2: manual-start, auto-finish)
Book Induction Course (a3: manual-start, auto-finish)

a10 is also followed by:

Allocate user ID (a5: auto-start, auto-finish). This activity silently invokes the createNetworkUser procedure, stores the result in the userID process variable then immediately activates its successor activities.

The IT Department is assigned four tasks:

Create EMail Account (a6: manual-start, auto-finish) and
Grant Access Rights (a8: manual-start, auto-finish) tasks when executed invoke their respective procedures on the workflow server.
Assign Phone Extension (a7: manual-start, auto-finish) task launches the directory maintenance web application supplied by the phone switch vendor.
Configure Computer (a4: manual-start, auto-finish) is a manual task.

The Finance Department is assigned one task:

Enter Salary Details (a9: manual-start, auto-finish), which when executed invokes an internal web application to capture salary, tax code, etc.

When all of these activities are complete, the AND-join condition of the final Route activity (a12: auto-start, auto-finish) is satisfied and the workflow finishes.

XPDL Process Model

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Package Id="new-employee" Name="New Employee" xmlns="http://www.wfmc.org/2002/XPDL1.0" xmlns:ne="http://www.xyz.com/2004/Personnel/NewHire" xmlns:xpdl="http://www.wfmc.org/2002/XPDL1.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.wfmc.org/2002/XPDL1.0 http://wfmc.org/standards/docs/TC-1025_schema_10_xpdl.xsd">
    <PackageHeader>
        <XPDLVersion>1.0</XPDLVersion>
        <Vendor>Open Business Engine</Vendor>
        <Created>2004-07-25 18:14:19</Created>
    </PackageHeader>
    <RedefinableHeader PublicationStatus="UNDER_TEST"/>
    <ConformanceClass GraphConformance="NON_BLOCKED"/>
    <Script Type="text/x-xpath" Version="1.0"/>
    <WorkflowProcesses>
        <WorkflowProcess AccessLevel="PUBLIC" Id="new-employee" Name="New Employee">
            <ProcessHeader DurationUnit="D">
                <Created>2004-07-25 18:14:51</Created>
                <Description>
                    The XYZ organisation requires a workflow to support the process of engaging a new employee.
                </Description>
            </ProcessHeader>
            <RedefinableHeader PublicationStatus="UNDER_TEST">
                <Author>Adrian Price</Author>
            </RedefinableHeader>
            <FormalParameters>
                <FormalParameter Id="employee" Mode="IN">
                    <DataType>
                        <ExternalReference location="NewEmployee.xsd" xref="new-employee"/>
                    </DataType>
                </FormalParameter>
            </FormalParameters>
            <DataFields>
                <DataField Id="userId" IsArray="FALSE" Name="User ID">
                    <DataType>
                        <BasicType Type="STRING"/>
                    </DataType>
                </DataField>
                <DataField Id="userName" IsArray="FALSE" Name="User Name">
                    <DataType>
                        <BasicType Type="STRING"/>
                    </DataType>
                </DataField>
                <DataField Id="department" IsArray="FALSE" Name="Department">
                    <DataType>
                        <BasicType Type="STRING"/>
                    </DataType>
                </DataField>
                <DataField Id="emailAddress" IsArray="FALSE" Name="EMail Address">
                    <DataType>
                        <BasicType Type="STRING"/>
                    </DataType>
                </DataField>
            </DataFields>
            <Participants>
                <Participant Id="Finance" Name="Finance Dept.">
                    <ParticipantType Type="ORGANIZATIONAL_UNIT"/>
                </Participant>
                <Participant Id="HR" Name="Human Resources Dept.">
                    <ParticipantType Type="ORGANIZATIONAL_UNIT"/>
                </Participant>
                <Participant Id="IT" Name="Information Technology Dept.">
                    <ParticipantType Type="ORGANIZATIONAL_UNIT"/>
                </Participant>
            </Participants>
            <Applications>
                <Application Id="createNetworkUser" Name="Create Network User">
                    <Description>
                        Creates a network user.  The userId is generated from the user name, and the temporary password
                        assigned is the userId.
                    </Description>
                    <FormalParameters>
                        <FormalParameter Id="userName" Mode="IN">
                            <DataType>
                                <BasicType Type="STRING"/>
                            </DataType>
                            <Description>The user's full name</Description>
                        </FormalParameter>
                        <FormalParameter Id="userId" Mode="OUT">
                            <DataType>
                                <BasicType Type="STRING"/>
                            </DataType>
                            <Description>The generated user ID.</Description>
                        </FormalParameter>
                    </FormalParameters>
                </Application>
                <Application Id="createEMailAccount" Name="Create EMail Account">
                    <Description>Creates an EMail account</Description>
                    <FormalParameters>
                        <FormalParameter Id="userName" Mode="IN">
                            <DataType>
                                <BasicType Type="STRING"/>
                            </DataType>
                            <Description>The user's full name</Description>
                        </FormalParameter>
                        <FormalParameter Id="userId" Mode="IN">
                            <DataType>
                                <BasicType Type="STRING"/>
                            </DataType>
                            <Description>The user's ID (prepended to @xyz.com domain name)</Description>
                        </FormalParameter>
                        <FormalParameter Id="emailAddress" Mode="OUT">
                            <DataType>
                                <BasicType Type="STRING"/>
                            </DataType>
                        </FormalParameter>
                    </FormalParameters>
                </Application>
                <Application Id="grantAccessRights" Name="Grant Access Rights">
