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Developer Fast Start

PegaRULES Process Commander ® V6.1 SP1


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ii Developer Fast Start

Copyright 2010

Pegasystems Inc., Cambridge, MA

All rights reserved.

This document describes products and services of Pegasystems Inc. It may contain trade secrets and

proprietary information. The document and product are protected by copyright and distributed under licenses

restricting their use, copying, distribution, or transmittal in any form without prior written authorization of

Pegasystems Inc.

This document is current as of the date of publication only. Changes in the document may be made from time

to time at the discretion by Pegasystems. This document remains the property of Pegasystems and must be

returned to it upon request. This document does not imply any commitment to offer or deliver the products or

services described.

This document may include references to Pegasystems product features that have not been licensed by your

company. If you have questions about whether a particular capability is included in your installation, please

consult your Pegasystems service consultant.

For Pegasystems trademarks and registered trademarks, all rights reserved. Other brand or product namesare trademarks of their respective holders.

Although Pegasystems Inc. strives for accuracy in its publications, any publication may contain inaccuracies

or typographical errors. This document or Help System could contain technical inaccuracies or typographical

errors. Changes are periodically added to the information herein. Pegasystems Inc. may make improvements

and/or changes in the information described herein at any time.

This document is the property of:Pegasystems Inc.101 Main StreetCambridge, MA 02142-1590

Phone: (617) 374-9600Fax: (617) 374-9620www.pega.com

PegaRULES Process Commander®

Document: Developer Fast StartSoftware Version 6.1 SP1

Updated: August 4, 2010


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Contents

Chapter 1: Overview ................................................................................................................... 1-1

Business Process Management .......................................................................................... 1-3

Structure of This Document ................................................................................................ 1-4

Support Knowledgebase ..................................................................................................... 1-5

Prerequisites ......................................................................................................................... 1-6

Chapter 2: Using the Appl ication .............................................................................................. 2-1

Creati ng a Purchase Order .................................................................................................. 2-2

Adding Items to Your Purchase Order ........................................................................ 2-6

Approv ing the Purchase Order Request .......................................................................... 2-12

Chapter 3: Improving the Appl ication ....................................................................................... 3-1

Changing the Purchase Order Request Process ............................................................... 3-4

Defining a New Decision Table Rule .......................................................................... 3-13

Edi ting the Flow ........................................................................................................... 3-19

Chapter 4: Updating the User Interface .................................................................................... 4-1

Building a New Flow Action rule ......................................................................................... 4-2

Building a Section rule ................................................................................................. 4-3

Adding a Secti on ru le to a Flow Act ion ....................................................................... 4-9

Edi ting the Flow .................................................................................................................. 4-12

Adding a Data Field ............................................................................................................ 4-15

Inspecting Declarative Rules ............................................................................................. 4-21

Using the Declarative Rules Inspector ...................................................................... 4-22

Chapter 5: Review ing Your Appl ication.................................................................................... 5-1

Developing Applications by Changing Rules .................................................................... 5-1

Technology Under the Covers ............................................................................................ 5-3

Chapter 6: Document ing Your Appl ication .............................................................................. 6-1

Documenting the ESupply Application .............................................................................. 6-2

Appendix A: Appl ication Document fo r ESupply .................................................................... A-1

Appendix B: The Designer Studio Toolbar and Tab Bar ......................................................... B-1

Toolbar Buttons and Functions .......................................................................................... B-1

Tab Bar Button and Functions ............................................................................................ B-4


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2 Developer Fast Start

Appendix C: Workstat ion Setup ................................................................................................ C-1

Internet Explorer Sett ings .................................................................................................... C-2

Temporary Internet Files Settings ............................................................................... C-2

Downloaded Program Files .......................................................................................... C-2

Other Securi ty Setti ngs ................................................................................................ C-3

Performance Tips and Keyboard Shortcuts ....................................................................... C-5

Visio Setti ngs ........................................................................................................................ C-6

Visio Versions................................................................................................................ C-6

Setting up Visio to Work With Flows ........................................................................... C-6

Appendix D: Instal ling the ESupply Appl ication and Appl ication Profi le .............................. D-1

Installing the ESupply Application and Application Profile ...................................... D-1

Appendix E: Contacting Pegasystems ..................................................................................... E-1

Education Services ....................................................................................................... E-1

Documentation Feedback ............................................................................................. E-1


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Chapter 1:

Overview

Welcome to the Developer Fast Start. This book introduces PegaRULES

Process Commander and provides hands-on instructions for modifying an

application built on PegaRULES Process Commander. It also introduces terms

and skills for application developers. (For brevity, the product is hereafter called

Process Commander.)

The hands-on tasks involve working with a small application called ESupply. Theapplication allows employees of ECorp to submit purchase order requests using

their Web browser and it automates the process of entering, routing, and

approving purchase orders.

The ESupply application is intentionally incomplete and simplified. Your

assignment is to make changes and enhancements to it. The tasks presented in

this book show you how to extend the application by adding and modifying rules

to meet the needs of ECorp. By following these exercises, you will learn to:

■ Navigate within the Designer Studio

■ Change the rules to reflect new steps in a business process

■ Create rules that enhance the application user interface and behavior

■ Produce a Microsoft Word document that describes the application and lists

its files, functions, and features.


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1-2 Developer Fast Start

You make the modifications on your Process Commander system in a RuleSet

designated for development. This book takes you step-by-step through each

modification.


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Developer Fast Start 1-3

Business Process Management

According to the Business Process Management Group (at www.bpmg.org),

Business Process Management (BPM) is the organizational activity "that

incorporates: Planning, Designing, Building, Operating, Maintaining, andImproving the business processes and their enabling capabilities forever and for

everyone. Business processes are capabilities, as important as facilities, people,

and technology. Like all assets they must be managed from inception to

retirement.”

Process Commander supports Simply Smart Business Process Management

through rules covering flows, assignments, routing, decisions, and automated

processing. Process Commander applications provide process management and

automation through six functional capabilities, informally known as the Six R's:

■ Receiving — Accepting and capturing the essential data describing work

from multiple sources, including keyboards, scanners, and external systems,

in a wide range of media and formats.

■ Routing — Using characteristics of the work together with knowledge about

the workforce to make intelligent matches and assignments.

■ Reporting — Providing real-time visibility of work in progress, work

completed, productivity, bottlenecks, and quality.

■ Responding — Communicating status, requests for information, and

progress to the work originator and to other people involved in the work, by

e-mail, fax, written mail, and other means.

■ Researching — Accessing external systems and databases through

connectors to support analysis and decision-making.

■ Resolving — Completing the work and updating downstream systems

promptly through automated processing and automated support of users,

Process Commander is the only BPM solution that automates both the business

rules and the business processes that drive work to completion.

Additionally, Process Commander employs a sophisticated common object

model to deliver the power of process and practice integration. This integration is

achieved without the expense and resources associated with maintaining

separate business process and rules databases, user interfaces, test

environments, and production environments.

http://www.bpmg.org/http://www.bpmg.org/http://www.bpmg.org/http://www.bpmg.org/


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Structure of This Document

This book includes the following chapters and appendices:

■ Chapter 2 describes how to use the ESupply application.

