BPM Tips

Execution in idle

When a process is initiated by a user interaction (e.g. after record created), it starts to execute in the web server process until the flow reaches a catching event, Send Message Task or User Task, that will switch execution to idle mode (process will continue to run by cron/daemon).

If you have script tasks that take some time to run it's reasonable to force to switch execution to idle mode. To avoid the user waiting until scripts are finished. A trick is to add Timer Intermediate Event with 0 timer value. You can add it right after a start event.

Unsetting process variables

All variables defined in a Script Task and Execute Formula Script action will be stored in the Process. If you don't need a specific variable to be used further in the process, it's reasonable to unset it in the end of the script.

$tempVariable = null;

Also consider to unset sensitive data immediately after usage.

Cleaning up ended processes

Ended Processes are not cleaned up automatically, as they may hold information important to the business. You may utilize a scheduled Workflow rule that will handle removal of ended Processes.

Self-removal

You can setup a BPM process to remove itself. Add Task > Update Process Record. Add in formula: deleted = 1;.

Displaying processes on record detail view

You can utilize the Report Panels feature to display all related processes on the record detail view.

1. Create a List report for the Process entity type with the 'Target' runtime filter.
2. Create a report panel (Administration > Report Panels) for your entity type, select the report.