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 Intermidiate Event with 0 timer value. You can add it right after a start event.

Unsetting process variables

All variables defined in script task 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;

Cleaning up ended processes

Ended processes are not cleaned up automatically as a process may hold information important for a business. You may utilize a scheduled workflow rule that will be handle removal of ended processes.

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.