■ Chapter 3 describes how to improve the application by changing the

purchase order request process.

■ Chapter 4 describes how to update the user interface.

■ Chapter 5 reviews all tasks you completed in the previous chapters.

■ Chapter 6 describes how to document your application using Process

Commander.

■ Appendix A provides the ESupply application documentation.

■ Appendix B provides a description of the icons and buttons found on the

Designer Studio toolbar and tab bar.

■ Appendix C provides additional information that might be useful when setting

up your workstation.

Tip: Print Appendix B and have it available as you go through this book to

help you learn about the toolbar and tab bar buttons.


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Support Knowledgebase

The Pega Developer Network (PDN), located at http://pdn.pega.com, is the

primary technical resource area for the PegaRULES Process Commander

community. The PDN contains a broad range of technical articles includingtroubleshooting and “how-to” information as well as a comprehensive and

searchable knowledgebase to help speed application development.

http://pdn.pega.com/http://pdn.pega.com/http://pdn.pega.com/http://pdn.pega.com/


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Chapter 2:

Using the Application

This chapter shows you how to use the application to experience it from the

worker and manager points of view by:

■ Creating a purchase order request

■ Approving the purchase order request

In Chapters 3 and 4, you assume the role of a designer and you change thebusiness process, appearance, and functions supported by the application.


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Creating a Purchase Order

1. Open your browser to the URL for logging into your Process Commander

system. The Process Commander login screen appears (Figure 2-1).

Note:

The URL is usually obtained from your organization’s system

administrator. It is typically in the format:

http ://:/prweb/PRServlet, where is the

system on which Process Commander is installed and is the

assigned port. The URL is case sensitive.

Figure 2-1. Process Commander Login Screen


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2. Log into the system as [email protected] with the password rules to

access the ESupply application. The User portal appears (Figure 2-2).

Figure 2-2. User Portal

If prompted with a Windows Security warning, click Install (Figure 2-3 shows

an example). This might occur a few more times as Windows downloads

each needed ActiveX control.

Figure 2-3. ActiveX Control Warning

Figure 2-2 shows the portal layout typical for application users who are not

managers. It provides access to work, status information, and facilities for

searching through both incomplete and completed work. The colors, fonts,

and logo you see in this layout are customized for ECorp. Process

Commander provides defaults. You can build applications using yourcompany’s standards and formats.

The area in the portal labeled My Work shows any purchase orders that the

WorkUser previously entered that are not processed to completion. This area

is known as the user’s worklist . In the above example, the worklist is empty

(displaying the message “No matching data was found”). Each user’s worklist

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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contains a list of work items assigned to that user, prioritized by Urgency

level.

Note:

You can exit from the ESupply application at any time by clicking the Log

Off link at the upper right of the portal. Log off before closing the browserwindow.

Do not use the Internet Explorer Back button when using Process

Commander. Instead, navigate using the tabs and buttons within the

portal layout.

3. Select Purchase Order from the New selection box (Figure 2-4).

Figure 2-4. New Selection Box — Purchase Order

A form labeled New Purchase Order appears in the portal workspace.

4. In the New Purchase Order form, select IT from the Department Name

selection box. In the Department Number field, enter a number (Figure

2-5). Optionally enter a note in the Note field.

Figure 2-5. New Order Entry Form in the Workspace


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5. Click the Create button at the bottom of the form. This action transmits your

input to the Process Commander server and creates a work object

according to the purchase order process defined in this application. The

system assigns a sequential identifier called the work object ID to the work

object. In the work object form displayed in the portal, this ID is visible inthe top bar of the form (circled in Figure 2-6). The work object form displays

for you to enter input. In this application, the work object IDs begin with the

prefix “P-” to identify purchase orders.

Figure 2-6. Purchase Order Request P-1

6. Click the (close) icon in the upper right corner of the work object form to

close it. The worklist refreshes and an assignment row for this work object

appears on your worklist. Because additional steps are needed before your

tasks with the work object can be completed, a row for this assignment for

appears in your worklist. Figure 2-7 shows a worklist containing one

selected assignment row for the purchase order.

Figure 2-7. Purchase Order in the Worklist

An Urgency value is a number between 0 and 100 that indicates the importance

(priority) of completing and resolving the work assignments. Here, the ESupply


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application initially assigns an urgency of 10 to a new assignment. As time

passes, the urgency increases, reflecting the priority of completing the

assignment.

The Instructions column displays a text phrase that indicates what the user

needs to do for that assignment. Here, items for the purchase order need to beadded to the request.

Adding Items to Your Purchase Order

1. On your worklist, locate the purchase order you created. Click the ID to

reopen the purchase order form for additional processing. The Enter Item

Information section appears in the form.

2. In the Item Name column, select an item from the drop-down list. When an

item is selected, its price appears in the Price column and the cursor

moves to the Quantity field. Enter a number for the quantity to be

purchased and press the Tab key. The total charge (price multiplied by

quantity) appears for that line item.

Note: Use the Tab key to advance from field to field. Do not use the

Enter key, as pressing Enter submits the form.


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3. Click the Add a row icon to add another row. Select another item and

enter its quantity. If you want, you can add additional rows and more items.

Figure 2-8 shows an example.

Figure 2-8. Purchase Order Line Items

Note: If you make a mistake and want to delete an item’s row, click the

garbage can icon ( ) at the right end of the row.

4. Click Submit to move to the next step in the purchase order process (if

necessary, use the right-hand scroll bar to bring the Submit button into

view).


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5. After clicking Submit, the Confirm Order section appears in the form (note

the Confirm Order label circled in Figure 2-9).

Figure 2-9. Purchase Order with Add Shipping Details

To see where this point of the process occurs within the overall process flow,

click the Where-Am-I icon . The You Are Here window opens and displays the

flow diagram for the process (Figure 2-10). This is the path that this process’s

work objects follow. The shapes in this diagram are types of building blocks in

the Process Commander representation of the business process. Common

shapes are explained in Chapter 3.

Check marks appear next to those process steps that the work object has

passed through and are complete. Following the diagram from the top downward,

the work object was created, then was assigned to the Current Operator, which is

WorkUser here.


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That first assignment shape (green rectangle) labeled Enter Data Information

corresponds to the form where a user must select some items and the quantities

before the work object can continue through the process. When you clicked the

Submit button, the work object moved to the next assignment shape, the one

labeled Confirm Order. The arrow shape indicates the current step of the flow.

The P-1 work object is at the Confirm Order assignment.

Figure 2-10. Location of Request in Process Flow

An assignment shape corresponds to a human-based step in the flow.

Assignments are points in the process that are to be handled by a person (to

provide input or take other actions). Here, the Confirm Order assignment shape

is where a user confirms the order and adds shipping details to the purchase

order request.

6. Close the You Are Here window.

7. Select the Add Shipping Details check box. The Shipping Information

fields appear in the form (Figure 2-11).


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8. Enter the shipping information for your purchase order.

Note: Use the Tab key to advance from field to field. Do not use the

Enter key, as that submits the form.

