SIEMENS

Teamcenter 11.2

Getting Started with

Workflow
PLM00194 • 11.2
Contents

What is a workflow? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Using Workflow in Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Related topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

My Worklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Managing your worklist in My Teamcenter and the thin client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Tasks to Perform folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Tasks to Track folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Understanding the task display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Configuring the worklist using .properties files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

What is Workflow Viewer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Related topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

What is Workflow Designer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Workflow elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Workflow participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Workflow process template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Workflow task template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

What are workflow handlers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Explicit and assumed links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Configuring and customizing Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Tips for using the Workflow Designer user interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Refreshing Workflow Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Delete key removes workflow objects and backspace key removes text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Save time when creating multiple tasks of the same type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Move and resize the Handler dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Creating workflow templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

Create workflow process templates in Workflow Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Insert a task into a template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Configuring tasks, attributes, and handlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Attributes and handlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 3

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Contents

Edit task attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6

What are task handlers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
View task handlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Create task handlers based on existing handlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Create new task handlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
Edit task handlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Delete task handlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12
Link tasks manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12
Related topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12
Designing subprocesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
What are workflow subprocesses? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Creating subprocesses from a workflow template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Creating subprocesses for multiple targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-14
Creating subprocesses for assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
Creating subprocesses for related objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-21
Creating ad hoc subprocesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
Workflow examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
Change Manager workflow example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
Validate task examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-31
Add Status task example: Replace status of target objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-40
Determining when and where templates run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
Using workflow templates at multiple sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
Processing templates and tasks in the background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-48
Editing templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-49
Determining which editing options to use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-49
Editing offline versus online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-51
Edit workflow templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-51
Configure ability to apply template edits to active processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-52
Applying template edits to active workflow processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-53
Apply template edits to all active workflow processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-54

Managing signoff behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Signoff profile creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Quorum and required signoff behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Workflow task assignment options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Create a signoff profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Define a surrogate for another user (requires administrative privileges) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Assigning tasks using process assignment lists in My Teamcenter or thin client . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Managing process assignment lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Create process assignment lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Modify task assignments in your process assignment lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Replacing users in process assignment lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Replace a user in one or more process assignment lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Importing and exporting process assignment lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Assigning all tasks in a process using process assignment lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Assign tasks to an in-progress process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Managing work contexts in My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
What are work contexts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Create a work context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12

4 Getting Started with Workflow PLM00194 11.2

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Assign a work context to a workflow task, item, or item revision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12

Remove work contexts from an object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Assigning tasks using resource pools in My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Balance workflow task assignments with resource pools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Assigning tasks to a resource pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Subscribe or unsubscribe a resource pool of a group, role, or role in a group . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Setting due dates and durations for tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Set a due date for a task using My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Set task duration and assign overdue notice recipients using My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Set due date in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Set duration in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Set recipients list in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Create an ACL and recipients for a task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Requiring a PKI digital signature during a workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Requiring PKI authentication to perform a workflow task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21

Assigning signoffs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

Select a signoff team in My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Completing select-signoff-team tasks using My Teamcenter or thin client . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Select a signoff team from predefined profiles in My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Select a signoff team based on an ad hoc selection process (My Teamcenter or Workflow
Viewer) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Complete signoff team selection for an entire workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Selecting members of the signoff team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Selecting a signoff team in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Selecting a signoff team in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Select a signoff team from profiles in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Select a signoff team ad hoc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Select a signoff team from address lists in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
View signoff team profiles in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Letting others perform your tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Forward your tasks with the Out of Office Assistant in My Teamcenter or thin client . . . . . . . 3-9
Set your out of office status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Who are surrogate users? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Define a surrogate for your workflow tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Remove a surrogate user . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
Act as a surrogate for a task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Use Surrogate Actions options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Assign one or more tasks to other users in My Teamcenter or thin client . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
Claim a task in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
Reassign a task in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
View signoff team profiles in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17

Using workflow processes to accomplish tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

What are workflow processes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Initiate a workflow process using My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Use Advanced Paste to generate a list of objects as target or reference attachments . . . . . . . . 4-4
View and assign participants for a single item revision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
Viewing a workflow process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6

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Sign off on tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6

Signing off tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Sign off a task in My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7
Signing off an Acknowledge or Review task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9
Perform a signoff of an Acknowledge task in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9
Sign off a Review task in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12
Waiting for undecided reviewers in a Review or Route task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14
Performing tasks assigned to you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15
Determining task status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15
Performing interactive tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16
Performing tasks in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20
Altering started workflow processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-25
Overriding task actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-25
Perform action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-26
Altering started workflow processes using My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-28
Altering started workflow processes using Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-32
Working with remote tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-35
Sending schedule tasks through workflows at remote sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-35
Enabling remote inboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-36
Working with task data in remote inboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-37
Subscribe to a remote inbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-38
Check out data to your local site from a remote site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-38
Export data to your local site from a remote site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-39
Stopping a workflow process in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-39
Delete a workflow process in My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-40
Viewing workflow and schedule progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-40
Reviewing workflow and schedule progress by viewing the process history . . . . . . . . . . . 4-40
Customize the process history display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-41
Process reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-42
Print the process history report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-43
Export audit logs or process history to Microsoft Excel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-43

View audit information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1

Accessing audit information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
View audit logs in the Summary view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Process reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Creating and running audit queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Export audit logs to Microsoft Excel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
View legacy audit log information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Related topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

Figures

Task actions and states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-27

6 Getting Started with Workflow PLM00194 11.2

What is a workflow?

A workflow is the automation of business procedures in which documents, information, or tasks are
passed from one participant to another in a way that is governed by rules or procedures. Teamcenter
workflows allow you to manage your product data processes. You can create any type of workflow to
accommodate your business procedures.
Example

A pharmaceutical company decides to implement workflows to shorten drug development time,

speeding medicines to people in need and strengthening business performance.
After researching workflow solutions and investigating their own company processes, the
company determines the need for imaging software to manage the drug test case report forms,
data query software to reduce correction time when errors were found in clinical data, and data
management software to enforce data integrity. Life cycle data management software such as
Teamcenter provides all these solutions in a single product.
A production workflow is created and run in Teamcenter. The workflow is initiated against each
product revision (each version of each drug testing). The workflow sends the required forms
to the appropriate users, verifies product requirements, routes approvals and notifications to
stakeholders, sends cost spreadsheets to the financial department at specific intervals, and
rigorously manages the company’s change management processes.

The benefits of automating your business processes include:

• Improved efficiency. The automation of your business processes can result in the elimination of
unnecessary steps.

• Better process control. Company business processes are more easily managed with
standardized work methods and the availability of audit trails.

• Improved customer service. Consistent business processes increases predictability in levels

of response to customers.

• Flexibility. Computer-modeled processes can be quickly and easily redesigned to meet changing
business needs.

• Continual process improvement. The resulting focus on business processes leads to their
streamlining and simplification.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 7

Using Workflow in Teamcenter

You can use workflows in Teamcenter to manage your processes and changes in many applications.

• Change Manager

Workflows are ideal for managing your change process as problem reports lead to change
requests which lead to change notices. With a well-designed change process and matching
workflow process template, you can ensure that the right people perform the correct tasks
in the proper order.

• Systems Engineering

A typical Systems Engineering workflow is the requirements, functional, logical, and physical
design (RFLP) process. The process is iterative and may be repeated during the design or
development of a product.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 9

 Using
Using Workflow
Workflow in Teamcenter
in Teamcenter

You can construct a workflow process template that matches your organization’s version of the
RFLP process.

These are only a couple of examples where workflows are used. You can apply workflows throughout
Teamcenter.

Related topics
• About managing the change process through a workflow

• Overall Systems Engineering workflow

10 Getting Started with Workflow PLM00194 11.2

My Worklist

Managing your worklist in My Teamcenter and the thin client

Your My Worklist tree includes your own user inbox and any remote inboxes and resource pool
inboxes to which you are subscribed. My Worklist is the primary location in Teamcenter to access
work assigned to you.
• Use your inbox to perform workflow jobs and view task information.

• If your inbox contains unviewed tasks, the inbox name is highlighted and the number of unviewed
tasks is displayed.

• Each inbox contains two folders, Tasks to Perform and Tasks to Track.
Note

The Tasks to Perform and Tasks to Track folders associated with remote inboxes cannot be
expanded in the tree. To access these folders, click the link corresponding to the Inbox.

My Worklist
Gordon, Jack (jgordon) Inbox
Tasks to Perform
000002/A;1–Item2 (perform-signoffs)
000004/A;1–Item4 (Author Technical Recommendation)
Tasks to Track

Note

If the TC_Use_ActiveWorkspace_Inbox preference is configured, you can display the Active

Workspace inbox in the rich client, instead of the standard inbox.
• In the navigation pane, click My Worklist.
The Active Workspace inbox is displayed.

Tasks to Perform folder

Any tasks you are assigned appear in the Tasks to Perform folder. Once the completion criteria of
a task are met (for example, the required quorum of approvals for a perform-signoffs task have
been granted), the task is complete and is removed from the folder.
Tasks to Perform entries are color-coded to help you prioritize work based on duration:
• Black
The task has no duration.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 11

MyMy Worklist
Worklist

• Green
The task has a duration that has not yet been exceeded.

• Red
The task has a duration that has been exceeded.

When a user completes his share of the task, it moves from the Tasks to Perform list to the Tasks to
Track list.
Note

• Duration is based on the start date plus time. The duration includes weekends and
holidays and is based on a 7-day week.

• The Task Manager daemon must be installed to see color-coding.

Tasks to Track folder

If you initiate a process, but are not responsible for the currently active task, Teamcenter places
the task in the Tasks to Track folder.
When the completion criteria of the task are met, the task is complete and is removed from the folder.

Understanding the task display

The following task display conventions make it easy to understand the contents of your inbox at
a glance:
• Tasks are displayed in reverse-chronological order with the newest tasks at the top of the tree.

• Task names are displayed with the process name first, followed by the task name in parentheses.
In addition, the corresponding tree-node symbol identifies the task type.

• The names of tasks that have not been viewed are displayed in bold text. This applies only to
tasks that are started or suspended.

• Viewed status is specific to individual users. Therefore, if a task is assigned to a resource pool,
the viewed status of the task does not change for a user unless he or she has viewed the task.
Viewing by one user does not change the viewed status of the task for the entire resource pool.

• Tasks are not considered to have been viewed by users when they reassign the task.

• Signoff tasks are not considered to have been viewed by users when they delegate signoff to
another user unless the user is the responsible party, in which case the task is considered viewed.

12 Getting Started with Workflow PLM00194 11.2

 My Worklist

Note

Teamcenter lets administrators modify active workflow processes.

• If such changes delete an active task currently in your worklist, the task is removed.

• If such changes modify an active task currently in your worklist, the changes do not take
effect.

• If a workflow process later returns to a modified task, as can happen with backward
branching, demoted tasks, and so on, the changes take effect in the subsequent iteration.

Configuring the worklist using .properties files

You can modify properties files related to your worklist.
Worklist process and interface features that can be configured include the following:
• Application labels

• Task state labels

• System messages

• Buttons

Typically, the administrator checks first in the workflow common_user.properties file for the
appropriate property.
• If the desired property is listed in the common_user.properties file, it is common to all workflow
applications, and you can implement your change across all workflow applications simultaneously.

• If the desired property is not found in the common_user.properties file, it may be listed in the
inbox_user.properties file. Changes made to the properties in this file are unique to the inbox.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 13

What is Workflow Viewer?

Workflow Viewer is an application that provides more functionality than is available in My Teamcenter
for workflows. In Workflow Viewer, you can:
• View any initiated workflow process, whether it is currently in process or has already completed.

• Edit an active workflow process, if you have write permissions.

You can view workflow processes from your worklist by selecting a task and selecting Process View
in the Viewer view. However, this method limits you to viewing only those workflow processes that
contain tasks assigned to you at the time the task remains in your worklist.
However, Workflow Viewer allows you to view the progress of a workflow process, even if you are
not a participating member of that particular workflow process. If you have read privileges for the
workflow process data, you can view any workflow process in the database, whether it is currently in
process or has already achieved its final status.
Note

My Worklist in My Teamcenter is designed to provide a more streamlined process for

progressing through workflow processes to which you are associated. The worklist lists only
those tasks that you can perform or that you are assigned to track.

Example

The following workflow process shows that the Change Admin I task is complete, that the
Author Technical Recommendation task has started, and that the remaining tasks are
pending. You can tell by the name of the Check Change Type task (a Condition task) that the
workflow branches to either an author or CRB business decision, depending on what type of
change object is the target of the workflow.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 15

 What
What is is Workflow
Workflow Viewer?
Viewer?

Related topics
• Managing your worklist in My Teamcenter and the thin client

16 Getting Started with Workflow PLM00194 11.2

What is Workflow Designer?

Workflow stems from the concept that all work goes through one or more workflow processes to
accomplish an objective. Workflow is the automation of these business processes. Using workflow,
documents, information, and tasks are passed between participants during the completion of a
particular workflow process.
As a system administrator, use Workflow Designer to design workflow process templates that
incorporate your company's business practices and procedures into workflow process templates. End
users use the templates to initiate workflow processes in My Teamcenter and Workflow Viewer.
To design and maintain workflow processes in Workflow Designer, you can perform the following
actions:
• Create templates.

• View templates.

• Add tasks to templates.

• Link tasks.

• Modify task behavior.

• Import and export workflow templates.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 17

Workflow elements

Workflows pass documents, information, and tasks between participants during the completion of a
particular process. A workflow process can be large and complicated or simple and straightforward.
Note

Certain privileged users can perform administrative actions in a process, such as removing a
user who is no longer with the company. A privileged user may be the responsible party, the
process owner, or a member of a system administration group. You may be a privileged user
in certain processes but only be able to perform standard user actions in other processes.

Workflow element Description

Workflow template Blueprints of workflow processes. Your administrator creates process
templates. A specific process is defined by placing tasks in the template
in the required order of performance. Additional requirements, such as
quorums and duration times, may also be included in the template.
For more information about creating and managing templates, see the
Workflow Designer.
Container tasks Tasks that contain other include tasks:
• Review
Contains select-signoff-team and perform-signoffs tasks. The
Decision options are Approve, Reject, and No Decision.

• Acknowledge
Contains select-signoff-team and perform-signoffs tasks. The
Decision options are Acknowledged and Not Acknowledged.

• Route
Contains Review, Acknowledge and Notify tasks.
Interactive tasks Tasks that require user interaction display in the affected user’s
worklists. Different types of tasks have different interactive
requirements. Typical tasks include:
• select-signoff-team
The assigned user is required to select a signoff team to sign off
the target object of the task.

• perform-signoffs
Assigned users are required to review and sign off the target object
of the task.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 19

 Workflow
Workflow elements
elements

Workflow element Description

• Do
The assigned user is required to review and perform the task
instructions, then mark the task complete.

• Notify
The assigned user is required to reply.
Process tasks Tasks that perform noninteractive functions, such as branching the
workflow, specifying query criteria, and error handling. When you
view a workflow using the Process View, these tasks are displayed.
These tasks require no user interaction, so they do not appear in user
worklists.
Parent processes Workflow processes can contain child workflow processes. In
these situations, the initial workflow process is the parent workflow
process, and it contains a subprocess. Parent workflow processes
are dependent upon subprocesses; they cannot complete until the
subprocess completes.
Workflow handlers Small ITK programs used to extend and customize workflow tasks.
Action handlers perform actions, such as attaching objects, sending
email, or determining whether a rule has been satisfied.
Task attributes Attributes that further configure task behavior. You can set security
attributes, customize task symbols, and define condition results.
Quorum requirements Values that specify the number of approvals required before
perform-signoffs tasks can complete and workflows can proceed.

20 Getting Started with Workflow PLM00194 11.2

Workflow participants

A process initiator is a user who initiates a workflow process. A responsible party is a user with a
workflow task in an inbox.
• When you initiate a workflow process, you are the process owner. The root task of the process is
placed in your inbox, and you become the responsible party.

• Workflow assignment activities use selection functionality from the Teamcenter Organization
application. You can search by user, group, and role in the Assign Participants, Assign
Responsible Party, Delegate Signoff, and Select Signoff Team dialog boxes.

• When a task assigned to a user arrives in the user's inbox, that user becomes the responsible
party.
Whenever any task in the process is not explicitly assigned to another user, person, or resource
pool, Teamcenter defaults responsibility for the task to the process owner.

Note

You can:
• Reassign a task.
Reassigning a task transfers ownership of the parent task to the selected user and makes
that user the responsible party for the task.
Reassigning a task does not transfer your signoff responsibility.

• Delegate your signoff responsibility for a perform-signoffs subtask to another user.

If you are selected to a signoff team based on your inclusion under a signoff profile, you
can only delegate the perform-signoffs subtask to another user who can match your
signoff profile group and role. Otherwise, you can delegate the perform-signoffs subtask
to any other user.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 21

Workflow process template

A workflow process describes the individual tasks and the task sequence required to model the
workflow process. Workflow process templates define a blueprint of a workflow process or task to
be performed at your site.
Browse mode is the default mode when you first access the Workflow Designer. Click Browse
to view workflow process data and the details of the workflow process. You cannot make any
modifications in this mode.
The graphic-oriented Workflow Designer display allows you to easily browse through the workflow
process templates.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 23

Workflow task template

A task template is a blueprint of a workflow task. A task is a fundamental building block used to
construct a workflow process. Each task defines a set of actions, rules, and resources used to
accomplish that task.

Task Definition
Has two options if at least one failure path is configured:
Do Task Complete confirms the completion of a task and triggers the
branching to a success path. Unable to Complete indicates
the task is unable to complete, for various reasons.
Uses the EPM-hold handler, which stops the task from
automatically completing when started.
Uses the Acknowledged and Not Acknowledged subtasks,
Acknowledge Task each of which has its own dialog box.
Uses the select-signoff-team and perform-signoffs
Review Task subtasks, each of which has its own dialog box.
Wait for Undecided Reviewers is an option that allows the
workflow designer user to set the Review task to wait for all
reviewers to submit their decisions before completing and
following the appropriate path.
Uses the Review, Acknowledge, and Notify subtasks, each
Route Task of which has its own dialog box.
Task Use it as a starting point for creating your own custom tasks,
such as tasks to carry your custom forms or other site-specific
tasks for users to complete. This task template is synonymous
with the EPMTask template.
Branches a workflow according to defined query
Condition Task criteria. Requires that the succeeding task contains an
EPM-check-condition handler that accepts a Boolean value
of either True or False.
Branches a workflow along two or more paths. Active paths
Validate Task
flowing out of the task are determined by whether specified
workflow errors occur.
Use this task to design workflows around anticipated errors.
Creates and adds a release status to the target objects of
Add Status Task the workflow process. It is a visual milestone in a workflow
process. No dialog box is associated with this type of task.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 25

 Workflow
Workflow task
task template
template

Task Definition
Continues the workflow process when any one of its multiple
Or Task task predecessors is completed or promoted. There is no limit
to the number of predecessors an Or task may have.
Impact Analysis Task Provides an impact analysis for a user to complete for the
associated EC revision. The task provides Reference, Impact
Analysis Form, Viewer, and Task Info tabs.
Note

You can no longer create new instances of the Impact

Analysis Task template, but you can continue to use
existing or imported instances.
The Impact Analysis Task template is for use in
EC processes only. It cannot be used on a workflow
process.
Prepare ECO Task Provides EC requests or EC orders for a user to complete.
The task provides ECO Sample and Task Info tabs.
Note

You can no longer create new instances of the Prepare

ECO Task template, but you can continue to use
existing or imported instances.
The Prepare ECO Task template is for use in EC
processes only. It cannot be used on a workflow
process.
Checklist Task Provides a checklist for a user to complete. The checklist form
is a form type with a number of logical fields. You can create
a custom form type with a site-specific field list using Java
code to represent the form as a checklist. The task provides
Check List and Task Info tabs.
Note

You can no longer create new instances of the

Checklist Task template, but you can continue to use
existing or imported instances.
The Checklist Task template is for use in EC processes
only: it cannot be used on a workflow process.

26 Getting Started with Workflow PLM00194 11.2

What are workflow handlers?

Handlers are the lowest-level building blocks in workflow. They are small ITK programs used to
extend and customize tasks. There are two kinds of handlers:
• Action handlers extend and customize task actions. They perform such actions as displaying
information, retrieving the results of previous tasks (inherit), notifying users, setting object
protections and launching applications.

• Rule handlers integrate workflow business rules into EPM workflow processes at the task level.
They attach conditions to an action. Rule handlers confirm that a defined rule has been satisfied.
If the rule is met, the handler returns the EPM_go command, allowing the task to continue. If the
rule is not met, it returns the EPM_nogo command, preventing the task from continuing. If there
are multiple targets for a single rule handler, all targets must satisfy the rule for EPM_go to be
returned (AND condition).
Many conditions defined by a rule handler are binary (that is, they are either true or false).
However, some conditions are neither true nor false. EPM allows two or more rule handlers to be
combined using logical AND/OR conditions. When several rule handlers are combined using a
logical Or condition, rule handler quorums specify the number of rule handlers that must return
EPM_go for the action to complete.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 27

Explicit and assumed links

A link establishes the sequence by which peer-level tasks are run, indicating that the task on the
arrow end of the path cannot start until the task on the start end is completed.
Explicit links Manually created links, drawn from the predecessor task to the successor task.
Assumed links Automatically created by the system if no explicit links have been created from
the Start node by the time the template is set to the Available stage.
When you put a workflow template in Edit mode and draw a single link from the Start node to
another task node, assumed link behavior is disabled. The system does not draw assumed links,
even if you leave tasks unlinked and change the workflow template to the Available stage. Any
unlinked tasks are skipped when a workflow process based on the workflow template is initiated, and
no error messages appear.
Caution

When you place workflow templates created before Teamcenter 8.3 and 8.1.1.1 in Edit mode,
the system removes all links originating from the Start node. If this occurs, manually redraw
any removed links.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 29

Configuring and customizing Workflow

Configuring remote workflow interactions

Administrators must migrate workflow attachments from VLA property based attachments to GRM
relation-based workflow task attachments. Use the migrate_wf_attachments utility to migrate the
workflow attachments. GRM relations are used for change related objects and proposed replica
objects for remote workflows. It is possible to add the same object to the same workflow using
different VLA property-based attachments and GRM relation-based workflow task attachments.
If you are a Teamcenter administrator or customizer, you can change user interactions with Workflow
in the following ways:
• Customize Teamcenter to filter workflow templates based on one of the following:
o your own criteria

o the user's current group and the type of attachments when the user creates new processes

• Customize the Perform Signoff dialog box in the following ways:

o Add boxes and buttons.

o Validate users’ input into the new boxes.

o Customize the summary table.

o Customize the configuration of the Signoff Decision dialog box.

Use the migrate_wf_attachments utility to:

• Migrate active jobs during the upgrade process.

• Migrate completed jobs after the upgrade.

Note

Migration on-demand is supported. When a workflow process that has not been migrated is
opened, the attachments are migrated automatically.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 31

Tips for using the Workflow Designer user interface

Refreshing Workflow Designer

You can refresh the display by:
• Moving up or down a level.

• Going to the top level.

• Choosing View→Refresh All.

• Setting the template to the Available stage.

Delete key removes workflow objects and backspace key removes

text
While working in Edit mode in Workflow Designer, the system interprets the use of the Delete key
on your keyboard as an instruction to delete a workflow object.
Caution

Do not use the Delete key to delete characters in text boxes within a workflow template.

To change existing text in a Description or Instructions box:

• Use the Backspace key to remove unwanted text; type new characters into the box

To change text in the Argument and Value(s) boxes in the Handlers dialog box:
• Double-click in the box containing the text you want to modify or delete. Use the Backspace key
to remove unwanted text; type new characters into the box.
Note

Handler values are case sensitive and must be accurate to the letter.

Save time when creating multiple tasks of the same type

When creating a workflow process template, sometimes the process calls for several of the same
types of tasks, such as several Do tasks, that have the same or similar set of handlers and arguments.
Instead of adding the tasks, selecting the handlers, and typing the arguments and values individually,
you can do the following:
1. Add the first task to the process template.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 33

 Tips
Tips forfor using
using thethe Workflow
Workflow Designer
Designer useruser interface
interface

2. Select the handlers you want to add and type the arguments and values for each one.

3. Copy the task and paste it back in the process template.

4. Edit the handler arguments and values in the new copy of the task.

This saves you the time and effort of retyping arguments and values as well as reduces the possibility
of typos when creating your process template.

Move and resize the Handler dialog box

Undocking the Handler dialog box allows you resize it and move it anywhere in the Teamcenter
window.

1. Click the Handler button to open the Handler dialog box.

2. Double-click anywhere in the dialog box to undock it.

Behavior Example
Docked

34 Getting Started with Workflow PLM00194 11.2

 Tips for using the Workflow Designer user interface

Behavior Example
Undocked

When you leave the Handler dialog box docked, you can move between one task’s handlers and
another task’s handlers by selecting a different task in the task hierarchy tree. For example:

1. Click the Handler button to open the Handler dialog box.

(Do not undock the dialog box.)

2. Select the Change Admin II (CM) task in the task hierarchy tree.
The dialog box is populated with all the handlers on the Change Admin II (CM) task.
Modify handler arguments and values as needed.

3. Select the Check Change Type task in the task hierarchy tree.
The dialog box is populated with all the handlers on the Check Change Type task.
Modify handler arguments and values as needed.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 35

 Tips
Tips forfor using
using thethe Workflow
Workflow Designer
Designer useruser interface
interface

Task hierarchy tree Handler dialog box

36 Getting Started with Workflow PLM00194 11.2

Chapter 1: Creating workflow templates

Create workflow process templates in Workflow Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

Insert a task into a template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2

Configuring tasks, attributes, and handlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5

Attributes and handlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Edit task attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
What are task handlers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
View task handlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Create task handlers based on existing handlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Create new task handlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
Edit task handlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Delete task handlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12

Link tasks manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12

Related topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12

Designing subprocesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13

What are workflow subprocesses? . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Creating subprocesses from a workflow template .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Creating subprocesses for multiple targets . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-14
Creating subprocesses for assemblies . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
Creating subprocesses for related objects . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-21
Creating ad hoc subprocesses . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22

Workflow examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22

Change Manager workflow example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
Validate task examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-31
Validate task example: Close gaps in your workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-31
Validate task example: Improve user response time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-34
Validate task example: Track errors from custom handlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-36
Add Status task example: Replace status of target objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-40
ACMERP workflow process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-40
Start task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-40
ACMERP (Add Status task) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-43

Determining when and where templates run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44

Using workflow templates at multiple sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
Distributing workflow templates using Multi-Site Collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
Replicate a workflow template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
Synchronize replicated templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
Distributing workflow templates using Workflow Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-45
Importing and exporting workflow templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-45
Import workflow templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-46

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow

 Export workflow templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-47
Processing templates and tasks in the background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-48
Background processing requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-48
Configure tasks for background processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-48
Related topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-49

Editing templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-49

Determining which editing options to use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-49
Editing offline versus online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-51
Edit workflow templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-51
Configure ability to apply template edits to active processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-52
Applying template edits to active workflow processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-53
Related topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-54
Apply template edits to all active workflow processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-54
Related topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-54

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Chapter 1: Creating workflow templates

Create workflow process templates in Workflow Designer

1. Choose File→New Root Template.
The New Root Template dialog box appears.

2. In the New Root Template Name box, type a template name. The box can contain a maximum
of 32 characters.

3. Select Process or Task for the template type.

4. From the Based On Root Template list, select an existing template on which to base the new
template.
The list displays either workflow process templates or task templates.
When you choose an existing template from the Based On Root Template list, workflow
process and task information displays for the selected template in the task hierarchy tree and
in the viewer. Selecting a task from the displays any subtasks in the viewer; the task name
and description are displayed in their respective boxes. This information regarding the existing
template is only for viewing within the New Root Template dialog box; it cannot be modified.
You can also click the Task Attributes, Task Handlers and Task Signoff buttons to view the
existing template's task attribute, task handler, and task signoff information.

5. After you view all the necessary template information, click one of the following:
• OK to create the template and close the dialog box.

• Apply to create the template and retain the dialog box so you can create another template.

• Cancel to cancel the operation.

In Workflow Designer, the Task Hierarchy list displays the template name. The under
construction symbol to the left of the template name indicates that the template is still
in the process of being designed.
Note

Templates with the under construction designation are visible only to system
administrators within Workflow Designer. They are not visible to end users who are
using the File→New Process option in My Teamcenter to associate a workflow
process with objects.

6. Configure your template:

• Workflow process template
Configure the workflow task actions and states.

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Configure the explicit and assumed links.

• Task template
Configure the attributes and handlers.

7. Close the New Root Template dialog box.

8. Select Set Stage to Available in the lower-left panel.

In Workflow Designer, the Process Template list no longer displays the under construction
symbol next to the template name.
In My Teamcenter, the Process Template list, within the New Process dialog box, displays the
template name. All users at your site can now access the template.

Insert a task into a template

1. On the Workflow Designer toolbar, click Edit Mode .

2. On the toolbar, click one of the task buttons.

Button Task Definition

Do Task Has two options if at least one failure path is
configured: Complete confirms the completion
of a task and triggers the branching to a success
path. Unable to Complete indicates the task is
unable to complete, for various reasons.
Uses the EPM-hold handler, which stops
the task from automatically completing when
started.
Acknowledge Task Uses the Acknowledged and Not
Acknowledged subtasks, each of which
has its own dialog box.
Review Task Uses the select-signoff-team and
perform-signoffs subtasks, each of
which has its own dialog box.
Wait for Undecided Reviewers is an option
that allows the workflow designer user to set the
Review task to wait for all reviewers to submit
their decisions before completing and following
the appropriate path.
Route Task Uses the Review, Acknowledge, and Notify
subtasks, each of which has its own dialog box.

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Button Task Definition

Task Use it as a starting point for creating your
own custom tasks, such as tasks to carry
your custom forms or other site-specific tasks
for users to complete. This task template is
synonymous with the EPMTask template.
Condition Task Branches a workflow according to defined
query criteria. Requires that the succeeding
task contains a EPM-check-condition handler
that accepts a Boolean value of either True or
False.
Validate Task Branches a workflow along two or more
paths. Active paths flowing out of the task
are determined by whether specified workflow
errors occur.
Use this task to design workflows around
anticipated errors.
Add Status Task Creates and adds a release status to the target
objects of the workflow process. It is a visual
milestone in a workflow process. No dialog box
is associated with this type of task.
Or Task Continues the workflow process when any one
of its multiple task predecessors is completed
or promoted. There is no limit to the number of
predecessors an or task may have.

