Accelerate the Value of Data

Workflow modeler

Learn about the workflow tool for creating custom workflow processes.

The Workflow Web-based Modeler enables creating a custom workflow process by using the UI editor to create and saving a Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) diagram without editing the XML file manually.

Workflow modeler options

For Reltio customers who use the Console, the Workflow Modeler includes these options to rapidly design, manage, and deploy workflows. You must be assigned the ROLE_WORKFLOW_MANAGER role to manage and deploy workflows.
  • A light-weight business user-friendly tool in Console that helps you to:
    • Create a new BPMN process.
    • Business-friendly graphical tools for designing BPMN processes.
    • Import from and export to a local drive for easy reuse.
    • Deploy the BPMN process to a tenant.
    • Export a *.bpmn file as a *.png file for collaboration with other business users.
  • JAR files : You can view a list of the approved and registered JAR files. For more information, see topic Overview of JAR files .

Before you begin

The Workflow Modeler has no prerequisites; however, it’s helpful if you’re familiar with the following technologies:
  • Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN), which is the standard language for process applications.
  • http://www.bpmn.org/.

Sign in to the BPMN modeler

  1. Enter the Tenant name.

  2. Enter either your user name or email address and your password.

    The Console Modeler main page appears.

  3. Select the Workflow Modeler option to open the Workflow Modeler Console.

Open an existing BPMN file

In the Workflow Modeler, you can either open an existing BPMN diagram *.bpmn20.xml file or you can import the existing Out-of-the-box (OOTB) workflows from Bitbucket and enhance the workflow according to your business needs. Out-of-the-box process definitions are available at Workflow - Default Process Definitions Bitbucket Repo. You can also open a BPMN file that is already published and displayed in the Business processes tab.

To open an existing BPMN file:

  1. Select Open.
  2. The Workflow Modeler displays the imported BPMN diagram.

  3. Select Download and either the XML or PNG file format.
  4. Select Save.

Create a New BPMN diagram

To create a new diagram, either select the icon on the Workflow Modeler main page or select +CREATE on the Workflow Modeler Console page.

You'll see the Console main screen.

Quick Tour of top-level tool bar functions, Work area icons, and shortcut Keys

These are the toolbar primary functions:

  • OPEN
  • +CREATE
  • DOWNLOAD
  • SAVE

The work area provides the component palette, the area in which to create the BPMN diagram, options to center the diagram in the work area and to zoom in and zoom out, and the option to access additional Web-based tooling for BPMN diagrams.

Select the center icon to automatically center the diagram in the work area.

On the zoom icon, select '+' to zoom in, or select '-' to zoom out.

Select the Web-based tooling icon to access additional Web-based tooling for BPMN diagrams.

When you select the icon, you’re redirected to bpmn.io.

Table 1. Shortcut Keys
KeysUse
DeleteRemove the selected element
Ctrl +zUndo
Ctrl +shift +zRedo
Ctrl +aSelect all elements
Ctrl +fSearch labels
sActivate the space tool
lActivate the lasso tool
cActivate the global connect tool
eActivate direct editing

Sample BPMN workflow diagram

This is the pictorial representation of your process. You can reorganize the process steps and select on any component to edit the properties.

Component palette

This is the standard BPMN component palette. You can drag and drop any component, set its properties, and design workflows using this simple intuitive tool.

When you select an icon in the component palette, the tools you can use for this icon are provided, as shown in this example:

Select the "caret" at the bottom to minimize the component palette.

Properties panel

Use the properties panel to set properties for the entire workflow or for the specific task/step on which you’ve selected to work. The properties available depend on the type of BPMN workflow diagram on which you’re working.

Work with BPMN constructs

The Workflow Adapter supports these BPMN constructs:

  • User Task
  • Service Task
  • Script Task
  • Manual Task
  • Sequence Flow
  • Conditional Sequence flow
  • Exclusive Gateway
  • Parallel Gateway
  • Inclusive Gateway
  • Sub-process
  • None Start Event
  • None end Event
  • Terminate end Event

User task

A User Task is used to model the work that needs to be done by a human actor.