Figure 2-11. Shipping Details

9. Click Submit.


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The Confirmation section appears (Figure 2-12). The Status in the form says

Pending-Approval, and the line in the Confirmation section shows that the work

object has gone to a manager for approval. An assignment for the approval

request is placed on the manager’s worklist.

Figure 2-12. Confirmation of Purchase Order

In the ESupply Purchase Order process, the purchase order request

automatically routes to a manager for approval when the order total is greater

than $100. (You can test this by creating a second purchase order request with a

total of $100 or less.)

Close the form by clicking the (close) icon in the form. Then click Log Off to

log out of the portal.


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Approving the Purchase Order Request

Managers or supervisors have access to all of the facilities available to

application users and more. In this sample application, managers have the ability

to approve or reject certain purchase orders.

1. Log into the system as [email protected] with the password rules to

access the ESupply application as a manager. The Manager portal appears

(Figure 2-13).

Figure 2-13. Manager Portal

Managers use different portal gadgets and tools than their staff members do. As

you are acting as a manager, you may be prompted with a Windows warning

regarding one or a few additional ActiveX controls. Click Install each time. Figure

2-14 shows an example.


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2. Click the Process Work bar (bottom left of the portal) to change the work

space on the right. The manager’s worklist appears in the portal.

Figure 2-15. Manager’s Worklist


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3. Find the purchase order that you entered most recently as the WorkUser.

Hold the mouse pointer over its row to see Smart Info details for that

purchase order (Figure 2-16).

Figure 2-16. Worklist Item and Smart Info Pop-Up Details

4. Click the purchase order’s work object ID to open it so that you can act on it

(Figure 2-17).

Figure 2-17. Take Action Form


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5. Click Approv e to approve the purchase order request.

The ESupply application displays a confirmation form (Figure 2-18). The resolved

status indicates the business process is complete.

Figure 2-18. Work Object Confirmation

Note: In this flow, after a manager Approves (or Rejects) the purchaseorder request, the work object becomes resolved with a status of

Resolved-Completed (or Resolved-Rejected).

Other gadgets in the Manager portal allow managers or supervisors to review

staff members’ worklists, transfer work between staff members, and review real-

time reports about progress, volume, backlogs, and trends.

Close the form by clicking the (close) icon in the form. Then click Log Off to

log out of the portal.


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Chapter 3:

Improving the Application

In this chapter, by working as a developer, you will extend the purchase order

process to require a second approval on some purchase orders. To make the

application more closely match ECorp’s business practices, you will modify the

process flow to require a Vice President’s (VP) approval for those purchase order

requests that meet all of the criteria for any row of the following table (Figure

3-1). At least one row must match the criteria for the purchase order to go to the

VP for approval.

Dept Name Bill Customer Order Total

IT >$1,000

HR >$500

Finance No

Finance Yes >$200

Legal Yes >$500

Legal No >$200

IT No >$2,000

Figure 3-1. ECorp Purchase Order VP Approval Criteria

For example, according to the third row of the criteria table, if:

■ The Department Name in the submitted purchase order is set to Finance

And

■ The Bill Customer check box is unchecked (clear)


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Then VP approval is required, regardless of the total amount of the order.

However, if these three conditions are all true:

■ The Department Name is set to Finance

■

The Bill Customer check box is checked■ The Order Total is $199.00

Then none of the rows contain criteria that are all met. In this case, no VP

approval is required.


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When you complete the changes to the application to implement this policy, the

revised process diagram will look like Figure 3-2, with the added shapes shown

within the dashed red lines.

Figure 3-2. Revised Process Flow Diagram


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Changing the Purchase Order Request Process

Follow these steps to learn about the Process Commander Designer Studio. The

Designer Studio is the portal in which application designers and developers

perform their work.

1. Log into the system as Designer with the password password to access

the Designer Studio.

If prompted with a Windows Security warning, click Install (Figure 3-3 shows

an example). This might occur a few more times as Windows downloads

each needed ActiveX control.


The Designer Studio opens (Figure 3-4).

Figure 3-4. Designer Studio

The Application Explorer in the left panel provides quick access to this

application’s rules. It presents a multi-level tree structure to browse for and

perform operations on rules. Rules are organized into Process Commander

rule categories. For example, the ESupply application contains the Purchase



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Order class which contains rules that belong to various rule type categories

such as Process, Decision, and User Interface (Figure 3-5).

Figure 3-5. Process Rule Category in Application Explorer

2. Open the PurchaseOrder flow rule (Figure 3-6):

a. Click the + icon to expand the PurchaseOrder class and see the

categories it contains (Figure 3-5).

b. Click the + icon to expand the Process category to see the rule types

it contains.

c. Click the + icon to expand the Flow rule type.

d. Click the PurchaseOrder link to open the flow rule. (In the Application

Explorer, a green arrow icon ( ) preceding a name indicates a starting

flow rule. A blue dot icon ( ) preceding a name identifies a single rule.)

Figure 3-6. PurchaseOrder Flow Rule in Application Explorer


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Note: If Windows presents an additional ActiveX warning, click Install to

accept.

The Flow rule form for the PurchaseOrder process opens (Figure 3-7).

Figure 3-7. PurchaseOrder Flow Rule

Process Commander has dozens of rule types; each type is identified in the

text label at the upper left of the corresponding form (in this case, FLOW).

Tabs provide access to individual fields on the form, and tools on the toolbar

operate on the rule. The PurchaseOrder flow rule is marked read-only ( ),

so you cannot alter this instance directly. Instead, you will save a copy of this

flow rule into a RuleSet named ESupply with a higher RuleSet Version of 01-

01-03. Then you make updates to the new copy.


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3. Click Save As to save a copy of the process flow rule into the

ESupply:01-01-03 RuleSet Version. A Save As Rule Instance dialog opens

(Figure 3-8).

Figure 3-8. Save Rule Instance Dialog

The two fields labeled Appl ies To and Flow Type identify the keys of the

flow rule. Do not alter the values in these fields. The new flow rule should use

the same keys as the original you are copying.

Select ESupply from the RuleSet drop-down list. The Version field defaults

to 01-01-03.

4. Click the Save As button.

5. The next steps change the Purchase Order flow to include a decision

shape that determines whether the VP must approve a purchase order

request.

A decision shape, represented in the flow diagram by an orange diamond,

identifies an automatic step where processing may advance along any one of

two or more outcomes. In this case, the decision shape has two outcomes:

■ VP approval is required (True)

■ VP approval is not required (False)


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6. Click the Flow Editor toolbar icon ( ) as shown in Figure 3-9. This opens

the Visio Flow Editor.

Figure 3-9. PurchaseOrder Flow Rule and Flow Editor Button

Note: When the Visio Flow Editor opens, it may display a security

warning (Figure 3-10). If it does, select “Always trust macros from this

publisher” and then click Enable Macros. If the Enable Macros button

remains disabled, your Visio security settings are set too high. In thatcase, close the dialog box. Update Visio as described in Appendix C and

try again.


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Figure 3-10. Visio Macro Warning

When Visio opens, it displays the flow diagram as shown in Figure 3-11.

Figure 3-11. Visio Flow Diagram

The blue rectangle at the top of the flow diagram identifies the start of the

business process where a new purchase order request is created.