3. In the process flow pane, double-click where you want to place the new task.
A new task appears with the default name of New task_typeTask #, where task_type is the
kind of task you selected and # is incremented until the task name becomes unique within this
workflow process template.

4. (Optional, but recommended) In the Name box, type a new name for the task.

5. (Optional) In the Instructions box, type the actions users must perform for this task.
Condition tasks require additional instructions to complete the insertion process.

6. Explicitly link the task to the predecessor tasks.

7. (Optional) Configure task attributes by clicking Task Attributes in the template manager pane.
Use task attributes to manage task security, duration, display, and quorum behavior.

8. Configure task handlers by clicking Task Handlers in the template manager pane.
Handlers are essential to designing flexible, complex workflows. Use action handlers to perform
all types of digital actions, such as running scripts, sending e-mails, creating forms, and assigning
responsibility for various workflow tasks. Use rule handlers to implement workflow rules, such as
adding status, demoting tasks, displaying forms, and notifying workflow participants.

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9. Follow the additional steps listed based on the task you inserted.

Task Additional steps

None.
Do Task
For more information about completing the insertion
Acknowledge Task or process, see step 10.
Review Task
None.
Route Task
Warning

The Route task is designed to be used as an

electronic routing sheet. The workflow process
initiator assigns specific signoff members. Signoff
profiles for the Review subtask should not be defined
within this task. Signoff profiles are unavailable
for the Acknowledge subtask. The task does not
function properly if signoff profiles are defined at this
stage.
None.
Task
Additional steps are required for the Condition task.
Condition Task
Additional configuration steps are required for the Validate
Validate Task
task.
None.
Add Status Task
None.
Or Task

10. For an Acknowledge Task or Review Task :

a. Define a signoff profile.
A. Double-click the task in the task hierarchy tree.
The task expands, listing the select-signoff-team and perform-signoffs subtasks.

B. Select the select-signoff-team subtask, and then click the Task Signoff Panel button in
the lower left of the Workflow Designer window.
The Signoff Profiles dialog box appears.

C. Select a group from the Group list then select a role from the Role list.

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Note

Define the signoff profiles by group or role, not by individual users. For example,
if you want three managers from the Marketing group, all of the managers
from the Engineering group, and 51% of the engineers from the Engineering
group to sign off on this particular Acknowledge task, create three group
profiles: a Marketing/manager profile, an Engineering/manager profile, and an
Engineering/engineer profile.
You can use the wildcard (*) to leave both the group and role category
undesignated.

D. Select or type the number of reviewers or percentage required for this particular
group/role signoff profile.
In the previous example, the Marketing/manager profile requires three reviewers, the
Engineering/manager profile requires all reviewers, and the Engineering/engineer
profile requires 51% of reviewers.

E. Select the Allow sub-group members check box to grant members of subgroups
permission to sign off instead of members of the designated group.

F. Click Create to add this profile to the Signoff Profiles list.

G. Click Modify to change an existing profile in the Signoff Profiles list.

H. Click Delete to delete an existing profile in the Signoff Profiles list.

b. Select and type the number or percentage of reviewers required to satisfy a quorum.
You can designate the number or percentage of reviewers required for the quorum to be
between one and the total number of users required for the selected signoff. The default
setting is Numeric and the value is All. Select Wait for Undecided Reviewers if you want
all of the required users to have a chance to review and comment before the workflow
process can be rejected or approved.

c. After you add all the customer profiles, close the Signoff Profiles dialog box by clicking
Close in the upper right corner of the dialog box.

Configuring tasks, attributes, and handlers

Attributes and handlers
You can modify the behavior of a task within a workflow process template by using:
• Attributes
Allows you to set requirements and/or restrictions on a task. Possible task attributes are:

o Named ACL
o Template name
o Signoff quorum

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o Release status
o Icons

• Handlers:
Small ITK programs or functions. Handlers are the lowest-level building blocks in EPM. You
use handlers to extend and customize tasks. The following is a list of the types of functions
you can add to a task:
o Set protections
o Assign reviewers
o Demote a task
o Perform a signoff
o Change a status

There are two kinds of handlers:

o Action handlers:
Extend and customize task actions. Action handlers perform such actions as displaying
information, retrieving the results of previous tasks (inherit), notifying users, setting object
protections and launching applications.

o Rule handlers:
Integrate workflow business rules into EPM workflow processes at the task level. Rule
handlers attach conditions to an action.
Many conditions defined by a rule handler are binary (that is, they are either true or false).
However, some conditions are neither true nor false. EPM allows two or more rule handlers
to be combined using logical AND/OR conditions. When several rule handlers are combined
using a logical OR condition, rule handler quorums specify the number of rule handlers that
must return go for the action to complete.

Edit task attributes

You can customize a task by editing its attributes.

1. On the Workflow Designer toolbar, click Edit Mode .

2. Click Task Properties in the toolbar.

The system displays the Task Properties dialog box.
The Name box lists the name of the selected workflow process template or task template.

3. (Optional) Type task instructions into the Instructions box.

4. Click the Attributes Panel tab.

The system displays the Attributes Panel dialog box.

5. Click Named ACL to add permissions for the task and target objects.
a. Use one of the following methods to select an ACL to apply to the task.

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• In the ACL Name box, select an existing ACL.

o Click the system Named ACL button to list ACL names created in Access
Manager.

o Click the workflow Named ACL button to list ACL names created in Workflow
Designer.

• In the ACL Name box, type a new ACL name and click Create .
The new ACL is added to the list of workflow named ACLs.

A. Add access control entries (ACEs) to define the permissions for the named ACL.

B. Click Save to save the ACEs for the named ACL.

b. Click Assign to ACL Name to update the Assigned ACL Name box.
This action creates the EPM-set-rule-based-protection handler on the Start action for
the task.

c. (Optional) To verify the assignment, view the Task Handler panel.

6. If the selected task is a Condition task, you can:

• Select a graphic from the Icons list.

• Click Condition Query to define a query.

The system displays the Condition Query dialog box.

• Define a query for the Condition task.

The Duration box displays the length of time allowed for the completion of the project. You
can define the duration length in the template of the selected task. You can also define
duration length in the Attributes dialog box when the selected task is in a Pending state.
Note

The Task Manager daemon must be installed to see color-coding relating to task
completion.

7. To set the Duration box:

• Type an integer value for any or all of the following boxes to indicate the length of time that
can pass before the selected tasks needs to reach completion:
o Years
o Weeks
o Days
o Hours
o Minutes

• Click one of the following, as needed:

o OK

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Saves the changes to the database and closes the dialog box.

o Clear
Clears all boxes.

o Cancel
Closes the dialog box without making any changes.

The Recipients list displays the names of users selected to receive program mail when the
selected task becomes overdue. You can set the Recipients list from this dialog box.

8. To set the Recipients list:

• Click Set to the right of the Recipient box.
The system displays the Select Recipients dialog box.

• Type the user, group, or address list search criteria for users you want to select.

• Based on the search criteria you entered, click either User, Group, or Address List.
The search results display in the box below. To display all users in the selected grouping,
type * and click the appropriate button. All users in the selected grouping display in the box.

• Select the users you want to define as recipients from the search results. You can choose
multiple users by pressing Ctrl and clicking the desired names.

• Click Users.
The selected users display in the box in the right side of the dialog box. These are the
selected recipients.

• To delete a recipient, click Delete.

• Close the Named ACL dialog box.

Note

When a named ACL is applied to a task and the Named ACL dialog box is closed,
the Show Task in Process Stage List property on the Tasks Attributes Panel is
automatically selected.
o The Show Task in Process Stage List displays the task in the Process Stage
List property for the target object.

o Tasks in the Process Stage List are used to determine the ACL for the target
objects.

9. Select Show Task in Process Stage List to display the task in the Process Stage List property
for the target object.
• Select the Show Task in Process Stage List property when a named ACL is defined for a
task.

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• Clear Show Task in Process Stage List when there are no named ACL and
EPM-set-rule-based-protection handler defined for this task, and the task does not need to
appear in the target object Process Stage List. For example, clear this box for subtasks
or parent tasks.
Note

The Process Stage List also determines the task’s attributes, such as responsible party
or signoff approvers, factored into the currently active named ACL.

10. Select Process in Background to run the task in the background so the user can continue to
work with Teamcenter while the task is executing.
Clear Process in Background to run the task in the foreground. The user must wait for it to
complete.

11. Click Close to save the changes to the database and close the dialog box.

What are task handlers?

You can customize task behavior by creating and modifying task handlers. A task handler is a small
ITK program or function. Handlers are the lowest level building blocks in EPM and are used to
extend and customize tasks.

View task handlers

You can display the task handlers of a selected task from Workflow Designer or from Workflow
Viewer while in design mode by performing the following steps:
1. Click Browse Mode.

2. Select the task whose handlers you want to view. To view handler information for the root task of
the workflow process (the initial Start task) select the workflow process.

3. Click the Task Handlers pane.

The system displays the Task Handlers dialog box. In the left pane, the handler tree lists the
handlers assigned to the selected task.
To more easily view the contents of the handler tree, you can click Expand All Folders or
Collapse All Folders.

Create task handlers based on existing handlers

You can create new task handlers based on an existing handler. Use this procedure when one or
more attributes of the new handler are contained in an existing handler. To create a handler, perform
the following steps from the Task Handlers dialog box in either Workflow Designer or when in design
mode in Workflow Viewer:

1. On the toolbar, click Edit Mode .

2. Select the handler from the handler tree that you want to use as a template for the new handler.

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The Handler Type, Quorum, Task Action, and Action/Rule Handler boxes display the current
settings for the selected handler.

3. Edit the data in the boxes as required for the new handler.
If the selected task involves selecting signoff teams or performing signoffs, select and enter type
the number or percentage required for the approval quorum in the Quorum box.

4. Edit existing arguments in the Argument table by selecting the value cell to the right of the
argument cell and deleting the existing values. Add new value information by double-clicking in
the cell to initiate the text-field editor, and then entering the required values.
Separate multiple values by a comma.

5. Add a new argument row by clicking the Argument table. Type the new argument name into the
argument cell by double-clicking in the cell to initiate the text-field editor, then entering the required
argument name. Type the corresponding values into the value cell to the right of the argument
cell by double-clicking in the cell to initiate the text-field editor, then entering the required values.
Separate multiple values by a comma. You can display documentation for the selected handler
by clicking Help.

6. Change the argument order by selecting an argument row and clicking Up or Down
(located to the right of the table) to move the argument row up or down, respectively.

7. Change the handler order by selecting a handler in the handler tree and clicking Up or Down
(located below the tree) to move the argument row up or down, respectively.

8. Click Create to create a new handler based on the data now displayed in the dialog box.
The system creates the new handler and displays it in the handler tree.

Create new task handlers

You can create new task handlers with no preexisting data. Use this procedure when no existing
handlers contain the necessary attributes. To create a new handler, perform the following steps from
the Task Handlers dialog box in either Workflow Designer or when in design mode in Workflow
Viewer:
1. Decide the type of handler you want to create:
• Rule handler
Click Rule Handler.

• Action handler
Click Action Handler.

2. If the selected task involves selecting signoff teams or performing signoffs, select and type the
number or percentage required for the approval quorum in the Quorum box.

3. Select a handler from the Action Handler or Rule Handler list.

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4. Add a new argument row by clicking Add next to the Argument table. Type the new argument
name into the argument cell by double-clicking in the cell to initiate the text-field editor, then
typing in the required argument name. Type the corresponding values into the value cell to the
right of the argument cell by double-clicking in the cell to initiate the text-field editor, then entering
the required values.
Separate multiple values by a comma. You can display documentation for the selected handler
by clicking Help.

5. Change the argument order by selecting an argument row and clicking Up or Down
(located to the right of the table) to move the argument row up or down, respectively.

6. Change the handler order by selecting a handler in the handler tree and clicking Up or Down
(located below the tree) to move the argument row up or down, respectively.

7. Click Create to create a new handler based on the data currently displayed in the handler's
display area.
The system creates the new handler and displays it in the handler tree.

Edit task handlers

To modify task handlers, you must edit the argument table. To edit a handler, perform the following
steps from the Task Handlers dialog box in either Workflow Designer or when in design mode
in Workflow Viewer:
1. Select the handler you want to edit from the handler tree.
The Handler Type, Quorum, Task Action and Action/Rule Handler boxes display the current
settings for the selected handler.

2. If the selected task involves selecting signoff teams or performing signoffs, select and type the
number or percentage required for the approval quorum in the Quorum box.

3. Edit existing arguments in the Argument table by deleting the existing values from the value cell
to the right of the argument cell, and then double-clicking in the cell to initiate the text-field editor
and entering the required values.
Separate multiple values by a comma. You can display documentation for the selected handler
by clicking Help.

4. Change the argument order by selecting an argument row and clicking Up or Down
(located to the right of the table) to move the argument row up or down, respectively.

5. Change the handler order by selecting a handler in the handler tree and clicking Up or Down
(located below the tree) to move the argument row up or down, respectively.

6. Add a new argument to the Argument table.

a. Type the new argument name in the argument cell by double-clicking in the cell to initiate the
text-field editor, then entering the required argument name.

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b. Type the corresponding values in the value cell to the right of the argument cell by
double-clicking in the cell to initiate the text-field editor, and then entering the required values.
Separate multiple values by a comma.

7. Click Modify to update the selected handler to reflect the data currently displayed in the handler's
display area.
The system modifies the selected handler.

Delete task handlers

When a handler is no longer required, you can delete it as explained in this section. To delete a
handler, perform the following steps from the Task Handlers dialog box in either Workflow Designer
or when in design mode in Workflow Viewer:
• Select the desired handler from the handler tree and click Delete.
The system deletes the selected handler and no longer displays it in the tree.

Link tasks manually

Drawing a path between two tasks establishes the sequence in the execution of the tasks by
declaring that the task on the arrow end of the link cannot start until the task on the start end of
the link has been completed.
Manually drawing either success or failure paths between tasks creates explicit links between your
tasks. Always explicitly link your tasks to ensure predictable results. Draw your success or failure
path immediately after inserting tasks into the workflow process, before saving the workflow process
or switching away from the Workflow Designer application. Saving the workflow process or switching
applications before manually drawing paths prompts Teamcenter to automatically insert implicit links.

1. On the Workflow Designer toolbar, click Edit Mode .

2. Click the task node you want to be the predecessor task.

Do not click the title bar of the task node: doing so begins a drag process.

3. Drag your cursor to the task node you want to be the successor task.
A link arrow follows the cursor as you drag. When your cursor moves over a task node, the
node is highlighted.

4. Release the mouse button.

A link arrow connects the predecessor and successor nodes.

Related topics
• Explicit and assumed links

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Designing subprocesses

What are workflow subprocesses?

Subprocesses are child workflow processes of a parent workflow process. You can create
subprocesses while performing tasks from your worklist.
If the parent process is dependent on the subprocess, the parent process cannot complete until the
subprocess completes. For example, if the EPM-create-sub-process action handler is used to
create subprocesses for multiple targets from a parent process, the parent processes are dependent
on the subprocesses.
A typical scenario is one in which you receive a task in your worklist that is dependent upon the
completion of an additional workflow process. You decide to create a workflow subprocess to track
the work which must be completed before you can complete the task in the parent workflow.
Subprocesses are created in two locations:
Parent workflow Administrators can configure workflow templates to create subprocesses.
templates For example, a parent workflow template can be configured to automatically
launch subprocesses for each target of the parent workflow.
My Worklist End users can create ad hoc workflow subprocesses while performing tasks
from their worklist or from Workflow Viewer. Generally, any user can create
a workflow subprocess from a task within their worklist. This functionality is
not limited to privileged users.
When you create a workflow subprocess from an in-process task in your
worklist, you create a dependency between the selected task in the parent
process and the newly created subprocess. The targets of the active parent
workflow process are carried over if you check the Inherit Targets box. If a
subprocess is created from an in-process task, the task cannot complete until
the subprocess completes.

Creating subprocesses from a workflow template

Sometimes you want a workflow process to generate additional workflows as it proceeds. For
example, you may want a workflow to generate additional workflows (subprocesses) for each target
of the parent process. This would be useful if you want each target to undergo a separate review
and signoff process.
Use the EPM-create-sub-process action handler to create subprocesses. You can add the handler
multiple times to a single task action, allowing you to use different workflow process templates per
target object type. Use the handler to:
• Set dependencies between the parent process and its subprocesses.

• Define targets and attachments for the subprocesses.

• Transfer attachments from the parent process to a subprocess.

• Create subprocesses for multiple targets.

• Create subprocesses for assemblies.

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• Create subprocesses for related objects.

The handler accepts numerous arguments, allowing you to create a wide variety of instances for
generating subprocesses. For example:
• The following argument settings create a subprocess based on the Clinical Trials Phase I
template, which inherits all the targets and reference attachments from the parent process.
Because the workflow process name is not defined, a workflow process name for the child
process is automatically generated in the format parentprocess:count.

Argument Value
-template Clinical Trials Phase I
-from_attach ALL
-to_attach ALL

• The following argument settings launch a subprocess based on the Clinical Trials Phase I
workflow process template. All item revisions from the parent process are excluded as targets for
the new workflow process.

Argument Value
-template Clinical Trials Phase I
-from_attach ALL
-to_attach TARGET
-exclude_type ItemRevision

• The following argument settings launch multiple subprocesses based on the Clinical Trials
Phase I workflow process template. Each item revision that was a target or reference attachment
of the parent process launches a new subprocess with that item revision as the target.
For example, if the parent process contained three item revisions as targets, three different
subprocesses are launched.

Argument Value
-template Clinical Trials Phase I
-from_attach ALL
-to_attach TARGET
-include_type ItemRevision
-multiple_processes

Creating subprocesses for multiple targets

You can use various configurations of the EPM-create-sub-process action handler to create
subprocesses for multiple targets from a parent process.
The most straightforward method to create subprocesses for multiple targets is to use the
-multiple_processes argument to create individual subprocesses for each target in the parent

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process. The newly created subprocesses can either be a clone of the parent process or a different
workflow process.
You can refine this method by using the -include_type argument along with the -multiple_processes
argument to create individual subprocesses for each target of a specific type in the parent process.
Or you can use the -exclude_type argument along with the -multiple_processes argument to create
individual subprocesses for each target except the specified types in the parent process.
All these methods are based on the concept of the parent process always creating one or more
subprocesses.
Depending on your business process needs, a more elegant method is to create a workflow process
branched with a Condition task that is configured to query for multiple targets. The technique of
querying for multiple targets means a subprocess is only created when there are multiple targets.
When there is a single target, the other branch of the parent process is followed. This is an efficient
design if subprocesses are only needed when multiple targets are involved.
Consider the following workflow template, in which a generic task template is named Multiple
Targets and configured to create subprocesses for each target.

In this example, Pharmaceuticals, Inc., uses such a workflow for its drug trial reviews. The typical trial
contains multiple products, but occasionally a trial contains only one product.
If this workflow process is initiated on an item revision containing three targets, the Condition task
query returns True and follows the True path containing the Multiple Targets task, which creates
three subprocesses: one subprocess for each target in the parent process. Each subprocess is a
clone of the parent process.
Because each of the subprocesses always only contains a single target, as each subprocess is
initiated the Condition task query returns False and follows the False path containing the Launch
Trial and Review Results tasks.
In trials that review only a single product, the parent process follows the False path. No unnecessary
subprocess is created.
The following procedure illustrates how to configure the workflow in this example:

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Note

Before you begin, confirm that the EPM_multiple_processes_targets preference is set to

ON by choosing Edit→Options to launch the Options dialog box and locating the preference
using the Filters link.
If the preference is not created at your site, create the preference and set it to ON.

1. In Workflow Designer, choose File→New Root Template to create a new workflow process
template.

2. Type a name for the new workflow process in the New Root Template Name box, select Empty
Template from the Based On Root Template list, and click OK.
The workflow process template appears in the process flow pane.

3. On the toolbar, ensure you are in Edit mode.

This allows you to edit the workflow process template.

4. Insert a Condition task into the workflow process by clicking the Condition Task button on the
toolbar, and then double-clicking in the process flow pane to the right of the Start node.
The new Condition task is inserted at the cursor point.

5. Rename the Condition task by selecting the task in the task hierarchy tree, and then typing Has
Multiple Targets? in the Name box in the template manager pane, and pressing the Enter key.

6. Create a query for the Has Multiple Targets? task to determine whether the workflow process
contains multiple targets by completing the following steps:
a. In Teamcenter, switch to the Query Builder application.

b. In Query Builder, create a new query called WF - Has Multiple Targets by completing the
query boxes as shown and clicking Create.

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c. Return to Workflow Designer.

7. Associate the WF - Has Multiple Targets query with the Has Multiple Targets? task.
a. Select the Has Multiple Targets? task and click Task Attributes in the template
manager pane.

b. In the Task Attributes dialog box, click the Condition Query box. (The box currently
indicates it is empty because no queries are associated with the Condition task.)
The Condition Query dialog box appears.

c. In the Condition Query dialog box, scroll down the Build/Select Query list to the WF - Has
Multiple Targets query and double-click the query.
The query name appears in the New Query box at the bottom of the dialog box.

d. Select Task as the Query Against option.

e. Click OK to choose the query and exit the dialog box.

The Task Attributes dialog box reappears. WF - Has Multiple Targets displays in the
Condition Query box.

f. Close the Task Attributes dialog box.

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The Has Multiple Targets? task is now configured to query whether the workflow process
contains multiple targets. When the workflow process contains multiple targets the True path
is followed; when the workflow process contains a single target, the False path is followed.

8. Configure the Has Multiple Targets? task to retrieve the number of targets from the Multiple
Targets task by completing the following steps:
a. In the process flow pane, select the Has Multiple Targets? task and click Task Handlers
in the template manager pane.

b. In the task action in the left-side of the dialog box, select the Start action.

c. In the right-side of the dialog box, select Action Handler for the handler type.

d. In the Action Handler list, select EPM-set-task-result-to-property.

e. Type -property in the Argument box and num_targets in the Value(s) box.

f. Click Add in the right side of the dialog box to add another argument/value line.

g. Type -source in the Argument box and task in the Value(s) box.

h. Click Create at the bottom of the dialog box to add the handler to the Start action of the Has
Multiple Targets? task.

9. When you created the WF - Has Multiple Targets query on the Has Multiple Targets? task, the
EPM-set-condition handler was automatically placed on the task's Start action.
Confirm the handler contains the following settings:

a. The -query in the Argument box and WF - Has Multiple Targets in the Value(s) box.

b. The -query_type in the Argument box and Task in the Value(s) box.

10. Select the EPM-set-task-result-to-property handler in the folder list and click the Up button
under the folder list to move it above the EPM-set-condition handler in the Start action.
Note

The order of the two handlers on the Start action is important.

EPM-set-task-result-to-property must be before EPM-set-condition.

11. Close the Handlers dialog box.

12. Insert a Do task above and to the right of the Condition task.

13. Rename the Do task to Launch Trial.

14. Configure the Launch Trial task to attach the dataset and BOM view revision by completing
the following steps:
a. In the process flow pane, select the Launch Trial task and click Task Handlers in the
template manager pane.

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b. In the task action tree in the left side of the dialog box, select the Start action.

c. In the right side of the dialog box, select Action Handler for the handler type.

d. In the Action Handler list, select EPM-attach-related-objects.

e. Type -relation in the Argument box and IMAN_specification in the Value(s) box.

f. Click Add in the right side of the dialog box to add another argument/value line.

g. Type -attachment in the Argument box and target in the Value(s) box.

h. Click Create in the bottom of the dialog box to add the handler.

i. Select the EPM-attach-related-objects handler you just created from the folder list on
the left.

j. Replace IMAN_specification with PSBOMViewRevision as the value for the -relation

argument and click Create.
You should have two EPM-attach-related-objects handlers in the Start action, one with the
IMAN_specification relation and one with the PSBOMViewRevision relation.

k. Close the Handlers dialog box.

15. Insert a Review task to the right of the Launch Trial task.

16. Rename the Review task to Review Results.

17. Insert a generic task below and to the right of the Has Multiple Targets? task.

18. Rename the task to Multiple Targets.

19. Configure the Multiple Targets task to generate subprocesses by completing the following steps:
a. In the process flow pane, select the Multiple Targets task and click Task Handlers in the
template manager pane.

b. In the task action tree in the left side of the dialog box, select the Complete action.

c. In the right side of the dialog box, select Action Handler for the handler type.

d. In the Action Handler list, select EPM-create-sub-process.

e. Type -from_attach in the Argument box and Target in the Value(s) box.

f. Click Add in the right side of the dialog box to add another argument/value line.

g. Type -to_attach in the Argument box and Target in the Value(s) box.

h. Click Add in the right side of the dialog box to add another argument/value line.

i. Type -process_name in the Argument box and SubProcess in the Value(s) box.

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j. Click Add in the right side of the dialog box to add another argument/value line.

k. Type -multiple_processes in the Argument box. Do not type a value in the Value(s) box.

l. Type -template in the Argument box and the name for this template that you used in step 2
in the Value(s) box.

m. Click Create in the bottom of the dialog box to add the handler to the Complete action of
the Multiple Targets task.
The system responds with a warning that says The use of EPM-create-sub-process handler
has resulted in a loop. Teamcenter detected that the -template argument referenced
the template that you are creating. However, since the subprocesses generated will follow
the False path, no loop occurs. Click OK.

n. Close the Handlers dialog box.

20. Create an Or task to reconcile the True and False paths by clicking the Or task button on
the toolbar, and then double-click in the process flow pane to the right of the Review Results
and Multiple Targets tasks.

21. Draw a flow path from the Start task to the Has Multiple Targets? task by placing the cursor in
the body of the Start task and dragging it to the body of the Has Multiple Targets? task.

22. Draw a flow path from the Has Multiple Targets? task to the Launch Trial task.
By default, the path is a True path.

23. Change the flow path to a False path by right-clicking the line you have just drawn and choosing
Set Path To False Path.
The flow path changes to a False path.

24. Draw a flow path from the Has Multiple Targets? task to the Multiple Targets task.
By default, the path is a True path.

25. Draw a flow path from the Launch Trial task to the Review Results task by placing the cursor in
the body of the Launch Trial task and dragging it to the body of the Review Results task.

26. Draw a flow path from the Review Results task to the Or task.

27. Draw a flow path from the Multiple Targets task to the Or task.

28. Draw a flow path from the Or task to the Finish node.

29. Select the Set Stage to Available check box to put your template online.

The template is now ready to use.

Creating subprocesses for assemblies

In workflow processes that contain assemblies, there are various arguments you can use with the
EPM-create-sub-process action handler to create subprocesses for components of the assemblies.

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Argument Behavior
-process_assembly Searches for assemblies in the target,
reference, or all (as specified by the
-from_attach argument) and creates
subprocesses for each component.
-depth Specifies the depth to which the assembly
is traversed.
-rev_rule Specifies the revision rule applied to the
assembly.
-include_related_type Creates subprocesses only for assembly
components of the types specified in this
argument.
-exclude_related_type Does not creates subprocesses for
assembly components of the types specified
in this argument.

Note

The -include_related_type and -exclude_related_type arguments can be used in

conjunction with each other. If used in conjunction, the -include_related_type argument
takes precedence; first the objects are processed against -include_related_type and then
processed against -exclude_related_type.

Creating subprocesses for related objects

There are various arguments you can use with the EPM-create-sub-process action handler to create
subprocesses for related objects of target and reference data.

Argument Behavior
Creates subprocesses for each object
attached by the specified relation to the
-relation target or reference object. (Specify a
particular target, or reference object, or all,
using the -from_attach argument.)
Creates subprocesses only for related
-include_related_type objects of the type(s) specified in this
argument.
Does not creates subprocesses for related
-exclude_related_type objects of the type(s) specified in this
argument.

Note

The -include_related_type and -exclude_related_type arguments can be used in

conjunction with each other. If used in conjunction, the -include_related_type argument
takes precedence; first the objects are processed against -include_related_type, and then
-exclude_related_type.

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Creating ad hoc subprocesses

End users can create ad hoc workflow subprocesses while performing tasks from their worklist or
from Workflow Viewer.
For example, users might want to create a workflow subprocess after receiving a task in their worklist
dependent upon the completion of one or more tasks not tracked by the existing workflow. They
create a workflow subprocess to track the additional tasks.

Workflow examples

Change Manager workflow example

You can change this example to match your participants, organization, and conditions.
Note

If you are using Aerospace and Defense business objects (for example,
Adc0ChangeRqstRevision), you can add them to the -type and -include_types arguments.

When this example is completed, the workflow should look like the following.

1. In Workflow Designer, select File→New Root Template, name your template, and use Empty
Template as your root template. Click OK.

2. For the Start task, ensure the CR-assign-team-selector and EPM-auto-assign-rest handlers
are attached to the Start task action. To the Start task action, add the EPM-set-property handler
with the following arguments and values:

Arguments Values
-property CMIsFastTrack
-value No
-to_attach TARGET
-include_type ChangeRequestRevision
-bypass

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This sets the ECR CMIsFastTrack property to No. This ensures the ECR starts on the standard
track.

3. Create a Validate task named Is Specialist Assigned ? to check if a change specialist is

assigned to the ECR. Add the EPM-check-object-properties handler to the Start task action
with the following arguments and values:

Arguments Values
-include_type ChangeRequestRevision
-property ChangeSpecialist1
-attachment target

4. A Validate task needs tasks at the end of a Complete path and Error path. In this case, if a
change specialist is not assigned, that is an error that the user needs to correct. To do this, create
a Do task called Assign Specialist and draw an Error path from the Validate to the Do task
and a Complete path back. To the Do task, add the EPM-auto-assign handler to the Start task
action with the following argument and value:

Arguments Values
-assignee resourcepool:Change Management::Manager

This assigns the task to any user who has the Manager role in the Change Management group.
The Manager must edit the ECR object to add a change specialist 1 to it. Once that is done,
the user can go back to the workflow, click Complete on the task, and the workflow moves
along the Complete path.
Note

By default, the Do task has automatically configured EPM-check-condition, EPM-inherit,

and EPM-hold handlers. You do not have to alter these.

