The Workflow Designer enables you to create a sequence of actions to occur when triggered by an alarm using a graphical drag and drop user interface. Once triggered a workflow will work through the sequence of activities you have defined. If you modify an existing workflow, this will not affect any instances of this workflow already in process. Workflows currently running will be completed using the actual workflow as it was published at the time it was triggered. When you modify a workflow, the workflow will be marked as 'Modified' and saved so that you can come back to and work on it but it will not be triggered by an alarm until such time as it has been 'Published'. The current state of the workflow, either modified or published is shown on the right hand side of the tool bar. Once the workflow is ready for use, the Publish button is used to make the selected workflow the current workflow for future alarms that utilize this workflow.

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Workflow Designer Toolbar Function

Workflow Activity Properties Summary

The workflow activity properties window displayed on the right hand side of the workflow designer contains one or more of the following sections depending on the activity type. Each of the activities are listed in detail below.

General

The general section contains basic information regarding the activity such as its name and description. By providing relevant detailed information in these fields the workflow will be easier to maintain and modify in the future by yourself or other users.

Identification

The identification properties are used to access various identities such as a customer or business partner name or callout list using a unique identifier. The details related to that identity can then be used to determine subsequent or alternative workflow activities that need to be performed.

Variables

The variable property contains a list of variables that may be used within this activity. The content of a variable can the be used within a workflow such as using an alarm name in the subject of an email. Each variable is assigned an id starting with zero which is used in the formatting of strings. To add a new variable to the list select a new variable in the last entry of the list. To remove a variable click the 'X' next to the variable to be removed. The index of all variables below the one deleted will be moved up one and a string format activity would need to modified to reflect this change.

Formatting

The formatting property is a string. The string is plain text or may contain HTML tags and may contain variables. An example of a string is Trunk Threshold reached - Customer - {0} ; Alarm '{1} </br>' where the variables 0 and 1 may be customer name and alarm name respectively. The </br> will add a line break if this is used in an email that has the Is Body HTML property set as an example.

Output Mapping

The output mapping describes what to do with the content or result of an activity. For example the content of String Format activity may be to build up the body of an email to include all the relevant information including the customer name, alarm name, severity, and location. This would be mapped to a string variable with a name of your choosing such as AlarmEmailBody. This variable can then be used in the messaging Send Email activity by selecting the variable name AlarmEmailBody from the available list for the message property as shown below.

The output mapping may also be a Boolean variable (true or false) which may be tested to determine the next workflow steps. For example the result of sending an email is either true or false as to whether the send was successful or not. This can be mapped to a Boolean output which can then be tested to determine if email needs to be sent again or an SMS sent as an alternative for example.

Message

The message properties are used to pull together the complete message to be sent: destinations from a callout list, subject and body from previous string format activities. The options available in the Message properties window will be dependent on the message type being sent, currently either email or SMS. For example both have a common Message property but email has additional capabilities such as Cc, Bcc and subject.

Input

Input allows you to select a variable to be used or tested. An example of this is in the 'Is String Populated' activity. The Input property is used to select the variable to be tested in the case of an If or While activity or processed in the case of a GetCalloutDetails activity as an example.

Settings

Settings enables you to set the value of specific properties which are then used in a particular activity. An example is the Alarm Active activity. After setting the alarm id and location id, the Alarm Active activity will determine if alarm meeting that specific criteria is active or not, mapping the result to a defined variable which can be used later.

Operation

The operation property enables you to perform an operation on parameter 1 using parameter 2 with the output being written to a target. These are multiplicative and additive operators generally found in the Assign activity.

Conditional Operator

The conditional operators enables you to test one parameter against another such as a Boolean variable equal to true or false. These are relational and equality operators generally found in the If and While activities.

Transition Criteria

The Transition Criteria property is displayed when an activity connector is selected from an activity that has multiple outputs such as For Each or If activities. These outputs are Boolean states and the criteria may be swapped by checking or unchecking the appropriate checkbox.

Workflow Designer Activity Details

Not all activities are available to all users with the available list based on the users login level. The list below shows those activities generally available at a business partner level.

General Activities

Is String Populated Activity

Description

A string cannot be used directly in an If activity to determine if the string is empty or not. First the Is String Populated activity is used to determine if a particular string variable is empty or not and set a Boolean variable appropriately. A subsequent IF activity may be used to determine which branch of a workflow to follow depending on the Boolean state. For example if an email address variable is populated the Is String Populated activity sets a variable to true, otherwise set it to false. In a follow-up If activity the Boolean output is tested; If True send an email but if False don't attempt to send an email.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

The general section contains basic information regarding the activity such as its name and description. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected in the workflow. Ideally it should contain relevant information regarding the specific function of this activity.