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Processing of each purchase order proceeds along the connectors from

shape to shape.

The three green rectangles with clocks on them mark assignment shapes

(Enter Item Information, Confirm Order, and Manager Approve Order).

Assignments are the steps in the process that require a human actor (here, auser or manager) to enter information or record their decisions. The orange

diamond shape labeled ManagerReview identifies an automated decision. In

this process, the automated decision has two outcomes: True or False.

Note: The Visio tool contains a Flow Properties panel where you can

choose which stencil to use to depict the flow. Each stencil has shapes

that correspond to that stencil in terms of color, borders, etc. The default

is the FlowStandard stencil. If you choose a different stencil in the drop-

down list, the flow diagram in the Flow Editor refreshes to reflect that

stencil’s shapes.

The Visio tool contains a Visio Shapes panel that displays the 18 Process

Flow shapes that Process Commander uses for the selected stencil (Figure

3-12). Each shape has a descriptive ToolTip. (If the names under the icons

do not display, right click on the Shapes heading and select Icons and

Names from the context menu).

Figure 3-12. Process Flow Shapes and the Shapes Context Menu


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Note: While using Visio, you can click the Undo button ( ) on the toolbar

to reverse the most recent action. Do not attempt to log off while Visio is

active.

7. Add a decision shape to the process flow below the existing

ManagerReview assignment shape as follows:

a. Click and drag a decision shape from the Shapes stencil onto the

flow diagram.

b. Position the decision shape below the Manager Approve Order

assignment shape (Figure 3-13).

Figure 3-13. Position of Decision Shape

8. Click on the decision shape to select it. The Decision Properties panel

appears above the Shapes panel to the left of the process flow.

9. In the Decision Properties panel, specify the following items as shown in

Figure 3-14:

a. Select Decision Table as the Type.

b. Enter VPApproveOrder (with no spaces) in the Rule field.

c. The Name field is arbitrary and may contain spaces. Accept the default

value (which Process Commander copies from the Rule field) by doing

nothing, or enter other brief text to identify this task.


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Figure 3-14. Decision Properties Panel

At this point, the flow rule references a decision table rule, but the decision

table rule does not yet exist. Next, you’ll create that rule.

10. In the Decision Properties panel, click the Open icon ( ) next to the

VPApproveOrder Rule field to create a new decision table rule with that

name. A New Rule Instance window appears (Figure 3-15).

Figure 3-15. New Rule Instance

11. Confirm or enter the following:

– Do not change the Appl ies To field.

– The Purpose field should be VPApproveOrder; if not, change it


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– The RuleSet should be ESupply; if not, change it

– The Version should be 01-01-03; if not, change it

12. Click Create. The Decision Table rule form appears (Figure 3-16).

Figure 3-16. Decision Table Rule Form

Defin ing a New Decision Table Rule1. In the Decision Table rule form, click the Results tab to bring it to the front

(Figure 3-17). Complete two rows of the Al lowed Resul ts array to identify

the allowed results for this decision table. In this case, the allowed results

are:

– True: This purchase order requires VP approval

– False: This purchase order does not require VP approval

Figure 3-17. Results Tab

When completing arrays, click:

— to add a new row at the bottom of the array


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— to insert a new row between existing rows

— to delete a row

Note: No changes are needed to the Set Properties?, Options, or

Preset Property Values areas of this tab.

2. Click the Table tab to bring it to the front. In this tab, you record the

decision table logic as presented previously in Figure 3-1:

Dept Name Bill Custom er Order Total

IT >$1,000

HR >$500

Finance No

Finance Yes >$200

Legal Yes >$500Legal No >$200

IT No >$2,000

3. The decision table in this example has three inputs that are identified by

property rules: DepartmentName, BillCustomer, and OrderTotal. Each

column in the decision table (except the Return column) corresponds to a

property. Use these steps to complete the Table tab:

a. Click the column heading cell (the cell just below the Conditions column

title) to label the column in the matrix. A Property Chooser pop-up

window displays (Figure 3-18).


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Figure 3-18. Decision Table Rule – Decision Property Chooser

Note: The green triangle at the bottom right corner of the Property

input field is a SmartPrompt control. SmartPrompts appear on many

rule and data forms to provide a selection list available for fast entry.

To complete a field that contains this control, press your keyboard’s

Down Arrow key () to access the list. For the Property field here,

this SmartPrompt control displays a list of available property rules

that you can select.

b. With the cursor in the Property field, press the Down Arrow key () to

use the SmartPrompt control to access a list of the available properties.

Continue pressing the Down Arrow key to scroll down the list until you

see the DepartmentName property. When DepartmentName is

highlighted, press Enter to enter it into the field. (Figure 3-19). You can

also double-click the property name to enter it.


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Figure 3-19. Select a Property in the Decision Table Property Chooser

After you choose the DepartmentName property, the Label field displays

a default value.

c. Click Save to save the property to the decision table matrix.

4. The starting table contains a single input conditions column. You need to

add two columns; one for the BillCustomer property and one for the

OrderTotal property.

To add a column to the right of the starting column:

a. Click the cell under Department Name to select that column (Figure3-20).

Figure 3-20. Decision Table Rule – Adding a Column (before)


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b. Click the Insert Column After icon . A new column appears to the right

of the starting column. Do this again to add a second column (Figure

3-21).

Figure 3-21. Decision Table Rule – Adding a Column (after)

5. Add the BillCustomer and OrderTotal properties (Figure 3-22) to the

columns using the Property Chooser (Figure 3-19).

Figure 3-22. Decision Table Rule – Labeling a Column

6. Enter the first decision criteria as shown in Figure 3-1 to complete the first

row of your decision table, following these steps:

a. In the first cell under Department Name, click on the cell. The

SmartPrompt appears in the cell. Use the SmartPrompt (press the Down

Arrow key) to display the selection list and enter the name IT.

b. Under Bill Customer , leave the entry blank for this row.

c. Enter >1000 for the entry under Order Total. You can omit the dollar

sign, commas, and pennies in the amount.

d. In the Actions Return column, select True for the value (Figure 3-23).

There are only two allowed return actions, True and False, which are

defined by the results that you specified earlier on the Results tab.

Figure 3-23. Decision Table Rule – First Row Completed


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7. Enter additional rows by clicking the Insert Row After icon (Figure

3-24).

Figure 3-24. Decision Table Rule – Empty Rows Added

8. Using Figure 3-1 as your guide, complete the table so it looks like Figure

3-25. In the Bill Customer column, enter =False for No and =True for Yes.

In the otherwise (final) row, set the return action to False.

Figure 3-25. Decision Table Rule Completed

9. Click Save to save the updated decision table rule. An icon at the top of

the form indicates that the rule was saved, but with a warning.

10. Scroll down to read the warning message at the bottom of the rule form.

Click the Show Conflicts button to check this rule for logic consistency

(Figure 3-26). One logic error appears in the bottom row (indicated by a

warning icon ). The bottom row contains an unreachable condition. It has

a combination of input values that cannot be used. The top row is reached

first (IT and order total > 1000) and masks the bottom row (IT and order

total > 2000).