5. Create another Validate task named Are Analyst & CRB Assigned ? to check if an analyst
and change review board members are assigned to the ECR. Draw a Complete path from the
Is Specialist Assigned ? Validate task to this task. Add the EPM-check-object-properties
handler to the Start task action of this task with the following arguments and values:

Arguments Values
-include_type ChangeRequestRevision
-property Analyst,ChangeReviewBoard
-attachment target

6. If an analyst or change review board members are not assigned, that is an error that the user
needs to correct. To do this, create a Do task called Assign Analyst & CRB and draw an Error
path from the Validate to the Do task and a Complete path back. To the Validate task, add the
EPM-auto-assign handler to the Start task action with the following argument and value:

Arguments Values
-assignee $CHANGE_SPECIALIST1

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This assigns the task to the user who has been assigned as the change specialist 1 for the ECR.
The change specialist 1 must edit the ECR object to add the missing analyst or change review
board members to it. Once that is done, the user can go back to the workflow, click Complete on
the task, and the workflow moves along the Complete path.
Note

By default, the Do task has automatically configured EPM-check-condition, EPM-inherit,

and EPM-hold handlers. You do not have to alter these.

7. Create a Do task named Identify Impacted Items, Propose Solution and add the
EPM-auto-assign handler to the Start task action with the following argument and value:

Arguments Values
-assignee $ANALYST

This assigns the task to the user who has been assigned as the analyst for the ECR. The analyst
follows the instructions in the workflow. Once that is done, the analyst can go back to the
workflow, click Complete on the task, and the workflow moves along the Complete path.
Note

By default, the Do task has automatically configured EPM-inherit and EPM-hold handlers.
You do not have to alter these.

8. Create a Condition task named Planning Complete ? and add the EPM-auto-assign handler
to the Start task action with the following argument and value:

Arguments Values
-assignee $CHANGE_SPECIALIST1

This assigns the task to the user who has been assigned as the change specialist 1 for the ECR.
The change specialist 1 follows the instructions in the workflow. Once that is done, the analyst
can go back to the workflow and select one of the three paths based on the results. The three
paths are added once more tasks further along the workflow are created.
Note

By default, the Condition task has automatically configured the EPM-check-condition

handler. You do not have to alter it.

9. Create an Or task named Or. Draw paths from the Are Analyst & CRB Assigned ? and the
Planning Complete ? tasks.

10. Create a Do task named Derive CN, Start CN, Fast Track and add the following handlers.
a. Add the EPM-auto-assign handler to the Start task action with the following argument
and value:

Arguments Values
-assignee $CHANGE_SPECIALIST1

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This assigns the task to the user who has been assigned as the change specialist 1 for the
ECR. The analyst follows the instructions in the workflow. Once that is done, the analyst
can go back to the workflow, click Complete on the task, and the workflow moves along
the Complete path.

b. To the Start task action, add a EPM-set-property handler with the following arguments
and values:

Arguments Values
-property CMMaturity,CMDisposition
-value Reviewing,Approved
-to_attach TARGET
-include_type ChangeRequestRevision
-bypass

This sets the ECR’s Maturity and Disposition properties to Reviewing and Approved,
respectively, which allows the ECR to be placed on the fast track.

c. To the Start task action, add another EPM-set-property handler with the following arguments
and values:

Arguments Values
-property CMIsFastTrack
-value Yes
-to_attach TARGET
-include_type ChangeRequestRevision
-bypass

This sets the ECR’s Is Fast Track? property to Yes, which notes the ECR went through the
fast track process.

d. To the Complete task action, add another EPM-set-property handler with the following
arguments and values:

Arguments Values
-property CMMaturity
-value Executing
-to_attach TARGET
-include_type ChangeRequestRevision
-bypass

This sets the ECR’s CMMaturity property to Executing, which completes the ECR in the
change process and allows a change notice to be derived from it.

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Note

By default, the Do task has automatically configured inherit and EPM-hold handlers.
You do not have to alter these.

11. Create a Review task named CRB Review Proposed Solution and add the EPM-set-property
handler to the Start task action with the following arguments and values:

Arguments Values
-property CMMaturity
-value Reviewing
-to_attach TARGET
-include_type ChangeRequestRevision

-bypass

This sets the ECR’s Maturity property to Reviewing, which notes that the change review board
is looking at the proposed change.
Note

By default, the Review task has automatically configured the EPM-inherit,

EPM-set-rule-base-protection, and EPM-execute-follow-up handlers. You do not have
to alter these.

12. Draw paths from the Planning Complete ? task to the Derive CN, Start CN, Fast Track and
CRB Review Proposed Solution tasks. You need to customize the three paths so the change
specialist 1 can choose which path the workflow must go. Right click on each path, choose Set
Custom Result, and set the paths as follows:

Target task Path name

Or Plan not OK
Derive CN, Start CN, Fast Plan OK - Fast Track
Track
CRB Review proposed Plan OK - Standard Track
solution

13. Create a Condition task named Set CRB Results and add the EPM-auto-assign handler to
the Start task action with the following argument and value:

Arguments Values
-assignee $CHANGE_SPECIALIST1

This assigns the task to the user who has been assigned as the change specialist 1 for the ECR.
The change specialist 1 follows the instructions in the workflow. Once that is done, the analyst
can go back to the workflow and select one of the three paths based on the results. The three
paths are added once more tasks further along the workflow are created.

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Note

By default, the Condition task has automatically configured the EPM-check-condition

handler. You do not have to alter it.

14. Create a custom task named Notify CR Approved and add the following handlers:

a. Add the EPM-set-property handler to the Start task action with the following arguments
and values:

Arguments Values
-property CMDisposition
-value Approved
-to_attach TARGET
-include_type ChangeRequestRevision

-bypass

This sets the ECR’s Disposition property to Approved, which allows a change notice to
be derived from the ECR.

b. Add the EPM-notify handler to the Start task action with the following arguments and values:

Arguments Values
-recipient $REQUESTOR,$ANALYST
-subject CR Approved
-attachment $TARGET

This sends an e-mail to the ECR requestor and analyst notifying them that the ECR has
been approved by the change review board.

15. From the CRB Review Proposed Solution task, draw an Approved path to the Notify CR
Approved task and a Rejected path to the Set CRB Results task.

16. Create a custom task named Set Disposition: Investigate and add the EPM-set-property
handler to the Start task action with the following arguments and values:

Arguments Values
-property CMDisposition
-value Investigate
-to_attach TARGET
-include_type ChangeRequestRevision

-bypass

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This sets the ECR’s Disposition property to Investigate, which indicates the analyst needs to
do more work on the ECR.
Note

By default, the task has automatically configured the EPM-check-condition handler.

You do not have to alter it.

17. Create a custom task named Notify Rejected and add the following handlers:
a. Add the EPM-set-property handler to the Start task action with the following arguments
and values:

Arguments Values
-property CMDisposition
-value Disapproved
-to_attach TARGET
-include_type ChangeRequestRevision

-bypass

This sets the ECR’s Disposition property to Disapproved, which indicates no further action
is to be taken with the ECR.

b. Add the EPM-notify handler to the Start task action with the following arguments and values:

Arguments Values
-recipient $REQUESTOR,$ANALYST
-subject CR Rejected
-attachment $TARGET

This sends an e-mail to the ECR requestor and analyst notifying them that the ECR has
been rejected by the change review board.

Note

By default, the task has automatically configured the EPM-check-condition handler.

You do not have to alter it.

18. Draw the following paths:

a. Draw paths from the Set CRB Results task to the Notify CR Approved, Set Disposition:
Investigate, and Notify Rejected tasks. You need to customize the three paths so the
change specialist 1 can choose which path the workflow must go. Right click on each path,
choose Set Custom Result, and set the paths as follows:

Target task Path name

Notify CR Approved Approved

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Target task Path name

Set Disposition: Rework
Investigate
Notify Rejected Rejected

b. Also draw a Complete path from the Set Disposition: Investigate task to the Or task. This
sends the workflow back to the Identify Impacted Items, Propose Solution task for rework.

19. Create a Do task named Close PRs and add the following handlers.
a. Add the EPM-auto-assign handler to the Start task action with the following argument
and value:

Arguments Values
-assignee $CHANGE_SPECIALIST1

This assigns the task to the user who has been assigned as the change specialist 1 for the
ECR. The analyst follows the instructions in the workflow. Once that is done, the analyst
can go back to the workflow, click Complete on the task, and the workflow moves along
the Complete path.

b. To the Start task action, add a EPM-set-property handler with the following arguments
and values:

Arguments Values
-property CMClosure,CMMaturity
-value Closed,Complete
-to_attach TARGET
-include_types ChangeRequestRevision
-bypass

This sets the ECR’s Closure and Maturity properties to Closed and Complete, respectively,
which closes out the ECR.
Note

By default, the Do task has automatically configured EPM-inherit and EPM-hold handlers.
You do not have to alter these.

20. Create a Do task named Derive CN and add the following handlers.
a. Add the EPM-auto-assign handler to the Start task action with the following argument
and value:

Arguments Values
-assignee $CHANGE_SPECIALIST1

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This assigns the task to the user who has been assigned as the change specialist 1 for the
ECR. The analyst follows the instructions in the workflow. Once that is done, the analyst
can go back to the workflow, click Complete on the task, and the workflow moves along
the Complete path.

b. To the Start task action, add a EPM-set-property handler with the following arguments
and values:

Arguments Values
-property CMMaturity
-value Reviewing
-to_attach TARGET
-include_type ChangeRequestRevision
-bypass

This sets the ECR’s Maturity property to Reviewing, which allows an ECN to be derived.

c. To the Complete task action, add a EPM-set-property handler with the following arguments
and values:

Arguments Values
-property CMMaturity
-value Executing
-to_attach TARGET
-include_type ChangeRequestRevision
-bypass

This sets the ECR’s Maturity property to Executing, which closes out the ECR after the
ECN has been derived.

Note

By default, the Do task has automatically configured EPM-inherit and EPM-hold handlers.
You do not have to alter these.

21. Create another Or task called Or and draw paths from the Derive CN and Close PRs tasks to
it. Then draw a path from the new Or task to the Finish task. Then also draw a path from the
Derive CN, Start CN, Fast Track tasks to the Finish task.

This completes the workflow. You can apply this workflow to any ECR revision object.

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Validate task examples

Validate task example: Close gaps in your workflow

At Design, Inc., employees check out documents that are targets of workflows and sometimes neglect
to check them back in. Teamcenter does not allow users to initiate a workflow process on a target
that is checked out. However, at Design, Inc., no business rules prevent users from checking out
targets after a workflow process is initiated. When the workflow reaches the review stage, and the
required targets are checked out, the workflow cannot complete.
In this example, this situation is anticipated and the Validate task is used to provide a correction.
The task is placed before the review stage of the workflow and configured to verify that all targets
are checked in. If so, a success path is followed. If not, the workflow follows a failure path that
includes an additional Do task assigned to a manager. The Do task instructs the manager to get
the targets checked in, and then complete the Do task. After the error condition is corrected, the
Do task's success path traverses back into the main workflow.
The Validate task is configured to validate whether targets are checked in by placing
the EPM-assert-targets-checked-in rule handler on the Start action, and specifying the
target-checked-out error in the error list.

The following procedure illustrates how to configure the workflow in this example.
1. Choose File→New Root Template to create a new workflow process.

2. Type a name for the new workflow process in the New Root Template Name box and click OK.

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The workflow process template appears in the process flow pane.

3. On the toolbar, click Edit .

This puts the application in Edit mode, allowing you to edit the workflow process template.

4. Insert a Do task into the workflow process by clicking the Do task button on the toolbar, and
then double-clicking in the process flow pane to the right of the Start node.
The new Do task is inserted at the cursor point.

5. Draw a success path from the Start node to the Do task by placing the cursor in the body of the
Start node and dragging it to the body of the Do task. By default, flow paths are success paths.
No configuration is necessary to create a success path.

6. Insert a Validate task to the right of the Do task.

7. Draw a success path from the Do task to the Validate task.

8. Configure the Validate task to check whether the target is checked in by adding the
EPM-assert-targets-checked-in rule handler to the Start action:
a. In the process flow pane, ensure the Validate task is still selected. In the Template view,
click the Handlers button .
The Handlers dialog box appears.

b. In the task action in the left-side of the dialog box, select the Start action.

c. In the right-side of the dialog box, select Rule Handler for the handler type.

d. In the Rule Handler list, select EPM-assert-targets-checked-in. No handler arguments

are required for this handler in this example.

e. Click Create at the bottom of the dialog box to add the handler to the Start action of the
new Validate task.

f. Close the Handlers dialog box.

9. Insert a Do task above and to the right of the Validate task. This is the first of the two
successor tasks used in this example.

10. Rename the Do task by selecting the task in the task hierarchy tree, and then typing Success in
the Name box in the template manager pane.

11. Draw a success path from the Validate task to the Success task.

12. Insert a Do task below and to the right of the Validate task. This is the second of the two
successor tasks uses in this example.

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13. Rename this second successor task to Failure (target checked-out).

14. Create a failure path between the Validate task and the Failure (target checked-out) task by
placing the cursor in the body of the Validate task and dragging it to the body of the Failure
(target checked-out) task.

15. Right-click the path you have just drawn. A list provides you with two options. Selecting either
option creates a failure path.

For this example, select Set Error Codes to specify the specific error code you want the Validate
task to validate.
The Set Error Codes dialog box appears.

16. In the dialog box, type the EPM error code you want to cause the workflow process to follow the
failure path. For this example, type 32009 (RES_OBJECT_IS_RESERVED) to ensure the failure
path is followed whenever a target is not checked in.

17. Click Add to add this error to the Results List.

18. Click OK to close the Set Error Codes dialog box.

The selected path appears as a broken path, indicating it is now a failure path.

19. Insert another Do task after the Failure (target checked-out) task.

20. Rename the Do task to Check in Targets.

21. In the Instructions box of the Check in Targets task, type instructions directing the manager to
ensure all workflow targets are checked in, and to then complete the task.

22. Draw a success path from the Failure (target checked-out) task to the Check in Targets task.

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23. Reconcile the success and failure paths by inserting an Or task and linking it to the Success
task (the final interactive task of the success path) and the Check in Targets task (the final
interactive task of the failure path).

• Click the Or task button on the toolbar, and then double-click in the process flow pane to
the right of the Success and Check in Targets tasks.

• Draw a flow path from the Success task to the Or task.

• Draw a flow path from the Check in Targets task to the Or task.

24. Link the Or task to the Finish node to complete the workflow.

When the workflow is run, either the success or failure path is followed, depending on whether the
RES_OBJECT_IS_RESERVED error is triggered.

Validate task example: Improve user response time

At Business Corporation, the product review process has become increasingly complicated. Different
products require different sets of review documents and the exponential growth of the product line
has generated twenty different review documents that can be chosen as workflow targets.
Over the past year, the Teamcenter administrator has had to demote and restart more than 100
review workflows because users have selected inappropriate target objects. The administrator has
long used the EPM-validate-target-objects rule handler at the beginning of the workflow to display
an error to the project initiator at the time the workflow is launched. But too often the initiator ignores
or misunderstands the message. As Business Corporation review processes become more complex,
more workflows stall as team members ignore the error as they launch the workflow, and team leads
do not track the error logs in a timely manner.
The administrator solved this problem using the Validate task and backward branching. He added
a Validate task to the workflow, with the Validate task configured to branch down the failure path
when the EPM_invalid_target_type error occurs. The failure path branches backward to the Select
Proper Targets task, prompting the workflow process initiator to select the correct target. Once the
targets are correct, the workflow process continues down the success path.

The following procedure illustrates how to configure the workflow in this example:
1. Choose File→New Root Template to create a new workflow process.

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2. Type a name for the new workflow process in the New Root Template Name box and click OK.
The workflow process template appears in the process flow pane.

3. On the toolbar, click Edit .

This puts the application in Edit mode, allowing you to edit the workflow process template.

4. Insert a Do task into the workflow process by clicking the Do task button on the toolbar, and
then double-clicking in the process flow pane below and to the right of the Start node.
The new Do task is inserted at the cursor point.

5. Rename the Do task by selecting the task in the task hierarchy tree, and then typing Select
Proper Targets in the Name box in the template manager pane.

6. Draw a success path from the Start node to the Select Proper Targets task by placing the cursor
in the body of the Start node and dragging it to the body of the Select Proper Targets task. By
default, flow paths are success paths. No configuration is necessary to create a success path.

7. Insert a Validate task above the Select Proper Targets task and to the right of the Start node.

8. Draw a success path from the Select Proper Targets task to the Validate task by placing the
cursor in the body of the Select Proper Targets task and dragging it to the body of the Validate
task.
If proper targets are selected, the workflow flows from Select Proper Targets, through the
Validate task, and on to the next Do task you create.

9. Insert an Or task to the right of the Select Proper Targets task.

10. Draw a failure path from the Validate task to the Or task by placing the cursor in the body of
the Validate task and dragging it to the body of the Or task.
When proper targets are not selected, the workflow branches backward to the Or task and then
to the Select Proper Targets task, prompting the user to select proper targets.

11. Configure the path as a failure path by right-clicking the path you have just drawn. A shortcut
menu provides you with two options. Selecting either option creates a failure path.
For this example, select Set Error Codes to specify the specific error code you want the Validate
task to validate.
The Set Error Codes dialog box appears.

12. In the dialog box, type the EPM error code you want to cause the workflow process to follow the
failure path. For this example, type 33127 (EPM_invalid_target_type ) to ensure the failure path
is followed whenever a target is not checked in.

13. Click Add to add this error to the Results List.

14. Click OK to close the Set Error Codes dialog box.

The selected path appears as a broken path, indicating it is now a failure path.

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15. Draw a success path from the Or task to the Select Proper Targets task and another one from
there to the Validate task.

16. Configure the Validate task to check whether correct target types have been selected by adding
the EPM-validate-target-objects rule handler to the Start action:
a. In the process flow pane, ensure the Validate task is still selected. In the Template view,
click the Handlers button .
The Handlers dialog box appears.

b. In the task action in the left-side of the dialog box, select the Start action.

c. In the right-side of the dialog box, select Rule Handler for the handler type.

d. In the Rule Handler list, select EPM-validate-target-objects. No handler arguments are

required for this handler in this example.

e. Click Create to add the handler to the Start action of the new Validate task.

f. Close the Handlers dialog box.

17. Insert a Do task to the right of the Validate task.

18. Rename the Do task to Targets OK.

19. Draw a success path from the Validate task to the Targets OK task by placing the cursor in the
body of the Validate task and dragging it to the body of the Targets OK task.

20. Draw a success path from the Targets OK task to the Finish node to complete the workflow.

When the workflow is run, it cannot progress past the Validate task until the workflow targets
are validated as correct. The workflow raises user awareness of incorrect targets by sending an
interactive task to the workflow process initiator each time the EPM_invalid_target_type error
occurs, prompting the user to select valid targets.

Validate task example: Track errors from custom handlers

Corporate Ltd. uses a workflow to manage its quarterly budget analysis and review. The workflow
includes a custom handler that runs a script to generate and distribute a budget report from various
Excel files. The custom handler was placed on the Start action of a Do task (named Distribute
Quarterly Budget) immediately succeeding a Review task.
Occasionally the script cannot complete because of computation errors. The custom handler
generates an error when the script cannot complete. But as the script runs overnight, the error does
not immediately display. Because the error recipient (in this case, the workflow process initiator) is
not logged in at time of error, the error does not redisplay when the user logs in. The result is that the
workflow has stalled one or more days before the workflow process initiator notices the delay.
The Teamcenter administrator solved this problem by inserting a Validate task before the Do task
and drawing a success path between them. Then the administrator inserted another Do task (named
Manually Compile/Distribute Quarterly Budget) parallel to the first, connected it to the Validate

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task with a failure path and assigned the task to the lead accountant. The Validate task is configured
to follow the failure path when the script error is thrown. Whenever the compilation script fails, the
lead accountant is prompted to recompile the budget.
Because the Validate task can be configured to respond to any specific error, even errors thrown by
custom handlers, the failure of the custom handler can be taken into consideration and managed.

The following procedure illustrates how to configure the workflow in this example:
1. Choose File→New Root Template to create a new workflow process.

2. Type a name for the new workflow process in the New Root Template Name box and click OK.
The workflow process template appears in the process flow pane.

3. On the toolbar, click Edit .

This puts the application in Edit mode, allowing you to edit the workflow process template.

4. Insert a Review task into the workflow process by clicking the Review task button on the
toolbar, and then double-clicking in the process flow pane to the right of the Start node.
The new Review task is inserted at the cursor point.

5. Rename the Review task by selecting the task in the task hierarchy tree, and then typing
Review/Request Funding in the Name box in the template manager pane.

6. Draw a success path from the Start node to the Review/Request Funding task by placing
the cursor in the body of the Start node and dragging it to the body of the Review/Request
Funding task. By default, flow paths are success paths. No configuration is necessary to create
a success path.

7. Insert a Validate task to the right of the Review/Request Funding task.

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8. Draw a success path from the Review/Request Funding task to the Validate task by placing
the cursor in the body of the Review/Request Funding task and dragging it to the body of the
Validate task.

9. Configure the Validate task to check whether the script fails by adding the custom handler used
to run the budget-compilation script to the Start action:
a. In the process flow pane, ensure the Validate task is still selected. In the Template view,
click the Handlers button .
The Handlers dialog box appears.

b. In the task action in the left-side of the dialog box, select the Start action.

c. In the right-side of the dialog box, select Action Handler for the handler type.

d. In the Action Handler list, type budget-compilation. No handler arguments are required
for this handler in this example.

e. Click Create at the bottom of the dialog box to add the handler to the Start action of the
new Validate task.

f. Close the Handlers dialog box.

10. Insert a Do task above and to the right of the Validate task. This is the first of the two
successor tasks uses in this example.

11. Rename the Do task to Distribute Quarterly Budget.

12. Draw a success path from the Validate task to the Distribute Quarterly Budget task by placing
the cursor in the body of the Validate task.

13. Insert another Do task above the Distribute Quarterly Budget task. This is the second of
the two successor tasks used in this example.

14. Rename this second successor task Manually Compile/Distribute Quarterly Budget.

15. In the Instructions box of the Manually Compile/Distribute Quarterly Budget task, type
instructions directing the lead accountant to manually compile and distribute the budget report,
then to complete the task.

16. Create a failure path between the Validate task and the Manually Compile/Distribute Quarterly
Budget task by placing the cursor in the body of the Validate task and dragging it to the body
of the Manually Compile/Distribute Quarterly Budget task.

17. Right-click the path you have just drawn. A list provides you with two options. Selecting either
option creates a failure path.
For this example, select Set Error Codes to specify the specific error code you want the Validate
task to validate.
The Set Error Codes dialog box appears.

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18. In the dialog box, type the custom error code you want to cause the workflow process to follow
the failure path. For this example, type 99001 (custom error budget-compilation).

19. Click Add to add this error to the Results List.

20. Click OK to close the Set Error Codes dialog box.

The selected path appears as a broken path, indicating that it is now a failure path.

21. Reconcile the success and failure paths by inserting a generic task and linking it to the Distribute
Quarterly Budget task (on the success path) and the Manually Compile/Distribute Quarterly
Budget task (on the failure path).

• Click the Task task button on the toolbar, then double-click in the process flow pane to
the right of the Distribute Quarterly Budget and Manually Compile/Distribute Quarterly
Budget tasks.
The new generic task is inserted at the cursor point.

• Rename the generic task Quarterly Meeting.

• Draw a success path from the Distribute Quarterly Budget task to the Quarterly Meeting
task.

• Draw a success path from the Manually Compile/Distribute Quarterly Budget task to the
Quarterly Meeting task.

22. In the Instructions box of the Quarterly Meeting task, type instructions directing the finance
officer to host the cross-team finance meeting to discuss budget needs and to then complete the
task.

23. Insert a Route task below the Quarterly Meeting task.

24. Rename the Route task to Review and Approve Funding.

25. In the Instructions box of the Review and Approve Funding task, type instructions directing the
finance officer to route the revised budget requests to all stakeholders and interested parties.

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26. Link the Quarterly Meeting task to the Review and Approve Funding task.

27. Link the Review and Approve Funding task to the Finish node to complete the workflow.

When the workflow is run, the success path is followed if the budget script successfully completes, or
the failure path is followed if the script fails. This workflow raises user awareness of the script failure
by having an interactive task sent to the lead accountant when this error occurs.

Add Status task example: Replace status of target objects

ACMERP workflow process

This workflow process example illustrates how to add status to objects which, for whatever reason,
do not have the required status.
For example, after importing numerous objects from another system, a one-time change of status
may be required so the status of the newly imported objects conform with the current system.
This workflow process applies a status of ACMERP to all target objects. If any targets have a different
status, that status is replaced with ACMERP.

Start task

The Start node contains all the handlers for the root task. The root task contains all the other tasks
within a workflow process. It is the first task to start and the last task to complete. Therefore, the
handlers placed on the root task control the beginning and end of the workflow process itself, not
merely the behavior of an individual task.
In this workflow example, handlers placed on the Start action of the root task:

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• Confirm the workflow process is initiated by the correct role.

• Confirm the correct target objects are selected.

• Confirm the selected target objects are checked in.

• Automatically attach the correct target objects to the workflow.

• Attach all the components of the target assembly as targets of the workflow process.

• Configure the assembly to Working.

• Exclude any release objects from being attached.

• Attach all assembly components that were not added as targets as references.

• Attach all objects with various specified relations as targets of the workflow.

Note

Do not place handlers on the -perform action of an Add Status task, as they are not executed
on this task type.

Start action Rule handler: EPM-check-action-performer-role

Arguments:Values -responsible:DBA
-responsible:ME
Description: Checks whether a member of the DBA or ME groups initiated the workflow. If
not, the workflow does not proceed.
Start action Rule handler: EPM-validate-target-objects
Arguments:Values -include_type:ACMEPartMfgRevision,ACMEMEProcessRevision,
ACMEMEOPRevision
Description: Restricts the types of objects that can be added as target objects
to ACMEPartMfgRevision, ACMEMEProcessRevision and
ACMEMEOPRevision.
Start action Rule handler: EPM-assert-targets-checked-in
Arguments:Values No arguments set. (This handler does not accept arguments.)
Description: Confirms that all objects selected as targets of the workflow process are
checked in.
Start action Action handler: PS-attach-assembly-components

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Arguments:Values -depth:1
-exclude_released
-rev_rule:Working
-include_related_type:ACMETypes
-add_excluded_as_ref
Description: Traverses one level into the assembly and attaches all the components of
the target assembly as targets of the workflow process, and then configures
the assembly to Working.
Excludes any release objects, collects only ACMETypes objects, and
attaches all assembly components that were not added as targets as
references.
Start action Action handler: EPM-attach-related-objects
Arguments:Values -relation:IMAN_METarget
-attachment:target
Description: Attaches all objects with an IMAN_METarget relation as targets of the
workflow.
Start action Action handler: EPM-attach-related-objects
Arguments:Values -relation:IMAN_specification
-attachment:target
Description: Attaches all objects with an IMAN_specification relation as targets of the
workflow.
Start action Action handler: EPM-attach-related-objects
Arguments:Values -relation:IMAN_Rendering
-attachment:target
Description: Attaches all objects with an IMAN_Rendering relation as targets of the
workflow.
Start action Action handler: EPM-attach-related-objects
Arguments:Values -relation:IMAN_Reference
-attachment:target
Description: Attaches all objects with an IMAN_Reference relation as targets of the
workflow.
Start action Action handler: EPM-attach-related-objects
Arguments:Values -relation:PSBOMViewRevision
-attachment:target
Description: Attaches all objects with a PSBOMViewRevision relation as targets of the
workflow.

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ACMERP (Add Status task)

In this workflow example, handlers placed on the Start action of the ACMERP task:
• Attach the ACMERP status to the ACMERP task.

Handlers placed on the Complete action of the ACMERP task:

• Delete all existing statuses assigned to any target objects and replace them with the ACMERP
status.

Start action Action handler: EPM-create-status

Arguments:Values -status:ACMERP
Description: Attaches the ACMERP status to the ACMERP task.
Note

The ACMERP status should be already defined in the Business

Modeler IDE.

Complete action Action handler: EPM-set-status

Arguments:Values -action:replace
Description: Deletes all existing statuses assigned to any target objects and replaces
them with the ACMERP status.

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Determining when and where templates run

Using workflow templates at multiple sites

Distributing workflow templates using Multi-Site Collaboration

Replicate a workflow template

You can distribute your workflow templates to different Teamcenter sites by replicating templates
using Multi-Site Collaboration. You can replicate your workflow templates, including those under
construction, on several Teamcenter sites by using the data_share utility and update them with the
data_sync utility. You cannot edit the replicas, only the template at the owning site. Also, handlers
attached to the templates must exist at all sites where the templates are replicated.

1. If necessary, create the template you want to replicate.

2. Run the data_share utility with the following arguments:

data_share -u=user-id -p=password -g=group -f=send

-site=remote-site-name1 -name=workspace-object-class=class-name
For example, if you want to replicate the demotemplate workflow template at the
teamcentersite2 site, run the following utility command (the required logon information is
omitted from the example):

data_share -f=send -site=teamcentersite2 -name=demotemplate

-class=EPMTaskTemplate

Note

• If you want to transfer ownership to the specified site, add the -transfer argument
to the command.

• If you want to import the template at another site to the current site, change the -f
argument to -f=remote_import.

• If you want to replicate the template at more than one site, add more -site arguments
to the command.

• If you want to replicate several templates, type the template names in a text file
and replace the -name and -class arguments with the -filename and -classoffile
arguments, respectively.

The replicate template appears at the new site with the symbol.

Synchronize replicated templates

1. Update the template at the owning site that is replicated at another site.

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Note

If you want active workflow processes based on the synchronized template to be updated
at the replica site, set the WRKFLW_multisite_apply_template_changes preference to
true.

2. Run the data_sync utility with the following arguments:

data_sync -u=user-id -p=password -g=group -f=sync
-site=remote-site-name1 -class=class-name -update
For example, if you changed the demotemplate workflow template and wanted to update
the replica at the teamcentersite2 site, run the following utility command (the required logon
information is omitted from the example):

data_sync -f=sync -site=teamcentersite2 -class=EPMTaskTemplate -update

Note

If you want to synchronize the template at more than one site, add more -site arguments
to the command.