                    <Description>Grants default access rights to employee, based on their department.</Description>
                    <FormalParameters>
                        <FormalParameter Id="userId" Mode="IN">
                            <DataType>
                                <BasicType Type="STRING"/>
                            </DataType>
                        </FormalParameter>
                        <FormalParameter Id="department" Mode="IN">
                            <DataType>
                                <BasicType Type="STRING"/>
                            </DataType>
                        </FormalParameter>
                    </FormalParameters>
                </Application>
                <Application Id="browser" Name="Web Browser">
                    <Description>This tool agent uses the shell file associations of the
                        underlying platform to invoke the appropriate editor for
                        the document type referred to in the supplied URI. The
                        URL can be that of a web application, external web site,
                        a file in a WebDAV document repository. Basically, any
                        resource that can be accessed through a URL and for
                        which the host browser has a protocol handler registered.</Description>
                    <FormalParameters>
                        <FormalParameter Id="url" Mode="IN">
                            <DataType>
                                <BasicType Type="STRING"/>
                            </DataType>
                            <Description>The URL of the document or web application to open.</Description>
                        </FormalParameter>
                    </FormalParameters>
                </Application>
            </Applications>
            <Activities>
                <Activity Id="a1" Name="Prepare office accommodation">
                    <Description>Prepare desk, chair, phone, etc. for the new employee.</Description>
                    <Implementation>
                        <No/>
                    </Implementation>
                    <Performer>HR</Performer>
                    <StartMode>
                        <Manual/>
                    </StartMode>
                    <FinishMode>
                        <Automatic/>
                    </FinishMode>
                    <Documentation>http://localhost:8080/obeexamples/new-employee/index.html#PrepareOfficeAccommodation</Documentation>
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="ParticipantID" Value="HR"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="XOffset" Value="410"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="YOffset" Value="10"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Activity>
                <Activity Id="a2" Name="Issue information pack">
                    <Description>Issue the information pack containing Company HR policy, benefits guide, etc.</Description>
                    <Implementation>
                        <No/>
                    </Implementation>
                    <Performer>HR</Performer>
                    <StartMode>
                        <Manual/>
                    </StartMode>
                    <FinishMode>
                        <Automatic/>
                    </FinishMode>
                    <Documentation>http://localhost:8080/obeexamples/new-employee/index.html#IssueInformationPack</Documentation>
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="ParticipantID" Value="HR"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="XOffset" Value="410"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="YOffset" Value="60"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Activity>
                <Activity Id="a3" Name="Book induction course">
                    <Description>Book the employee onto the earliest available staff induction programme.</Description>
                    <Implementation>
                        <No/>
                    </Implementation>
                    <Performer>HR</Performer>
                    <StartMode>
                        <Manual/>
                    </StartMode>
                    <FinishMode>
                        <Automatic/>
                    </FinishMode>
                    <Documentation>http://localhost:8080/obeexamples/new-employee/index.html#BookInductionCourse</Documentation>
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="ParticipantID" Value="HR"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="XOffset" Value="410"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="YOffset" Value="110"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Activity>
                <Activity Id="a4" Name="Configure computer">
                    <Description>Procure and configure the employee's computer.</Description>
                    <Implementation>
                        <No/>
                    </Implementation>
                    <Performer>IT</Performer>
                    <StartMode>
                        <Manual/>
                    </StartMode>
                    <FinishMode>
                        <Automatic/>
                    </FinishMode>
                    <Documentation>http://localhost:8080/obeexamples/new-employee/index.html#ConfigureComputer</Documentation>
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="ParticipantID" Value="IT"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="XOffset" Value="410"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="YOffset" Value="160"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Activity>
                <Activity Id="a5" Name="Allocate user ID">
                    <Description>Allocate a network user ID for the new employee.</Description>
                    <Implementation>
                        <Tool Id="createNetworkUser" Type="PROCEDURE">
                            <ActualParameters>
                                <ActualParameter>string($employee/ne:new-employee/@name)</ActualParameter>
                                <ActualParameter>userId</ActualParameter>
                            </ActualParameters>
                        </Tool>
                    </Implementation>
                    <StartMode>
                        <Automatic/>
                    </StartMode>
                    <FinishMode>
                        <Automatic/>
                    </FinishMode>