Input

Input String

The input string is the variable to be tested as to whether it is populated or not. Select the required variable from the available variables listed. If the required variable is not yet defined a new variable may be created by clicking the '+' button and completing the required information. A variable name is required which may contain spaces although this is not recommended. The available types are String, Integer, Decimal, Boolean, GUID and Date. The variable may then be added by clicking the Add button or the Add as a parameter button. The key differences between adding as a variable and adding as a parameter, from your point of view, is that a parameter is not editable once it has been created. The purpose of a parameter is that of an input variable taking a value from whatever triggers the workflow and as such needs to be defined by the back-end administrators. At an activity level variables and parameters may be used interchangeably so just use the Add button when adding a variable.

Output Mapping

Is Populated

The Is Populated output is mapped to a variable as either true or false depending on whether the input variable was empty or not. Select the output variable from the available variables listed. If the required variable is not yet defined a new variable may be created by clicking the '+' button and completing the required information. A variable name is required which may contain spaces although this is not recommended. The available types are String, Integer, Decimal, Boolean, GUID and Date. The variable may then be added by clicking the Add button or the Add as a parameter button. The key differences between adding as a variable and adding as a parameter, from your point of view, is that a parameter is not editable once it has been created. The purpose of a parameter is that of an input variable taking a value from whatever triggers the workflow and as such needs to be defined by the back-end administrators. At an activity level variables and parameters may be used interchangeably so just use the Add button when adding a variable.

String Format Activity

Description

The String Format activity enables you to construct a string by combining fixed text and variables. This string may then be assigned to a variable to be used in other activities such as subject or body content in a Send Email or Send SMS activity.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Formatting

The activity Formatting property contains a string of plain or formatted text. The formatting may include HTML for use in a HTML email as an example as well as placeholders for variables. The syntax for a place holder is a curly bracket (braces) enclosed variable ID which is zero indexed. For example {2} in the formatted string will be replaced with the third variable from the variables list contained in this activity.

Variables

The Variables property window contains a list of variables to be used in the string being created. Each string has an Id starting at zero which is inserted in the Format String text at the respective placeholder for example {0} for the first variable. To remove a variable click the 'X' next to the variable name and all variables below will then move up one ID. Your formatted string will then need to be modified to reflect this change.

Output Mapping

The output of a String Format activity is a string that may be mapped to an existing variable. If the required variable is not yet defined a new variable may be created by clicking the '+' button and completing the required information. A variable name is required which may contain spaces although this is not recommended. The available types are String, Integer, Decimal, Boolean, GUID and Date. The variable may then be added by clicking the Add button or the Add as a parameter button. The key differences between adding as a variable and adding as a parameter, from your point of view, is that a parameter is not editable once it has been created. The purpose of a parameter is that of an input variable taking a value from whatever triggers the workflow and as such needs to be defined by the back-end administrators. At an activity level variables and parameters may be used interchangeably so just use the Add button when adding a variable.

Delay Activity

Description

The Delay activity pauses the processing on this branch of the workflow. If a split has been used to perform some parallel processing the other branches are not affected by this delay. This must be taken into consideration when merging branches if output from the delayed branch is required in the workflow post merging of branches.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Settings

Duration (sec)

The Duration property causes the Delay action to pause processing of this workflow branch for a defined number of seconds. The value may be a fixed numeric value or using the switch button a variable may be selected. If the required variable is not yet defined a new variable may be created by clicking the '+' button and completing the required information. A variable name is required which may contain spaces although this is not recommended. The available types are String, Integer, Decimal, Boolean, GUID and Date. The variable may then be added by clicking the Add button or the Add as a parameter button. The key differences between adding as a variable and adding as a parameter, from your point of view, is that a parameter is not editable once it has been created. The purpose of a parameter is that of an input variable taking a value from whatever triggers the workflow and as such needs to be defined by the back-end administrators. At an activity level variables and parameters may be used interchangeably so just use the Add button when adding a variable.

Web Service Activity

Description

The Webservice activity enables a workflow to communicate with external systems via SOAP web services. During configuration the Webservice activity reads the web service description (WSDL) and presents the available web methods for selection

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Credentials

User Name

The user name parameter contains the name required for accessing the web service. If the web service does not require authentication, leave the user name parameter empty. The user name and password provided must have permissions to execute the web service being called.

Password

The password parameter contains the password for the user name entered in the user name field. If a user name and password are not required, leave the password parameter empty. The user name and password provided must have permissions to execute the web service being called.

WSDL URL

The WSDL URL parameter contains the complete URL to the web service description. An example of this is http://testserver.com/testwebservice/Service1.asmx?WSDL

Generally the web service description URL can be tested in a browser and will return and XML document as shown below.

Remote Method

Once the WSDL URL has been entered, the search button next to the Remote Method parameter can be clicked. A Web Service Browser window will open and list the available web methods available from within the web service description. Expand the available drop downs to display the list of available web methods and associated parameters. Select the required radio button against the required web method and click Save. The Input Parameters will then be listed in the Web Service activity to have variables or values assigned.