The replicate template is updated at the specified sites.

Related topics
• Configure ability to apply template edits to active processes

Distributing workflow templates using Workflow Designer

Importing and exporting workflow templates

You can distribute your workflow templates to different Teamcenter sites by importing and exporting
workflow process and task templates from the Teamcenter database in an XML format.
• You can import workflow process and task templates into the Teamcenter database from an
exported workflow template file. Importing templates is useful for transferring workflow templates
between different Teamcenter sites. The templates must first be exported from a Teamcenter
database into an export file, after which you can import the file into the Teamcenter database
at another site.

• You can export workflow process and task templates from the Teamcenter database in XML
format, storing the templates in a single export file. After exporting the templates, you can import
the file into the Teamcenter database at another site. You can also easily search the XML to
determine handler and argument usage.

Best practice
If your enterprise encompasses more than one site, always make workflow template changes at the
master site, and then propagate the changes by exporting the workflow template from the master
site to other sites. If additional changes are required at a later date, again make the workflow
template changes at the master site, export the workflow template from the master site, and then
import it at all other sites.

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This method ensures that the origin_uid value of each workflow template continues to match from
site to site. If you export/import a workflow template between nonmaster sites, its origin_uid value
eventually becomes mismatched between versions, resulting in the following error when you choose
to overwrite during import:
The origin_uid’s of the importing template(s) do not match with the origin_uid’s
of the existing template(s). The import of template(s) in overwrite mode failed.
Matching origin_uid’s are required to apply template changes to active workflow
processes. You can replace the existing template by deleting it, and then
re-importing, but this will prevent you from applying template changes to active
workflow processes.

If you receive this error, you can manually replace the existing template with the importing template
by first deleting the importing template, then repeating the import. However, using this method breaks
the link between origin_uid values. If you use this method, the system cannot apply template
changes to active workflow processes.

Import workflow templates

1. Choose Tools→Import.
The system displays the Import Workflow Templates dialog box.

2. Type the path to the directory containing the export file in the Import File box, or click the
Browse button to locate the directory.

3. (Optional) If you want the system to continue the transfer if one or more workflow templates fail
to transfer, select the Continue On Error check box. If one or more workflow templates fail to
transfer, the system records transfer errors in its log files, bypasses the failed workflow templates,
and transfers the remaining workflow templates.
If you do not select this option, the system stops the transfer process if one workflow template fails
to transfer and only includes in the transfer those workflow templates that transferred successfully.

4. (Optional) If you want the system to overwrite any workflow template of the same name that
already exists in the database, select the Overwrite Duplicate Templates check box. The
system does not display or log any errors.
Select this option when the imported workflow template contains changes that you want applied
to the database.
For example, you have added two custom tasks to the QuarterlyReview workflow template and
thoroughly tested the revised template in your test database. Now you are ready to import
the changes to the production database. By choosing to overwrite duplicate templates when
importing the workflow template to the production database, you are effectively editing the
QuarterlyReview workflow template. On import, the original QuarterlyReview workflow template
is overwritten by the importing workflow template; it now contains the two custom tasks.
If you do not select this option, any importing template with the same name as an existing
template is ignored and the import process continues. A message is logged that a workflow
template of the same name exists.

5. (Optional) If you chose to overwrite duplicate templates, you can also choose ignore the origin ID
of the template you are importing by selecting the Ignore origin ID check check box.
Select this option if you get the following error when attempting to import workflow templates:

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The importing template(s) do not match with the existing template(s).

The import of template(s) in overwrite mode failed.

6. (Optional) If you chose to overwrite duplicate templates, you can also choose to apply the
differences in the imported templates to all active workflow processes based on the original
version of the workflow template. In other words, you can choose to apply the edits you have
made to the importing template to active workflow processes.
To continue the example in the previous step, if you select the Apply template changes to all
active workflow processes check box while importing the QuarterlyReview workflow template
into the production database, the two custom tasks added during import are also applied to all
active workflow processes that were based on the original version of the QuarterlyReview
workflow template.
When you import templates from a Teamcenter version prior to 10.1, do not select the Apply
template changes to all active workflow processes check box. If you do, Teamcenter does
not successfully import the template.
Updates are applied as described in Applying template edits to active workflow processes.
Note

• This check box is visible only if the EPM_enable_apply_template_changes

preference is set to OPTIONAL.

• This check box is not available if you selected the Ignore origin ID check check box.

7. (Optional) If you chose to apply edits to active workflow processes, you can also choose to
process the edits in the background by selecting the Update processes in background check
box.
Your edits are applied in the background. The updates run asynchronously, and you are notified
by Teamcenter mail when the updates complete. Typically, you only want to update workflow
processes in real time when your changes impact 10–20 active workflow processes, as in testing
scenarios.
Caution

Asynchronous processing must be configured.

8. Click OK to import the templates contained within the file you selected into the Teamcenter
database.
The imported template names now exist in the database and appear in the Process Template list.

Export workflow templates

1. Choose Tools→Export.
The Export Workflow Templates dialog box appears.

2. Type the path to the directory containing the objects you want to export in the Export Directory
box, or click the Browse button to locate the directory.

3. Specify the name of the export file in the File Name box, for example, template_export.

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4. In the Templates section of the dialog box, select the templates you want to export from the All
Templates list. (Use the Ctrl key to select multiple templates.)

5. Add the selected templates to the Selected Templates list. These are the templates the system
exports.

6. If you want the system to continue the transfer if one or more templates fail to transfer, select
Continue On Error. If one or more templates fail to transfer, the system records transfer errors in
its log files, bypasses the failed templates, and transfers the remaining templates.
If you do not choose this option, the system stops the transfer process if one template fails to
transfer and only includes in the transfer those templates that transferred successfully.

7. Click OK to export the templates in the Selected Templates list and close the dialog box.
The selected templates are exported in XML format to the file name you defined in step 3 in
the directory you defined in step 2.

Processing templates and tasks in the background

Background processing requirements

Background processing of template edits applied to active workflow processes allows the edits to
be performed asynchronously (behind the scenes) without pausing your interaction with Workflow
Designer.
Consider the processing time required to apply edits to all active workflow processes based on a
particular workflow template. If Workflow Designer is processing edits to 10–20 active workflow
processes, as may occur when testing the edits, the Workflow Designer interface does not noticeably
slow down. But if the workflow template is in a production environment and has generated hundreds
of active templates, processing time can be extensive. Performing the edits in the backgrounds
prevents Workflow Designer from pausing until the edits complete.
Background processing of workflow objects requires the following:
• A four-tier architecture environment. Users running in a two-tier environment can successfully
submit requests for asynchronous processing if there is a four-tier Teamcenter environment
available to accept the request.

• Configuration of asynchronous services.

You can also configure individual tasks in a workflow process to execute in the background with
asynchronous processing.

Configure tasks for background processing

You can configure individual tasks in a workflow process to run in the background. If they are
configured for background processing, all of those tasks’ actions, except Perform and Assign, are
processed asynchronously.
Note

Your system must be configured for background processing.

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 Creating workflow templates

1. Set the EPM_task_execution_mode preference to either CONFIGURABLE or BACKGROUND.

If you set the preference to BACKGROUND, all tasks run in the background.
If you set the preference to CONFIGURABLE, tasks that have their Process in Background
check box selected in the workflow process template are sent to be run in the background.

2. If the EPM_task_execution_mode preference is set to CONFIGURABLE, open Workflow

Designer and select the process template with the tasks you wanted ran in the background.

3. In Edit mode, click the task and then click the Task Attributes button.

4. Select the Process in Background check box and close the Attributes dialog box.
Repeat for each task you want to run in the background

• Children tasks of those chosen to process in the background are processed in the
background also.

• You can set only the root task and its children to background processing.

5. When you have configured all the tasks in the workflow process template you want to run in the
background, select the Set Stage to Available check box and click Yes in the Stage Change
dialog box.

When a user creates a workflow using the process template, the workflow runs the tasks that have
the Process in Background check box selected in the background.

Related topics

• Configuring asynchronous services

Editing templates

Determining which editing options to use

Perform edits on existing workflow process templates by selecting the template to be edited and
clicking the Edit button.
Consider the following questions before editing a workflow template.

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 Chapter
Chapter 1: 1: Creating
Creating workflow
workflow templates
templates

Editing task Description

Edit offline or online? Offline editing prevents users from accessing the workflow template
while you edit. Use this option when you do not want the old
version of the workflow template available for use until your edits
are complete.
Online editing allows users to initiate workflows based on the old
version of the workflow template while you edit a copy of the same
workflow template. When you switch the edited version to the
Available stage, the older copy is overwritten; only the edited copy
remains available from the interface.
Apply edits to running After editing a workflow template, you can choose to apply the edits
workflow processes? to all active workflow processes based on that template.
When you select the Set Stage to Available check box to change
the template’s stage to Available, the Apply Template Changes
dialog box asks whether to apply the edits to all active workflow
processes based on the template.
Select the Apply template changes to all active workflow
processes check box to update each active workflow process
based on the workflow template as follows:
• If the edits in the workflow template occur later in the workflow
than the active workflow process has reached, the edits are
applied to the workflow.

• If the edits in the workflow template occur earlier, and the active
workflow has already passed the place where the edits were
made, the edits do not take effect, unless the task/path is re-run
using backward branching/loops or when a task is demoted.

• If the edits in the workflow template impact an active task, the

edits are applied after the task completes and only take effect if
the task is re-run.

• If the edits deletes the currently active task, the next task is
started.
Which workflow components You can edit any aspect of the workflow process template, including:
can be edited?
• Changing the template name

• Adding and removing tasks

• Adding, deleting, redrawing, and resetting flow paths

• Adding, deleting, and resetting handlers, attributes, task

attributes, and attachments

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 Creating workflow templates

Editing offline versus online

Deciding whether to edit a workflow template online or offline is determined by whether you want to
grant users access to the existing version of the workflow template while you edit it.
• Online editing allows users to initiate workflows based on the existing version of the workflow
template while you edit a copy of the same workflow template.
Select No in the Offline? dialog box to edit online. The system makes a copy of the workflow
template and sets it to the Under Construction stage; this is the version you edit. Both versions
of the workflow template display in the Process Template list in the New Process dialog box.
The Under Construction symbol displays next to the version being edited. You also have
the option of not displaying templates under construction by unchecking the Show Under
Construction Templates checkbox in the New Process dialog box.
Users can continue to use the existing version of the workflow template. When you switch the
edited version to the Available stage, the existing copy is overwritten; only the edited copy
remains available from the interface.

• Offline editing prevents users from accessing the workflow template while you edit it.
Select Yes in the Offline? dialog box to edit offline. With this option, there is only one instance of
the template. The system sets the workflow template to the Under Construction stage. The
template is not available to users initiating workflow processes against objects; it does not display
in the Process Template list in the New Process dialog box.
Only users with privileges to edit workflow templates can see the workflow template in the
Process Template list, which is marked with the Under Construction symbol. When you
switch the workflow template to the Available stage, the edited workflow template becomes
available to users.

Edit workflow templates

1. Select the desired workflow template from the Process Template box.

2. Select Edit mode.

A dialog box asks whether you want to take the selected process template offline. Select Yes to
take the workflow template offline, preventing users from initiating workflow processes based on
this template while you edit. The workflow template is not available to users from the Process
Template list while you keep the template offline.

3. (Optional) Rename the template by selecting the existing template name in the Name box under
the Set Stage to Available check box and typing a new name over the selection. Alternatively,
backspace from the end of the name to delete the characters. After you type a new name, click
one of the tasks in the task hierarchy tree to set the new name. You cannot change the name
using the Process Template box.
Warning

You cannot select the existing name and use the Delete key to delete the entire name at
once. The system interprets use of the Delete key as a command to delete an object
from the database.

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 Chapter
Chapter 1: 1: Creating
Creating workflow
workflow templates
templates

4. (Optional) Add, place, and remove tasks.

5. (Optional) Add, remove, and modify task attributes by clicking the Task Attributes button.

6. (Optional) Edit task handlers by clicking the Task Handlers button.

7. (Optional) Edit perform signoff teams by clicking the Task Signoff button.

8. After you finish editing the workflow template, select the Set Stage to Available check box.
The Stage Change dialog box appears, stating that changing the template stage to available
makes the template visible to all users and asking if you want to continue. Click Yes to save your
changes to the database, make the template visible to all users, and return to Browse mode.
Click No to remain in Edit mode.

Configure ability to apply template edits to active processes

Before you can apply workflow template edits to active workflow processes, you must configure the
EPM_enable_apply_template_changes preference. By default, this preference is set to NONE,
which suppresses this functionality.
1. Choose Edit→Options to open the Options dialog box.

2. Click the Filter tab at the bottom left of the dialog box and type
EPM_enable_apply_template_changes in the Search by preference name box.

3. Select the EPM_enable_apply_template_changes and set the value to one of the following:
OPTIONAL
Allows you to choose on a case-by-case basis whether to apply workflow template edits to
active workflow processes based on the workflow template.
After editing a workflow template and selecting the Set Stage to Available check box to
change its stage to Available, the Apply Template Changes dialog box allows you to apply
your edits to all active workflow processes based on the edited template.
Select the Apply template changes to all active workflow processes check box to apply
your edits.
AUTOMATIC
Automatically applies edits to a workflow template to all active workflow processes based on
the edited template.
After editing a workflow template and selecting the Set Stage to Available check box to
change its stage to Available, the edits are automatically applied to all active workflow
processes based on the edited template.
By default, this setting applies the edits in the background. However, this functionality
requires a four-tier architecture environment. (Users running in a two-tier environment can
successfully submit requests for asynchronous processing if there is a four-tier Teamcenter
environment available to accept the request.) Additionally, Dispatcher must be enabled and
configured for asynchronous processing.

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 Creating workflow templates

Note

If background processing is not configured and supported at your site, active workflow
processes are updated in real time. When updating in real time, the Teamcenter
interface pauses until the updates complete.

Updating the workflow processes in the background is the recommended method, and, by default,
the Update processes in background check box is selected.
Note

If you apply the updates in real time, the Teamcenter interface is unavailable until the updates
complete. This method is suitable for testing. It is not recommended when updating more
than 30–50 workflow processes.
The update duration depends on the type of edits made to the workflow processes. For
example, it takes longer to remove tasks than add tasks. Edits within tasks (handlers,
attributes, etc.) require minimal processing time.

Applying template edits to active workflow processes

You can use Workflow Designer to apply workflow template edits to all active workflow processes
based on the previous (unedited) version of the workflow template.
Applying workflow template edits to all active workflow process is a powerful way to edit many active
processes simultaneously. Because this is a far-reaching procedure, it is important to understand
exactly how the edits are applied:
• If the edits in the workflow template occur later in the workflow than the active workflow process
has reached, the edits are applied to the workflow.

• If the edits in the workflow template occur earlier, and the active workflow has already passed
the place where the edits were made, the edits do not take effect, unless the task/path is re-run
using backward branching/loops or when a task is demoted.

• If the edits in the workflow template impact an active task, the edits are applied after the task
completes and only take effect if the task is re-run.

• If the edits deletes the currently active task, the next task is started.
Note

This can result in users logging on and finding that tasks they were working on were
removed from their worklist.

Additionally, active workflow processes can be updated in a similar manner when importing updated
versions of a workflow template, either through the Workflow Designer application or using the
plmxml_import utility.
For more information about importing workflow templates using the plmxml_import utility.
Before you can fully use this behavior, several procedures are required to enable and configure two
types of functionality:
• Applying template edits to active workflow processes

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 Chapter
Chapter 1: 1: Creating
Creating workflow
workflow templates
templates

• Allowing the active workflow processes to be updated in the background

Related topics

• Import workflow templates

Apply template edits to all active workflow processes

You can apply edits to active workflow processes after you have completed editing a workflow
template and are ready to make the workflow template available to users.

1. Select the Set stage to available check box to change the workflow template’s stage to
Available.

The Apply Template Changes dialog box appears asking whether to apply your edits to all
active workflow processes based on the template.

Note

You can also change a workflow template’s stage from Under Construction to Available
when closing Workflow Designer. The Set To Available Stage Template dialog box
displays whenever under construction workflow templates exist when you close Workflow
Designer.
Using this dialog box to change a template’s stage does not allow you to apply template
edits to active workflow processes.

2. Select the Apply template changes to all active workflow processes check box.

Your edits are applied to each active workflow process based on that workflow template.

3. (Optional) Select the Update processes in background check box.

Your edits are applied in the background. The updates run asynchronously, and you are notified
by Teamcenter mail when the updates complete.
Typically, you only want to update workflow processes in real time when your changes impact
10–20 active workflow processes, as in testing scenarios.

Caution

Asynchronous processing must be configured.

You can also edit an active workflow process in Workflow Viewer, in which you edit the particular
active workflow process, not the workflow template on which it is based. This method allows you to
edit only one active workflow process at a time.

Related topics

• Background processing requirements

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Chapter 2: Managing signoff behavior

Signoff profile creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Quorum and required signoff behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Workflow task assignment options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Create a signoff profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

Define a surrogate for another user (requires administrative privileges) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

Assigning tasks using process assignment lists in My Teamcenter or thin client . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Managing process assignment lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Create process assignment lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Modify task assignments in your process assignment lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Replacing users in process assignment lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Replace a user in one or more process assignment lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Importing and exporting process assignment lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Assigning all tasks in a process using process assignment lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Assign tasks to an in-progress process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

Managing work contexts in My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11

What are work contexts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Create a work context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Assign a work context to a workflow task, item, or item revision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Remove work contexts from an object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13

Assigning tasks using resource pools in My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13

Balance workflow task assignments with resource pools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Assigning tasks to a resource pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Subscribe or unsubscribe a resource pool of a group, role, or role in a group . . . . . . . . . . 2-14

Setting due dates and durations for tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . 2-14

Set a due date for a task using My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . 2-14
Set task duration and assign overdue notice recipients using My Teamcenter .. . . . . . . . 2-15
Set due date in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . 2-16
Set duration in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . 2-17
Set recipients list in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . 2-18

Create an ACL and recipients for a task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18

Requiring a PKI digital signature during a workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20

Requiring PKI authentication to perform a workflow task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow

Chapter 2: Managing signoff behavior

Signoff profile creation

Signoff profiles are created by administrators based on group or role, making it easier to assign
approvers to a task. Defined in the process template, signoff profiles are particularly useful in
enforcing groups and roles in a signoff. For example, if you want three managers from the Marketing
group, all managers from the Engineering group, and 51% of the engineers from the Engineering
group to sign off on a particular Review task, the administrator creates three group profiles: a
Marketing/manager profile, an Engineering/manager profile, and an Engineering/engineer profile.

To enhance project-based user assignments, administrators can use the

WRKFLW_show_user_assignment_options preference to determine which tab in
the signoff tree is active by default: the Organization tab or the Project Teams tab. By default,
Organization is selected. You can also choose to show only the Organization tab and hide the
Project Teams tab, or vice-versa. Users are filtered using group or role membership criteria.

Once an adminstrator has defined a signoff profile, you, as a member of the signoff profile, can
choose to approve tasks by one of the following methods:

• Quorum format: approval based on a specified minimum number of approvers

• Percentage: approval based on specified percent of approvers

• All: approval based on return of all review and comments

Quorum and required signoff behavior

You use quorums for task signoffs to indicate the number (percentage) of users who must approve
the task in order for it to complete. You can use required signoffs with quorums to prevent the task
from completing unless all required signoffs provide a signoff decision.

You can make a reviewer required using one of the following methods:

• Use the Assign All Tasks tab when a workflow is created.

• Assign when selecting a signoff team.

• Use the EPM-adhoc-signoffs or EPM-fill-in-reviewers handlers with the -required setting.

Workflow task assignment options

There are two categories of workflow task assignment options:

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 2-1

 Chapter
Chapter 2: 2: Managing
Managing signoff
signoff behavior
behavior

Interactive task assignment Interactive tasks can use individual users or

resource pools, but requires user input to
complete. It incluces manual assignment of
tasks and the creation and application of process
automation lists (PALs).
Automated task assignment Automated task assignment can use individual
users, resource pools, or dynamic participants.
Four action handlers perform automated
assignment:
• EPM-auto-assign

• EPM-auto-assign-rest

• EPM-adhoc-signoffs

• EPM-fill-in-reviewers

Create a signoff profile

1. Double-click the Review task in the task hierarchy tree.
The task expands, listing the select-signoff-team subtasks.
Note

You can change the names of the select-signoff-team and perform-signoffs subtasks.
For example, you can rename the subtasks to specify their parent task or the current step
in the process (such as select-design-signoff-team).

2. Select the select-signoff-team subtask, and then click Task Signoff in the lower left of the
Workflow Designer pane.
The Signoff Profiles dialog box appears.

3. Select a Group and Role.

Note

Define the signoff profiles by group or role, not by individual users. For example, if you
want three managers from the Marketing group, all managers from the Engineering group,
and 51% of the engineers from the Engineering group to sign off on this particular Review
task, create three group profiles: a Marketing/manager profile, an Engineering/manager
profile, and an Engineering/engineer profile.
You can use the wildcard (*) to leave both the group and role category undesignated.

4. Type the number or percentage of reviewers required for this particular group/role signoff profile.

5. Select the Allow sub-group members check box to grant members of subgroups permission to
sign off instead of members of the designated group.

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 Managing signoff behavior

6. Click Create to add this profile to the Signoff Profiles list. To change an existing profile in
the Signoff Profiles list, click Modify. To delete an existing profile in the Signoff Profiles
list, click Delete.

Define a surrogate for another user (requires administrative

privileges)

1. Click My Worklist in the navigation pane.

The system displays your inbox.

2. Choose Tools→Workflow Surrogate.

The system displays the Workflow Surrogate dialog box.

3. Select the group, role, and user for whom you are defining surrogates.
The dialog box displays surrogates for the selected user in the Current Surrogate User(s) list.
Note

You can choose all roles within a group by selecting the asterisk (*) rather than selecting
a specific role.

4. Select the group, role, and user to be a surrogate.

5. Set the Surrogate Effective Dates effectivity start date for the surrogate user as follows:
a. Click the calendar button in the From box to open the popup calendar.

b. Select the month in which the surrogate user becomes effective. Click the back arrow to
scroll to the previous month or click the forward arrow to scroll to the next month.

c. Type the year in which the surrogate user becomes effective.

Click the back arrow to scroll to the previous month or click the forward arrow to scroll
to the next month.

d. Select the day the surrogate user becomes effective by clicking the appropriate square
on the calendar.

e. Type the hour, minute, and second at which the surrogate user's effectivity begins in the
h, m, and s boxes.
Use the 24-hour clock format; for example, type 1:30 p.m. as 13 h, 30 m, and 00 s.
If you do not specify another time or clear the boxes, the current time is entered.

f. Click OK to accept the effectivity start date and time and close the calendar.

6. Set the Surrogate Effective Dates effectivity end date for the surrogate user:
a. Click the calendar button in the To box to open the popup calendar.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 2-3

 Chapter
Chapter 2: 2: Managing
Managing signoff
signoff behavior
behavior

b. Select the month in which the surrogate user's effectivity ends.

Click the back arrow to scroll to the previous month or click the forward arrow to scroll
to the next month.

c. Select the year in which the surrogate user's effectivity ends.

Click the back arrow to scroll to the previous year or click the forward arrow to scroll to
the next year.

d. Select the day the surrogate user's effectivity ends by clicking the appropriate square on the
calendar.

e. Type the hour, minute, and second at which the surrogate user's effectivity ends in the h,
m, and s boxes.
Use the 24-hour clock format; for example, type 1:30 p.m. as 13 h, 30 m, and 00 s.
If you do not specify another time or clear the boxes, the current time is entered.

f. Click OK to accept the effectivity end date and time and close the calendar.
Tip

To allow the surrogate user to be effective indefinitely, leave the end date unset. To
reset the effectivity dates, click Reset.

7. Click Add.
The system displays the surrogate user in the Current Surrogate Users list, the surrogate user
is notified via email, and a link is created in the surrogate user's inbox.
The link in the surrogate user's inbox allows the surrogate user to access the inbox of the user
for whom they are acting surrogate.

Assigning tasks using process assignment lists in My Teamcenter or

thin client
Managing process assignment lists
Process assignment lists are distribution lists associated with workflow process templates. These lists
assign resources to all tasks in a workflow process. Assignment lists can be used to assign resources
to single-user tasks, such as Do tasks, and to multiple-user tasks, such as perform-signoffs tasks.
When used with single-user tasks, assignments are replaced with the resources specified in the
list. When used with multiple-user tasks, the resources defined in the list are appended to the
resources to whom the tasks are currently assigned. In addition, multiple process assignment lists
can be associated with a single workflow process, providing users with multiple task assignment
configurations.
Process assignment lists can be either shared or private.
• Shared lists are generated by members of the DBA group or by a user designated as a group
administrator. These lists are available for use by all users and cannot be modified by end users.

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 Managing signoff behavior

• Private lists can be created by any user and are only visible to that user.

Create process assignment lists

1. Choose Tools→Process Assignment List→Create/Edit.
The system displays the Create/Edit Assignment List dialog box.
Tip

You can create an assignment list based on another list by selecting the list from one of
the assignment list folders, entering a new name, and clicking Create.

2. Type a name for the list in the Name box.

3. Choose the process template to associate with the list:

a. Choose Assigned to select from all process templates assigned to your group, or choose All
to select from available process templates.

b. Select a template from the Process Template list.

4. (Optional) Select the Create Shared List check box. This option is only available to members
of the DBA group and to group administrators.

5. (Optional) Type a description of the process assignment list in the Description box.

6. Click the Resources tab.

The system displays the process and its associated task templates in a tree structure. You can
view the taskflow by clicking the Process View tab. This view allows you to view the subtasks,
handlers and properties of the selected task.
Note

The select-signoff-team and perform-signoffs subtasks associated with Route, Review,

and Acknowledge tasks are not displayed in the tree.

Assign responsible parties:

a. Select the task node in the tree.
The system displays the Organization and Project Teams tabs in the right side of the
window.
Select responsible parties based on their group and role within the organization or the
team. In addition, when assigning responsible parties for a task, the only action that can
be assigned is Perform.

b. Use the Organization or Project Teams tab to select the responsible party.
You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination in the Organization tab.

c. Click Add.

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Managing signoff
signoff behavior
behavior

The system displays the user information and action assigned to that user beneath the task
node in the process tree.

d. Repeat the previous steps to assign a responsible party for other tasks in the process.

Assign users:

a. Expand the task node in the tree to begin to assign users to review, acknowledge, or receive
notification of a task.
The system displays the Users node and the Profiles node.

• The Users node lets you assign resources using an ad hoc selection process.

• Profiles limit the pool of users that can be assigned to the task.
The system displays the Profiles node when user profiles were defined as part of the
process template.

b. Select the Users or Profiles node.

c. Use the Organization or Project Teams tab to select a user.

You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination in the Organization tab.

d. Select an action from the list.

The system displays the actions in this list based on the task template type. For example, if
a Route task is selected, the Review, Acknowledge, and Notify actions are displayed. If
a Review task is selected, only the Review action is available; if an Acknowledge task is
selected, only the Acknowledge action is available.

e. Click Add.
The system displays the user information and action assigned to that user beneath the task
node in the process tree.

f. Repeat the previous steps to assign users to review, acknowledge, or receive notification
of other tasks in the tree.
Tip

You can copy user nodes and paste them in to another task using the Copy and
Paste buttons located beneath the tree.

g. (Optional) Modify or set the quorum value for Review and Acknowledge tasks in the Review
Quorum and Acknowledge Quorum boxes.

7. Click Create.
The system displays the process assignment list in your My Lists folder.

Modify task assignments in your process assignment lists

1. In My Teamcenter, choose Tools→Process Assignment List→Create/Edit.

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 Managing signoff behavior

The system displays the Create/Edit Assignment List dialog box.

2. Select a list from the My Lists folder. If you are a group administrator you can modify lists
contained in the My Group Lists folder, as well as those contained in the My Lists folder. If you
are a member of a DBA group, you can modify lists contained in any of the folders.

3. Assign responsible parties to the task:

a. Click the Resources tab.

b. Select the task node in the tree.

The system displays the Organization and Project Teams tabs in the right side of the
window.
These tabs let you select responsible parties based on their group and role within the
organization or team. In addition, when assigning responsible parties for a task, the only
action that can be assigned is Perform.

c. Use the Organization or Project Teams tab to select a user.

You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination in the Organization tab.

d. Click Add.
The system displays the user information and action assigned to that user beneath the task
node in the process tree.

e. Repeat the previous steps to assign a responsible party for other tasks in the process.

4. Assign users to review, acknowledge, or receive notification of a task:

a. Expand the task node in the tree to begin to assign users to review, acknowledge, or receive
notification of a task.
The system displays the Users node and the Profiles node.

• The Users node lets you assign resources using an ad hoc selection process.

• Profiles limit the pool of users that can be assigned to the task.
The system displays the Profiles node when user profiles are defined as part of the
process template.

b. Select the Users or Profiles node.

c. Use the Organization or Project Teams tab to select a user.

You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination in the Organization tab.

d. Select an action from the list.

The system displays the actions in this list based on the task template type. For example, if
a Route task is selected, the Review, Acknowledge, and Notify actions are displayed. If
a Review task is selected, only the Review action is available; if an Acknowledge task is
selected, only the Acknowledge action is available.

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e. Click Add.
The system displays the user information and action assigned to that user beneath the task
node in the process tree.

f. Repeat the previous steps to assign users to review, acknowledge, or receive notification
of other tasks in the tree.
Tip

You can copy user nodes and paste them into another task using the Copy and Paste
buttons located beneath the tree.

g. (Optional) Modify or set the quorum value for Review and Acknowledge tasks in the Review
Quorum and Acknowledge Quorum boxes.

5. Click Modify to save the changes you have made.

Replacing users in process assignment lists

To replace a user who is assigned responsibility for tasks within a process, or multiple processes,
through assignment lists, both the old and new user must be members of the same group and fill the
same role within the group.

Replace a user in one or more process assignment lists

1. Choose Tools→Process Assignment List→Replace User.
The system displays the Replace Group Member wizard.

2. Select the old group member from the Organization tree by clicking the button to the right of the
Old Group Member box.
The system displays the Select Group Member dialog box.