                    <Documentation>http://localhost:8080/obeexamples/new-employee/index.html#AllocateUserID</Documentation>
                    <TransitionRestrictions>
                        <TransitionRestriction>
                            <Split Type="AND">
                                <TransitionRefs>
                                    <TransitionRef Id="t3"/>
                                    <TransitionRef Id="t4"/>
                                    <TransitionRef Id="t13"/>
                                    <TransitionRef Id="t25"/>
                                    <TransitionRef Id="t18"/>
                                </TransitionRefs>
                            </Split>
                        </TransitionRestriction>
                    </TransitionRestrictions>
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="ParticipantID" Value="IT"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="XOffset" Value="260"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="YOffset" Value="80"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Activity>
                <Activity Id="a6" Name="Create EMail Account">
                    <Description>Create an email account for the new employee.</Description>
                    <Implementation>
                        <Tool Id="createEMailAccount" Type="PROCEDURE">
                            <ActualParameters>
                                <ActualParameter>string($employee/ne:new-employee/@name)</ActualParameter>
                                <ActualParameter>$userId</ActualParameter>
                                <ActualParameter>emailAddress</ActualParameter>
                            </ActualParameters>
                        </Tool>
                    </Implementation>
                    <StartMode>
                        <Manual/>
                    </StartMode>
                    <FinishMode>
                        <Automatic/>
                    </FinishMode>
                    <Documentation>http://localhost:8080/obeexamples/new-employee/index.html#CreateEMailAccount</Documentation>
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="ParticipantID" Value="IT"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="XOffset" Value="410"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="YOffset" Value="10"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Activity>
                <Activity Id="a7" Name="Assign phone extension">
                    <Description>Assign a phone extension to the new employee and enter them into the Company Directory.</Description>
                    <Implementation>
                        <Tool Id="browser" Type="APPLICATION">
                            <ActualParameters>
                                <ActualParameter>concat('http://localhost:8080/obeexamples/new-employee/AssignExtension.jsp?userId=', $userId, '&amp;procInstId=', $processInstanceId)</ActualParameter>
                            </ActualParameters>
                        </Tool>
                    </Implementation>
                    <Performer>IT</Performer>
                    <StartMode>
                        <Manual/>
                    </StartMode>
                    <FinishMode>
                        <Automatic/>
                    </FinishMode>
                    <Documentation>http://localhost:8080/obeexamples/new-employee/index.html#AssignPhoneExtension</Documentation>
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="ParticipantID" Value="IT"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="XOffset" Value="410"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="YOffset" Value="110"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Activity>
                <Activity Id="a8" Name="Grant access rights">
                    <Description>Grant access rights to corporate computing resources, VPN dial-up, etc.</Description>
                    <Implementation>
                        <Tool Id="grantAccessRights" Type="PROCEDURE">
                            <ActualParameters>
                                <ActualParameter>$userId</ActualParameter>
                                <ActualParameter>string($employee/ne:new-employee/@department)</ActualParameter>
                            </ActualParameters>
                        </Tool>
                    </Implementation>
                    <StartMode>
                        <Manual/>
                    </StartMode>
                    <FinishMode>
                        <Automatic/>
                    </FinishMode>
                    <Documentation>http://localhost:8080/obeexamples/new-employee/index.html#GrantAccessRights</Documentation>
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="ParticipantID" Value="IT"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="XOffset" Value="410"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="YOffset" Value="60"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Activity>
                <Activity Id="a9" Name="Enter salary details">
                    <Description>Enter the new employee's salary into the wages system.</Description>
                    <Implementation>
                        <Tool Id="browser" Type="APPLICATION">
                            <ActualParameters>
                                <ActualParameter>concat('http://localhost:8080/obeexamples/new-employee/EnterSalary.jsp?userId=', $userId, '&amp;procInstId=', $processInstanceId)</ActualParameter>
                            </ActualParameters>
                        </Tool>
                    </Implementation>
                    <Performer>Finance</Performer>
                    <StartMode>
                        <Manual/>
                    </StartMode>
                    <FinishMode>
                        <Automatic/>
                    </FinishMode>
                    <Documentation>http://localhost:8080/obeexamples/new-employee/index.html#EnterSalaryDetails</Documentation>
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="ParticipantID" Value="Finance"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="XOffset" Value="410"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="YOffset" Value="60"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Activity>
                <Activity Id="a10" Name="Route">
                    <Route/>
                    <StartMode>
                        <Automatic/>
                    </StartMode>
                    <FinishMode>
                        <Automatic/>
                    </FinishMode>