Input Parameters

Parameter List

The list of Input Parameters will vary dependent on the web service description. For each input parameter select from the available variable list or enter a fixed value as required. In the image below the parameters from the web service description have become input parameters within the web service activity.

Output Mapping

Return Value

The Output Mapping Return Value will contain the response from the web service. This value can then be tested or used as required subsequently in the workflow.

Executed Result

Executed Successfully

This returns the result of the web service as returned by the web service or if the call to the web service fails completely such as unable to connect to the web service. This can be assigned to a variable which can be tested later in the workflow so as to perform additional functions such as send an email if the web service call fails.

Error Message

The Expected Result Error Message is the string returned by the web service in the event of a web service failure.

Data Activities

Alarm Active Activity

Description

The Alarm Active activity is used to determine if a specific alarm at a specific location is still active. For example an alarm may be raised however it may resolved by part of the workflow performing some action. After performing the action it is possible to test if the alarm is still active and escalate the alarm to an engineer or just complete the workflow as the intervention was successful.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Settings

Alarm ID

The Alarm ID is a specific identifier for this instance of an alarm. This value is passed in to the global parameter list when the workflow is triggered by the alarm and it is this global parameter that should be selected here.

Customer ID

The Duration property causes the Delay action to pause processing of this workflow branch for a defined number of seconds. The value may be a fixed numeric value or using the switch button a variable may be selected. If the required variable is not yet defined a new variable may be created by clicking the '+' button and completing the required information. A variable name is required which may contain spaces although this is not recommended. The available types are String, Integer, Decimal, Boolean, GUID and Date. The variable may then be added by clicking the Add button or the Add as a parameter button. The key differences between adding as a variable and adding as a parameter, from your point of view, is that a parameter is not editable once it has been created. The purpose of a parameter is that of an input variable taking a value from whatever triggers the workflow and as such needs to be defined by the back-end administrators. At an activity level variables and parameters may be used interchangeably so just use the Add button when adding a variable.

Output Mapping

Alarm Active

The Alarm Active output mapping will set a Boolean variable true if the alarm identified in the input settings is still active. If the required variable is not yet defined a new variable may be created by clicking the '+' button and completing the required information. A variable name is required which may contain spaces although this is not recommended. The available types are String, Integer, Decimal, Boolean, GUID and Date. The variable may then be added by clicking the Add button or the Add as a parameter button. The key differences between adding as a variable and adding as a parameter, from your point of view, is that a parameter is not editable once it has been created. The purpose of a parameter is that of an input variable taking a value from whatever triggers the workflow and as such needs to be defined by the back-end administrators. At an activity level variables and parameters may be used interchangeably so just use the Add button when adding a variable.

Get Location Details Activity

Description

The Get Location Details activity uses the Location ID GUID sent with the alarm to get specific details of the location such as its name and description and appliance name. This user friendly information can then be incorporated into an email escalation as an example.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Identification

The Location ID is a GUID which is generated at the time the location is created. The GUID itself is not visible through the administration interface however it may be exported from the list of all locations as shown below.

Output Mapping

Active

This Boolean will be true if the location is active. A location is considered active when ...

Appliance Friendly Name

This is the Appliance Name as entered in the location details which can be found under the main menu Service Desk > All Equipment Locations. The appliance friendly name is labeled Appliance Name under the Appliance Details heading.

Description

This is the description as entered in the Location Details page accessible from the main menu Service Desk > All Equipment Locations.

Name

This is the Location Name as entered in the location details which can be found under the main menu Service Desk > All Equipment Locations. The location name is labeled Appliance Name under the Location Details heading.

Get User Details Activity

Description

The purpose of the Get User activity is to retrieve user specific details based on a user Id which is a GUID. The output from this activity includes the users name, email and telephone details which may be used in an escalation process. The details are those listed for the user under the main menu Service Desk > Users.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Identification

User Id

This input to the Get User Details activity is a GUID. This will be obtained from ...

Output Mapping

Email Address

The email address is that listed as the User Name in a users details, accessible from the main menu Service Desk > Users.

First Name

The first name is that listed as the First Name in a users details, accessible from the main menu Service Desk > Users.

Last Name

The last name is that listed as the Last Name in a users details, accessible from the main menu Service Desk > Users.

Mobile Number

The mobile number is that listed as the Mobile Number in a users details, accessible from the main menu Service Desk > Users. The mobile number should have been entered in E.164 format to enable SMS messages to be sent successfully. For example the number should be +countrycode areacode number with no long distance access codes included. E.g. +15551234567

Telephone Number

The telephone number is that listed as the Work Number in a users details, accessible from the main menu Service Desk > Users.

Get Customer Details Activity

Description

The Get Customer Details activity returns information about the customer including primary contact and escalation user details as well and business partner details summary details including the business partner ID which may then be used to get detailed business partner details if required.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Identification

Customer ID

The Customer ID is a GUID generated at the time the customer is added. The GUID itself is not visible through the administration interface however it may be exported from the list of all locations as shown below.