3. You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination or expand the tree to locate and
select the group member yourself.
Teamcenter closes the dialog box and displays the wizard.

4. Select the new group member by clicking the button to the right of the New Group Member box.
The system displays the Select Group Member dialog box.

5. You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination or expand the tree to locate and
select the group member yourself.
Teamcenter closes the dialog box and displays the wizard.
Note

If you do not select a new group member, the old group member is removed from the
process assignment list.

6. Click Next.

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The system displays all process assignment lists that include the user designated as the old
group member.

7. Select the lists in the List(s) Found section and click the button to move the lists to the
Selected List(s) section.
Teamcenter replaces the user in these lists.

8. Click Finish.
The system displays the Replace Success dialog box.

9. Click OK to close the dialog box.

Importing and exporting process assignment lists

You can use Import and Export options in the Create/Edit Assignment List dialog box to import
and export process assignment lists (PALs) in PLM XML format.
• Exporting a process assignment list also exports its associated workflow template.

• Importing a process assignment list also imports its associated workflow template.
o When importing a PAL and the importing site does not have one with the same name:
■ The PAL is successfully imported if at least one resource is assigned to the PAL.

■ The associated workflow template is also successfully imported if a template with the
same origin_id property does not exist at the importing site.

■ Otherwise, neither the PAL nor the template is successfully imported.

o When the Overwrite Duplicate Assignment Lists check box is not selected, a PAL with
the same name as one at the importing site is not imported.

o When the Overwrite Duplicate Assignment Lists check box is selected, and you import a
PAL that has the same name as one at the importing site:
■ The PAL successfully overwrites the one at the importing site if at least one resource is
assigned to the PAL and a workflow template with the same origin_id property exists at
the importing site.

■ Otherwise, neither the PAL nor the template is successfully imported.

Assigning all tasks in a process using process assignment lists

You can assign all tasks when you initiate a new process or you can assign all tasks in an in-progress
workflow process using process assignment lists. These lists let you choose configurations of users
to assign to the tasks in a given process template.
Access to this feature is controlled by the EPM_valid_user_to_apply_assignment_list preference.

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Assign tasks to an in-progress process

1. Select an in-process data object.

2. Choose Tools→Process Assignment List→Assign.

The system displays the assignment lists associated with the workflow process template in the
Assign All Tasks dialog box. To select from all process assignment lists rather than only those
associated with the process template, select the Show All Assignment Lists check box.

3. Select a list from the Assignment Lists list.

Teamcenter applies the assignment list to the tasks in the process. Users are displayed as nodes
in the process tree, and the action assigned to the user is displayed to the right of the tree
under the Actions heading.
Note

The select-signoff-team and perform-signoffs subtasks associated with Route, Review,

and Acknowledge tasks are not displayed in the tree.

4. (Optional) Modify the task assignments by assigning responsible parties:

a. Select the task node in the tree.
The system displays the Organization and Project Teams tabs in the right side of the
window.
The Organization tab lets you select a responsible party based on their group and role
within the organization.
You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination in the Organization tab.
In addition, when assigning a responsible party for a task, the only action that can be
assigned is Perform.

b. Use the Organization or Project Teams tab to select the responsible party.

c. Click Add.
The system displays the user information and action assigned to that user beneath the task
node in the process tree.

d. Repeat the previous steps to assign a responsible party for other tasks in the process.

5. (Optional) Modify the task assignments by assigning users to review, acknowledge, or receive
notification of a task.
a. Expand the task node in the tree to display the Users node and the Profiles node.
• The Users node lets you assign resources using an ad hoc selection process.

• The Profiles node, displayed when user profiles are defined as part of the process
template, lets you limit the pool of users that can be assigned to the task.

b. Select the Users or Profiles node.

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c. Use the Organization or Project Teams tab to select a user.

You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination in the Organization tab.

d. Select an action from the list.

The system displays the actions in this list based on the task template type. For example, if
a Route task is selected, the Review, Acknowledge, and Notify actions are displayed. If
a Review task is selected, only the Review action is available; if an Acknowledge task is
selected, only the Acknowledge action is available.

e. Click Add.
The system displays the user information and action assigned to that user beneath the task
node in the process tree.

f. Repeat the previous steps to assign users to review, acknowledge, or receive notification
of other tasks in the tree.
Tip

You can copy user nodes and paste them into another task using the Copy and Paste
buttons located beneath the tree.

g. (Optional) Modify or set the quorum value for Review and Acknowledge tasks in the Review
Quorum and Acknowledge Quorum boxes.

6. (Optional) To save modifications to the process assignment list, select the Save Modifications
Back to List check box.
Note

You can only save modifications to personal process assignment lists. Shared lists can be
modified, but the changes cannot be saved.

7. Click Assign.
Teamcenter sends the tasks to the Tasks to Perform folders of the assignees.

Managing work contexts in My Teamcenter

What are work contexts?

You can create work contexts and associate them with data objects.
• A work context is a profile that a user assumes to complete a specific assignment.

• Work contexts are created from a combination of user name, group, role, and project; however, it
is not necessary to include all four of these elements in the definition of a work context.
o If task can be performed by anyone, regardless of their group and role, the work context
specifies only the project to which the context applies.

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o If a task can be performed only by a user with a specific role within a group, the work context
definition specifies the project, group, and role, but not a specific user.

• Work contexts are related to data objects by the TC_WorkContext_Relation relationship. This
relationship can only be established between a work context object and a workflow task, item,
or item revision.

Create a work context

1. Select the workflow process, task, item, or item revision for the work context.

2. Choose File→New→Work Context.

The system displays the New Work Context dialog box.

3. Type a name for the work context in the Name box.

4. (Optional) Type a description of the work context in the Description box.

5. Select any combination of group, role, user, and project from the lists.

6. (Optional) Select the Subgroup Members Allowed check box. When this option is selected in
addition to specifying a group for the work context, Teamcenter allows members of subgroups of
the specified group to perform the task.

7. (Optional) Select the User Setting Modifiable check box. When this option is selected, users
can modify the user settings associated with this work context.
Note

The default setting for this option is controlled by the TC_wc_setting_modifiable_default

preference.

8. Click OK.

Assign a work context to a workflow task, item, or item revision

1. Select the object to which you want to assign the work context.

2. Choose Tools→Assign Work Context.

The system displays the Assign Work Context dialog box.

3. Find the work context by typing its name or partial name and wildcard in the Name box and
click Find.
The system displays the first page of work contexts that match the search criteria. Click the
right-arrow or left-arrow buttons to load the next or previous page of results.

4. Select the work context from the list and click Apply or OK.
Teamcenter assigns the work context to the selected item, item revision, or workflow task.

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Note

In addition to using this method, you can assign a work context to an object by selecting
the work context object in a tree or table, copying to the clipboard, and pasting to another
object.

Remove work contexts from an object

• To remove a work context that is assigned to an object, select the work context and choose
Cut from the shortcut menu.

Note

Work contexts that are not referenced by another object can be deleted from the database.

Assigning tasks using resource pools in My Teamcenter

Balance workflow task assignments with resource pools

You can use resource pools to balance workflow tasks between groups of users.
• Resource pools let you balance workflow task assignments. They allow open-ended
assignments, permitting any user to accept responsibility for a task that is assigned to a group,
role, or a role in a group.

• All users can subscribe to resource pool inboxes; however, they can only perform tasks if they
are valid members of the group or are assigned the appropriate role.
Note

Administrators can use the EPM_resource_pool_restrict_subscription preference to

restrict users to subscribe only to resource pools belonging to groups and roles in which
the user is a member.

• Any select-signoff-team task can be assigned to a resource pool.

Resource pools are assigned responsibility for a task in the same way that a user is assigned
responsibility: a group and role are defined, and the resource pool is indicated by the use of an
asterisk (*) in place of a specific user name.

• Tasks assigned to a resource pool appear in the Tasks to Perform folder and the Tasks to
Track folder of the appropriate resource pool inbox. Any member of the resource pool can
then accept responsibility and perform the task. All members of a group, role, or role-in-group
can take ownership of the assignment. The assignment is delivered to the Tasks to Perform
folder for all members.

Assigning tasks to a resource pool

Any select-signoff-team task can be assigned to a resource pool.

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Resource pools are assigned responsibility for a task in the same way that a user is assigned
responsibility: a group and role are defined, and the resource pool is indicated by the use of an
asterisk (*) in place of a specific user name.

Subscribe or unsubscribe a resource pool of a group, role, or role in a group

1. Choose Tools→Resource Pool Subscription.
The system displays the Resource Pool Subscription dialog box.

2. Define the group and role for the resource pool worklist:
a. Click Accessible to list the groups and roles to which you belong. As a member of the
resource pool's defined group and role, you are able to access and perform tasks assigned to
the resource pool.

b. Click All to list all groups and roles. If you are not a member of the resource pool's defined
group and role, you are not able to access and perform tasks assigned to the resource pool.

c. Select the group and role you want assigned to the resource pool.

3. Click Subscribe a Resource Pool (+).

The resource pool is added to the list in the My Worklist tree.

4. In the My Worklist tree, select a resource pool.

5. Click Unsubscribe a Resource Pool (x) to remove a resource pool from the My Worklist tree.

6. Click Cancel at any time to close the dialog box without making changes to the database.

Setting due dates and durations for tasks

Set a due date for a task using My Teamcenter

Note

• You can set a due date for a task and create a list of users who are notified if the task is
not completed by the due date, but you can only set due dates for tasks that are started.

• The Task Manager daemon must be installed to see color-coding relating to task
completion.

1. From your inbox in My Worklist, select a task in the Tasks to Track or Tasks to Perform folder.

2. Click Task Properties on the toolbar.

The system displays the Task Properties dialog box.

3. Set the due date, as follows:

a. Click Due Date to open the calendar.

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The calendar initially shows the current day, month, and year.

b. Select the month in which the task becomes due. Click the right-arrow button to move
forward in the calendar. Click the left-arrow button to move backward in the calendar.

c. Type a year in the Year box.

d. Type the hour and minute by which the task must be completed in the h and m boxes. Use
the 24-hour clock format; for example, type 1:30 p.m. as h: 13 m: 30. If you do not specify
another time or clear the boxes, the current time is entered. If you clear the boxes, the time is
set to 0 and no required completion time is set for the task.

e. Click OK to accept the due date and time and close the calendar.

You have set a due date for the task. Next, you must create a list of recipients to receive
late notices by Teamcenter mail if the task is not performed by the due date. You can specify
individual users or assign multiple users to the task using address lists.

4. Define the recipient list by typing a comma-separated list of user names in the Recipients box in
the Task Properties dialog box or as follows:
a. Click Set to the right of the Recipients box.
The system displays the Select Recipients dialog box.

b. Locate a user, group, or address list by entering the name, or a partial name and wildcard
character, in the Search box and clicking the User, Group, or Address list button. You can
display all users, groups, or address lists by entering an asterisk (*) in the Search box.
The system displays the search results in the area beneath the Search box.

c. Select the users, groups, or address list from the results and click To.

d. Click OK to accept the recipient list and exit the Select Recipients dialog box.
The system displays the names of the recipients in the Recipients box of the Task
Properties dialog box.

5. Click Close to exit the Task Properties dialog box.

Set task duration and assign overdue notice recipients using My Teamcenter
The duration of a task is the time allowed for the completion of a task that is not yet started.
Note

• Duration is based on the start date plus time. The duration includes weekends and
holidays, and is based on a 7-day week. For times exceeding a single week, you should
include the nonwork days in the duration time.

• The Task Manager daemon must be installed to see color-coding relating to task
completion.

1. From your inbox in My Worklist, select a task in the Tasks to Track or Tasks to Perform folder.

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2. Open the Viewer view and select the Process View.

3. Click Task Properties on the toolbar.

The system displays the Task Properties dialog box.

4. Click Set to the right of the Duration box.

The system displays the Set Duration dialog box.

5. Enter integer values in one or more of the following boxes to specify the duration:
• Years

• Weeks

• Days

• Hours

• Minutes

After you set a duration for the task, you must create a list of recipients to receive late notices
by Teamcenter mail if the task becomes overdue. You can specify individual users or assign
multiple users to the task using address lists.

6. Define the recipient list by typing a comma-separated list of user names in the Recipients box in
the Task Properties dialog box or as follows:
a. Click Set to the right of the Recipients box.
The system displays the Select Recipients dialog box.

b. Locate a user, group, or address list by entering the name, or a partial name and wildcard
character, in the Search box and clicking the User, Group, or Address list button. You can
display all users, groups, or address lists by entering an asterisk (*) in the Search box.
The system displays the search results in the area beneath the Search box.

c. Select the users, groups, or address list from the results and click To.

d. Click OK to accept the recipient list and exit the Select Recipients dialog box.
The system displays the names of the recipients in the Recipients box of the Task
Properties dialog box.

7. Click Close to exit the Task Properties dialog box.

Set due date in Workflow Viewer

Due Date displays the date when completion of the task is due. If the task is not complete by the
specified date, the task's status changes to late and the task becomes overdue. Overdue tasks
display in red in your worklist.
The default setting is No date set. The due date can be set from this dialog box.

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1. Click the Due Date button.

The popup calendar displays the current month.

2. Enter the date using any of the following methods:

• Type a date directly in the box at the top.

• Type a year in the Year box to change it, scroll through previous or succeeding months using
the arrows, and click the desired date in the calendar display.

• Click the Today button.

3. Enter the hour, minute, and second of the task completion time to the left of the respective h:, m:,
and s: boxes. Base entries on a 24-hour clock. For example, enter 1:30 p.m. as 13 h: 30 m: 00
s. Empty boxes automatically default to 0.

4. Choose one of the following:

• Click OK to save the changes to the database and close the popup calendar.

• Click Clear to clear all settings.

Note

The amount of time it takes for a due date to reflect late status depends on the interval setting
defined for the Task Manager daemon. This daemon can be modified in the preference XML
file by editing the TASK_MONITOR_SLEEP_TIME value.

Set duration in Workflow Viewer

The Duration box displays the length of time allowed for the completion of the project. If the task is not
completed within the specified amount of time, the task's status changes to late and the task becomes
overdue. The duration length can be defined in the template of the selected task. The duration length
can also be defined in the Attributes dialog box when the selected task is in a Pending state.
Note

The Task Manager daemon must be installed to see color-coding relating to task completion.

1. Click Set to the right of the Duration box.

The Set Duration dialog box appears.

2. Type an integer value for any or all of the following boxes to indicate the length of time that can
pass before the selected task needs to reach completion:
years
weeks
days
hours
minutes

3. Click one of the following buttons:

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• Click OK to save the changes to the database and close the dialog box.

• Click Clear.

• Click Cancel at any time to close the dialog box without making any changes.

Set recipients list in Workflow Viewer

Recipients displays the names of users selected to receive program mail when the selected task
becomes overdue. The recipients list is set from this dialog box.
1. Click Set to the right of the Recipients box.
The Select Recipients dialog box appears.

2. Enter the User, Group, or Address List search criteria for users you want to select.

3. Click User , Group , or Address List , based on the search criteria entered.
The search results appear in the box below. To display all users in the selected grouping, type *
and click the appropriate button. All users in the selected grouping display in the box below.

4. Select the users you want to define as recipients from the search results. You can choose
multiple users by pressing the control key and clicking the desired names.

5. Click the To button.

The selected users display in the box in the right side of the dialog box. These are the selected
recipients.

6. To delete a recipient, select the recipient and click the button.

7. Click one of the following buttons:

• Click OK to save the changes to the database and close the dialog box.

• Click Cancel at any time to close the dialog box without making changes.

Create an ACL and recipients for a task

1. On the toolbar, click Edit Mode .

2. Click Task Properties in the toolbar.

The system displays the Task Properties dialog box.
The Name box lists the name of the selected workflow process template or task template.

3. Click the Attributes Panel tab.

The system displays the Attributes Panel dialog box.

4. Click Named ACL to add permissions for the task and target objects.

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a. Click Assign to ACL Name to update the Assigned ACL Name box.
This action creates the EPM-set-rule-based-protection handler on the Start action for
the task.

b. (Optional) To verify the assignment, view the Task Handler panel.

5. Use one of the following methods to select an ACL to apply to the task.
• In the ACL Name box, select an existing ACL.

o Click the system Named ACL button to list ACL names created in Access Manager.

o Click the workflow Named ACL button to list ACL names created in Workflow
Designer.

6. In the ACL Name box, type a new ACL name and click Create .
The new ACL is added to the list of workflow named ACLs.

a. Add access control entries (ACEs) to define the permissions for the named ACL.

b. Click Save to save the ACEs for the named ACL.

7. To set the Recipients list:

• Click Set to the right of the Recipient box.
The system displays the Select Recipients dialog box.

• Type the user, group, or address list search criteria for users you want to select.

• Based on the search criteria you entered, click either User, Group, or Address List.
The search results display in the box below. To display all users in the selected grouping,
type * and click the appropriate button. All users in the selected grouping display in the box.

• Select the users you want to define as recipients from the search results. You can choose
multiple users by pressing Ctrl and clicking the desired names.

• Click Users.
The selected users display in the box in the right side of the dialog box. These are the
selected recipients.

• To delete a recipient, click Delete.

• Close the Named ACL dialog box.

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Note

When a named ACL is applied to a task and the Named ACL dialog box is closed,
the Show Task in Process Stage List property on the Tasks Attributes Panel is
automatically selected.
o The Show Task in Process Stage List displays the task in the Process Stage
List property for the target object.

o Tasks in the Process Stage List are used to determine the ACL for the target
objects.

8. Select Show Task in Process Stage List to display the task in the Process Stage List property
for the target object.
• Select the Show Task in Process Stage List property when a named ACL is defined for a
task.

• Clear the Show Task in Process Stage List when there are no named ACL and
EPM-set-rule-based-protection handler defined for this task, and the task does not need to
appear in the target object Process Stage List. For example, clear this box for subtasks
or parent tasks.

Note

The Process Stage List also determines the task’s attributes, such as responsible party
or signoff approvers, factored into the currently active named ACL.

9. Click Close to save the changes to the database and close the dialog box.

Requiring a PKI digital signature during a workflow

If you wish users to apply their PKI digital signature to objects in workflow, place the
EPM-apply-digital-signature handler on an interactive workflow task. Where the handler is placed
depends upon when you want the user to apply the digital signature.

Application Place the handler as Results

of the digital follows
signature
User applies On the Complete action of If the PKI authentication passed, their digital
signature to the a Do, select-signoff-team, signature is applied to the workflow targets.
workflow targets. perform-signoffs,
Condition, or form task. If a schedule task is attached as a schedule
attachment to the workflow, the digital signature is
also applied to it.

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Application Place the handler as Results

of the digital follows
signature
User needs to On the Complete action
be authenticated of the select-signoff-team
while selecting subtask of the Review task
signoff members under the Route task.
during the routing
of the task.
Multiple reviewers On the Perform action of Every user signing off the task is prompted for
usually need to the perform-signoffs task. authentication.
sign off the task.
The digital signature from each user is applied
when that user signs off.

If you want to check for valid digital signatures during the workflow, place the
EPM-verify-digital-signature handler on a workflow task. You can use this handler on a Validate
task and configure a failure path if the minimum number of valid signatures is not present or if there
are void signatures, depending on the arguments used in the handler.
Note

• You can configure which attributes of an object cannot be changed after a digital signature
is applied.

• Do not design the workflow to modify the configured attributes of the object using other
handlers on the same or a subsequent task in the workflow, including final approval.
Modifications to configured attributes should be performed in tasks previous to applying
the digital signature.

• If a schedule task is attached to workflow with a schedule task attachment, do not

configure the State, Actual Finish Date, and Percent Complete attributes because they
are updated when workflow completes after the digital signature is applied.

• For change management objects, do not configure the change states (Closure, Maturity,
and Disposition) because they are updated following a digital signature.

Digital signatures are PKI authentication attempts and are logged as an audit event.

Requiring PKI authentication to perform a workflow task

If you want users to authenticate themselves before they can complete a workflow task, place the
EPM-request-PKI-authentication handler on an interactive workflow task. The task is completed
only after the user provides valid PKI authentication, but does not apply a digital signature on any
object.
PKI authentication attempts are logged as an audit event.

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Chapter 3: Assigning signoffs

Select a signoff team in My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

Completing select-signoff-team tasks using My Teamcenter or thin client . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Select a signoff team from predefined profiles in My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Select a signoff team based on an ad hoc selection process (My Teamcenter or Workflow
Viewer) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Complete signoff team selection for an entire workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Selecting members of the signoff team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4

Selecting a signoff team in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4

Selecting a signoff team in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Select a signoff team from profiles in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Select a signoff team ad hoc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Select a signoff team from address lists in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
View signoff team profiles in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8

Letting others perform your tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9

Forward your tasks with the Out of Office Assistant in My Teamcenter or thin client . . . . . . . 3-9
Set your out of office status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Who are surrogate users? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Define a surrogate for your workflow tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Remove a surrogate user . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
Act as a surrogate for a task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Use Surrogate Actions options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Assign one or more tasks to other users in My Teamcenter or thin client . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
Claim a task in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
Reassign a task in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16

View signoff team profiles in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow

Chapter 3: Assigning signoffs

Select a signoff team in My Teamcenter

Completing select-signoff-team tasks using My Teamcenter or thin client

The Review, Acknowledge, and Route tasks each contain a select-signoff-team subtask.
When you initiate a process on a Teamcenter object and that process contains one of these parent
tasks, you are usually responsible for selecting the signoff team. Each member of the signoff team
you select is responsible for reviewing the target object and signing off on it.
Note

The Route task contains a Review task, an Acknowledge task, and a Notify task. The Route
task contains both signoff team subtasks.
The Route task also lets you specify the action for each user: Review, Acknow (for
acknowledge), or Notify.

You can select a signoff team either by completing predefined profiles or by ad hoc selection.

Signoff Team
Profiles Predefined profiles
Engineering/Designer/1
*/Standards Engineer/2
Users Ad hoc selection
Address Lists

The requirements of the selected workflow template determine the method used to select a signoff
team.
• Predefined profiles
An administrator defines profiles and associates them with workflow processes.
When you initiate a workflow process that contains predefined signoff profiles, you must select
the specified number of users for each specified group and role. For example, a typical workflow
can include predefined signoff profiles that require one user who is a member of the Engineering
group and whose role is Designer, and two users who are members of any group and whose
role is Standards Engineer.

• Ad hoc selection
Ad hoc selection allows the initializing user, address list members, and resource pool members to
add users to the signoff team individually. When the task template contains predefined signoff
profiles, the ad hoc selections make one-time-only additions to the required signoff team. When

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the task template does not contain predefined signoff profiles, the ad hoc additions are the
entire signoff team.

Select a signoff team from predefined profiles in My Teamcenter

1. Select the select-signoff-team task in your Tasks to Perform folder.

2. (Optional.) If you know you have additional tasks to perform before you can perform the current
task, you can create a subprocess from this task. The subprocess must complete before the
current task can complete.

3. Click the Viewer tab, and then click the Task View option at the top of it.
• Predefined profiles are listed in the Profiles folder.

• The group, role, and user name of the assigned members is displayed for group/role/#,
where # indicates the number of users required on the signoff team for that particular group
and role.

• You can replace group and role with an asterisk (*) to represent all groups and roles.

4. Select each profile in turn.

User names that meet the predefined group/role criteria are displayed in the Organization
tab to the right.
You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination.

5. For each profile, select the specified number of users.

For example, if a signoff profile is Design Office/Architect/3, select three users who are
members of the Design Office group and who have the role of Architect.

6. Click Add to assign each user to the signoff team.

7. Repeat the previous steps to assign the required number of users to the selected signoff team.
Note

Quorum requirements are displayed in the Review Quorum pane. You must select the
specified numbers of users for each predefined profile before you can complete this task.

8. (Optional) Add other users to the signoff team.

a. Click the Users folder directly below the Profiles folder.
This displays all users in the Organization tab to the right.
You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination.

b. Select the additional users you want to add to the signoff team.

9. (Optional) Add comments in the Comments field.

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10. Select the Ad-hoc done check box to indicate you have completed your signoff team
member selections.

11. Click Apply.

The task is complete and the Viewer tab now displays No View Data Available.

Select a signoff team based on an ad hoc selection process (My Teamcenter or

Workflow Viewer)
1. Select the select-signoff-team task in your Tasks to Perform folder.

2. (Optional.) If you know you have additional tasks to perform before you can perform the current
task, you can create a subprocess from this task. The subprocess must complete before the
current task can complete.

3. Assign specific users to the signoff process:

a. Click the Viewer tab, and then click the Task View option at the top of it.
The system displays the Signoff Team tree in the left pane of the window.

b. Click Users in the Signoff Team tree.

The right pane displays the Organization tab.

c. In the Organization tab, select a group, role and user.

You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination.

d. Select a user, then click Add to assign the user to the signoff team.

e. Repeat the previous steps to assign additional users to the signoff team.

4. Assign users from an address list to the signoff team, as follows:

a. Click Address Lists.

b. Select an address list.

c. Click Add.
• The address list appears in the Signoff Team tree.

• The person name, user, group, and role values for each member are listed below the
selected address list.

d. Repeat the previous steps to add additional address lists.

5. (Optional) Add comments in the Comments field.

6. Select the Ad-hoc done check box to indicate you have finished adding signoff team
members.

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7. Click Apply.

The task is complete and the Viewer tab now displays No View Data Available.

Complete signoff team selection for an entire workflow

Rather than select signoff teams as the select-signoff-team task appears in your worklist, you can
select signoff team members for all the different signoff teams required within an entire workflow
using process assignment lists.

Selecting members of the signoff team

When you create a process, you can assign other users responsibility for performing a particular
task within the process.
• While performing a task, the responsible party can reassign responsibility for the task to another
user.

• When a task is reassigned to a user other than the process owner, the process owner and the
responsible party are different users.

The user who initiates the workflow process must select a signoff team. As the process progresses, a
select-signoff-team task appears in the Tasks to Perform folder of the process initiator's Inbox
each time a task requiring a signoff team reaches a Started state.
Tasks that require signoff teams include:
• Review tasks

• Acknowledge tasks

• Route tasks

When you are assigned a select-signoff-team task, you select users as signoff team members who
are assigned the responsibility of signing off a target object, such as a document.
• You can assign signoff responsibility to an entire address list or resource pool of users, as well
as individual users.

• You can assign signoff responsibility by completing predefined profiles or by ad hoc selection.

• You can select a signoff team in the Task Hierarchy tree and the Task Flow pane.

A green light in the upper left hand corner of the task node indicates that a signoff team has been
assigned.

Selecting a signoff team in Workflow Viewer

Selecting a signoff team in Workflow Viewer
To perform a select-signoff-team task, the responsible party selects users to be members of the
signoff team. Each member of the signoff team is responsible for reviewing and signing off on the

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attached target objects. They do this using the perform-signoffs task, which is sent to their worklist
as soon as the signoff team is selected.
There are three methods of selecting a signoff team.

Selection method Description

Profiles Select the specified number of users to be members
of the signoff team or use a resource pool. Each user
must meet the group and role requirements of the
profile.
In this example, you must select one user from the
Change Specialist group, of any role. (The * is
a wildcard.) You must select three users from the
Engineering group with the role of Designer. (Profile
requirements can be met using resource pools, as well
as individual members.)
The OK button in the Select Signoff Team dialog
box remains unavailable until you fulfill all profile
requirements.

Users Select any number of users, from any group and role,
to be members of the signoff team. This is an ad hoc
selection method. You can also select resource pools.
If the Ad-hoc done check box is enabled at the bottom
of the Select Signoff Team dialog box, you can use
this selection method, regardless of whether you also
use the profiles and address list methods.

Address Select all the members of one or more address lists to

lists be members of the signoff team. You can also select
resource pools.
If the Ad-hoc done check box is enabled at the bottom
of the Select Signoff Team dialog box, you can use
this selection method, regardless of whether you also
use the profiles and ad hoc methods.

Select a signoff team from profiles in Workflow Viewer

1. Select a select-signoff-team task that has reached Started status, either in the task hierarchy
tree or the process flow pane.

2. Review any task instructions written in the Instructions box at the bottom of the template
manager pane.

3. (Optional) If you know you have additional tasks to perform before you can perform the
select-signoff-team task, you can create a subprocess from this task. The subprocess must
complete before the select-signoff-team task can complete.

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4. Click Perform Task on the toolbar or the button in the middle of the task in the process
flow pane.
The Select Signoff Team dialog box appears.

5. Expand the Profiles folder in the Signoff Team tree.

6. Select a profile. The Organization tab displays to the right, filtered to the group and role required
by the selected profile

7. Search or select a user from the Organization tree.

You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination.
You can assign a resource pool to the task in Resource Pool Options.

8. Click Add to add the selected user to the signoff team.

The user name is added under the selected profile.

9. Repeat these steps to assign additional users to the signoff process. You must select the
specified number of users, of the specified group and role, for each profile.
For example, if the profile states: Engineering/Designer/3, you must select three users from the
Engineering group, with the role of Designer.
All profiles must be satisfied before the select-signoff-team task can complete.

10. (Optional) Type a description of the workflow process in the Process Description box.

11. (Optional) From the Review Quorum box, select the amount of users who must approve in order
for the task to complete. The initial setting is inherited from the process template. If you want to
change that setting, select a quorum using one of the following methods:
• Select the Numeric option and type a number in the box.

• Select the Percent option and type a percentage in the box.

12. (Optional) Type any comments regarding the task in the Comments box.

13. If you want the workflow process to wait for all reviewers before continuing, select the Wait for
Undecided Reviewers check box.

14. Click Ad-hoc done to indicate you have completed adding signoff team members.

15. Click OK to complete the task and close the dialog box.

Select a signoff team ad hoc

1. Select a select-signoff-team task that has reached Started status, either in the task hierarchy
tree or the process flow pane.

2. Review any task instructions written in the Instructions box, at the bottom of the template
manager pane.

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3. (Optional) If you know you have additional tasks to perform before you can perform the
select-signoff-team task, you can create a subprocess from this task. The subprocess must
complete before the select-signoff-team task can complete.

4. Click Perform Task on the toolbar.

The Select Signoff Team dialog box appears.

5. Click Users in the Signoff Team tree.

The Organization tab displays to the right.