                    <TransitionRestrictions>
                        <TransitionRestriction>
                            <Split Type="AND">
                                <TransitionRefs>
                                    <TransitionRef Id="t12"/>
                                    <TransitionRef Id="t6"/>
                                    <TransitionRef Id="t7"/>
                                    <TransitionRef Id="t8"/>
                                </TransitionRefs>
                            </Split>
                        </TransitionRestriction>
                    </TransitionRestrictions>
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="ParticipantID" Value="HR"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="XOffset" Value="130"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="YOffset" Value="60"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Activity>
                <Activity Id="a12" Name="Route">
                    <Route/>
                    <StartMode>
                        <Automatic/>
                    </StartMode>
                    <FinishMode>
                        <Automatic/>
                    </FinishMode>
                    <TransitionRestrictions>
                        <TransitionRestriction>
                            <Join Type="AND"/>
                        </TransitionRestriction>
                    </TransitionRestrictions>
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="ParticipantID" Value="HR"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="XOffset" Value="630"/>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="YOffset" Value="60"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Activity>
            </Activities>
            <Transitions>
                <Transition From="a5" Id="t3" Name="Transition" To="a6">
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="RoutingType" Value="NOROUTING"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Transition>
                <Transition From="a5" Id="t4" Name="Transition" To="a8">
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="RoutingType" Value="NOROUTING"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Transition>
                <Transition From="a10" Id="t6" Name="Transition" To="a1">
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="RoutingType" Value="NOROUTING"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Transition>
                <Transition From="a10" Id="t7" Name="Transition" To="a2">
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="RoutingType" Value="NOROUTING"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Transition>
                <Transition From="a10" Id="t8" Name="Transition" To="a3">
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="RoutingType" Value="NOROUTING"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Transition>
                <Transition From="a10" Id="t12" Name="Transition" To="a5">
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="RoutingType" Value="NOROUTING"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Transition>
                <Transition From="a5" Id="t13" Name="Transition" To="a7">
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="RoutingType" Value="NOROUTING"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Transition>
                <Transition From="a4" Id="t14" Name="Transition" To="a12">
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="RoutingType" Value="NOROUTING"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Transition>
                <Transition From="a8" Id="t16" Name="Transition" To="a12">
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="RoutingType" Value="NOROUTING"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Transition>
                <Transition From="a7" Id="t17" Name="Transition" To="a12">
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="RoutingType" Value="NOROUTING"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Transition>
                <Transition From="a5" Id="t18" Name="Transition" To="a9">
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="RoutingType" Value="NOROUTING"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Transition>
                <Transition From="a9" Id="t19" Name="Transition" To="a12">
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="RoutingType" Value="NOROUTING"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Transition>
                <Transition From="a1" Id="t20" Name="Transition" To="a12">
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="RoutingType" Value="NOROUTING"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Transition>
                <Transition From="a2" Id="t21" Name="Transition" To="a12">
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="RoutingType" Value="SIMPLEROUTING"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Transition>
                <Transition From="a3" Id="t22" Name="Transition" To="a12">
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="RoutingType" Value="NOROUTING"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Transition>
                <Transition From="a6" Id="t24" Name="Transition" To="a12">
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="RoutingType" Value="NOROUTING"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Transition>
                <Transition From="a5" Id="t25" Name="Transition" To="a4">
                    <ExtendedAttributes>
                        <ExtendedAttribute Name="RoutingType" Value="NOROUTING"/>
                    </ExtendedAttributes>
                </Transition>
            </Transitions>
            <ExtendedAttributes>
                <ExtendedAttribute Name="obe.Event">
                    <obe:Event Id="NewEmployeeHired">
                        <xpdl:ActualParameters>
                            <xpdl:ActualParameter>employee</xpdl:ActualParameter>
                        </xpdl:ActualParameters>
                    </obe:Event>
                </ExtendedAttribute>
                <ExtendedAttribute Name="StartOfWorkflow" Value="HR;a10;51;60;NOROUTING"/>
                <ExtendedAttribute Name="EndOfWorkflow" Value="HR;a12;770;60;NOROUTING"/>
                <ExtendedAttribute Name="ParticipantVisualOrder" Value="IT;Finance;HR;"/>
            </ExtendedAttributes>
        </WorkflowProcess>
    </WorkflowProcesses>
    <ExtendedAttributes>
        <ExtendedAttribute Name="MadeBy" Value="JaWE"/>
        <ExtendedAttribute Name="Version" Value="1.2"/>
    </ExtendedAttributes>
</Package>