Output Mapping

Active

This Boolean will be true if the location is active. A location is considered active when ...

Alert Via Email

The Alert Via Email variable is a boolean. The value returned is relevant to the activity being called either Get BP Detail or Get Customer Details. It is administered in the business partners or customers availability manager option page respectively: Alert Callout Engineer via Email.

Alert Via SMS

The Alert Via SMS variable is a boolean. The value returned is relevant to the activity being called either Get BP Detail or Get Customer Details. It is administered in the business partners or customers availability manager option page respectively: Alert Callout Engineer via SMS.

Business Partner ID

This is a GUID unique to each business partner. It is created automatically when the business partner is first administered. This would then normally be used in a Get BP Details activity to retrieve any specific details regarding the business partner.

Business Partner Service Desk Email Address

This is the business partner email address as administered in customer details page as distinct from the email address administered in the business partners settings. The intended use for this would be to send the email to a customer specific email address at the business partner. For example customerABC@BPxyz.com. The standard BP Major Alarm template send alarm emails to this email address if populated otherwise it reverts to the email address administered in the business partner settings.

Business Partner Telephone

This is the Work Number as defined in the business partner details configuration.

Customer Name

This is the Customer Name as defined is the customer details page.

Customer Number

This is the Partner Customer Number as defined is the customer details page.

Max Days For Unresolved Alarms

The Max Days For Unresolved Alarms is an integer. It is administered in the customers availability option page: Maximum Age Of Unresolved Alarms(Days).

Mobile Number

The mobile number is that listed as the Mobile Number in a users details, accessible from the main menu Service Desk > Users. The mobile number should have been entered in E.164 format to enable SMS messages to be sent successfully. For example the number should be +countrycode areacode number with no long distance access codes included. E.g. +15551234567

Primary Contact Mobile Number

The Primary Contact is configured at the time the customer is created. Details include name, email address, work number and mobile number.

Primary Contact Name

The Primary Contact is configured at the time the customer is created. Details include name, email address, work number and mobile number.

Send Alarms To Service Desk Email

The Send Alarms To Service Desk Email variable is a boolean. The value returned is relevant to the activity being called either Get BP Details or Get Customer Details. It is administered in the business partners or customers availability manager option page respectively: Send Alarms to Service Desk Email Address.

Service Desk Email Address

This is the service desk email address of the customer as opposed to the business partner service desk email address. It is administered in the customer details page: Service Desk Email Address.

Use Callout List

The Use Callout List variable is a boolean. The value returned is relevant to the activity being called either Get BP Detail or Get Customer Details. It is administered in the business partners or customers availability manager option page respectively: Use Callout List.

User To Receive Alarms Email Address

The User To Receive Alarms Email Address variable is a string. It is the email address of the user administered in the customers availability manager option page: User to Receive Alarms.

The value returned is relevant to the activity being called either Get BP Detail or Get Customer Details. It is administered in the business partners or customers availability manager option page respectively:

User To Receive Alarms Name

The user To Receive Alarms Name variable is a string. It is the name of the user administered in the customers availability manager option page: User to Receive Alarms.

User To Receive Alarms SMS

The user To Receive Alarms SMS variable is a string. It is the mobile number of the user administered in the customers availability manager option page: User to Receive Alarms.

Get BP Details Activity

Description

The purpose of the Get BP Details is to retrieve business partner specific details based on a Customer ID.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Identification

Customer ID

The Customer ID is a GUID generated at the time the customer is added. The GUID itself is not visible through the administration interface however it may be exported from the list of all locations as shown below.

Output Mapping

Active

This Boolean will be true if the location is active. A location is considered active when ...

Alert Via Email

The Alert Via Email variable is a boolean. The value returned is relevant to the activity being called either Get BP Detail or Get Customer Details. It is administered in the business partners or customers availability manager option page respectively: Alert Callout Engineer via Email.

Alert Via SMS

The Alert Via SMS variable is a boolean. The value returned is relevant to the activity being called either Get BP Detail or Get Customer Details. It is administered in the business partners or customers availability manager option page respectively: Alert Callout Engineer via SMS.

Business Partner Billing Reference

This is for future use.

Business Partner ID

This is a GUID unique to each business partner. It is created automatically when the business partner is first administered. This would then normally be used in a Get BP Details activity to retrieve any specific details regarding the business partner.

Business Partner Mobile Phone

This is the business partner mobile number as administered under the business partner settings, contact information.

Business Partner Name

This is the business partner name as administered under the business partner settings.

Business Partner Service Desk Email Address

This is the Partner Service Desk Email Address as defined in the business partner details page. This email address will be defined by the business partner which may or may not be customer specific.