6. Search and select a user from the Organization tree.

You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination.
You can assign a resource pool to the task in the Resource Pool Options.

7. Click Add to add the selected user to the signoff team.

8. Repeat these steps to assign additional users to the signoff process.

9. (Optional) Type a description of the workflow process in the Process Description box.

10. (Optional) From the Review Quorum box, select the amount of users who must approve in order
for the task to complete. Select a quorum using one of the following methods:
• Select the Numeric option and type a number in the box.

• Select the Percent option and type a percentage in the box.

11. (Optional) Type any comments regarding the task in the Comments box.

12. If you want the workflow process to wait for all reviewers before continuing, select the Wait for
Undecided Reviewers check box.

13. Click Ad-hoc done to indicate you have completed adding signoff team members.

14. Click OK to complete the task and close the dialog box.

Select a signoff team from address lists in Workflow Viewer

1. Select a select-signoff-team task that has reached Started status, either in the task hierarchy
tree or the process flow pane.

2. Review any task instructions written in the Instructions box, at the bottom of the template
manager pane.

3. (Optional) If you know you have additional tasks to perform before you can perform the
select-signoff-team task, you can create a subprocess from this task. The subprocess must
complete before the select-signoff-team task can complete.

4. Click Perform Task on the toolbar.

The Select Signoff Team dialog box appears.

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5. Click Address Lists in the Signoff Team tree.

The Address Lists tab displays to the right.

6. Select an address list from the list to display the members of the address list.

7. Click Add.

All members of the address list appears under Addresses in the Signoff Team tree.

8. Repeat these steps to add additional address lists.

9. (Optional) Type a description of the workflow process in the Process Description box.

10. (Optional) From the Review Quorum box, select the amount of users who must approve in order
for the task to complete. Select a quorum using one of the following methods:

• Select the Numeric option and type a number in the box.

• Select the Percent option and type a percentage in the box.

11. (Optional) Type any comments regarding the task in the Comments box.

12. If you want the workflow process to wait for all reviewers before continuing, select the Wait for
Undecided Reviewers check box.

13. Click Ad-hoc done to indicate you have completed adding signoff team members.

14. Click OK to complete the task and close the dialog box.

View signoff team profiles in Workflow Viewer

1. In My Worklist, select a select-signoff-team task.

2. Choose View→Task Properties .

The system displays the Task Properties Dialog dialog box.

3. Click the Task Signoffs Panel tab.

• The system opens the Signoff Profiles pane.

• The task breakdown tree displays the group/user profiles of the signoff team.

• The Signoff Quorum box displays the number of users who must sign off to complete
the task.

4. Click Close.

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Letting others perform your tasks

Forward your tasks with the Out of Office Assistant in My Teamcenter or thin
client
The Tools→Out of Office Assistant command displays the Out of Office Assistant dialog box.
The Out of Office Assistant dialog box lets you forward your tasks to another user or to a resource
pool while you are out of the office.
You can set the period of time you will be out of the office and to set the name of the user or the
resource pool to receive your tasks during your absence.
• System administrators can modify Out of Office Assistant settings for any user.

• Group administrators can modify Out of Office Assistant settings for members of their group.
Note

• The Out of Office Assistant menu command is available only when My Worklist is
selected.

• The Out of Office Assistant does not reassign existing tasks in your inbox. These tasks
must be manually reassigned using the Assign command on the Actions menu.

• If you clear both the start and end dates (in other words, set them to null), the Out of
Office Assistant is turned off.

1. Choose Tools→Out of Office Assistant.

The system displays the Out of Office Assistant dialog box.

2. Select the user, group, and role for whom these settings apply. You must be an administrator
to change another user's out of office status.

3. Set the Out of Office Dates absence beginning date and time by performing the following steps:
a. Click the calendar button next to the From box to open the calendar.
The calendar initially shows the current day, month, and year.

b. Select the month in which your absence begins. Click the right-arrow button to move forward
in the calendar. Click the left-arrow button to move backward in the calendar.

c. Type a year in the Year box.

d. Type the hour, minute, and second at which your absence begins in the h, m, and s boxes.
Use the 24-hour clock format; for example, type 1:30 p.m. as 13 h, 30 m, and 00 s.

e. Click OK to accept the date and time and close the calendar.

4. Set the Out of Office Dates absence ending date and time by performing the following steps:
a. Click the calendar button next to the To box to open the popup calendar.
The calendar initially shows the current day, month, and year.

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b. Select the month in which your absence ends. Click the right-arrow button to move forward in
the calendar. Click the left-arrow button to move backward in the calendar.

c. Type a year in the Year box.

d. Type the hour, minute, and second at which your absence ends in the h, m, and s boxes.
Use the 24-hour clock format; for example, type 1:30 p.m. as 13 h, 30 m, and 00 s.
Note

If you are unsure of your return date, leave the date blank. Your assigned tasks are
forwarded until you reset your status.

e. Click OK to accept the date and time and close the calendar.
Note

If you clear both the start and end dates (in other words, set them to null), the Out of
Office Assistant is turned off.

5. Set the New Task Recipient by selecting the group, role and user name of the person to whom
the assigned tasks will be forwarded.
If the system indicates the selected person is out of office, that person cannot be selected as a
recipient.

6. Click OK.

Set your out of office status

1. Choose Tools→Out of Office Assistant.
The system displays the Out of Office Assistant dialog box.

2. Select the user, group, and role for whom these settings apply. You must be an administrator
to change another user's out of office status.

3. Set the Out of Office Dates absence beginning date and time by performing the following steps:
a. Click the calendar button next to the From box to open the calendar. The calendar initially
shows the current day, month, and year.

b. Select the month in which your absence begins. Click the right-arrow button to move forward
in the calendar. Click the left-arrow button to move backward in the calendar.

c. Type a year in the Year box.

d. Type the hour, minute, and second at which your absence begins in the h, m, and s boxes.
Use the 24-hour clock format; for example, type 1:30 p.m. as 13 h, 30 m, and 00 s.

e. Click OK to accept the date and time and close the calendar.

4. Set the Out of Office Dates absence ending date and time by performing the following steps:

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a. Click the calendar button next to the To box to open the popup calendar. The calendar
initially shows the current day, month, and year.

b. Select the month in which your absence ends. Click the right-arrow button to move forward in
the calendar. Click the left-arrow button to move backward in the calendar.

c. Type a year in the Year box.

d. Type the hour, minute, and second at which your absence ends in the h, m, and s boxes.
Use the 24-hour clock format; for example, type 1:30 p.m. as 13 h, 30 m, and 00 s.
Note

If you are unsure of your return date, leave the date blank. Your assigned tasks are
forwarded until you reset your status.

e. Click OK to accept the date and time and close the calendar.

Note

If you clear both the start and end dates (in other words, set them to null), the Out of
Office Assistant is turned off.

5. Set the New Task Recipient by selecting the group, role and user name of the person to whom
the assigned tasks will be forwarded. If the system indicates the selected person is out of the
office, that person cannot be selected as a recipient.

6. Click OK.

Who are surrogate users?

You can define a list of surrogate users who are authorized to perform your workflow tasks. Once
defined, a link to your inbox appears in the inbox of the surrogate user, who can claim responsibility
for a task or designate themselves the active surrogate and perform any of the tasks in your inbox,
provided that they match the group and role profile of the task.
• Surrogate users can perform workflow tasks when the user to whom the task was originally
assigned is out of the office or is unable to perform the task. This prevents unnecessary
stoppages in the workflow process, yet allows the original user to retain control of the task.

• Multiple surrogate users can be defined for a single task; however, only a single user can be the
active surrogate for the task at any given time.

• Surrogate users are automatically granted all access privileges afforded to the original
responsible party or approver.
o Any user can be designated as a surrogate, but only a user who belongs to the group and
role specified by the task profile can perform a task.

o Any user can take responsibility for a task, even if that user does not match the group and
role profile of the task.

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Note

You cannot define special access control lists (ACLs) for a surrogate user.

If you have administrative privileges, you can define surrogates for other users.
• Site administrators can define surrogates for any user within the site.

• Group administrators can define surrogates for any user within their group.

If you do not have administrative privileges, you can only define surrogates for your own tasks.

Define a surrogate for your workflow tasks

1. Click My Worklist in the navigation pane.

The system displays your inbox.

2. Choose Tools→Workflow Surrogate.

The system displays the Workflow Surrogate dialog box.

3. Select the group, role, and user to be a surrogate.

Note

You can choose all roles within a group by selecting the asterisk (*) rather than selecting
a specific role.

4. Set the Surrogate Effective Dates effectivity start date for the surrogate user:
a. Click the calendar button in the From box to open the popup calendar.

b. Select the month in which the surrogate user becomes effective. Click the back arrow to
scroll to the previous month or click the forward arrow to scroll to the next month.

c. Select the year in which the surrogate user becomes effective. Click the back arrow to scroll
to the previous year or click the forward arrow to scroll to the next year.

d. Select the day the surrogate user becomes effective by clicking the appropriate square
on the calendar.

e. Type the hour, minute, and second at which the surrogate user's effectivity begins in the
h, m, and s boxes.
Use the 24-hour clock format; for example, type 1:30 p.m. as 13 h, 30 m, and 00 s.
If you do not specify another time or clear the boxes, the current time is entered.

f. Click OK to accept the effectivity start date and time and close the calendar.

5. Set the Surrogate Effective Dates effectivity end date for the surrogate user:
You have set the effectivity start date for the surrogate user. Now you must set the effectivity
end date.

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a. Click the calendar button in the To box to open the popup calendar.

b. Select the month in which the surrogate user's effectivity ends. Click the back arrow to scroll
to the previous month or click the forward arrow to scroll to the next month.

c. Select the year in which the surrogate user's effectivity ends. Click the back arrow to scroll to
the previous year or click the forward arrow to scroll to the next year.

d. Select the day the surrogate user's effectivity ends by clicking the appropriate square on the
calendar.

e. Type the hour, minute, and second at which the surrogate user's effectivity ends in the h,
m, and s boxes.

Use the 24-hour clock format; for example, type 1:30 p.m. as 13 h, 30 m, and 00 s.
If you do not specify another time or clear the boxes, the current time is entered.

f. Click OK to accept the effectivity end date and time and close the calendar.

Tip

To allow the surrogate user to be effective indefinitely, do not set an end date. To
reset the effectivity dates, click Reset.

Note

Leaving the end date unset means the surrogate user remains in place indefinitely.

6. Click Add.

The system displays the surrogate user in the Current Surrogate Users list. In addition, a link is
created in the surrogate user's inbox. This link allows them to access the inbox of the user for
whom they are acting surrogate. The surrogate user is notified via email.

Remove a surrogate user

1. Click My Worklist in the navigation pane.

The system displays your Inbox.

2. Choose Tools→Workflow Surrogate.

The system displays the Workflow Surrogate dialog box.

3. Select the user to be removed from the Current Surrogate Users list.

4. Click Remove.

5. Click Close to exit the Workflow Surrogate dialog box.

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Act as a surrogate for a task

If an administrator has defined you as a surrogate user, you can become the active surrogate for a
task by performing the task as a surrogate or by taking complete responsibility of the task.
To perform a task as the active surrogate, you must belong to the group and role matching the
profile of the task. However, you are not required to belong to the group and role matching the task
profile when assuming responsibility for a task.
Note

Unlike performing a task as the active surrogate, assuming responsibility for a task removes
control from the original user.

1. From your worklist, click the link corresponding to the worklist of the user for whom you will act
as a surrogate.

2. Select the task in the original user's worklist.

3. Choose Actions→Stand-In.
The system displays the task name, responsible party, and surrogate user in the Surrogate
Actions dialog box.

4. Select one of the following options:

• Stand-In
Allows you to perform the task while allowing the original user to retain control.

• Release
Releases the active surrogate from the task. At this point, the active surrogate cannot
perform the task without first reclaiming it.
When you select the Release to Responsible Party option, the checkout on the target object
is transferred from the active surrogate to the responsible party (original user), and the system
releases the checkout status from the surrogate user and reassigns it to the original user.

• Transfer Check-Out(s)
Transfers checkout of the target objects from the original user to the active surrogate when
you select the Stand-In option.

5. Click OK.

Teamcenter designates the user as the active surrogate and grants the surrogate all privileges
assigned to the original user. The system indicates that there is an active surrogate for the task by
displaying the surrogate task symbol in the task display.

Use Surrogate Actions options

1. From your worklist, click the link corresponding to the worklist of the user for whom you will act
as a surrogate.

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 Assigning signoffs

2. Select the task in the original user's worklist.

3. Choose Actions→Stand-In.
The system displays the task name, responsible party, and surrogate user in the Surrogate
Actions dialog box.

4. Select one of the following options:

• Stand-In
Allows you to perform the task while allowing the original user to retain control.

• Release
Releases the active surrogate from the task. At this point, the active surrogate cannot
perform the task without first reclaiming it.
When you select the Release to Responsible Party option, the checkout on the target object
is transferred from the active surrogate to the responsible party (original user), and the system
releases the checkout status from the surrogate user and reassigns it to the original user.

• Transfer Check-Out(s)
Transfers checkout of the target objects from the original user to the active surrogate when
you select the Stand-In option.

5. Click OK.
Teamcenter designates the user as the active surrogate and grants the surrogate all privileges
assigned to the original user. The system indicates that there is an active surrogate for the task
by displaying the surrogate task symbol in the task display.

Assign one or more tasks to other users in My Teamcenter or thin client

1. Select the current task in your Tasks to Perform folder.

2. Choose Actions→Assign.
The system displays the Assign Responsible Party dialog box.

3. Use the Organization or Project Teams tab to select the responsible party.
You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination.
Note

You can only reassign tasks to a user who meets the group and role criteria specified for
the task.

4. (Optional) Reassign multiple tasks, as follows:

a. Click Show Tasks.
The system displays the pending tasks associated with the selected process in a tree
structure.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 3-15

 Chapter
Chapter 3: 3: Assigning
Assigning signoffs
signoffs

b. Select individual tasks to be reassigned, or click the Select All the Tasks button to select
all displayed tasks.

Note

Click the Clear the Selection button to clear selections you have made in the tree.

5. Click OK to reassign the selected tasks to the new user.

Claim a task in Workflow Viewer

You can claim a task from a resource pool or another user whose worklist you have access to. This
reassigns the task to you and makes you the responsible party. This is a simpler way of reassigning a
task to yourself using the Assign action.

1. Open a process in Workflow Viewer.

For more information, see the Workflow Viewer.

2. Select the task in the workflow you want to claim.

3. Choose Actions→Claim Task.

4. If the task is assigned to a single user, such as a Do task or select-signoff-team task, click
OK in the confirmation dialog box.

If the task is assigned to multiple users, such as a perform-signoffs task, the Claim Perform
Signoff dialog box appears.

5. In the Claim Perform Signoff dialog box, select the user you want to claim the task from and
click Claim.

If the Claim button is not active after selecting a user, you cannot claim the task from that user.

The task appears in your worklist, and you become the responsible party for the task.

Note

When you claim a perform signoff task, the signoff is assigned to you. The responsible party
for the task, however, remains unchanged.

Reassign a task in Workflow Viewer

If you are the responsible party or a privileged user, you can reassign any task that has not already
been started.

For example, if you are the initiator of a process, the tasks of selecting a signoff team and performing
signoffs are automatically assigned to you. You may want to reassign one or both of these tasks
to another user.

3-16 Getting Started with Workflow PLM00194 11.2

 Assigning signoffs

Note

• You can only reassign a task to another user who meets the group and role criteria defined
for the selected task.

• If you want to reassign the task to yourself, use the Claim Task menu command instead.

1. Select the task to be reassigned.

You can select it in either in the task hierarchy tree or the process flow pane. In the process flow
pane, the selected task's subtasks appear.

2. Choose Actions→Assign.
The Assign Responsible Party dialog box appears.

3. If the Responsible Party entry contains a link, you can reassign the responsible party for this
signoff task. Reassign the responsible party by clicking the link next to this entry.
The Assign Responsible Party dialog box appears. The Organization and Project Teams lists
display the available groups, roles, and users to which you can reassign the task.
You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination.

4. Select the desired group, role, or user. You can only reassign the selected task to a user who
meets the group and role criteria required by the task.

5. (Optional) Reassign multiple tasks, as follows:

a. Click Show Tasks.
The system displays the pending tasks associated with the selected process in a tree
structure.

b. Select individual tasks to be reassigned, or click the Select All the Tasks button to select
all displayed tasks.
Note

Click the Clear the Selection button to clear selections you have made in the tree.

6. Click OK or click Cancel at any time to cancel the operation without making changes to the
database.

View signoff team profiles in Workflow Viewer

1. In My Worklist, select a select-signoff-team task.

2. Choose View→Task Properties .

The system displays the Task Properties Dialog dialog box.

3. Click the Task Signoffs Panel tab.

• The system opens the Signoff Profiles pane.

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 Chapter
Chapter 3: 3: Assigning
Assigning signoffs
signoffs

• The task breakdown tree displays the group/user profiles of the signoff team.

• The Signoff Quorum box displays the number of users who must sign off to complete
the task.

4. Click Close.

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Chapter 4: Using workflow processes to accomplish tasks

What are workflow processes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

Initiate a workflow process using My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

Use Advanced Paste to generate a list of objects as target or reference attachments . . . . . . . . 4-4

View and assign participants for a single item revision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5

Viewing a workflow process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6

Sign off on tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6

Signing off tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Sign off a task in My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7
Signing off an Acknowledge or Review task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9
Perform a signoff of an Acknowledge task in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9
Sign off a Review task in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12
Waiting for undecided reviewers in a Review or Route task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14

Performing tasks assigned to you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15

Determining task status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15
Performing interactive tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16
Performing interactive tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16
Complete a Do task using My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-17
Performing manual condition tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-17
Complete a started manual Condition task using My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18
Complete a Customized task using My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18
Perform a Route task using My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-19
Performing tasks in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20
Performing tasks in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20
Perform a Do task in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-22
Perform a Condition task manually in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-22
Perform a Route task in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-24
Perform a Custom task in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-25

Altering started workflow processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-25

Overriding task actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-25
Perform action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-26
Altering started workflow processes using My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-28
Workflow privileged user . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-28
Skip a task in a process and start the next one . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-28
Demote a process by putting a task in the Pending state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-29
Start a paused task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-29
Suspend a task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-30
Resume a task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-30

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow

 Abort a task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-30
View task attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-31
View task attachments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-32
View task handlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-32
Altering started workflow processes using Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-32
Skip a task in a process and start the next one . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-32
Demote a task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-33
Suspend a task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-34
Resume a task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-34
Starting a paused task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-34
Reset a paused task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-35

Working with remote tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-35

Sending schedule tasks through workflows at remote sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-35
Related topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-36
Enabling remote inboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-36
Working with task data in remote inboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-37
Subscribe to a remote inbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-38
Check out data to your local site from a remote site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-38
Export data to your local site from a remote site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-39

Stopping a workflow process in Workflow Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-39

Delete a workflow process in My Teamcenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-40

Viewing workflow and schedule progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-40

Reviewing workflow and schedule progress by viewing the process history . . . . . . . . . . . 4-40
Customize the process history display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-41
Process reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-42
Print the process history report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-43
Export audit logs or process history to Microsoft Excel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-43

Getting Started with Workflow PLM00194 11.2

Chapter 4: Using workflow processes to accomplish tasks

What are workflow processes?

You create workflow processes to automate a business procedure by describing the individual tasks
and task sequences required to complete the procedure.
You can initiate workflow processes, assign tasks to users, set task duration and due date, and
maintain process assignment lists.
Workflow designers create workflow process templates to define the process flow, business rules,
and signoff profiles of your business processes.
• When you initiate a workflow process, it is based on a selected process template that contains a
framework of tasks and signoff team profiles.
Note

The EPM_adhoc_signoffs preference value must be set to ON to enable ad hoc signoff

functionality.
When this is enabled, workflow participants performing select-signoff-team tasks can
select workflow signoff users individually, in addition to being able to select profiles.

• The initiator of the process uses this framework to assign to other users the responsibility
of signing off tasks.

• A process template can include workflow handlers that automate some or all of the assignments.
For more information about workflow handlers, see the Workflow Designer.

Your administrator can create static process templates.

• If your site uses static templates, a user who initiates a process can select only from the available,
saved process templates.

• Depending on the WORKFLOW_adhoc_process preference setting for your site, you may be
able to make ad hoc modifications and edit a workflow process from your inbox by sending a
task to Workflow Viewer to:
o Add or delete tasks from a process while it is in progress.

o Modify the order of tasks in a process.

o Add members to a signoff team.

To perform an ad hoc modification, right-click on a task, then choose Send To→Workflow

Viewer. In Workflow Viewer, you can modify the structure and behavior of a process while it is
running by choosing Edit→Mode→Design and then making edits in structures or handlers. You
use Edit→Mode→Execute to effect the changes.

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 Chapter
Chapter 4: 4: UsingUsing workflow
workflow processes
processes to accomplish
to accomplish taskstasks

For more information about modifying workflow processes, see the Workflow Viewer.

Initiate a workflow process using My Teamcenter

1. Choose File→New→Workflow Process.
The system displays the New Process Dialog dialog box.

2. Type a name for the process in the Process Name box.

3. Type a description to identify the process in the Description box.

4. Click the Process Template list to view process templates and make a selection.

5. Select a Process Template Filter option.

• (Optional) Select the Show Under Construction Templates check box.

• To view all available process templates, select the All option.

• To view only those process templates assigned to your group, select the Assigned option.
Note

The CR_allow_alternate_procedures preference determines whether this property

is displayed and whether you can select alternate workflow processes from the New
Process Dialog dialog box using the Process Template Filter list.

6. Click the Attachments tab to view or assign target and reference attachments.
It is not necessary to assign target data at the initiation of a process.

• If necessary, generate a list of objects from several sources, including search results,
Structure Manager, and other active Teamcenter applications, that can be pasted as
references or attachments.

7. Click the Process Template tab to view the process template selected as the basis of the new
process.

8. (Optional) Assign all tasks in the process.

a. Click the Assign All Tasks tab.
The system displays the assignment list information.

b. Select a list from the Assignment Lists list.

Teamcenter applies the assignment list to the tasks in the process. Users are displayed as
nodes in the process tree and the action assigned to the user is displayed to the right of the
tree under the Actions heading.
Note

The select-signoff-team and perform-signoffs subtasks associated with Route,

Review, and Acknowledge tasks are not displayed in the tree.

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 Using workflow processes to accomplish tasks

c. (Optional) Assign responsible parties:

A. Select the task node in the tree.

B. Use the Resource Pool Options criteria and search capabilities to select the responsible
party.

C. Click Add (+).

The system displays the user information and action assigned to that user beneath
the task node in the process tree.

D. Repeat the previous steps to assign a responsible party for other tasks in the process.

d. (Optional) Assign users:

A. Expand the task node in the tree to begin to assign users to review, acknowledge, or
receive notification of a task.
The system displays either the Users node or Profiles node.

• The Users node allows you to assign resources using an ad hoc selection process.

• Profiles limit the pool of users that can be assigned to the task.
The system displays the Profiles node when user profiles were defined as part of
the process template.

B. Select the Users or Profiles node.

C. Use the Group, Role, and User lists to select a user.

D. Select an action from the list.

The system displays the actions in this list based on the task template type. For example,
if a Route task is selected, the Review, Acknowledge, and Notify actions are displayed.
If a Review task is selected, only the Review action is available; if an Acknowledge task
is selected, only the Acknowledge action is available.

E. Click Add (+).

The system displays the user information and action assigned to that user beneath
the task node in the process tree.

F. Repeat the previous steps to assign users to review, acknowledge, or receive notification
of other tasks in the tree.
Tip

You can copy user nodes and paste them in to another task using the Copy and
Paste buttons located beneath the tree.

e. (Optional) Modify or set the quorum value for Review and Acknowledge tasks in the Rev
Quorum and Acknow Quorum boxes.

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 Chapter
Chapter 4: 4: UsingUsing workflow
workflow processes
processes to accomplish
to accomplish taskstasks

f. (Optional) To save modifications to the process assignment list, select the Save
Modifications Back to List check box.
Note

You can only save modifications to personal process assignment lists. Shared lists
can be modified, but the changes cannot be saved.

9. Click OK to initiate the process.

Note

Click Cancel at any time to cancel the operation without initiating a process.

Use Advanced Paste to generate a list of objects as target or

reference attachments
Note

This feature is controlled by the WORKFLOW_advanced_paste preference. To enable this

feature, choose Edit→Options, expand the Workflow folder, select General, then select
Show Advance Paste In New Process.

1. Select the objects in other sources that you want to add to the paste list. For example, objects
displayed as the result of a search or those displayed in an open rich client application.

2. Select either the Targets or References folder on the Attachments tab of the New Process
dialog box.

3. Click Advanced Paste, located at the bottom of the New Process dialog box.
The system displays the Advanced Paste dialog box.

4. Select one or more of the following options in the Advanced Paste dialog box:
• From Prior Search
Displays all open search results that are open in your session in which you have selected
objects. You can select one or more searches from the list.

• From Referencers
Displays a list of My Teamcenter objects, such as prior searches and the Home folder. You
can select one or more objects from the list.

• From PSE
Displays open BOM windows.

a. Select a BOM window.

The system displays the Collect BomElements dialog box.

b. (Optional) Select a load value to determine the number of BOM lines loaded before
a cancellation can be effected.

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 Using workflow processes to accomplish tasks

For example, if the value is 250 and you click Cancel, the operation is canceled after
250 BOM lines are loaded.

c. Click GO to collect the elements and add them to the paste list.

• From Application
Displays the active applications in your session.
Select an application to add all objects currently selected in that application window to the
paste list.

The system displays a check mark to the left of the source button to indicate that objects from
that source have been added to the paste list.

5. Click OK.
The system pastes the object references into the selected attachment folder.

View and assign participants for a single item revision

Note

Workflows configured to use dynamic participants let you use the Assign Participants menu
command to assign roles to data.
When an item revision is placed in a workflow that has one or more workflow handlers with
the $PROPOSED_RESPONSIBLE_PARTY and/or $PROPOSED_REVIEWERS keywords as
argument values, the values attached to the item revision are used.

1. Select an item revision in a Teamcenter component view.

2. Choose Tools→Assign Participants.

The system displays the Assign Participants dialog box.
This dialog box lets you perform exact matching with multiple selection. For example, if a signoff
profile requires three users, you can select only those users.

3. Select a participant type, either Proposed Reviewers or Proposed Responsible Party.

4. Remove or add participants.

• To remove a participant, select the participant and click Remove.

• To add a participant, select the participant from the Organization or Project Teams tab
and click Add.
On the Organization tab, you can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination.
Participants chosen from Project Teams can be individual users or a resource pool. Only
active projects to which you belong are shown.

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 Chapter
Chapter 4: 4: UsingUsing workflow
workflow processes
processes to accomplish
to accomplish taskstasks

Note

Use Resource Pool Options to refine your search for participants by setting scope and
specifying group, role, or user information.
• When a group is selected, choose Any Member to have a task complete after a
single signoff or All Members to have the task complete only when all members of
the group complete the signoff.

• When a role under a group is selected with Any Member or with All Members,
choose Specific Group or Any Group.

5. Click OK.

Viewing a workflow process

You use the process viewer to examine the status of a workflow process and its constituent tasks
graphically.

• Task states are color-coded.

• Symbols indicate the state of each task.

• Process flow lines connecting the tasks are color-coded.

• To view a workflow process, select the process in your inbox and click the Viewer tab. The
system displays the process view.

• To view the current task, rather than the entire process, you can select the Task View option.

To use Workflow Viewer to view the progress of tasks in a workflow in which you are not a participant,
use the Send To→Workflow Viewer shortcut menu command from the Search Results view, the
Referencers tab, or My Teamcenter.

Sign off on tasks

Signing off tasks

The Review, Acknowledge, and Route tasks each contain a perform-signoffs subtask. The
perform-signoffs subtask always follows the select-signoff-team subtask.
The members of the signoff team are typically selected by the process initiator.

Note

The Route task contains a Review task, an Acknowledge task, and a Notify task. The Route
task contains both signoff team subtasks.

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 Using workflow processes to accomplish tasks

• When you are a member of the signoff team, the perform-signoffs subtask appears in your
worklist. Each member of the signoff team is responsible for reviewing the target object, then
indicating a decision.
o For Acknowledge tasks, the decision can be Acknowledged or Not Acknowledged.

o For Review tasks, the decision can be Approve, Reject, or No Decision.

Note

Not Acknowledged and No Decision do not count toward the quorum count. If your
decision is required to meet quorum requirements, this subtask cannot complete until you
select either Acknowledged or Approve.

• If your company's business practices dictate that you must be logged on under a specific group
and role to complete a perform-signoffs task, the system displays a message and allows you to
change your group and role to match the task requirements.

• Group and role requirements are dictated by the SIGNOFF_required_group_and_role

preference.

• When the functionality is enabled, you can see when other users are available for instant
messaging with Microsoft Office Communicator. You can view the current status of other users
on the signoff list, and you can click the Microsoft Office Communicator symbol to initiate
communication.

Sign off a task in My Teamcenter

1. Select the perform-signoffs task in your Tasks to Perform folder.

2. Click the Viewer tab, and select the Task View option.
The system displays the Perform Signoff pane listing process information.

• Responsible Party
When the Responsible Party entry displays as an active link, you can reassign the parent
task by clicking the link and selecting a new group, role, and user.
Reassigning the task transfers ownership of the parent task to the selected user, making
that user the Responsible Party for the task. It does not, however, transfer your signoff
responsibility.

• Instructions
When the Instructions link is displayed, there are instructions for the task. You can view
the instructions by clicking the link.

• Attachments
When there are attachments to the workflow process, you can view them by clicking the
Attachments link.
The system displays the Attachments dialog box. Target and reference attachments are
listed beneath the signoff task in the task tree.

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• All Comments

If the All Comments entry is present and is as an active link, comments are written for the
task. You can view the comments by clicking the link.

3. (Optional) If you are a privileged user because you are the process owner, the responsible party,
or a member of the administration group, you can delegate your signoff responsibility for the
perform-signoffs subtask to another user.

Note

If you are selected to a signoff team based on your inclusion under a signoff profile, you
can only delegate the perform-signoffs subtask to another user who can match your
signoff profile group and role. Otherwise, you can delegate the perform-signoffs subtask
to any other user.

a. Click your linked name in the User-Group/Role column.