Solution Files

See the solution files under $OBE_HOME/examples:

config/processes/new-employee.xpdl
etc/NewEmployee/DickPound-Finance.xml
etc/NewEmployee/HarryWhacker-HR.xml
etc/NewEmployee/TomHacker-Engineering.xml
src/com/xyz/sysadmin/XYZProcedures.java

Deployment and Execution

The new-employee workflow supports both manual and triggered start.

Deploy the new-employee.xpdl package.
Start a workflow instance by either:

Instantiating an instance of the new-employee workflow from the Worklist client.
When prompted, uploading an XML order that conforms to the $OBE_HOME/examples/config/resources/NewEmployee.xsd schema, such as DickPound-Finance.xml, HarryWhacker-HR.xml or TomHacker-Engineering.xml in $OBE_HOME/examples/etc/NewEmployee.

Open a console window and navigate to the $OBE_HOME/examples/etc/NewEmployee directory.
Execute any or all of the commands:

send DickPound-Finance.xml
send HarryWhacker-HR.xml
send TomHacker-Engineering.xml

In either case, enable logging to observe in-flight process activity, or use a worklist client or the cladmin tool to probe process instances.
For each process instance created above, use the worklist client to locate, execute and where necessary mark work items complete. Certain work items will present supplementary windows, dialogs or prompts as they invoke the tools associated with their defining activities.

¹ Mandatory, because the


    employee

attribute appears as a <FormalParameter> of the <WorkflowProcess>, meaning that it must be assigned a value before a newly created process instance can be started.