Guidelines and validations for creating a PDT

When you create a PDT, certain steps or connections lead to an invalid process flow. In the Visual Process Editor workspace area of Service Catalog Manager Console, a set of validations are implemented. While creating or modifying a PDT, the error messages are displayed in the Visual Process Editor workspace that help you determine an invalid step in the process flow. The error messages themselves provide information about how to correct a process flow. You can read the error messages and correct the flow in the Visual Process Editor workspace. When you create a PDT, you must follow the guidelines and best practices to avoid invalid process flows. 

Guidelines for creating a PDT

• Always design a process from top to bottom.
• Connect all branches of a condition before joining the condition to another flow.
• Join the parallel branches by connecting the parallel branches to an object.
• Design the process step by step.
• For nested conditions, first complete the inner condition and then proceed to complete the parent condition.
• If you want to modify a process and add a new object, first remove all links of the object to which you plan to connect the new object. Then create all the links as per the modified process flow.
• If you want to delete an object, first delete all the links to and from that object. Create the alternate links without the object and then delete the object.

The following video describes the guidelines for creating a standard PDT:
 https://youtu.be/V5cC4F96y3M

Validations

The Visual Process Editor workspace validates the steps and displays errors in the following scenarios:

• When one or more objects are missing a link to the Start or Stop node.
• When the Yes or No connection is missing for a condition.
• When connecting an object, if the object is not connected to any parent object.
• When you connect target link of an object to the Start node.
• When you connect a child object back to the parent object.
• When you connect two objects to each other that have the same parent object.
• When you connect objects of two different hierarchies.
• When you connect objects from parallel branches of a condition.
• When you connect an object of a branch to an object of another parallel branch.
• When you connect an object of a condition and other parallel branch objects to a node that is before the Stop node and you directly connect another object of that condition to the Stop node.

• When you connect an object of a branch to an object of another parallel branch; where the object is already connected to another child node of that branch.

• When you connect an object of the Yes node of a condition to the No node of the same condition and the No node is already connected to an object that is connected to the Stop node.