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Figure 3-26. Decision Table Rule – Logic Errors

11. To delete a row, click in any cell in the row to select the row, then select the

Delete Row icon . Click the Show Conflicts button again to confirm that

no logic errors remain. A message displays “The Decision Table is

consistent.”

12. Save the revised decision table and close the rule form by clicking the red

arrow in its tab ( ). You are returned to the Visio Flow Editor.

Editing the Flow

1. In Visio Flow Editor, in the Decision Properties panel, click the Appl y

button to apply the properties to the decision shape. Process Commander

automatically presents the True and False return values as connectors

from the decision shape (Figure 3-27).

Figure 3-27. Visio Updates

2. Now you will redirect the flow action (connector) from the Manager ApproveOrder assignment shape to the VPApproveOrder decision shape, following

the steps below:

a. Click the ManagerApprove connector that starts at the Manager Approve

Order assignment shape and ends at the UpdateStatus Completed utility

shape.


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b. Click the red square connected to the UpdateStatus Completed utility

shape, drag the arrow head of the connector to the top of the

VPApproveOrder decision shape, and connect the arrow head to the

point at the top of the decision shape (Figure 3-28). If the

ManagerApprove label does not appear, pull the decision shape down to

reveal it.

Figure 3-28. Visio Updates

This connection means that the business process requires a decision after a

purchase order request is approved by the manager.

3. Select and drag an assignment shape from the Shapes stencil and

drop it below the decision shape, so that purchase order requests can be

routed to the Vice President. Position the assignment shape below the

VPApproveOrder decision shape (Figure 3-29).

Figure 3-29. Assignment Shape


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4. With the assignment shape selected, complete the Assignment Properties

panel as shown in Figure 3-30. In the HarnessPurpose field, use the

SmartPrompt to select PerformManager. (A Process Commander harness

rule provides the basis of a form for work object processing.)

Figure 3-30. Assignment Properties

Note: The blue triangles that appear at the bottom right corners of the

fields are SmartPrompt controls. In the HarnessPurpose field, press the

Down Arrow key to access the appropriate list. The top items in the lists

are ones specific to the ESupply application.

5. In the StatusWork field, use the SmartPrompt to select Pending-Approval.

Enter text into the Name, Instructions, and ConfirmationNote fields.

Then click Appl y to apply these inputs to the assignment shape.

6. Add a router shape to the VPApproval assignment shape so that the

purchase order is routed to the user identified by the Operator ID

[email protected] (Figure 3-31):

a. Select and drag a router shape from the Shapes stencil onto the

flow diagram.



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b. Connect the router shape to the VPApproval assignment shape.

Figure 3-31. Router Shape

7. Select the router shape. In the Router Properties panel, in the Rule field,

use the SmartPrompt control to select ToVP (Figure 3-32) and then click

Appl y. (The system automatically sets the Name field to match the Rule

field.)

Figure 3-32. Router Properties

Note: The blue triangle at the bottom right corner of the Rule field inputbox is a SmartPrompt control. Press the Down Arrow key to access the

list. This SmartPrompt displays a list of router rule names from which you

can select.

8. The True and False connectors from the decision shape are currently

“dangling” or unattached to other shapes. Process Commander uses red

connectors to indicate that they are not attached to a shape. Follow the

steps below to attach the connectors.

a. Attach the True connector to the VPApproval assignment shape to send

the purchase order request to the Vice President for approval when the

decision table calculates a return value of True.

b. Attach the False connector to the UpdateStatus Completed utility shape

.


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When the decision table rule returns a value of False, the Vice President’s

approval is not required. The following events occur automatically:

– The request’s status is updated to “Resolved-Completed.”

– The purchase order request is resolved.

Figure 3-33 shows all the shapes connected correctly.

Figure 3-33. True / False Connector

9. Add connectors leading from the VPApproval assignment shape by

following these steps:

a. Click the connector shape in the Shapes stencil and drag it

anywhere on the flow diagram. (Typically, it is convenient to put the

connectors somewhere in the white space near where you plan to attach

them.)

b. Repeat to add a second connector (Figure 3-34).

Figure 3-34. Unattached Connectors

c. Attach the tail (top) ends to the bottom of the VPApproval assignment

shape.

d. Connect one connector head to the UpdateStatus Completed utility

shape.


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e. Connect the second connector head to the UpdateStatus Rejected utility

shape (Figure 3-35).

Figure 3-35. Connectors from VPApproval Assignment Shape

10. The newly added connectors are labeled [no data] because their

properties are not yet defined. Select the connector that ends on the

UpdateStatus Completed utility shape. In the Connector Properties panel,

define the connector properties for this connector.

a. In the Flow Action field, use the SmartPrompt to select

ManagerApprove (Figure 3-36).

Figure 3-36. Manager Approve Connector Properties

b. In the Likelihood field, enter 75. (Process Commander uses the

likelihood values to determine the order of actions in the action list in the

user interface.)

c. Click Appl y.

11. Complete the Connector Properties panel for the connector that leads to

the UpdateStatus Rejected utility shape.


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a. In the Flow Action field, use the SmartPrompt to see the list of available

choices. Double-click on More to expand the list (Figure 3-37).

Figure 3-37. SmartPrompt More Choice

b. Scroll down and select the Reject choice (Figure 3-38).

Figure 3-38. Reject Flow Action Choice

c. In the Likelihood field, enter 25 (Figure 3-39). (A likelihood is a valuebetween 1 and 100. It reflects an assumed or known probability of the

human actor taking that action.)


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Figure 3-39. Reject Connector Properties

d. Click Appl y.

12. Click anywhere in white space in the Visio work area. Confirm that none of

the connector arrows are red, including the small boxes at the arrow head

and arrow tail. Process Commander marks incomplete connectors in red

and “floating” connectors (those with both head and tail unconnected) in

gray. Drag the connector arrows to connect them to the shapes if

necessary. Your diagram should look like Figure 3-2.

13. Click to save your flow changes. If errors appear, fix the errors to

correct the diagram and then re-save it.

14. Exit the Flow Editor by clicking Return . The display returns to the flowrule form.

15. Test your process changes using the Run menu. Click the Run icon ( ) in

the Quick Launch bar and create a new purchase order request (Figure

3-40). You do not need to log out, but can act as the work user, manager,

and VP.

Figure 3-40. Run Menu from Quick Launch Bar

To complete the test, do the following:


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a. Create a new purchase order request, using data values similar to those

entered in the example in Chapter 2.

b. Enter line items and quantities that produce a total amount that meets

one of the criteria for requiring VP approval as shown in Figure 3-1. For

example, if the Department is IT, any order over $1000 requires the VP’sreview.

c. Confirm the purchase order request.

d. Click the link displayed at the bottom of the confirmation note that

indicates the purchase order is assigned to the manager (Figure 3-41).

Figure 3-41. Purchase Order Sent for Manager Approval

e. As manager, approve the request.

f. Verify that after the manager approves the purchase order request, therequest is routed to the Vice President for approval.

Of course, more complete testing of every condition in the decision table rule is

required in real-world development situations.