Max Days For Unresolved Alarms

The Max Days For Unresolved Alarms is an integer. It is administered in the customers availability option page: Maximum Age Of Unresolved Alarms(Days).

Primary Contact Mobile Number

The Primary Contact is configured at the time the customer is created. Details include name, email address, work number and mobile number.

Primary Contact Name

The Primary Contact is configured at the time the customer is created. Details include name, email address, work number and mobile number.

Send Alarms To Service Desk Email

The Send Alarms To Service Desk Email variable is a boolean. The value returned is relevant to the activity being called either Get BP Details or Get Customer Details. It is administered in the business partners or customers availability manager option page respectively: Send Alarms to Service Desk Email Address.

Service Desk Email Address

This is the service desk email address of the customer as opposed to the business partner service desk email address. It is administered in the customer details page: Service Desk Email Address.

Use Callout List

The Use Callout List variable is a boolean. The value returned is relevant to the activity being called either Get BP Detail or Get Customer Details. It is administered in the business partners or customers availability manager option page respectively: Use Callout List.

User To Receive Alarms Email Address

The User To Receive Alarms Email Address variable is a string. It is the email address of the user administered in the customers availability manager option page: User to Receive Alarms.

The value returned is relevant to the activity being called either Get BP Detail or Get Customer Details. It is administered in the business partners or customers availability manager option page respectively:

User To Receive Alarms Name

The user To Receive Alarms Name variable is a string. It is the name of the user administered in the customers availability manager option page: User to Receive Alarms.

User To Receive Alarms SMS

The user To Receive Alarms SMS variable is a string. It is the mobile number of the user administered in the customers availability manager option page: User to Receive Alarms.

Virsae Account Number

For future use.

Virsae Contract Number

For future use.

Virsae Entity ID

This is a unique identifier for the business partner or customer.

Get Callout List Activity

Description

The Get Callout List activity retrieves the callout list using the Callout List ID passed in with the alarm event. The Callout List ID global variable will be populated if the customer or business partner is configured to use a callout list. The list can then be passed into a For Each activity which will iterate through, selecting an item from the list in descending order of rank. The output of the For Each would be passed into a Get Callout Details activity to get the user information.

An example of a common sequence is shown below. Note the labels on the outputs from the For Each for the correct flow.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Identification

Callout List ID

When an alarm is generated and the customer or business partner is configured to use a callout list, the callout list ID will be passed with the alarm. The callout list iD is a GUID but it is selected from the list of available global variables.

Output Mapping

Callout Details

The output of the Get Callout List activity is of the type Collection and contains the details of all entries within the callout list.

Get Callout Details Activity

Description

Get Callout Details retrieves the name, email address and mobile phone number of the next user in the call out list. This information is then used to send notifications such as raising an alarm.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Input

Callout Details

The input to a Get Callout Details activity is of the type CallOutDetails and is one item from the callout list. The item is normally retrieved from the callout list using a For Each activity.

Output Mapping

Contact Name

The Contact Name is the first and last name as entered in a users details, accessible from the main menu Service Desk > Users.

Email Address

The email address is that listed as the User Name in a users details, accessible from the main menu Service Desk > Users.

SMS

The SMS address is that listed as the Mobile Number in a users details, accessible from the main menu Service Desk > Users.

Get Contract Expiry List Activity

Description

The Get Contract Expiry List activity retrieves the contracts and schedules associated with a customer. This is then iterated through to get the specific contract which is passed into the Get Contract Expiry Details to get the expiry date, customer ID and days until the contract expires.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Output Mapping

Contract Details

The Contract Details is of a type List and contains contract related information. This is normally output from a Get Contract Expiry List and would be passed into a For Each activity to iterate through.

Get Contract Expiry Details Activity

Description

The Get Contract Expiry Details activity takes a specific contract item from a Get Contract Expiry List and provides the contract expiry date, customer ID and count of days until expiry for that contract.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Input

Contract Expiry Details

This input to the Get Contract Expiry Details is an item from get contract details list activity which is passed in from a for each activity.

Output Mapping

Contract Expiry UTC

The Contract Expiry UTC output is written to a variable of type Date. This contains the UTC date the contract is configured to expire as administered in Service Desk > Contracts > Schedules.

Customer ID

The Customer ID output from the Get Contract Expiry Details activity is written to a variable of type GUID. This customer ID could then be used in Get Customer Detail activity to get more detail about the customer.

Days Until Expiry

The Days Until Expiry is output to a variable of type Integer. It contains the number of days until the contract expires.

Get Tags

Description

The Get Tags activity retrieves all tags associated with an entity identifier, which can be a customer ID, Location ID, or Equipment ID.  For example for an alarm, it might be the equipment ID the alarm was raised against - and this would then retrieve all tags associated with that equipment. 

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Input

Tag Entity Level

This receives an ID, either customer, location, or equipment.  

