3.2.2 Managing a Workflow Group
- Jenni Wallin
- Former user (Deleted)
Managing a workflow group includes:
Opening a saved workflow group in the workflow group configuration
Creating a workflow group
Removing members
Execution: Manual or Scheduled
Configuration
Opening a Workflow Group Configuration
To create a new workflow group configuration, click the New Configuration button in the upper left part of the Desktop window, and then select Workflow Group from the menu.
To open an existing workflow group configuration, double-click the workflow group in the Configuration Navigator.
The workflow group configuration opens in a tab.
Creating a Workflow Group
You create a workflow group by adding a workflow, or a workflow group, as a member to the group.
To create a workflow group:
In the Available to Add pane, select a workflow or a workflow group.
Note!
An invalid workflow member will not affect the validity of the workflow group.
Either right-click the selected item and select Add as Member or click the upper Add button.
The member is added in the Group Members list.Note!
Batch, task and system task workflow members can be combined in a workflow group, but real-time workflow members can only be combined with other real-time workflow members. However, for real-time workflows, we recommend that only one workflow is included in each workflow group, unless you have selected the Continuous Workflow Execution check box in the Execution tab, which will allow you to have multiple real-time workflows in the same group.
- Click the Save As button and give the new workflow group a name.
Removing a Member from a Workflow Group
When you remove a member from a workflow group, the member will not cease to exist:
- A workflow member might still be running according to its configuration, or as a member of a workflow group in the system.
- A workflow group member might still run as a member of another workflow group in the system.
To remove a member from a workflow group:
- Right-click the member that you want to remove in the in the Group Members list in the Members tab in workflow group configuration.
A menu appears on your screen.
- Select the option Remove Member .
You will get a question if you are sure you want to remove the member.
- Click Yes if you are sure.
The member is removed from the group.
Executing a Workflow Group
You execute the Workflow group either manually, from the Execution Manager - see 6.7 Execution Manager - or, you can schedule an automatic execution - see the section below, Scheduling.
Configuring a Workflow Group
Configuring a workflow group includes:
Planning members' execution order
Setting the workflow group execution parameters
Setting the workflow group scheduling parameters
Members Execution Order
When planning the execution order of the members in your workflow group, use the Prerequisites column in the Group Members table. By doing so you ensure:
A linear execution
A certain execution order
That every member is fully executed before the next member starts running
Note!
If you use the Continuous Workflow Execution setting, you can override this behavior by allowing scheduled workflows to execute even though all workflow members are not finished, see the section below, Execution, for further information.
To configure members execution order:
- Right-click on a member in the Group Members pane in the Members tab.
A drop-down menu opens.
- Select the option Prerequisites .
The Prerequisites dialog box opens.
The Prerequisites dialog box
- Select the check boxes for the members that the current member should follow.
- Click OK .
See the image below for an example of how it may look.
Workflow Group members execution prerequisites
You can rearrange the members' order of appearance in the Group Members list, by using the Up and Down buttons. When rearranging a list, that is already configured with Prerequisites you will notice that the Prerequisites parameter is removed and a yellow warning icon appears instead. Note that this will not affect the workflow group validity. To remove the notification sign, either open the Prerequisites dialog box and click OK , or - to remove all the notification signs - save the workflow group configuration, and reopen it.
Execution
Click the Execution tab in the workflow group configuration.
The Workflow Group Execution tab
Entry | Description |
|---|---|
Max Simultaneous Running Workflows | Enter the maximum number of workflows you want to be able to run concurrently. Note! If you do not specify a limit, your specific work environment and equipment will determine the maximum number of workflows that can run simultaneously. This value applies only to the workflow group that you are defining and will not affect members that are workflow groups. |
Startup Delay | If Max Simultaneous Running Workflows is set to a value larger than 1, enter the delay (in seconds) of the execution start for each of the workflows that may run simultaneously. Note!
|
| Continuous Workflow Execution | Select this check box if you want to allow members in scheduled workflow groups to execute on schedule even though all workflow members in the group have not finished execution. This may be useful in case one member is delayed for some reason. In that case remaining workflow members will not be prevented from executing on schedule. Note! This feature is not supported for nested group members, only workflow members. For a workflow group with a member that is delayed over the next scheduled time, this setting will make the member execute immediately when it is finished, and the group will be in a continuous Running state, not switching to Idle in between executions as is the default behavior. This needs to be considered when making configurations based on workflow group states. |
Continue | This option activates the default behavior on member abort, which means that the workflow group will run until all its members are fully executed and/or all are aborted. Note! This means that groups with real-time workflow members will continue to run until all the members are aborted or stopped manually. |
Stop | Select this option to have the workflow group stop when a member aborts. A batch Workflow will finish the current batch and then stop. |
Stop Immediately | Select this option to have the workflow group stop immediately when a member aborts. A batch workflow will stop even in the middle of processing a batch. |
Enable | Select this check box to enable the workflow group execution settings. Note!