You may log off now or continue with the next chapter. To log off, click the

Logout link in the upper right area of the Designer Studio.


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Chapter 4:

Updating the User Interface

Currently, the Vice President sees the same user interface as the manager when

approving or rejecting a purchase order request. However, ECorp’s business

policy requires the VP to enter an approval code. The business policy also gives

the VP the option to enter a note about the approval.

In this chapter you will enhance the user interface to enable the VP to enter

these details.


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Build ing a New Flow Action rule

Recall from Chapter 2 that assignments are points in the process that are to be

handled by a person (to provide input or take other actions). Rules known as

flow actions determine which inputs are requested from the user in the work

object form’s Take Action area when the user is completing the assignment.

To provide the VP the opportunity to enter input during the VPApproval

assignment, a new flow action rule is needed to implement those details.

1. Log in as Designer with the password password , as in Chapter 3.

2. From the Application Explorer tree in the left panel, locate the Flow Action

rule type:

a. Click the + icon to expand the PurchaseOrder class.

b. Click the + icon to expand the User Interface category to see the Flow Action rule type.

3. Right-click on Flow Action and select New from the context menu (Figure

4-4).

Figure 4-1. Flow Action Context Menu

The New Rule Instance window opens (Figure 4-2). Specify the following:

a. Keep the Appl ies To value as it is.

b. For the Action Name, enter VPApprove.

c. For the RuleSet, select ESupply.d. For the Version, select 01-01-03.



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Figure 4-2. New Flow Action Rule Instance

4. Click the Create button to create the new VPApprove flow action and

display the rule form in the Designer Studio. Click Save to save the

VPApprove flow action rule to the system (Figure 4-3).

Figure 4-3. VPApprove Flow Action Rule Form

At this point the new VPApprove flow action rule displays no user interface

items for the VP to enter information. Section rules are used to implement

these user interface features for a flow action.

Build ing a Section rule

1. From the Application Explorer tree in the left panel, locate the Section rule

type:

a. Click the + icon to expand the PurchaseOrder class.

b. Click the + icon to expand the User Interface category to see the

Section rule type.


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2. Right-click on Section and select New from the context menu (Figure 4-4).

Figure 4-4. Section Context Menu

The New Rule Instance window opens (Figure 4-5). Specify the following:

a. Keep the Appl ies To value as it is.

b. For the Purpose, enter VPApproval.

c. For the RuleSet, select ESupply.

d. For the Version, select 01-01-03.

Figure 4-5. New Section Rule Instance


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3. Click the Create button to create the new VPApproval section and display

the rule form in the Designer Studio (Figure 4-6). An initial layout appears

on the Layout tab. Click Save to save the VPApproval section rule to

the system.

Figure 4-6. VPApproval Section Rule Form

The first update is to add a field where the VP is required to enter an approval

code.

4. Click the first empty cell in the first Label column and click the magnifying

glass icon ( ) that appears. In the Cell Properties panel that opens, enter

the text Approv al Code in the Value field as shown in Figure 4-7. On the

General tab, select the Required box. This selection will display a required

icon ( ) next to the label in the user interface. Click OK to save these

choices to the section layout.

Figure 4-7. Adding the Approval Code Label on the VPApproval Section


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5. Click the Basic control group ( ) to open the Basic panel. Select the

Input Box item and drag it to the Field column cell next to the Appr ov al

Code on the top row as shown in Figure 4-8.

Figure 4-8. Add the Input Box Field

6. Click the magnifying glass icon ( ) next to the Input Box cell. This opens

a Cell Properties panel (Figure 4-9).

Figure 4-9. Input Box Field Cell Properties Panel

In the Cell Properties panel, specify the following items:

a. In the Property field, enter .ApprovalCode (using the exact case and

being sure to include a leading period).


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b. Click the Open icon ( ) next to the Property field. This opens a

Properties New Rule Instance dialog (Figure 4-10).

Figure 4-10. New Property Rule Instance

c. Make sure that ESupply is selected in the RuleSet field and that 01-01-

03 is selected in the Version field. Click the Quick Create button to

create the new property rule.

d. Return to the Cell Properties panel, select the General tab, and click the

Required box. This ensures that a value is entered in the work form

before it is submitted. Otherwise, an error message appears and reminds

the user to enter a value. Click OK.

7. In the Layout tab of the Section rule form, click the cell on the second row

of the Label column (under the Approv al Code label). Open the Cell

Properties Panel (by clicking ) and enter Note in the Value field. Click

OK.


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8. From the Basic panel, drag a Text Area item to the cell in the second row

Field column to the right of the Note label, as shown in Figure 4-11.

Figure 4-11. Add the Text Area Field

9. Open the Cell Properties panel for the newly added text area.

In the Cell Properties panel, specify the following items:

a. In the Property field, use the SmartPrompt (by pressing the Down Arrow

key) to display a list of available properties (Figure 4-12). Select

ApprovalCode from the list, to set it as the value for the Property field,

and click Appl y.

Figure 4-12. Property List from SmartPrompt


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b. In the Display As field, use the SmartPrompt to select

TextAreaWithExpand (Figure 4-13).

Figure 4-13. TextAreaWithExpand Format Option

c. Click OK to save the selections for the text area and close the Cell

Properties panel.

10. Close the Basics panel by clicking the X in its upper right corner, and click

Save ( ) to save your changes to the Section rule form.

11. Click the VPApproval tab’s close button ( ) to close the VPApproval

section’s rule form.

Adding a Section rule to a Flow Act ion

Now that the section is created, add it to the VPApprove flow action so that the

approval code and note user interface elements are displayed in the Take Action

area when the VP completes the assignment.


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1. Return to the VPApprove flow action rule form by clicking on its tab in the

Designer Studio (Figure 4-14).

Figure 4-14. VPApprove Flow Action Rule Form

2. In the Application Explorer, expand the Section rule type to locate the

newly created VPApproval section. Select the blue dot ( ) to the left of the

VPApproval section in the Application Explorer and drag it into theVPApprove rule form to where is displayed (Figure

4-15). (Each blue dot identifies a single rule.)

Figure 4-15. Drag VPApproval Section into VPApprove Flow Action

The VPApprove flow action rule form displays a section reference that

references the VPApproval section and its user interface elements (Figure

4-16).

Figure 4-16. VPApprove Flow Action with Section Reference to VPApproval


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3. Save the VPApprove flow action by clicking .

4. Click Preview ( ) to see the runtime presentation of the new flow action

rule, at the bottom of the window (Figure 4-17).

Figure 4-17. User Interface Preview of Flow Action

5. Click the X button at the top right of the Preview area to close it.

6. Click the VPApprove tab’s close button ( ) to close the VPApprove flow

action’s rule form.


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Editing the Flow

At this point, the new flow action VPApprove is complete, but not referenced by

any shape in the flow rule. In this section you will use the Flow Editor again to

update the PurchaseOrder flow, so that the new VPApprove flow action runs

when the VP approves a purchase order request.

1. Open the PurchaseOrder flow using the Application Explorer.

2. Click the Flow Editor toolbar button . Replace the ManagerApprove flow

action (a connector) that starts at the VPApproval Assignment shape with

the new VPApprove flow action, following these steps:

a. Select the ManagerApprove connector that starts from the VPApproval

Assignment shape (Figure 4-18).