Include Inherited Tags

Tags are may be inherited downwards from Customer → Location → Equipment.   This means a tag associated at the customer level, will typically also be associated with all locations for that customer, and all equipment under each of those locations.   Checking this box will retrieve all inherited tags. 

Output Mapping

Tag List

Produces a list of tags associated with the given ID, these may then be passed through to the Get Tag Details activity to retrieve specific information about the tag. 

Get Tag Details

Description

The Get Tag Details activity lists through a tag objects, and returns all key, value pairs associated with that tag.   For example: 

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Input

Tag

This is the tag object.  A tag object is a customizable identifier associated with a customer, location, or equipment. A tag object can be retrieved via the Get Tags activity.

Output Mapping

Category

The category name of the tag

Key

The Keys associated with the tag.  A tag can have 0, 1, or several keys associated with it. 

Value

The value of the key - each key can have an optional text value associated with it. 

Logical Activities

Start Activity

Description

The start activity is required as the entry point to all activities. Here global variables are defined to be used throughout the workflow.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Global Variables

Here global variables are defined for use throughout the workflow. Here the variable is named and its type selected. The available types are

• String
• Integer
• Decimal
• Boolean
• GUID
• Date

A default value for a variable may be set here or left empty. A Boolean state is indicated using a check box where checked is true and unchecked is false.

A variable may be defined as either a parameter or an output or have no definition.

A parameter is a variable that will be passed into the workflow by the triggering event such as an alarm. The alarm for example passes in a number variable parameters such as the alarm ID, alarm level, business partner id and customer id.

An icon above the variable will indicate whether the variable is a parameter or output as shown below for SiteID and NewOutput. The menu button to the left of the variable name enables you to set or unset the variable as parameter or output, or to delete the variable altogether. To add a new variable add a variable name to the empty entry at the bottom of the list. As you add a new variable, a new empty entry will automatically be added to the list.

Finish Activity

Description

The finish activity is added automatically to all workflows when they are created. It has a Name and Description but no other properties or functions other than terminating the work flow.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Assign Activity

Description

The Assign activity is used to perform an operation on parameter 1 using parameter 2. The available operators are Plus, Minus, Multiply, Divide and Mod. The operators available to select from will be dependent on the type of parameter selected. For example when the parameter 1 is of a type string the only operator available will be 'Plus' in which case parameter 1 will be concatenated with parameter 2.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Operation

Target

The target is the destination variable to which the result will be sent. The target type must match the type of output from the operation. For example if the operation is to add 1 to a loop counter then the target must be of the type integer. The options available will dependent on either the target or parameter 1 selected. If the target selected for example is an integer, then the Parameter 1 list will only contain variables of type integer to select from. If the target is a string then the Parameter 1 list will contain other strings but the only operator option will be 'Plus'

If the required variable is not yet defined a new variable may be created by clicking the '+' button and completing the required information. A variable name is required which may contain spaces although this is not recommended. The available types are String, Integer, Decimal, Boolean, GUID and Date. The variable may then be added by clicking the Add button or the Add as a parameter button.

The key differences between adding as a variable and adding as a parameter, from your point of view, is that a parameter is not editable once it has been created. The purpose of a parameter is that of an input variable taking a value from whatever triggers the workflow and as such needs to be defined by the back-end administrators. At an activity level variables and parameters may be used interchangeably so just use the Add button when adding a variable.

Parameters

The parameters are the items to be operated on. Initially Parameter 1 only is displayed until such time as the variable and operator is selected at which time if a second parameter is required the option will automatically be displayed.

If the required variable is not yet defined a new variable may be created by clicking the '+' button and completing the required information. A variable name is required which may contain spaces although this is not recommended. The available types are String, Integer, Decimal, Boolean, GUID and Date. The variable may then be added by clicking the Add button or the Add as a parameter button.

The key differences between adding as a variable and adding as a parameter, from your point of view, is that a parameter is not editable once it has been created. The purpose of a parameter is that of an input variable taking a value from whatever triggers the workflow and as such needs to be defined by the back-end administrators. At an activity level variables and parameters may be used interchangeably so just use the Add button when adding a variable.

Operator

The available operators are dependent on the type of variables selected.

• Plus - Numeric addition when operating on numerical values. Concatenation when operating on strings.
• Minus - Numeric subtraction when applied to numerical values. Returns the result of Parameter 1 minus Parameter 2.
• Multiply - Numeric multiplication when operating on numerical values.
• Divide - Numeric division when applied to numeric values. Returns the result of Parameter 1 divided by Parameter 2.
• Mod - Numeric modulus when applied to numeric values. Returns the remainder when Parameter 1 is divided by Parameter 2.

For Each Activity

Description

The For Each activity takes a collection such as a call out list as an input and will iterate through until it reaches the end of the collection. The For Each activity has two outputs. While the activity has items in the collection to process, the workflow will follow the True branch passing the item to the next activity. This branch should then loop back to the For Each so that the next item may be processed. When the collection is exhausted the For Each activity will follow the False branch enabling the workflow to exit the loop.

