Chapter 3. Designing a case

Procedure

1. In the Assets window, click Add Asset in the upper-right corner of the project perspective and select Case definition.

2. Complete the required information in the Create new Case definition window:

   • name: The name of the case. This is usually the subject of the case or project that is being case managed.
   • package: The location in which case file is to be created.

   • Case ID prefix (optional): A configurable prefix that enables you to easily distinguish different types of cases. The prefix is followed by a generated ID in the format ID-XXXXXXXXXX, where XXXXXXXXXX is a generated number that provides a unique ID for the case instance. If a prefix is not provided, the default prefix is CASE and generates instances with the following identifiers:

     CASE-0000000001

     CASE-0000000002

     CASE-0000000003

     If a prefix is set to something else, such as IT for example, the following identifiers are generated:

     IT-0000000001

     IT-0000000002

     IT-0000000003

3. Click Ok to open the process designer.

   The designer creates a WorkDefinition file that includes the work items required for case definition. These appear as usable objects in the process designer Object Library, accessible by clicking the in the upper-left corner of the designer.

   Verify that the process designer includes the Milestones and Cases objects by either checking the Object Library dock on the left side of the process designer, or by checking the WorkDefinition file under Work Item Definitions in the Project Explorer window on the left side of Business Central.

4. Define process-level and case-level variables.

   Click the arrow on the right side of the designer to open the Properties panel. Click the down arrow next to Variable Definitions to open the Editor for Variable Definitions.

   Figure 3.1. IT Orders variables

   

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   In the IT Orders sample project, you can see that certain variables are identified as Case File. A case file variable is stored in the case file itself and promotes reuse of the case file data rather than copying it across multiple process instances. For example, the hwSpec variable is available to all processes within the case and is accessible directly from the case file even after the case instance is closed.

   For more information about the case file, see Chapter 4, Case file .

5. To define the roles involved in the case, click to open the Properties menu on the right side of the designer and open the Editor for Case Roles. Click Add Case Role to add case roles.

   The IT Orders sample case management project includes the following roles:

   Figure 3.2. ITOrders Case Roles

   

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   • owner: The employee who is making the hardware order request. There can be only one person assigned to this role.
   • manager: The employee’s manager; the person who will approve or deny the requested hardware. The role cardinality is set to 1, which means that only one person or group can be assigned to this role.
   • supplier: The available suppliers of IT hardware in the system. There is usually more than one supplier.

   For more information about creating case roles, see Chapter 9, Case roles .

6. Define the work item to be triggered when a new case starts.

   Because case definition is an ad hoc process definition, it does not require an explicit start node. Nodes that have no incoming connections are marked as Adhoc Autostart and are automatically triggered when a new case instance is started.

   By default, the process designer includes a Milestone object configured as Adhoc autostart in the palette. Modify this object or replace it with another work item such as a user task or script task to be triggered when a new case is started.

   In the IT Orders example, the Prepare hardware spec user task and the Milestone 1: Order placed milestones are configured as Adhoc autostart, and are automatically triggered when a new case instance is started.

7. Define a subprocess.

   In the IT Orders example, the place-order process is a separate business process that is carried out by the supplier. This is a reusable process that occurs during the course of case execution.

   1. From the project menu, click Add Asset Business Process to create a new business process. Define the name and package for the new process and click Ok.
   2. Define the process that is a subprocess within the case. For example, the IT Orders Place order process is a simple user task that applies to the supplier group and receives the relevant order data and case variables directly from the case file.
8. Add a milestone to the case definition by selecting Milestone from the Object Library and dragging it on to the process designer.

9. Create an evaluation condition for the milestone based on a case file variable that determines when the milestone is completed. From the Properties menu on the right, open the Data Inputs and Assignments window and click Add to add a new condition.

   In the IT Orders case, the status of Milestone 1: Order placed depends on the condition org.kie.api.runtime.process.CaseData(data.get("ordered") == true). This means that a case variable named ordered exists with the value true, and it is configured on the milestone in the following way:

   

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   For more information about the milestones in the IT Orders case, see Getting started with case management.

   To learn more about milestones, see Chapter 11, Milestones.