Figure 4-18. ManagerApprove Connector Selected

b. In the Connector Properties panel, for the Flow Action field, use the

SmartPrompt to replace ManagerApprov e with VPApprove.

Figure 4-19. Connector Properties for VPApprove


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c. Click the Apply button in the Connector Properties panel. The connector

in the flow is now labeled VPApprove (Figure 4-20).

Figure 4-20. VPApprove Connector from VPApproval Assignment

d. Click Save ( ) to save your changes.

e. Click Return to close the Flow Editor and return to the

PurchaseOrder rule form.

3. Test the revised process to verify that the VP is now required to enter an

Approval Code and an optional note when approving a purchase order

request.

To complete the test, do the following steps:

a. Click the Run icon ( ) in the Quick Launch bar and select Run Process

> Purchase Order .

b. Create a purchase order request that requires VP approval. The

requirements are stated in the decision rule table you created in Figure

3-25. For example, enter HR as the Department Name and select one

laptop, which requires VP approval because it is over $500.

c. As manager, approve the request.

d. Click the VP Approval Required link. The VP sees the Take Action box

shown in Figure 4-21.

Figure 4-21. Take Action for VP


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When the VP clicks the VPApprove button, the approval screen appears.

The VP is now required to enter an approval code and may also enter an

optional note (Figure 4-22).

Figure 4-22. Approval Code

Click the Expand button ( ) to enter a note. Enter the information and click

Submit to finish the process.


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Adding a Data Field

When approving purchase order requests, the Vice President would like to add a

payment date. To support this requirement, add a Payment Date field to the Vice

President Approval form.

1. Log in as Designer with the password password .

2. In the Application Explorer, the section that you created earlier

(VPApproval) appears as part of the User Interface category. Click the

VPApproval section link to open the rule (Figure 4-23 and Figure 4-24).

Figure 4-23. VPApproval Section

Figure 4-24. VPApproval Section – Current Form

3. Select the Approval Code cell and then click the Insert Row After button

to insert a new row below the Approval Code row (Figure 4-25).

Figure 4-25. Section – Insert Row After Button


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4. A property rule named PaymentDate already exists. Add this property to

the new row following these steps:

a. In the Application Explorer, click the + icon to expand the PurchaseOrder

class.

b. Click the + icon to expand the Data Model category to see theProperty rule type.

c. Click the + icon to expand the Property rule type (Figure 4-26). Each blue

dot ( ) identifies a simple property rule, one that holds only a single

value such as a date or amount. Other icons in this tree, such as ,

identify aggregate properties, which are similar to arrays and structures.

d. Select the blue dot to the left of the PaymentDate link. (Do not click the

PaymentDate link.)

Figure 4-26. Payment Date – Using an Existing Property

e. Hold the mouse button down, and drag the property onto the VPApproval

section rule form (Figure 4-27). Drop the property into the Field cell

(second column) of the new row.

Figure 4-27. Payment Date Label and Entry Field

The cell now contains the .PaymentDate property. This property holds a date

and time. Process Commander supports a wide variety of input and output

formats for dates and times.


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5. In the Label column, open the Cell Properties panel for the PaymentDate

label cell (click on ). In the Value field, insert a space so that the label is

two words (Payment Date) as shown in Figure 4-28. Click OK to save the

change to the form.

Figure 4-28. Label for Payment Date Property

6. Click the cell in the Field column next to the Payment Date label, and open

the Cell Properties panel by clicking on .

7. Click the icon next to the Display As field (Figure 4-29). The Param

Window opens (Figure 4-30).

Figure 4-29. Display As Selection


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Figure 4-30. Param Window for Display As

8. Complete the fields in the Param window following these steps:

a. Select DateTime for the Format field. (SmartPrompt is available.)

b. Click the Params button and in the Parameters section, select display

parameters for the DateTime format (Figure 4-31):

• Set the Display Mode field to Popup window.

• Select the Calendar Icon check box. This selection provides a

calendar control icon in the work object form that the users can

click to select a date.

• Select the Al low Text Field En try check box. This selection

provides a text field in the work object form in which users can

type to enter a date.


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Figure 4-31. Param Window for DateTime Property Display Settings

9. Click OK in the Param window to save the display format selections to the

Cell Properties panel. The Param window closes.

10. In the Cell Properties panel, click OK .

11. Click the Save toolbar button to save the updated VPApproval section

rule form.

12. Click the Preview toolbar button to view the effect of your changes in

the bottom half of the portal (Figure 4-32).


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Figure 4-32. Preview of Changes

13. Test the changes, following these steps:

a. Click the Run icon ( ) in the Quick Launch bar and select Run Process

> Purchase Order .

b. Choose order quantities that will require Vice President approval.

c. Enter shipping details and complete the manager approval step.

d. As Vice President, confirm that the payment date is requested (the

Payment Date field is displayed).

e. Click the calendar icon to enter a date and time.


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Inspecting Declarative Rules

This application calculates several properties with declarative rules, which are

rules that define calculations among property values. For example, each

LineItemTotal is the value of the item’s Price multiplied by Quantity.

To see the list of declarative rules, go to the Application Explorer, select the

ECorp-FW-ESupply-Work class, expand the Decision category, and then expand

the Declare Expressions category as shown in Figure 4-33.

Figure 4-33. Declare Expressions in Application Explorer

To open a rule from the Application Explorer, click on the rule name. Figure 4-34

and Figure 4-35 show the .OrderTotal and LineItemTotal.Order() rule forms

respectively. The dashed lines in the figures enclose the property values for each

rule.

Figure 4-34. Declarative Expression for .OrderTotal


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Figure 4-35. Declarative Expression for .LineItemTotal

Like formulas in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, properties controlled by

declarative rules are computed automatically whenever a value changes that

affects the computation. For example, the target property LineItemTotal is

computed whenever the Price or Quantity changes. Similarly, you don’t need to

create an explicit program to recalculate the OrderTotal after you input a quantity.

Using the Declarative Rules Inspector

You can use the Declarative Rules Inspector to see which properties in the work

object form are dependent upon these rules, and to graphically illustrate those

dependencies.

1. To enable the Declarative Rules Inspector, click the Run icon ( ) in the

Quick Launch bar and select Rules Inspector > Declarative Rules (Figure

4-36).

Figure 4-36. Declarative Rules Inspector

2. Create a new purchase order request by selecting > Run Process >

Purchase Order . On the work object form, a “D” link appears next to eachproperty that is calculated by a declarative rule.


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For example, assume that you select the Laptop item and enter two for the

quantity. Notice that a D appears next to the LineItemTotal property (Figure

4-37). Click the “D” link to inspect how that property value is calculated.

Figure 4-37. Reviewing Declarative Rules

After clicking the “D”, the Dependency Network Viewer opens and shows the

Dependency Network for the LineItemTotal property (Figure 4-38).

Figure 4-38. Dependency Network Viewer

The symbols shown are described below:

■ A function symbol ( ) references a declarative rule.

