Exploring the workflow designer
This topic provides an overview of the workflow designer interface, and describes how to access it.
To access the workflow designer
Service catalog administrators can access the workflow designer by creating a new workflow or modifying an existing workflow.
Create or edit a workflow on the Workflows tab:
Edit an existing workflow attached a service from the Workflows & Questions panel that can be accessed by selecting a service on the Services tab (for more details on service creation, see Adding and updating services):
Workflows management considerations
You manage workflows from the Actions menu available on the Workflows page. All workflows on the Workflows page are ordered alphabetically, including new or renamed. You can filter the available workflows by status: Enabled or Disabled.
When you make changes to workflows, take into account the following considerations:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Applicable to all options | You must give each workflow a unique name |
| Delete | (Recommended) Delete only those workflows that are not associated with any published services, bundles, and service actions. For details how to delete workflows associated with services, see To delete a workflow. You can delete workflows associated with any published services, bundles, and service actions by selecting I understand the above impacts check box, and clicking Confirm. |
| Copy | This option is not available for workflows that originate from SRDs imported from BMC Remedy Service Request Management. |
Rename | You can rename parent processes and called processes without any restrictions. After a parent workflow is renamed, it is renamed in called processes and services that are using this workflow. |
| Edit | You can edit workflow of published services without a need to republish the service. |
| Preview | Preview a workflow in the read mode. |
| Manage questions | Add a new questionnaire, or edit and remove a questionnaire attached to a workflow. You can also export and import the questionnaire for translation. |
To delete a workflow
To delete a workflow associated with any published service, bundle, and a service action, perform the following steps:
Select a workflow, and click Actions > Delete.
To check which services, bundles, service actions, or questionnaires are associated with this workflow, click Export to CSV.
Review the list of services, and perform any of the following steps:
- Delete the workflow from all services, bundles, service actions, or questionnaires
- Unpublish it from all services, service actions, or bundles.
From the Workflows page, select the workflow, and click Actions > Delete.
- Click Confirm to delete.
The workflow designer interface
The workflow designer consists of the palette, the canvas, and the configuration panel. The palette contains building blocks (activities) that can be arranged on the canvas to define fulfillment workflows.
The following image describes the workflow designer interface:
| Annotation | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palette | Contains tabs to manage process elements and search options for process elements. |
| 2 | Process Elements | Contains process elements that can be dragged and dropped onto the canvas. |
| 3 | Favorites | Contains process elements that you marked as favorite in the Manage Palette tab. |
| 4 | Recent | Contains elements that you used recently to create a business process. |
| 5 | Manage Palette | Contains a list of all process elements that workflow designer offers. You can mark these elements as favorites or select only those that you want to display on the Process Elements tab. |
| 6 | Process Tool bar | Contains tools for common operations such as zoom, clear canvas, and adjust canvas grid. |
| 7 | Process Information | Contains information about the process such as process name and parameters and permissions assigned to the process. |
| 8 | JSON | Shows JSON of the process definition. It is for troubleshooting. |
| 9 | Element Information | Shows properties of the selected element that is used in the process design. |
| 10 | Process Validation | Shows warnings if the process is invalid for any reason. |
| 11 | Canvas | Is the area where process elements are placed to design the process. |
The following video (2:51) explains the workflow designer interface.
This videos shows an older version of BMC Digital Workplace Catalog. The previous product name was MyIT Service Broker. Although there might be minor changes in the UI, the overall functionality remains the same.
Enabled and disabled workflows
The following image shows the Properties pane when a workflow is saved in an enabled state. When you save a workflow without any validation errors the workflow automatically saves in an enabled state.
When you save an incomplete or invalid workflow, the workflow status is toggled to a Disabled state. For example, if you are building a workflow and need to find additional information, you can save the workflow while it is still in progress. Because the workflow is incomplete, the workflow automatically saves in a disabled state.
You cannot publish a service if the workflow attached to the service is is in a Disabled state. However, in some cases, a background process might introduce an error in a workflow that was already attached to a published service, and set the workflow to a disabled state. When a workflow is in a Disabled state when a request is submitted, the request will trigger an error.
You can toggle the workflow status to an Enabled state after you complete the workflow and resolve any validation issues.
To customize the palette
The following video (2:30) shows how to set favorites and customize the palette.
This video shows an older version of BMC Digital Workplace Catalog. The previous product name was MyIT Service Broker. Although there might be minor changes in the UI, the overall functionality remains the same.
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