Each item passed from the For Each activity may be used for further processing. An example of this would be to get a call out list for an alarm and pass that to the For Each activity. The For Each activity will then pass each item in the call out list where each item is an engineers details, to a GetCalloutDetails activity which retrieves the email address for the engineer item being passed. An email is sent to the engineer and the process loops back to the For Each activity. In this way an email is sent to all users in the call out list before exiting at the end of the collection.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Input

Collection

The input collection will most likely be provided by a defined list of items such as a list of call out details of engineers generated by the GetCalloutList activity for example. The output from the GetCalloutList is fed into the ForEach activity and then iterated through. The items available for input selection as a collection will only contain those items that are of type collection which will require population as part of the workflow.

Output Mapping

Item

The Item output mapping from a For Each is one item from the collection received at the input. Each iteration through the For Each activity will output the next item in the collection until all items in the collection have been processed.

Loop Complete

When all items in the input collection have been processed, the For Each activity will exit and if required LoopComplete output may set a Boolean variable which can later be tested.

Transition Criteria

Complete

Decision activities such as For Each, have two outputs: complete or bot complete. To change the output branch criteria simply select the branch and in the available Transition Criteria properties check or un-check the complete checkbox. This will reverse the criteria automatically changing the other branch at the same time.

Note: The transition criteria properties window is only visible while the output branch is selected

If Activity

Description

The If activity enables you to test an input parameter against another parameter using an appropriate operator. The activity has two output branches, 'true' and 'false' depending in the results of the test.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Condition

Parameter

The parameters are the items to be operated on. Initially Parameter 1 only is displayed until such time as the variable and operator is selected at which time if a second parameter is required the option will automatically be displayed.

If the required variable is not yet defined a new variable may be created by clicking the '+' button and completing the required information. A variable name is required which may contain spaces although this is not recommended. The available types are String, Integer, Decimal, Boolean, GUID and Date. The variable may then be added by clicking the Add button or the Add as a parameter button.

The key differences between adding as a variable and adding as a parameter, from your point of view, is that a parameter is not editable once it has been created. The purpose of a parameter is that of an input variable taking a value from whatever triggers the workflow and as such needs to be defined by the back-end administrators. At an activity level variables and parameters may be used interchangeably so just use the Add button when adding a variable.

Operator

The operator is used to test parameter 1 against parameter 2. The list of available operators will be dependent on the type of parameters selected. For example if a Boolean parameter 1 is selected, the only condition operators available will be Equals or NotEquals. Available operators may include one or more of the following

• Equals - Parameter 1 is equal to parameter 2
• Less Than - Parameter 1 is less than parameter 2
• Greater Than - Parameter 1 is greater than parameter 2
• Less Than Or Equals - Parameter 1 is less than or equal to parameter 2
• Greater Than Or Equals - Parameter 1 is greater than or equal to parameter 2
• Not Equals - Parameter 1 is not equal to parameter 2

Transition Criteria

Result

Decision activities such as If, have two outputs: true or false. To change the output branch criteria simply select the branch and in the available Transition Criteria properties check or un-check the result checkbox. This will reverse the criteria automatically changing the other branch at the same time.

Note: The transition criteria properties window is only visible while the output branch is selected

While Activity

Description

The While loop will execute a branch in the workflow until condition in activity tests false at which time the false branch will be followed. The condition tests parameter 1 against parameter 2 using appropriate operators for the parameter types selected.

The While activity accepts two inputs where one is the initial entry point and the second is the point at which the looping branch re-enters the loop.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Condition

Parameter

The parameters are the items to be operated on. Initially Parameter 1 only is displayed until such time as the variable and operator is selected at which time if a second parameter is required the option will automatically be displayed.

If the required variable is not yet defined a new variable may be created by clicking the '+' button and completing the required information. A variable name is required which may contain spaces although this is not recommended. The available types are String, Integer, Decimal, Boolean, GUID and Date. The variable may then be added by clicking the Add button or the Add as a parameter button.

The key differences between adding as a variable and adding as a parameter, from your point of view, is that a parameter is not editable once it has been created. The purpose of a parameter is that of an input variable taking a value from whatever triggers the workflow and as such needs to be defined by the back-end administrators. At an activity level variables and parameters may be used interchangeably so just use the Add button when adding a variable.