The system displays the Delegate Signoff dialog box.

b. Select a new user from the Group, Role, and User lists.

c. Click OK.

Teamcenter assigns the task to the specified user and the task is placed in their Tasks
to Perform folder.

4. Sign off the task:

a. Click the link in the Decision column to display the Signoff Decision dialog box.

b. Select an option.

• If perform-signoffs is a subtask of an Acknowledge task, select Acknowledged or

Not Acknowledged.

• If perform-signoffs task is a subtask of a Review task, select Approve, Reject, or

No Decision.

Note

The Not Acknowledged and No Decision options do not apply to the quorum count.
If your decision is necessary to meet quorum requirements, this subtask cannot
complete until you select either Acknowledged or Approve.

c. (Optional) Type comments in the Comments box.

d. Click OK.

If user authentication is required to complete the task, type your password in the Password
box, and click OK.

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Note

This authorization is determined by the creator of the process template. If your site
employs Security Services, you must use the Security Services password rather than
your Teamcenter password.

The task is complete and the Viewer tab now displays No View Data Available.

Signing off an Acknowledge or Review task

To perform a signoff task, complete the selected perform-signoffs task in the task tree. There are
two types of perform-signoffs tasks:
• Review signoffs, with which the user can elect to Approve, Reject, or make No Decision for
the selected task.

• Acknowledge signoffs, with which the user can elect to Acknowledge or Not Acknowledge
the selected task.

Only members of the signoff team can sign off a task.

Note

Siemens PLM Software recommends using your worklist in My Teamcenter to perform signoffs,
as the worklist is designed specifically for performing tasks. If you are a responsible party, the
Perform Signoff task is automatically sent to the Tasks to Perform folder in your worklist.

Information most pertinent to a signoff task is displayed in the Perform Signoff dialog box. The
process name, task name, and task state are listed at the top of the dialog box. View any comments
and instructions by clicking the respective links. Additional task information, such as task attributes, is
displayed in other dialog boxes.
Click any linked entry to display its related dialog box. For example, click a linked entry in the
Decision column to display the Signoff Decision dialog box and make your signoff decision.
Tool tips are available for each column in the dialog box. Activate the tool tips by moving your cursor
over each column.

Perform a signoff of an Acknowledge task in Workflow Viewer

1. Select the perform-signoffs task to be completed, either in the task hierarchy tree or the process
flow pane.

2. (Optional) If you know you have additional tasks to perform before you can perform the
perform-signoffs task, you can create a subprocess from this task. The subprocess must
complete before the perform-signoffs task can complete.

3. Click Perform Task on the toolbar.

The Perform Signoff dialog box appears. The process name and task state appear at the
top of the dialog box.

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4. Review the contents of the Process Description box. If necessary, type additional information
into the box.

5. If the Responsible Party entry contains a link, you can reassign the responsible party for this
signoff task.
a. Click the linked user name next to the Responsible Party entry.
The Assign Responsible Party dialog box appears.

b. The Organization and Project Teams tabs display the available groups, roles, and users to
which you can reassign the role of responsible party.
You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination.

c. Select the desired group, role, or user and click OK.

The task is reassigned to the selected responsible party and the dialog box closes.

6. If the All Comments entry is linked, comments have been written regarding this signoff task.
View the comments by clicking the linked entry. The All Comments dialog box appears. Any
comments that have been written by yourself and other users are displayed within the text box.

7. View attachments to the workflow process by clicking the Attachments link.

The Attachments dialog box appears. Target and reference attachments are listed below the
signoff task in the task tree.

8. If the Instructions entry appears, instructions have been written for this signoff task. View
the instructions by clicking the linked entry.
The Instructions box appears. All task instructions are displayed within the text box.

9. (Optional) If you do not want to perform this signoff, delegate the signoff task to a different user.
a. Click on your user name in the User-Group/Role column.
The Delegate Signoff dialog box appears.

b. The Organization and Project Teams tabs display the available groups, roles, and users to
which you can delegate your signoff responsibility.
You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination.

c. Select the desired group, role, or user and click OK.

Your signoff responsibility is delegated to the selected user and the dialog box closes. The
perform-signoffs task is removed from your worklist, and sent to the worklist of the selected
user.

Note

Signoff responsibility can also be delegated by the responsible party, or a member of the
System Administration group.

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10. Perform any signoff assigned to you. You can perform any entry in the Decision column that is
linked. Typically, you are only listed once. However, it is possible that you hold multiple entries
within the signoff team for various groups or roles.

a. Click a linked entry in the Decision column. By default, all entries begin as Not
Acknowledged.
The Signoff Decision dialog box appears.

b. Select either Acknowledged or Not Acknowledged from the Decision section of the dialog
box.

c. Type any comments regarding your in the Comments box. It is particularly useful to include
comments when you reject a signoff.

d. Click OK.
The signoff decision is recorded and the dialog box closes.

Note

You must be a member of the group/role required by the signoff task to perform a signoff.
Whether you must also be currently logged on to that role, or may be logged on under
another group/role is determined by the SIGNOFF_required_group_and_role preference.
If this preference is changed from its default setting, you must be a registered member of
the signoff's required group and role, and you must be currently logged on as a member of
that group and role to perform the signoff. If this situation exists at your site, and if you are
logged on under another group/role, a Change User Setting notification appears:
Your current group/role does not match the required
group/role --signoff group/signoff role Do
you want to change your current user setting to --
signoff group/signoff role?

signoff group/signoff role is the required group and role for the signoff task. Click Yes to
automatically change your user settings to the required group/role.

11. If user authentication is implemented for this signoff task, a password box appears in the Signoff
Decision dialog box, and your logon password is required to perform the signoff. If this situation
exists at your site, type your logon password in the Password box. This box appears only if user
authentication is required for the completion of this task. This functionality is determined by the
creator of the process template. It is implemented by attaching the EPM-require-authentication
handler to the signoff task.

12. Complete the signoff of this task by performing one of the following steps:

• Click OK to save the changes to the database and close the Signoff Decision dialog box.

• Click Cancel at any time to cancel the workflow process and exit the Signoff Decision
dialog box.

13. Click Close after you finish working with all the signoff information. The Perform Signoff dialog
box closes.

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Sign off a Review task in Workflow Viewer

Information most pertinent to a signoff task is displayed in the Perform Signoff dialog box. The
process name, task name, and task state are listed at the top of the dialog box. View any comments
and instructions by clicking the respective links. Additional task information, such as task attributes, is
displayed in other dialog boxes.
Click any linked entry to display its related dialog box. For example, click a linked entry in the
Decision column to display the Signoff Decision dialog box and make your signoff decision.
Tool tips are available for each column in the dialog box. Activate the tool tips by moving your cursor
over the head of each column.
1. Select the signoff task to be completed, either in the task hierarchy tree or the process flow pane.

2. (Optional) If you know you have additional tasks to perform before you can perform the
perform-signoffs task, you can create a subprocess task can complete.

3. Click Perform Task on the toolbar.

The Perform Signoff dialog box appears. The process name and task state appear at the
top of the dialog box.

4. Review the contents of the Process Description box. If necessary, type additional information
into the box.

5. If the Responsible Party entry contains a link, you can reassign the responsible party for this
signoff task.
a. Click the linked user name next to the Responsible Party entry.
The Assign Responsible Party dialog box appears.

b. The Organization and Project Teams tabs display the available groups, roles, and users to
which you can reassign the role of responsible party.
You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination.

c. Select the desired group, role, or user and click OK.

The task is reassigned to the selected responsible party and the dialog box closes.

6. If the All Comments entry is linked, comments have been written regarding this signoff task.
View the comments by clicking the linked entry.
The All Comments dialog box appears. Any comments that have yet been written by yourself
and other users are displayed within the text box.

7. View attachments to the workflow process by clicking the Attachments link.

The Attachments dialog box appears. Target and reference attachments are listed below the
signoff task in the Task tree.

8. If the Instructions entry appears, instructions have been written for this signoff task. View
the instructions by clicking the linked entry.
The Instructions box appears. All task instructions are displayed within the text box.

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9. (Optional) If you do not want to perform this signoff, delegate the signoff task to a different user.

a. Click on your user name in the User-Group/Role column.

The Delegate Signoff dialog box appears.

b. The Organization and Project Teams tabs display the available groups, roles, and users to
which you can delegate your signoff responsibility.

You can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination.

c. Select the desired group, role, or user and click OK.

Your signoff responsibility is delegated to the selected user and the dialog box closes. The
perform-signoffs task is removed from your worklist, and sent to the worklist of the selected
user.

Note

Signoff responsibility can also be delegated by the responsible party, or a member of the
System Administration group.

10. Perform any signoff assigned to you. You can perform any entry in the Decision column that is
linked. Typically, you are only listed once. However, it is possible that you hold multiple entries
within the signoff team, for various groups or roles.

a. Click a linked entry in the Decision column. By default, all entries begin as No Decision.

The Signoff Decision dialog box appears.

b. Select either Approve, Reject, or No Decision from the Decision section of the dialog box.

• Choosing Approve performs a signoff of the task. The link in the Decision column
changes to green and reads Approve.

• Choosing Reject performs a signoff of the task. Your decision does not count towards
the quorum approval count required to complete the task. If the quorum requires all
signoffs to approve, your rejection stops the workflow process. The link in the Decision
column changes to red and reads Reject.

• Choosing No Decision allows you to abstain from the signoff of the task. No Decision is
the default setting for this dialog box. Your decision does not count towards the approval
of the task. The link in the Decision column changes to blue and reads No Decision.

c. Type any comments regarding your decision in the Comments box. It is particularly useful to
include comments when you reject a signoff.

If you want, you can also add a comment, but leave the decision set to No Decision.

d. Click OK.

The signoff decision is recorded and the dialog box closes.

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Note

You must be a member of the group/role required by the signoff task to perform a signoff.
Whether you must also be currently logged on to that role, or may be logged on under
another group/role is determined by the SIGNOFF_required_group_and_role preference.
If this preference is changed from its default setting, you must be a registered member of
the signoff's required group and role, and you must be currently logged on as a member of
that group and role to perform the signoff. If this situation exists at your site, and if you are
logged on under another group/role, a Change User Setting notification appears:
Your current group/role does not match the required
group/role --signoff group/signoff role Do
you want to change your current user setting to --
signoff group/signoff role?

signoff group/signoff role is the required group and role for the signoff task. Click Yes to
automatically change your user settings to the required group/role.

11. If user authentication is implemented for this signoff task, a password box appears in the Signoff
Decision dialog box, and your password is required to perform the signoff. If this situation
exists at your site, type your password in the Password box. This box appears only if user
authentication is required for the completion of this task. This functionality is determined by the
creator of the process template. It is implemented by attaching the EPM-require-authentication
handler to the signoff task.

12. Complete the signoff of this task:

• Click OK to save the changes to the database and close the Signoff Decision dialog box.

• Click Cancel at any time to cancel the workflow process and exit the Signoff Decision
dialog box.

13. Click Close when you have finished working with all the signoff information.
The Perform Signoff dialog box closes.

Waiting for undecided reviewers in a Review or Route task

When enough reviewers reject the task to prevent a quorum from being reached, Teamcenter takes
one of the following actions:
• If the Wait for Undecided Reviewers check box was selected when the signoff team was
selected, the task is not rejected until all reviewers submit their decision. This is true even if
enough reviewers reject the task to prevent a quorum before all reviewers respond.
This allows all reviewers to give their input and early reviewers time to change their decision.
However, this may delay a time-sensitive workflow.

• If the Wait for Undecided Reviewers check box on the task was cleared when the signoff
team was selected, the task is rejected immediately.
Reviewers who do not respond before the quorum is prevented do not have the opportunity to
submit a decision or their comments.

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• If the EPM-demote-on-reject or EPM-suspend-on-reject handler is attached to the task, the

task is demoted or suspended immediately. The Wait for Undecided Reviewers check box
is ignored.

Performing tasks assigned to you

Determining task status

Each task within a workflow process is either Pending, Started, or Completed. The task's status
displays in the upper-left corner of the task.

Symbol Example Status Definition

Pending The task has not yet started. A task cannot start until
the previous task completes.
The gray background of the task and the symbol at
the top-left corner of the task indicate that the status
of this task is Pending.
Note

If you see the symbol instead, the task is

processing in the background.
Started The task is now active and action can be taken upon
the task.
The yellow background of the task and the symbol at
the top-left corner of the task indicate that the status
of this task is Started.
Completed The actions required for the task are performed. A
Completed state for a Review task means that all
signoffs have been performed and the number of
approvals are equal to that specified in the quorum
for the task.
The green background of the task and the symbol at
the top-left corner of the task indicate that the status
of this task is Completed.
Skipped The actions required for the task are not performed,
but the workflow continues on as if the task is
successfully performed. Only privileged users can
use the Actions→Promote command to skip a task.
If this is a Review task, all signoff subtasks show
the No Decision image, indicating the release task
was skipped, rather than completed.
The green background of the task and the symbol at
the top-left corner of the task indicate that the status
of this task is Skipped.

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Symbol Example Status Definition

Failed The actions required for the task are not performed,
or have failed. A task’s state is set to Failed if the
task is configured with a failure path and if the failure
conditions are met.
Note

The Failed state does not appear on the

Actions menu, because it can only be
triggered internally.

The red background of the task and the symbol at

the top-left corner of the task indicate that the status
of this task is Failed.

Note

A completed state for a perform-signoff task means that all signoffs have been performed, and
the number of approvals are equal to the required number specified in the quorum for the task.
If the Wait For Undecided Reviewers check box is selected, the task completes when the last
reviewer approves or rejects the task. If the check box is not selected, the task completes as
soon as the quorum is satisfied.

A task can have the following statuses as well.

Task state Description

Suspended The task has been suspended. If this is a Review task, all signoff tasks are
removed from the Worklist.
Unassigned The signoff team for a Review task is not yet assigned.
Aborted The task is canceled and the workflow process is exited without being completed.

Performing interactive tasks

Performing interactive tasks

You can use workflow to complete assigned interactive tasks. For example, you can review and
approve a change to a product or process.
• You use your My Worklist inbox to complete tasks assigned to you, including those originating
at a remote site, and you can use and manage address lists and resource pools. For example,
you can perform a select-signoff-team task.

• You can also complete tasks using the Workflow Viewer.

Interactive tasks are displayed in your Tasks to Perform folder.

My Worklist
Gordon, Jack (jgordon) Inbox

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Tasks to Perform
000002/A;1–Item2 (perform-signoffs)
Targets
000002/A;1–Item2
Replica Proposed Targets
References
Parent Processes
000004/A;1–Item4 (Author Technical Recommendation)
Tasks to Track

Complete a Do task using My Teamcenter

1. Click the Do task in your Tasks to Perform folder.

2. (Optional.) If you know you have additional tasks to perform before you can perform the current
task, you can create a subprocess from this task. The subprocess must complete before the
current task can complete.

3. Click the Viewer tab and select the Task View option.

4. Complete the task according to the instructions in the Instructions box.

5. Type your password in the Password box.

The system displays this box if user authentication is required for the completion of the task.
Note

If your site employs Security Services, you must use the Security Services password
rather than your Teamcenter password.

6. Select the Complete check box.

Note

An Unable to Complete check box is displayed when a failure path is defined for the Do
task. Select the Complete check box to proceed on the success path to the next task or
select the Unable to Complete check box to proceed on the failure path.

7. Click Apply.

The task is complete and the Viewer tab now displays No View Data Available.

Performing manual condition tasks

To perform a manual Condition task, you can follow the directions in the Instructions box. The
instructions pose a question or define a set of parameters that can be set to True, False, or Unset. If
the task is Unset, it cannot be completed and the workflow process cannot proceed.
• If a condition task fails, a log file and corresponding dataset are added to the process as a
reference attachment in the Tasks Attachments References folder.

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• You can complete Condition tasks that are in a pending state. However, this prevents the task
from appearing in the assigned user's Inbox.
Performing an automatic Condition task while it is pending preempts the query results, allowing
you to override the query and manually set the task to True or False.

• If you perform a Condition task while it is still in a pending state, you can return to the task and
reset the True/False/Unset setting at any point before the task reaches a started state.
Note

Condition tasks can be configured to proceed automatically during the workflow process.
Such tasks display milestones in the workflow process but have no associated user actions.

Complete a started manual Condition task using My Teamcenter

1. Select the Condition task in your Tasks to Perform folder.

2. (Optional) If you know you have additional tasks to perform before you can perform the current
task, you can create a subprocess from this task. The subprocess must complete before the
current task can complete.

3. Click the Viewer tab and select the Task View option.

4. Complete the task according to the instructions in the Task Instructions box.

5. Set the Task Result to True or False, based on the requirements listed in the Instructions box.
This setting determines whether the workflow process continues along the true or false branch
from the Condition task.
Setting the condition path to Unset prevents the task from completing and pauses the workflow
process.
Note

An Unable to Complete check box is displayed when a failure path is defined for the
Condition task. Select the Unable to Complete check box to proceed to the failure path.

6. Type your password in the Password box.

The Password box is displayed if user authentication is required to complete the task.
Note

If your site employs Security Services, you must use the Security Services password
rather than your Teamcenter password.

7. Click Apply to complete the task.

The task is complete and the Viewer tab now displays No View Data Available.

Complete a Customized task using My Teamcenter

1. Select the Task task in your Tasks to Perform folder.

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Note

Customized tasks generally involve custom forms that are unique to your company's
processes. Incorporating company forms into a customized task further automates the
workflow process.

2. Click the Viewer tab and select the Task View option.
Note

The selected custom task varies depending on the form and other tasks in the process.

3. Complete the steps listed in the dialog box, following instructions provided by the system
administrator.
Click the button provided to complete the task and close the dialog box.

The task is complete and the Viewer tab now displays No View Data Available.

Perform a Route task using My Teamcenter

Note

A Route task is the electronic equivalent of a routing sheet; the task is used to assign different
responsibilities for the same task to multiple users. After you complete a Route task, the users
are notified of their tasks using Teamcenter mail.

1. Assign review, acknowledgement, or notification task responsibility to one or more users by

performing the following steps:
a. Select the Route task in your Tasks to Perform folder.

b. Click the Viewer tab, and then choose the Task View option at the top of the Viewer pane.

c. Click Users to display the Group, Role, and User lists.

d. Select a group, role, and user to whom the task will be assigned.

e. Select an action from the list: Review, Acknow, or Notify.

f. Click Add.
The system displays the user information and action assigned to that user beneath the task
node in the process tree.

g. Click Modify to change the group, role, or user definition for a particular user or to
modify the user action.

h. Click Delete (–) to delete a particular user.

2. Display the members of an entire address list and assign individual review, acknowledge, and
notify responsibilities:
a. Select the route task in your Tasks to Perform folder.

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b. Click the Viewer tab, and select the Task View option at the top of the Viewer pane.

c. Select the Address Lists option to display the Address Lists list.

d. Select an address list.

The system displays the members of the address list.

e. Select an action from the list.

The Review, Acknowledge, and Notify actions are displayed.

f. Click Add.
The system displays the address list in the Signoff Team tree.

g. Repeat the previous steps to assign task responsibilities to members of additional address
lists.

3. (Optional) Modify or set the quorum value for Review and Acknowledge tasks in the Rev
Quorum and Acknow Quorum boxes.

4. Select the Ad-hoc done check box to indicate you have completed the task assignments.

5. Click Apply.

The task is complete and the Viewer tab now displays No View Data Available.

Performing tasks in Workflow Viewer

Performing tasks in Workflow Viewer

You can perform any interactive task from Workflow Viewer that is assigned to you and currently
active. In other words, any task you can perform from My Worklist you can perform from Workflow
Viewer.
Your My Worklist view is streamlined to display only tasks that are ready to be performed. Because
Workflow Viewer displays the entire workflow process, selecting tasks to perform requires a basic
understanding of the different task statuses in a workflow process.

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Example

The following workflow process indicates that the Change Admin I task is complete . You
can no longer perform this task. The Author Technical Recommendation task has started
and can be performed.

The Author Technical Recommendation task is a Review task. Review tasks are
container tasks; they always contains two subtasks, a select-signoff-team subtask and a
perform-signoffs subtask.
You must expand the Review task to view the status of the two subtasks and determine which
subtask is ready to be performed. You can expand container tasks from either the task tree
or by double-clicking the task within the process flow pane.

Expansion method
Container task Container task expanded
Task tree

Process flow pane

Using either method to expand the Author Technical Recommendation task reveals that the
select-signoff-team task is started and can be performed, and that the perform-signoffs
task is pending and cannot yet be performed.

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For more information about task status, see Determining task status.

Perform a Do task in Workflow Viewer

To perform a Do task, follow the instructions in the Instructions box. Select Done when the task
criteria is met. To complete a Do task that has reached a Started state, perform the following steps:
1. Click the Do Task to be completed, either in the task hierarchy tree or the process flow pane.

2. (Optional) If you know you have additional tasks to perform before you can perform the Do
task, you can create a subprocess from this task. The subprocess must complete before the
Do task can complete.

3. Click Perform Task on the toolbar.

The Perform Do Task dialog box appears.

4. Review the task instructions listed in the Instructions box.

5. (Optional) Review any contents in the Process Description box. If necessary, type additional
information into the box.

6. Complete the task instructions.

7. (Optional) In the dialog box, type any comments regarding the task in the Comments box.

8. Select Complete.
If the task is configured with a failure path, you can also select Unable To Complete.

9. Type your user password in the Password box.

This box appears only if user authentication is required for the completion of this task. This
authorization is determined by the creator of the process template.

10. Click OK to save the changes to the database and close the dialog box.

11. Click Cancel at any time to cancel the operation without making changes to the database.

Perform a Condition task manually in Workflow Viewer

To perform a Condition task, follow the instructions in the Instructions box. The instructions should
pose a question or define a set of parameters that can be answered. Unset is the initial value of the
task, which must be changed. The task cannot complete or the workflow process continue, while
the task remains set at Unset. If the Condition task is configured with custom paths (paths that
are set with result values other than true and false), the available options will reflect these custom
results. The Unable To Complete option displays on Perform Condition Task dialog box, if the
Condition task is configured with a failure path.
Note

An automatic Condition task is configured to proceed during the workflow process. It acts
as a visual milestone in the workflow process. There is no action for a user to perform and
no dialog box associated with the automatic Condition task.

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1. Select the Condition task to be completed, either in the task hierarchy tree or the process
flow pane.

2. (Optional) If you know you have additional tasks to perform before you can perform the Condition
task, you can create a subprocess from this task. The subprocess must complete before the
Condition task can complete.

3. Click Perform Task on the toolbar.

The Perform Condition Task dialog box displays.

4. Complete the task instructions listed in the Instructions box.

5. (Optional) Review any contents in the Process Description box. If necessary, type additional
information into the box.

6. Set Task Result to true or false, based on the requirements listed in the Instructions box. If
the Condition task is configured with custom paths (paths that are set with result values other
than true and false), the available options reflect these custom results. This setting determines
whether the workflow process continues along the true or false flow line branching off the
Condition task.
Setting the condition path to unset prevents the task from completing and pauses the workflow
process.

7. Select Complete.
If the task is configured with a failure path, you can also select Unable To Complete.

8. Type your user password in the Password text box. This text box appears only if user
authentication is required for the completion of this task. This authorization is determined by
the creator of the process template.

9. Click OK to save the changes and close the dialog box.

10. Click Cancel at any time to cancel the operation without making changes.

Note

You can set a Condition task result while it is still in a Pending state.
• Performing a manual Condition task while it is pending prevents the task from appearing
in the assigned user's worklist.

• Performing an automatic Condition task while it is pending preempts the query results,
allowing you to override the confines of the query and manually set the task to true or false.

If you perform a Condition task while it is still in a Pending state, you can return to the task
and reset the true/false/unset setting at anytime until the task reaches a Started state.

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Perform a Route task in Workflow Viewer

A Route task is the electronic equivalent of a routing sheet; the task is used to assign different
responsibilities for the same task to multiple users. After you complete a Route task, the users
are notified of their tasks by Teamcenter mail.
1. Select the Route task, either in the task hierarchy tree or the process flow pane.

2. (Optional) If you know you have additional tasks to perform before you can perform the Condition
task, you can create a subprocess from this task. The subprocess must complete before the
Condition task can complete.

3. Click Perform Task on the toolbar.

The Select Signoff Team dialog box appears.

4. Click Users in the Signoff Team tree.

The right pane displays the Organization pane.

a. Search or select a user from the Organization or Project Teams tree.

In the Organization tree, you can search for a specific user, group, role, or combination.
You can assign a resource pool to the task in the Resource Pool Options.

b. Select a group, role, or user to whom the task will be assigned.

c. Select either Review, Acknowledge, or Notify from the Action list.

d. Click Add.
Teamcenter displays the user information and action assigned to that user beneath the task
node in the process tree.

e. Repeat the previous steps to add additional users and task responsibilities.

5. If you want to use address lists to add other users, click Address Lists in the Signoff Team tree.
The right pane displays the Address Lists pane.

a. Select a list from the Address Lists list.

b. Select either Review, Acknowledge, or Notify from the Action list.

c. Click Add.
Teamcenter displays the address list information and action assigned to that address list
beneath the task node in the process tree.

d. Repeat the previous steps to add address lists.

6. Optionally, modify or set the approval quorum value for the Review and Acknowledge tasks
in the Review Quorum and Acknowledge Quorum boxes.

7. If you want the workflow process to wait for all reviewers before continuing, select the Wait for
Undecided Reviewers check box.

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8. Select the Ad-hoc done check box to indicate you have completed adding signoff team member
assignments to this task.

9. Click OK.

Perform a Custom task in Workflow Viewer

To perform a Custom task, complete the form or instructions provided. Custom tasks usually involve
custom forms that are unique to your company's processes. Incorporating company forms into a
custom task further automates the workflow process.
1. Select the Custom task in either in the task hierarchy tree or the process flow pane.
In the process flow pane, the custom task's subtasks appears.

2. Click Perform Task on the toolbar.

The Perform dialog box for the selected custom task appears.
Note

The Perform dialog box for the selected custom task varies depending on the form and/or
other tasks the system administrator attaches to the selected task.

3. Complete the steps listed in the dialog box.

4. Select Complete.
If the task is configured with a failure path, you can also select Unable To Complete.

5. Click Close or OK.

Note

If the form attached to the Custom task is a simple form, the task may not automatically move
to the Complete state when you click the Finish/Close button.

Altering started workflow processes

Overriding task actions
As you work through a workflow process in Workflow Viewer, a task's actions work behind the scenes,
transitioning the task from one state to another according to the actions defined in the task. You can
override the task's defined actions, if necessary.
For example, the Start action is always used to transition a task from the Pending state to the
Started state.
All tasks are transitioned by one or more of the following defined actions:
Abort
Assign
Complete
Perform

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Resume
Skip
Start
Suspend
Undo
Failed
Note

The Failed state does not appear on the Actions menu, because it can only be triggered
internally.

When a task's template is created in Workflow Designer, one or more actions become part of the
task's definition. As you work through a workflow process in Workflow Viewer, a task's actions
work behind the scenes, transitioning the task from one state to another according to the actions
defined in the task.
If a task is designated to process in the background, all actions except Perform and Assign are
processed in the background. The Perform and Assign action execute in the foreground.
However, there are some situations where it is necessary to override the task's defined actions. For
example, if a task is demoted, the workflow process moves backward to the preceding task. If the
preceding task has an EPM-demote handler, it is automatically initiated. But if the preceding task
does not have an EPM-demote handler, the task must be initiated manually. Thus, the responsible
party or a privileged user must manually override the preceding task's defined action and change
the task state to Start.

Perform action
Several of these actions are used to place the task in a special state such as Suspended or Skipped.
Not all tasks use all actions. The following figure shows the EPM task actions and corresponding
states.

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Task actions and states

In addition to task transition, from one state to another, actions are also used to implement rules.
This is done by attaching one or more handlers to an action. There is one action, Perform, that
does not transition a task to another state. The Perform action executes any handlers attached to
it and displays an interactive panel.
All tasks require resources to perform actions. Resources are one of the following object types:
Groups
Roles
Users

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Altering started workflow processes using My Teamcenter

Workflow privileged user

System administrators can create access rules and assign access privileges for workflow tasks.
• Access privileges are required to permit a workflow user to perform certain workflow tasks:
o Removing a user from an active workflow.

o Promoting or demoting a task in an active workflow.

• Workflow task permissions are:

o Specific to the workflow process template.

o Granted to a user by an Access Manager ACL on the workflow task, or by the rule tree.

• Typically, the named-ACL used to grant permissions to promote or demote a task is the
EPM-set-rule-based-protection handler.

For more information about setting permissions, see the Access Manager.
For more information about the EPM-set-rule-based-protection workflow handler, see the Workflow
Designer.

Skip a task in a process and start the next one

The Promote menu command moves the task to a Skipped state and starts the successor tasks in
the workflow process.
Note

To perform this action, you must be a privileged user.

1. Select the task you want to promote.

2. Choose Actions→Promote.
The Promote Action Comments dialog box appears.

3. Enter your comments into the dialog box.

4. If the task is a Review or Route task and it has a reject path, click either the Approve or Reject
decision to determine the path you want the workflow process to follow.
This helps you to expedite the review process where you want to move the workflow process
along despite rejections.

5. Click OK.

The selected task moves to the Skipped state and the next task in the process is started. The
comments you entered are listed in the audit file.

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Note

If a task is designated to process in the background, the move to the Skipped state may
be delayed.

Demote a process by putting a task in the Pending state

Note

In My Teamcenter, the Actions→Undo command displays the Demote Action Comments

dialog box and lets you change the state of a selected task to Pending from a Started,
Completed, or Skipped state.
In Workflow Viewer, the Actions→Demote command displays the Demote Action Comments
dialog box and lets you change the state of a task.

1. In My Teamcenter, select the task you want to demote.

When you demote a task, you change the state to Pending from a Started, Completed, or
Skipped state.
Note

• You must be a privileged user to demote a task.

• Demoting a Review task voids any signoff decisions that have been made.

2. Choose Actions→Undo.
The system displays the Demote Action Comments dialog box.

3. Type your comments in the box. These comments appear in the audit file.

4. Click OK to change the task state to Pending.

The workflow returns to the previous task.
Note

If a task is designated to process in the background, the move to the Pending state
might be delayed.

