topic Re: Dynamically control the flow in Alfresco Archive

Dynamically control the flow

prasanna_bits — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:06:01 GMT

Hi,We in Cisco have a use-case where we need to add implicit links from every task to an initial custom task.When user decides, use case requires that the current active instance's state is now reset to force a particular task being active and the follow up tasks remain not executed. start–>task1

Re: Dynamically control the flow

trademak — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 09:54:58 GMT

Hi,

I don't understand you use case fully, but I don't think this is supported in Activiti.

Best regards,

Re: Dynamically control the flow

m2spring — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:54:23 GMT

Here's another way to look at this use case:
Let's say we have a workflow with 20 tasks.
We have an instance of this workflow with 18 already completed tasks.
Now, user realizes there's a mistake in task 17.
He would like to reset the workflow instance state back to when 17 became active, so he can redo only 17.
That way he wouldn't need to start completely from the beginning with the downside of having to redo 16 tasks.

It's a bit like an "undo" operation in an editor.
Or, like stepping back in a debugger.

Since this a workflow instance is basically just some state in the database, it could be implemented through snapshotting in the database (probably not the best way to implement it).

I could imagine the workflow engine API to provide such a "step back" operation
Then a larger workflow system could expose this operation through its user interface.

-Max

Re: Dynamically control the flow

trademak — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:15:28 GMT

Hi,

Undo-ing is not supported. It's not just the task itself that needs to be opened again, but also the execution instance of the process needs to be reverted to the position of the task.

Best regards,

Re: Dynamically control the flow

m2spring — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:11:01 GMT

Hi Tijs,
it's OK, if it's not supported so far.
Do you think this is a valid use case?
Regards,
-Max

Re: Dynamically control the flow

ronald_van_kuij — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:22:59 GMT

Max,

Please search a little in the forum about previous, identical questions. Maybe even search the (old) jBPM forum etc… Compare it e.g. to an invoice that you alredy sent via snail mail. You can only undo that by sending an correction invoice. Also something that you model in the process. So the functional usecase is valid. Making it a technical implementation is not. Ad-Hoc task management is better suited for these kinds of 'processes'.