■ The arrows show how computations depend on each other – where results

from one computation feed into inputs of a later computation.

Process Commander supports complex declarative rules and lets you test and

debug declarative computations interactively.

To disable the Declarative Rules Inspector feature, click > Rules Inspector >

Declarative Rules.


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Chapter 5:

Reviewing Your Application

By following Chapters 3 and 4 in this tutorial, you used rule forms and the flow

editor to refine the ESupply application. Process Commander uses sophisticated

industry-standard technologies to implement your changes without requiring you

to directly specify coding-level details. You do not need advanced IT skills to

produce applications that are functional, easy to use, and visually appealing.

Developing Applications by Changing RulesYou created a few new rules in the ESupply RuleSet that include the following:

■ A decision table rule VPApproveOrder that controls which purchase order

requests are routed to the VP for review

■ A property rule Approval Code that holds an input value entered by the Vice

President

■ A flow action VPApprove that prompts the VP with two new fields after the

VP approves a purchase order request

■ A section VPApproval that provides the user interface for the VPApprove flowaction

These new rules supplement the original set of rules in the ESupply RuleSet,

which defined the application before you changed it. As you will see in Chapter 6,

Documenting Your Application, and from the application document in Appendix

A, the ESupply RuleSet contains about 125 rules.


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The Application Explorer provides designers and developers with quick access to

rules in the ESupply RuleSet. These rules, in turn, build on hundreds of built-in,

out-of-the-box standard rules that are present in every Process Commander

system and which form the foundation building blocks of applications.


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Technology Under the Covers

If you are familiar with the technologies mentioned below, you can appreciate the

power and breadth of Process Commander as a development environment.

■ A property rule (for example the ApprovalCode property) corresponds to a

scalar variable.

■ Flow action rules are converted to HyperText Markup Language (HTML).

■ The Visio representation of a business process is converted internally to an

XML (eXtended Markup Language) document that later becomes a Java

class.

■ Rules and other data are stored in a relational database supported by any of

several popular database products from Oracle, Microsoft, or IBM.

■ Computations such as declarative rules and decision table rules aretransformed into efficient Java programs.

The architecture and design of Process Commander provides these benefits:

■ Inheritance and polymorphism enable you to build applications by overriding

or extending existing rules. For example, the flow rule that you saved into the

higher RuleSet Version overrides (supersedes) the initial flow rule that came

with the ESupply application.

■ Through hardware clustering, one Process Commander system can support

thousands of users in multiple locations who enter, work on, and resolve

millions of work objects.

■ Applications can be developed iteratively with incremental enhancements.

■ Developers can quickly switch from a development task to a testing task and

back as you did by using the Run menu from the Quick Launch bar.

■ Process Commander applications can interface with other systems using a

wide variety of industry-standard technologies (such as SOAP / Web

services, e-mail, relational databases, J2EE facilities including Enterprise

JavaBeans, and JavaServer Pages).


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Chapter 6:

Documenting Your Application

Process Commander includes tools that enable you to easily document what you

have built. This chapter describes how to use those tools.


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Documenting the ESupply Application

1. In the Designer Studio, select the Pega logo button ( ) and then click

Appl ic ation > Tools > Document (Figure 6-1).

Figure 6-1. Document Menu Item


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The Application Document wizard opens. On the first screen, select the

ESupply application and the ApplicationDocument template (Figure 6-2) and

click Next >>. On each subsequent screen of the wizard, select the items

you would like to include in the document and click Next >> to proceed

through the wizard until you reach the Create Document screen.

Figure 6-2. Application Documentation Wizard

2. On the Create Document screen of the wizard, click the Create Document

button. Process Commander generates a Word document that lists all of

the rules in the application. The generation process might take a minute or

two (Figure 6-3).

Figure 6-3. Create Document

Appendix A contains the document created by Process Commander for the

ESupply application.


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When your work with Process Commander is complete, click the Logout link at

the upper right corner of the Designer Studio to end the client session.

This is the conclusion of the Developer Fast Start guide. More information on the

ESupply application and appendices describing the Designer Studio toolbar and

tab bar and the typical workstation setup can be found in the following pages.


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Appendix A:

Application Document for ESupply

The following pages show the document created by Process Commander for the

ESupply application.

Note: Page breaks and fonts in the generated ESupply document have been

modified for inclusion in this book.


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A-2 Developer Fast Start

Application Document for ESupply

01.01.01

ESupply

Created by: DesignerOn July 20, 2010


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Developer Fast Start A-3

Copyright 2010

Pegasystems Inc., Cambridge, MA

All rights reserved.

This document describes products and services of Pegasystems Inc. It may contain trade secretsand proprietary information. The document and product are protected by copyright and distributed

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This document may include references to Pegasystems product features that have not been

licensed by your company. If you have questions about whether a particular capability is includedin your installation, please consult your Pegasystems service consultant.

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inaccuracies or typographical errors. This document or Help System could contain technical

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This document is the property of:Pegasystems Inc.101 Main StreetCambridge, MA 02142-1590

Phone: (617) 374-9600Fax: (617) 374-9620www.pega.com

Document Name: Application Document

Updated: July 20, 2010


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Contents

Overview of ESupply 01.01.01 .................................................................................................... A-6

Descr ip tion ............................................................................................................................ A-6

Business Object ives ............................................................................................................ A-6

Actors .................................................................................................................................... A-6

Work Types ........................................................................................................................... A -6

RuleSets ................................................................................................................................ A-6

PurchaseOrder ............................................................................................................................. A-7

PurchaseOrder - Flow .......................................................................................................... A-7

Other Use Cases (Not Referenced in the Application) .................................................... A-14

Properties Referenced ....................................................................................................... A-15

Other Classes ............................................................................................................................ A-17

Data-Party ........................................................................................................................... A-17

Data-Por tal .......................................................................................................................... A-17

ECorp -Data-LineItemDetail s .............................................................................................. A-17

ECorp -Data-Order ............................................................................................................... A-17

Reports ....................................................................................................................................... A-19

List Views ............................................................................................................................ A-19

Summary Views .................................................................................................................. A-19

Correspondence ........................................................................................................................ A-20

Acknowledgement Email ................................................................................................... A-20

Integration .................................................................................................................................. A-21

Services ............................................................................................................................... A-21

Connectors ......................................................................................................................... A-21

Decis ions .................................................................................................................................... A-22

Tables .................................................................................................................................. A-22

Trees .................................................................................................................................... A-22

Map Values .......................................................................................................................... A-22

Whens .................................................................................................................................. A-23

Securi ty ...................................................................................................................................... A-24

SLAs ........................................................................................................................................... A-25


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Developer Fast Start A-5

Activi ties ..................................................................................................................................... A-26

Properties ................................................................................................................................... A-27

Declarat ives ............................................................................................................................... A-28

Expressions ........................................................................................................................ A-28

Triggers ............................................................................................................................... A-28

OnChange ........................................................................................................................... A-28

Requirements Matr ix ................................................................................................................. A-29

Use Case Matr ix ......................................................................................................................... A-30


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Overview of ESupply 01.01.01

DescriptionInitial implementation of a system that will centralize

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