Service task

A Service Task is used to invoke services. This is done by calling Java code or providing a work item for an external worker to complete asynchronously. Use the Modeler to add a service task after the user task.

Script task

A Script Task is an automated activity. When a process execution arrives at the Script Task, the corresponding script is executed. A Script Task is defined by specifying the script and the scriptFormat.

Note: Reltio supports Groovy language for the script task.

Register groovy jar on a tenant if you debug it locally. You can get groovy.jar from the MVN Repository.

If you want to use Groovy Script tasks in the Production environment, deploy the jar with the correct groovy version on a tenant using the following request body:

{
"module": "reltio.workflow-custom-jars/groovy/groovy-3.0.11.jar",
"name": "groovy"
}

For more information, see Deploy JAR Dynamically for Tenant.

Manual task

A Manual Task defines a task that is external to the BPM engine. It’sis used to model work that is done by somebody who the engine doesn’t need to know of and is there no known system or UI interface. For the engine, a manual task is handled as a pass-through activity, automatically continuing the process at the moment the process execution arrives at it.

Sequence flow

A BPMN sequence flow used to connect flow objects in a process or a choreography to show the flow.

Conditional sequence flow

A sequence flow can have a condition defined on it. When a BPMN 2.0 activity is left, the default behavior is to evaluate the conditions on the outgoing sequence flow. When a condition evaluates to "true", that outgoing sequence flow is selected. When multiple sequence flows are selected that way, multiple executions will be generated, and the process will be continued in a parallel way.

Note: This is different for gateways. Gateways will handle sequence flow with conditions in specific ways, depending on the gateway type.

Exclusive Gateway

You can define conditions on the outgoing sequence flows and the exclusive gateway will evaluate them. The exclusive gateway can receive only one sequence flow.

Parallel Gateway

The parallel gateway can receive more than one sequence flow.

Inclusive Gateway

The Inclusive Gateway can be seen as a combination of an exclusive and a parallel gateway. Like an exclusive gateway, you can define conditions on outgoing sequence flows and the inclusive gateway will evaluate them. However, the main difference is that the inclusive gateway can receive more than one sequence flow, like a parallel gateway.

Sub-process

A sub-process flowchart as the representation of an activity that contains a series of small parts. This activity is represented by a process flowchart (in this case, a sub-process flow) since it’s inserted into a Process flow chart.

None Start event

A start event indicates the place where and possibly why a process started. Since a start event is used for initiating a process, it doesn’t have any incoming sequence flow. You can define a trigger for the start event, to show the condition that will cause a process to initiate. The none start event doesn’t have a defined trigger.

None end event

As an opposite of the start event, the end event indicates where a process will end. Since the end event is used for terminating a process, it doesn’t have any outgoing sequence flow. You can define a result for the end event, to show what will happen when reaching the end. The none end event doesn’t have a defined result.

Terminate end event

The process is terminated when it reaches the terminate-end event. A terminate end event means that if one of the paths reaches an end, all other process paths (currently performing activities and activities, which are waiting to be performed) are ended immediately.

Modeling BPMN diagrams

To build a valid business process definition, refer to Business process definition overview. Also, you can refer to https://docs.camunda.org/manual/7.7/modeler/camunda-modeler/bpmn/ for procedures to create new diagrams or to model files located on your file system.

Deploy the process from the modeler to Reltio tenants

If you can validate and you know that you have the correct sign-in credentials, then you can open the deployment dialog for an existing BPMN diagram to publish the workflow in real time to any tenant from the Workflow Modeler Console. You can see a dialog in which you can provide details such as the Reltio environment name and tenant ID for deployment.

Note: You need ROLE_WORKFLOW_MANAGER and the tenant ID to deploy a process from the Workflow Modeler.

When the process is successfully deployed to the server, a confirmation message is shown. You'll can see an error message if you’re unable to deploy the process.