|
Distribution | A workflow executes on an Execution Context. Specific ECs, or groups of ECs, may be specified by the user, or the system can handle it automatically. The Distribution settings are applied to all included group members i e workflow- and workflow group configurations. When there are conflicting settings, the members that are lowest in the workflow group hierarchy have precedence. When the Distribution settings of workflow group configurations are set on the same level in the hierarchy, they do not conflict with each other. Note! If you select to configure the distribution using EC groups, the selected distribution type will also be applied on the ECs within the groups. Hint! You can combine both individual ECs and EC groups in the Execution Contexts list. The selected distribution will then be applied for all ECs stated either individually or in groups. The following options exist: Sequential - Valid only if Execution Contexts are defined. Starts the workflow on the first EC/EC group in the list. If this EC/EC group is not available, it will proceed with the next in line. Workflow Count - Starts the workflow on the EC running the fewest number of workflows. If the Execution Contexts list contains at least one entry, only this/these ECs/EC groups will be considered. Machine Load - Starts the workflow on the EC with the lowest machine load. If the Execution Contexts list contains at least one entry, only this/these ECs/EC groups will be considered. Which EC to select is based on information from the System Statistics sub-system. Round Robin - Starts the workflow on the available ECs/EC groups in turn, but not necessarily in a sequential order. If EC1, EC2 and EC3 are defined, the workflow may first attempt to start on EC2. The next time it may start on EC3 and then finally on EC1. This order is then repeated. If an EC is not available, the workflow will be started on any other available EC. |
Scheduling
The cause of execution for a workflow group can either be a planned time scheme or a specific event. You can configure the cause of execution in the Scheduling tab.
Note!
Changes to a running workflow group will not apply until the group has finished running, which means that a real-time workflow will have to be stopped manually for changes to apply.
Info!
The times stated in Scheduling will follow the timezone of the server hosting the 
Platform.
The Workflow Group Scheduling tab
Entry | Description |
|---|---|
Day Plans | Use this table to plan timed triggers that will execute your Workflow group. Note that you can define a list of various plans. Click on the Show... button to open a calendar that displays the Workflow group execution plan, see the figure below, The Execution Calendar. |
Event Trigger | Use this table to define an event execution trigger for the Workflow group, see the section below, Event Triggers. |
Day Plans Priority Rule
The Day Plans table enables you to create a list of different execution schemes of the Workflow group. You configure each Day Plan to any interval between executions.
Note!
Two Day Plans should not contradict each another. An example of an invalid configuration: Day Plan A is set to Tuesdays Off, while Day Plan B is set to Every 5 minutes between 15:00:00 and 15:05:00 on Tuesdays.
applies the following priority rule for picking a Day Plan out of the list:
- Last day of month
- Day of month (1-31)
- Weekday (Monday-Sunday)
- Every day
To Configure a Day Plan Schedule:
Click on the Add button in the Day Plan table in the Scheduling tab.
The Add Day Plan dialog box opens.
The Add Day Plan dialog box
Entry | Description |
|---|---|
Day | Select the target day. Valid options are:
|
Day Off | Select this check box to avoid execution on the day specified in the Day list. |
Start At | Enter a start time for the first execution. |
Stop At | Enter the time for when execution should stop. Note! If these fields are left empty, the default stop time, which is 23:59, will be applied. |
Repeat Every | Enter the interval between execution start time in seconds, minutes, or hours. Note! If this field is left empty, only one execution session will run at the specified start time. Note! If a member in a group is delayed for some reason, and not finished at the time the execution is set to be repeated, all members in the group will have to wait until the next repeat time. To override this behavior, you can use the Continuous Workflow Execution setting in the Execution tab, see the section above, Execution. |
To View an Execution Plan:
- Click on the Show... button beneath the Day Plan table.
- The Execution Calendar opens.
The Execution Calendar
- A green colored cell in the calendar represents at least one scheduled execution during that time.
- Click on a green cell.
The Hourly Execution Plan opens.
The Hourly Execution Plan
Event Triggers
To trigger the execution of a Workflow group you add a row to the Event Trigger table. A row can be either a certain event, or a chain of events, that must occur in order for the Workflow group execution to set off.
Note!
An Event Trigger that is comprised of a chain of events will take effect only when all the events that it includes have occurred.
The events that have occurred are stored in memory. When is restarted this information is lost and none of the events on the event chain are considered to have occurred.
To Configure an Event Trigger:
- Click on the Add button beneath the Event Triggers table.
The Add Event Chain Trigger dialog box opens.
The Add Event Chain Trigger Dialog Box
- Click on the Add button.
The Add Event Selection dialog box opens.
The Add Event Selection dialog box
- Select an Event Type from the drop-down list, see Event Fields in 4.2 Event Notifications Configuration.
- Double-click on an entry in the Event Filter table.
The Edit Match Value dialog box opens.
- Click on the Add button.
The Add Match Value dialog box opens.
- If you want to filter all the events based on specific values of the selected type, enter the values in the Match Value(s) column. Otherwise, if you leave the default value , all the events of the selected event type will trigger the execution of the Workflow group.
- Close all four dialog boxes.
Note!
There are no referential constraints for Event Triggers nor any way to track relations between workflows that are triggered by one another. For example: Workflow A is defined to be activated when Workflow B is activated. Workflow B might be deleted without any warnings, leaving Workflow A, still a valid workflow, without a trigger. This might happen since value matching is based on a regular expression of the workflow name, and not on a precise link match.