Start a paused task

1. Select the task that is paused.
Note

Paused tasks can result when a subsequent task in a process is demoted and the previous
task does not automatically start. You must be a responsible party or privileged user to
reset a paused task to the started state.

2. Choose Actions→Start.
The system displays the Start Action Comments dialog box.

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3. Type your comments in the box. These comments appear in the audit file.

4. Click OK to move the task to a started state.

Note

If a task is designated to process in the background, the move to the Start state might be
delayed.

Suspend a task

1. Select the task you want to suspend.

Note

Suspended tasks stop a process from moving forward.

2. Choose Actions→Suspend.
The system displays the Suspend Action Comments dialog box.

3. Type your comments in the box. These comments appear in the audit file.

4. Click OK to move the task to a suspended state.

Note

If a task is designated to process in the background, the move to the Suspend state
might be delayed.

Resume a task

1. Select the desired suspended task.

Note

Resuming a suspended task restores it to the state it was in prior to being suspended.

2. Choose Actions→Resume.
The system displays the Resume Action Comments dialog box.

3. Type your comments in the box.

4. Click OK to move the task to the state that it was in prior to being suspended.
Note

If a task is designated to process in the background, the move to the prior state might be
delayed.

Abort a task

1. Select the task you want to cancel and choose Actions→Abort.

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Note

Aborting cancels a task without attempting to complete it.

The system displays the Abort Action Comments dialog box.

2. Type your comments in the box.

3. Click OK to cancel the task without completing it.

Note

If a task is designated to process in background, the move to the Abort state might be
delayed.

View task attributes

1. In your worklist, select a task or process.

2. Choose View→Task Properties .

The system displays the Task Properties dialog box.

3. Click the Attributes tab at the bottom of the dialog box.

The system displays the Attributes pane.

• The State box displays the current state of the task.

The task state change as the task proceeds through workflow process activities.
This box cannot be modified.

• The Responsible Party box displays the responsible party for the selected task.
This box cannot be modified.

• The Named ACL box displays the named ACL assigned to this task (if any).
This box cannot be modified from this dialog box, although you can open the Named ACL
dialog box for reference.
For more information about named ACLs and Access Manager best practices, see the
Access Manager.

• For Review and Acknowledge tasks, the Signoffs Quorum box displays the number of
users who must approve the Signoff task to reach a quorum, the recipients, and other
information such as the due date and duration.
You can set Recipients in this dialog box, but you cannot set or modify other values,
including the quorum value. The quorum value is set when the workflow process is initiated.

4. Note whether a Condition task is selected.

• If a Condition task is selected, the Condition Query box displays the name of the assigned
query.

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• If a Condition task is selected, the Condition Result box displays the result of the query,
either True or False. If a query has not yet been defined, the result is listed as unset.

• If a task immediately succeeding a Condition task is selected, the Condition Path box is
displayed.
Click Display condition path values to display the Condition Path dialog box listing the
value of the path between the Condition task and the selected task; either True or False.

5. Click Close.

View task attachments

1. In your worklist, select a task or process.

2. Choose View→Task Properties .

The system displays the Task Properties dialog box.

3. Click the Attachments Panel tab at the bottom of the dialog box.
The system displays the Attachments pane with a tree listing of all target attachments and
references.

View task handlers

1. Select a task.

2. Click Task Properties .

The system displays the Task Properties dialog box.

3. Click the Handlers Panel tab.

The system opens the Handlers pane. The tree displays the handlers assigned to the selected
task.

4. Click Expand All Folders or Collapse All Folders to view the contents of the Handler tree.

5. Select a handler in the tree.

The system displays information about the handler in the right pane of the window, including
handler type, quorum, the name of the handler, and the arguments associated with the handler.

6. Click Help to view documentation about the selected handler.

7. Click Close.

Altering started workflow processes using Workflow Viewer

Skip a task in a process and start the next one

The Promote menu command moves the task to a Skipped state and starts the successor tasks in
the workflow process.

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Note

To perform this action, you must be a privileged user.

1. Select the task you want to promote.

2. Choose Actions→Promote.
The Promote Action Comments dialog box appears.

3. Enter your comments into the dialog box.

4. If the task is a Review or Route task and it has a reject path, click either the Approve or Reject
decision to determine the path you want the workflow process to follow.
This helps you to expedite the review process where you want to move the workflow process
along despite rejections.

5. Click OK.

The selected task moves to the Skipped state and the next task in the process is started. The
comments you entered are listed in the audit file.
Note

If a task is designated to process in the background, the move to the Skipped state may
be delayed.

Demote a task
The Demote menu command is the method of moving an active workflow process back to some
predefined release level. Performing a demote action upon a task changes the task's state from
Started to Pending. The specific demote behavior of any given task is configured within the original
process template. For subtasks to also demote when a parent task is demoted, the EPM-demote
handler must be applied to the task's Undo action when the process template is configured.
Demoting a Review task removes any signoff decisions previously made by members of the task's
signoff team, but any comments are kept.
Note

To perform this action, you must be a privileged user.

1. Select the task you want to demote.

2. Choose Actions→Demote.
The Demote Action Comments dialog box appears.

3. Type your comments into the dialog box.

The comments are listed in the audit file.

4. Click OK.

The selected task moves to the designated state.

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Note

If a task is designated to process in the background, the move to the designated state might
be delayed.

Suspend a task
1. Select the task you want to suspend.
Note

You must be the responsible party or a privileged user to suspend a task.

2. Choose Actions→Suspend.
The Suspend Action Comments dialog box appears.

3. Type your comments into the dialog box. The comments are listed in the audit file.

4. Click OK.
The selected task moves to the Suspend state, and a red light button appears in the upper
left corner.
Note

If a task is designated to process in the background, the move to the Suspend state
might be delayed.

Resume a task
1. Select the desired suspended task.
Note

The only valid action for a suspended task is Resume. You must be the responsible
party or a privileged user to resume a task.

2. Choose Actions→Resume.
The Resume Action Comments dialog box appears.

3. Type your comments into the dialog box. The comments are listed in the audit file.

4. Click OK.
The selected task moves to the state it was in prior to the Suspend action.
Note

If a task is designated to process in the background, the move to the prior state might be
delayed.

Starting a paused task

In rare cases, tasks become stalled and must be initiated manually.

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To reset the tasks to Start, the responsible party or a privileged user with bypass ability can instruct
the tasks to move to a new state by performing a Start action on the task.
Note

• To perform this action, you must be the responsible party or a privileged user.

• If a task is designated to process in the background, the move to the Complete state
might be delayed.

Reset a paused task

1. Click the task that has stalled.

2. Choose Actions→Start.
The Start Action Comments dialog box appears.

3. Enter your comments into the dialog box. The comments are listed in the audit file.

4. Click OK.
The selected task moves to the Start state and the button of a green light appears in the upper
left corner.
Note

If a task is designated to process in the background, the move to the Start state might be
delayed.

Working with remote tasks

Sending schedule tasks through workflows at remote sites
A workflow for a schedule task is created as a remote workflow when the schedule task's privileged
user or, in the absence of a privileged user, the workflow owner, is a remote user. When the
system creates the remote workflow, it links the schedule task to that workflow and attaches all
task attachments using GRM (Generic Relationship Management ) relations. It also replicates the
attachments and either checks them out remotely or transfers ownership to the remote site.
The following conditions must be met to create a workflow for a schedule task at a remote site:
• Schedule task's privileged user or, in the absence of a privileged user, the workflow owner, is
a remote user

• Schedule task's privileged user and the workflow owner are from the same remote site

• Schedule task has a workflow process template required to create the workflow on the remote site

• Only one user is assigned to the schedule task

• The WRKFLW_create_remote_workflow preference is configured to enable remote workflow

creation

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Related topics
• WRKFLW_create_remote_workflow

Enabling remote inboxes

Remote inboxes are created when you subscribe to your account inbox at a remote site. This action
creates a link in your local site worklist. When you click the link, a new Teamcenter client session
is started that runs against the remote site. You can then see and perform tasks in your worklist
on the remote site. There is an associated Remote Checkout command that lets you place data
on your local site for work.
To enable remote inbox functionality, your site must be configured to use the application registry and
interoperability linking. Information about configuring this functionality is currently available on the
Global Technical Access Center (GTAC) Web site. Teamcenter administrators with valid WebKey
accounts can access the Teamcenter Interoperability guide at the following location:
http://support.ugs.com/docs/tc_eng/8/en/tss00004.pdf
See the following topic areas in the Teamcenter Interoperability guide.
• In chapter 1, Introduction, see Understanding Components Required for Interoperability, Using
Application Registry.

• Chapter 2, Installing Application Registry.

• In chapter 3, Configuring for Basic Linking, see Linking Teamcenter Engineering To Remote
Engineering.

• In chapter 4, Configuring Advanced Linking, see the following topics:

o Understanding Teamcenter for engineering process management

o Advanced Linking Terms

o System Requirements

o Configuration Overview

o Deploying Teamcenter Application Registry

o Configuring Teamcenter for engineering process management

o Setting and Verifying Advanced Linking Properties

• Chapter 6, Troubleshooting.

Remote inboxes let you interact with workflow tasks that originated at remote sites.
• When you have a user account at a remote site, you can subscribe to that site to access your
inbox, called your remote inbox, and access tasks assigned to you at the remote site.

• After you subscribe to your inbox at a remote site, your local site worklist displays a remote site
link you can use to launch a client to let you access the remote site inbox.

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Note

The remote site link also shows the number of tasks in your worklist at the remote site.

• Remote site links in the local site worklist cannot be expanded in the local tree display.

• When you click the link to the remote site, Teamcenter launches a full, separate Teamcenter
session to display the remote inbox.

Note

The remote site link launches the client specified by the TC_external_default_launch_ui
setting.
o thin
Displays the remote site in the thin client.
This is the default setting.

o rich
Displays the remote site in the rich client.

o dynamic
Displays the remote site in the same type of client used to access the link to the
remote site.

• Remote inboxes contain Tasks to Perform and Tasks to Track folders.

Working with task data in remote inboxes

You can use Remote Checkout and Remote Export commands to access to data for tasks in
your remote inboxes.

• Remote Checkout lets you access modifiable replicas of the target data associated with the
tasks assigned to you.

o When a workflow task requires you to modify data located at a remote site, use Remote
Checkout to check out and send an editable copy of the data to your local Home location.

This checks out the data at the remote site and puts the data on the local site in the
checked-out state.

o When you have completed the data modification, use the standard Check-In option at the
local site to undo the checkout at the remote site, move the modified data to the remote site.

This checks in the data at the remote site.

• Remote Export lets you access read-only replicas of data. If necessary, you can also use this
command to transfer site ownership of the data required to perform your tasks.

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Subscribe to a remote inbox

1. Choose Tools→Remote Inbox Subscription.
The system displays the Remote Inbox Subscription Dialog dialog box.

• Sites with remote inboxes to which you are already subscribed are listed as Selected
Inboxes.

• Sites with remote inboxes to which you are not already subscribed are listed as Available
Inboxes.

2. To subscribe to an available inboxes, select the site in the Available Inboxes list and click Add(+).
To unsubscribe from any of your subscribed inboxes, select the relevant inboxes in the Selected
Inboxes list and click Remove (–).

3. When the subscriptions are listed correctly, click OK or Apply, and the system displays the
Subscribe Remote Inbox dialog box. This dialog box shows the progress of each subscription
request.

Check out data to your local site from a remote site

1. Start a client that accesses a remote site.
Note

When you subscribe to a remote inbox, your worklist displays a link that lets you launch a
client that accesses the remote site.

2. Select the object to check out from the remote site, and choose Tools→Multi-Site
Collaboration→Send→Remote Checkout.
The system displays the Remote Checkout dialog box.

3. Type the following information in the dialog box:

• Change ID
Type the change number associated with the checkout request.

• Comments
Type the reason for the checkout request.

• Target Site
From the list of available sites, choose the site to which the object should be sent.
Click Home on the right side of the Target Site box to choose sites from the list.

• OK to remote checkout?
Displays the status of objects being remotely checked out.

4. Click Yes.

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The system displays the current options in the Remote Checkout Options Settings dialog box.

5. Click Yes to continue or No to cancel the checkout operation.

The system displays the status of the checkout operation. The checked-out data goes to your
home folder on the target site.

Export data to your local site from a remote site

1. Start a client that accesses a remote site.
Note

When you subscribe to a remote inbox, your worklist displays a link that lets you launch a
client that accesses the remote site.

2. In the remote site client, select the object to export as a read-only replica.

3. Choose Tools→Multi-Site Collaboration→Send→Remote Export.

The system displays the Remote Export dialog box.

4. Enter the following information in the dialog box:

• Reason
Type the reason for the data export.

• Target Sites
From the list of available sites, select the site to which the object should be sent.
Click Home to the right of the Target Site box to select sites from the list.

• OK to remote export?
Displays the status of objects being remotely exported.

5. Click Yes.
The system displays the current options in the Remote Export Options Settings dialog box.

6. Click Yes to continue or No to cancel the export operation.

The system displays the status of the export operation. The exported data goes to your home
folder on the target site.

Stopping a workflow process in Workflow Viewer

There are three ways to stop a workflow process in Workflow Viewer:
• Suspend
Stops the process from moving forward. Choose Actions→Suspend. You can resume a
suspended process by choosing Actions→Resume.

• Abort

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Cancels the process, but keeps the process in the system. Choose Actions→Abort.

• Delete
Removes the process from the system. Choose Edit→Delete.

If you have a subprocess attached to your workflow process, the following rules apply when you
delete or abort the parent process or subprocess:
• Delete or abort the parent process.
o If the parent process is the only parent for the subprocess, the subprocess is also deleted
or aborted.

o If there is more than one parent process for the subprocess, the subprocess is not deleted
nor aborted unless it is the last parent process.

• Delete or abort a subprocess—the parent process is kept.

• Delete the task in the parent process that originates the subprocess—the subprocess is not
affected.

• If the subprocess has its own subprocess, it follows the rules above.

Delete a workflow process in My Teamcenter

To delete the entire workflow process after it has been initiated, use one of these procedures:
• In My Worklist, select a workflow task for which you are the responsible party, and then click
Delete.

• In the Impact Analysis view, select the workflow task, and then click Delete.

Note

Deleting a task in the workflow, deletes the entire workflow process.

Viewing workflow and schedule progress

Reviewing workflow and schedule progress by viewing the process history

The Process History view displays the Workflow or Schedule Manager process of the business
object selected in the Home, My Worklist, or Search Results view in My Teamcenter.

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• If there is no audit data for the business object, the view displays a No process history data
available for selected object. message.

• If the selected object has passed through more than one workflow process, you can choose
which process to display from the list to the right of the tab.

In the Process History view, you can review the progress of a workflow or schedule and do the
following:
• Determine the progress of an object in a schedule or workflow and who has responsibility for
the object.

• Review comments by other workflow participants.

• Verify that the appropriate participants completed the required reviews.

• Debug a workflow that proceeded down an unexpected path.

• Identify workflows that require attention to continue processing.

• Review user activity to verify the appropriate users signed off.

Note

If you migrate from Audit Manager version 2 to version 3, workflow-related events are
migrated and are displayed in the Audit Logs tab. However, the events are not displayed in
the Process History view.

Customize the process history display

1. In the Process History view, click the View Menu button and then choose Column from
the view menu.
The Column Management dialog box appears.

2. Add or remove columns from the Process History view table.

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 Chapter
Chapter 4: 4: UsingUsing workflow
workflow processes
processes to accomplish
to accomplish taskstasks

• To add a column, select a property from the Available Properties list and click the Add to
Displayed Columns button .

• To remove a column, select a property in the Displayed Columns list and click the Remove
from Displayed Columns button .

3. (Optional) Click the Move Up and Move Down buttons, to the right of the Displayed
Columns list, to adjust the order of the displayed columns.

4. Click Apply to apply the configuration to the current view, or click Save to save the configuration
for later use.
Note

You can use the Apply Column Configuration command on the view menu to:
• Apply a saved configuration.

• Restore the default configuration. This is the only way to restore columns removed
using the right-click Remove this column command.

You can use the Save Column Configuration command on the view menu to save the
current configuration of the table display.

5. Click Close to close the Column Management dialog box.

Process reports
The following audit reports are available when you choose the Tools→Reports→Report Builder
Reports menu command in My Teamcenter:
• Audit - Workflow Attachment Report
Displays all attachment object details for the specified workflow process.

• Audit - Workflow Detailed Report

Displays all actions and their statuses for the specified workflow process.

• Audit - Workflow Signoff Report

Displays the signoff results and comments for the specified object in a workflow process.

• Audit - Workflow Summary Report

Displays the start, complete, approve, rejected, release status, demote, promote, fail, and update
actions for the specified workflow process.

• WF - Items In Process
Displays the items currently in a workflow process and where they are in their respective
processes.

• WF - Objects In Process

4-42 Getting Started with Workflow PLM00194 11.2

 Using workflow processes to accomplish tasks

Displays the objects currently in a workflow process and where they are in their respective
processes.

Print the process history report

1. Export the audit report to Excel.

2. Use Excel’s print function to print the report.

Export audit logs or process history to Microsoft Excel

1. Display the Process History view and choose the rows you want to export.
OR
Run a saved query and select the audit logs you want to export from the Details tab.
Note

You can only run a saved query from My Teamcenter. The saved query functionality is
meant to be executed only when the Schedule tasks folder is expanded in My Worklist.
You cannot run this query from anywhere else in the system.

2. Choose Tools→Export→Objects To Excel.

Teamcenter displays the Export To Excel dialog box.

3. Under Object Selection, select one of the following:

• Select Export Selected Objects to export the rows you selected in the view.

• Select Export All Objects in View to export all rows.

4. Under Output Template, select one of the following:

• Select Export All Visible Columns to export all the columns in the view.

• Select Use Excel Template to activate the template list.

In the list, select the template that specifies the data that you want to export.

5. Under Output, select one of the following:

• For a standard Excel file that is not connected to Teamcenter, select Static Snapshot.

• For an interactive live Excel file that is connected to Teamcenter, select Live integration
with Excel (Interactive).

• For a live Excel file that is not connected to Teamcenter, select Live integration with Excel
(Bulk Mode).
You can accumulate changes and later connect the file to Teamcenter.

• To export the data to an Excel file that also contains import processing information on a
separate sheet, select Work Offline and Import.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 4-43

 Chapter
Chapter 4: 4: UsingUsing workflow
workflow processes
processes to accomplish
to accomplish taskstasks

• To check out objects while exporting to live Excel, select Check out objects before export.
Note

The checkout applies to all objects being exported. Use this option carefully if you
are exporting a large number of rows.

6. (Optional) Click Copy URL.

Note

• Copy URL is unavailable if you select more than one object to export.

• Copy URL is unavailable if you select any of the following dialog box options:
o Work Offline and Import

o Export All Visible Columns

o Export All Objects in View

The export file is generated and the URL Generated message is displayed, confirming that the
URL is in your Windows Clipboard and showing the URL details.

7. Click OK to generate the export Excel file.

Excel opens a temporary file. You can create a permanent file by choosing File→Save As
in Excel to display the Save As dialog box.
If you save a live Excel file, you can open it later in My Teamcenter to reconnect it to the database.
Note

Values that you cannot change in Teamcenter are unavailable in the cells of the live
Excel file.

4-44 Getting Started with Workflow PLM00194 11.2

Chapter 5: View audit information

Accessing audit information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1

View audit logs in the Summary view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1

Process reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3

Creating and running audit queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3

Export audit logs to Microsoft Excel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4

View legacy audit log information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5

Related topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow

Chapter 5: View audit information

Accessing audit information

You can access audit information in the following ways:
• Go to the Summary view of the following Teamcenter applications, which shows audit logs in
the Audit logs tab.
o My Teamcenter

o ADA License

o Structure Manager

o Multi-Structure Manager

o Manufacturing Process Planner

o Schedule Manager

o Workflow Viewer

o Organization

• Run predefined audit reports or create new reports, using the Report Builder application.

• Create custom saved queries, using the Query Builder application.

• Run predefined audit queries, using the Teamcenter advanced search functionality.

View audit logs in the Summary view

• The Summary view of the following Teamcenter applications shows audit logs in the Audit
logs tab.
o My Teamcenter

o ADA License

o Structure Manager

o Multi-Structure Manager

o Manufacturing Process Planner

o Schedule Manager

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 5-1

 Chapter
Chapter 5: 5: View View
auditaudit information
information

o Workflow Viewer

o Organization

Legacy audit information is only accessible from a button in the Audit Logs tab in the Summary view
when a legacy audit file is present.
The audit logs are grouped in the Summary view as follows:

Log name Description

Workflow Logs Displays workflow logs.

License Change Logs Displays logs of ADA License changes.

License Export Logs Displays ADA License export logs.
File Access Logs Displays file access logs.
Structure Logs Displays structure logs.
Note

Due to performance reasons,

PSOccurence audit logs are not
immediately displayed in the Structure
Logs table. To view the PSOccurence
audit logs, refresh the table.
Organization Logs Displays organization logs.
Schedule Logs Displays schedule logs.
General Logs Displays all other general audit logs.
Security Logs Displays security logs.
Note

The Security Logs table appears in the

Audit Logs Summary tab for Project,
User, and Group objects.

5-2 Getting Started with Workflow PLM00194 11.2

 View audit information

Process reports
The following audit reports are available when you choose the Tools→Reports→Report Builder
Reports menu command in My Teamcenter:
• Audit - Workflow Attachment Report
Displays all attachment object details for the specified workflow process.

• Audit - Workflow Detailed Report

Displays all actions and their statuses for the specified workflow process.

• Audit - Workflow Signoff Report

Displays the signoff results and comments for the specified object in a workflow process.

• Audit - Workflow Summary Report

Displays the start, complete, approve, rejected, release status, demote, promote, fail, and update
actions for the specified workflow process.

• WF - Items In Process
Displays the items currently in a workflow process and where they are in their respective
processes.

• WF - Objects In Process
Displays the objects currently in a workflow process and where they are in their respective
processes.

Creating and running audit queries

You can create custom search queries for audit logs, using the Query Builder application. Saved
queries identify the search criteria that are used to find information in Teamcenter.
Note

Ensure that audit definitions exist for the objects for which you have created saved queries.

Teamcenter provides the following predefined audit queries:

• Audit - File Access Logs

• Audit - General Logs

• Audit - License Change Logs

• Audit - License Export Logs

• Audit - Organization Logs

• Audit - Project Based Logs

• Audit - Schedule Logs

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 5-3

 Chapter
Chapter 5: 5: View View
auditaudit information
information

• Audit - Workflow Attachment Logs

• Audit - Workflow Detailed

• Audit - Workflow General

• Audit - Workflow Signoff

• Audit - Workflow Summary

• Audit - Security Logs

Export audit logs to Microsoft Excel

1. Run a saved query and choose the audit logs you want to export from the Details tab.

2. Choose Tools→Export→Objects To Excel.

Teamcenter displays the Export To Excel dialog box.

3. Under Object Selection, click one of the following:

• Click Export Selected Objects to export the selected rows in the view.

• Click Export All Objects in View to export all rows.

4. Under Output Template, select one of the following:

• Select Export All Visible Columns to export all the columns in the view.

• Select Use Excel Template to activate the template list.

In the list, select the AUDIT_log_excel_template_new template.

5. Under Output, click Static Snapshot.

6. Click OK to generate the export Excel file.

Microsoft Excel opens a temporary file. You can create a permanent file by choosing File→Save
As in Excel to display the Save As dialog box.
If you save a live Excel file, you can open it later in My Teamcenter to reconnect it to the database.

Note

You need Microsoft Excel installed on your computer to export audit logs to Excel.
Values that you cannot change in Teamcenter are unavailable in the cells of the live Excel file.
The export to Excel option is not available on UNIX clients.

5-4 Getting Started with Workflow PLM00194 11.2

 View audit information

View legacy audit log information

Note

This data is available only if the TC_audit_manager preference is set to ON and the
TC_audit_manager_version preference is set to 2.

1. (Optional) Select an object in the tree.

2. Choose View→Audit→View Audit Logs.

OR
Right-click an object in My Teamcenter and choose View Audit Logs.
The system displays the Audit Log dialog box.

• If you select an object, the object ID, name, revision, and object type are displayed in the
Search Criteria section.

• To select a project, select a project you have access to from the Project list.

• If you want to search for a different object, click the Clear button to clear the existing search
criteria and then type the object ID, name, and revision in the Audit Log dialog box.

3. (Optional) Specify additional search criteria, such as event type, user ID, and date created.

4. (Optional) Click the Advanced tab and type criteria to construct a query based on property values.
Note

The Advanced tab does not display any information if there are no logged properties in
the audit definition object.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 5-5

 Chapter
Chapter 5: 5: View View
auditaudit information
information

a. Select an object type from the Object Type list.

After you select an object type, the Event Type list is enabled.

b. Select an event type from the Event Type list.

The logged properties defined in the audit definition object are shown in the Available
Properties list.

c. Select the properties for which you require audit logs from the Available Properties list, and
click the button to move the property to the Selected Search Criteria list.

Note

You can add up to 20 properties in the Selected Search Criteria list.

d. To search for properties based on old or new values, in the Selected Search Criteria list,
enter the old value in the Old Value column and the new value in the New Value column.

e. Click Find.

Audit logs that match your selected criteria appear.

5. Click Find.

5-6 Getting Started with Workflow PLM00194 11.2

 View audit information

The system displays the audit logs that match the search criteria.
Property value changes are shown in the User Data column of the audit log. The User Data
column shows the property name, the old value of the property, and the new value of the property.
The old value of the property is the same as the new value of the property if the property value
does not change.
Note

Only persistent properties of objects are tracked. Run-time, compound, and relational
properties are not tracked by Audit Manager.

Related topics
• TC_audit_manager

• TC_audit_manager_version

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow 5-7

Appendix A: Glossary

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow

Appendix A: Glossary

access control entry (ACE)

In Access Manager, each pairing in the access control list of an accessor with the granted privileges.

access control list (ACL)

Access Manager component that contains a list of accessors and, for each accessor, the privileges
granted, denied, and not set.

Access Manager (AM)

Teamcenter application that enables the system administrator to grant users access to Teamcenter
objects.

ACE
See access control entry (ACE).

ACL
See access control list (ACL).

action handler
Handler used to extend and customize workflow task actions. Action handlers perform such actions
as displaying information, retrieving the results of previous tasks (inherit), notifying users, setting
object protections, and launching applications. See also task handler.

add status task

Task template that creates and adds a release status to the target objects of a workflow process.
There is no dialog box associated with this template.

ad hoc process modification

Functionality that allows users to add tasks to, or delete tasks from, an active workflow process.

AM
See Access Manager (AM).

approver
User who has a signoff in a workflow process regardless of role and group membership. In Access
Manager, the approver accessor is used to allocate privileges that apply to all signoffs (for example,
read access). See also RIG approver, role approver, and group approver.

Do task
Task template that includes the EPM-hold handler, which stops the task from automatically
completing when the task is started. This template has a customized dialog box that allows
administrators to set a check box to indicate when the task is complete.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow A-1

 Appendix
Appendix A: A: Glossary
Glossary

group approver
User who is a signoff in a workflow process with a specific group of users. In Access Manager, the
group approver accessor is used in Workflow ACLs and matches the signoff definition (that is, group)
for the release level associated with the Workflow ACL. The group approver accessor ensures
that only signoffs are given privileges, not a user who matches the group. See also approver, RIG
approver, and role approver.

PAL
See process assignment list.

privileged user (workflow)

Responsible party, process owner, or member of the system administration group. Privileged
users have greater control over workflow tasks. For example, they can promote, demote, and skip
workflow tasks.

process assignment list

Distribution list associated with workflow process templates that assigns resources to all tasks in a
workflow process. It can be used to assign resources to single-user tasks, such as Do tasks, and to
multiple-user tasks, such as perform-signoffs tasks.

process owner
User who initiates the workflow process; also known as the process initiator. When the process is
initiated, the process owner becomes the responsible party for the process. Whenever any task in
the process is not explicitly assigned to another user, person, or resource pool, the responsible
party for the task defaults to the process owner.

process template
Blueprint of a workflow process defined by placing workflow and/or change management tasks (for
example, do, perform signoff, route, and checklist) in the required order of performance. Additional
process requirements, such as quorums and duration times are defined in the template using
workflow handlers.

quorum
Number of users who must vote to approve a task for that task to be approved.

release status
Status associated with a workspace object when it is released through a workflow process.

review task
Task template that includes the select-signoff-team and perform-signoffs subtasks. Each subtask
contains a unique dialog box for executing the process.

A-2 Getting Started with Workflow PLM00194 11.2

 Glossary

RIG approver
User who is a signoff in a workflow process with a specified role and group. In Access Manager, the
RIG approver accessor is used in Workflow ACLs and matches the signoff definition (that is, role
in group) for the release level associated with the Workflow ACL. This accessor ensures that only
signoffs are given privileges, not a user who matches the role in group. See also approver, group
approver, and role approver.

role approver
User who is a signoff in a workflow process with a specific role. In Access Manager, the role approver
accessor is used in Workflow ACLs and matches the sign-off definition (that is, role in group) for the
release level associated with the Workflow ACL. This accessor ensures that only signoffs are given
privileges, not a user who matches the role. See also approver, group approver, and RIG approver.

rule handler
Handler used to integrate workflow business rules into Enterprise Process Modeling processes at the
task level. Rule handlers attach conditions to an action. See also task handler.

task handler
Small Integration Toolkit program or function. Handlers are the lowest level building blocks in
Enterprise Process Modeling. They are used to extend and customize tasks. There are two kinds of
handlers: action handlers and rule handlers. See also action handler and rule handler.

workflow
Automation of the concept that all work flows through one or more business processes to accomplish
an objective. Using workflow, documents, information, and tasks are passed between participants
during the completion of a particular process.

Workflow Designer
Teamcenter application that enables administrators to graphically design workflow process templates,
incorporating company business practices and procedures into the templates. Teamcenter users
initiate workflow processes using these templates.

Workflow Viewer
Teamcenter application that enables users to view the progress of a workflow process. Users are not
required to be participating members of the process being viewed. Depending on preference settings,
Workflow Viewer also allows ad hoc process modification. See also ad hoc process modification.

PLM00194 11.2 Getting Started with Workflow A-3

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