Operator

The operator is used to test parameter 1 against parameter 2. The list of available operators will be dependent on the type of parameters selected. For example if a Boolean parameter 1 is selected, the only condition operators available will be Equals or NotEquals. Available operators may include one or more of the following

• Equals - Parameter 1 is equal to parameter 2
• Less Than - Parameter 1 is less than parameter 2
• Greater Than - Parameter 1 is greater than parameter 2
• Less Than Or Equals - Parameter 1 is less than or equal to parameter 2
• Greater Than Or Equals - Parameter 1 is greater than or equal to parameter 2
• Not Equals - Parameter 1 is not equal to parameter 2

Split Activity

Description

The Split activity enables you to perform activities in parallel such as send emails to two different destinations at the same time instead of doing this sequentially. One reason for this may be that the email activity is required to wait for a confirmation response before proceeding which would delay the sending of the second email if processed sequentially. The split activity has no output properties.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Merge Activity

Description

The Merge activity brings together a number of branches of the workflow. The workflow may pause at this point depending on the 'Wait For' synchronization requirement to be met. The synchronization setting will cause the merge activity to proceed when any one branch is complete, X number of branches are complete or all branches are complete.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Synchronization

The Wait For property of the merge activity is designed to enable synchronization of multiple branches of a workflow by pausing processing until any or all parallel branches of the workflow are complete to that point in the workflow. An example of this would be where the synchronization property is set to All, meaning that all branches of the workflow connected to the merge activity must have got to that point in the workflow before the activity after the merge is processed.

Where the synchronization value is set to Any, the workflow will progress to the next activity as soon as the first of any of the branches reaches the merge activity.

Where the synchronization is set to a configured number, the workflow will progress to the next activity as soon as the first X number of branches reach the merge activity. Exactly which of the branches that make up that number cannot be specified. In a complex workflow for example where the next activity should only be processed where two specific branches have completed and at least one other, two merge activities would be used, one to synchronize the two required branches which would lead into a second merge which synchronizes other branches as required.

Messaging Activities

Email Activity

Description

The Email activity performs the email send function. It combines the results of the email subject and email body activities and attempts to send the complete email. The result of sending an email may be used in further workflow activities. For example if sending the email returns 'sent OK' that may be the end of the workflow, however if this is not received within a set time an attempt to resend the email could be performed. Similarlyafter sending an email, if a reply to that email is received, then the workflow is completed otherwise an escalation path may be followed.

Properties

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Message

Reply To

The Reply To address is the email address that an email will be sent to when replying to this email. The message Reply To address may be entered as plain text. Alternatively the entry may be selected from a list of variables. To switch between the two options click the switch button 

Copy

The message Cc address may be entered as plain text. Multiple addresses may be entered, separated by a semi-colon ( ; ). Alternatively the entry may be selected from a list of variables. To switch between the two options click the switch button 

Blind Copy

The message Bcc address may be entered as plain text. Multiple addresses may be entered, separated by a semi-colon ( ; ). Alternatively the entry may be selected from a list of variables. To switch between the two options click the switch button 

Reply To

The Reply To address is the email address that an email will be sent to when replying to this email. The message Reply To address may be entered as plain text. Alternatively the entry may be selected from a list of variables. To switch between the two options click the switch button 

Wait For Reply

Checking the Wait For Reply check box will cause this workflow to pause until a reply to this email has been received. Selecting the Switch button enable the option to be changed to 'Sent OK' rather than a reply being received before the workflow continues.

Subject

The subject of this email may be a text entered in this field or the content may be selected from a list of variable information. New variables may be created to produce the desired output. See managing variables.

Is Body HTML

When checked, the email will be sent as an HTML email which includes a plain text option in case the receiving application supports plain text only. Unchecked the email will be sent in plain text only with no HTML content..

Message

The body of the email will either be a fixed string or a variable. When the content is to contain more than one item of variable data that variable will need to be populated using the General - StringFormat action. See string format.

Reply Timeout

When Wait For Reply has been checked, the workflow will wait for a reply for a defined number of seconds. Once that time has been exceeded the workflow will continue. If a reply is received the workflow will continue immediately on receipt and if configured it will set the Reply Received variable to True

Output Mapping

Email sent

The activity will return true or false as to whether the message was sent successfully but not necessarily that it was received at the far end. This output may be mapped to a variable which can then be used to determine if additional workflow activity is required such a sending the message again or an alternative message type if the send failed.

Reply Received

When sending a message either email or SMS a reply timeout may be set. If a reply to the message is received within the timeout period then true will be mapped to the configured variable. If the time out occurs before a reply is received then false will be mapped. These outputs may then be tested to determine any subsequent workflow activities that may be required.

SMS Activity

Description

The Send SMS activity sends an SMS using fixed content or destination and message content defined earlier in the workflow. Outputs from the SMS activity include whether the send was successful or not and if a reply has been received within a defined period.

General

Name

This is a name given to this activity that is displayed within the workflow. Ideally the name would provide some relevance when looking at the overall workflow design.

Description

While the name of an activity should provide relevance when looking at the overall workflow, the description can provide much more information regarding the purpose of the activity. The description is visible in the properties window when the activity is selected.

Messaging

The Messaging properties set the message destination and message content

To

The message To address may be entered as plain text. Multiple addresses are not possible in the To field. Alternatively the entry may be selected from a list of variables. To switch between the two options click the switch button 

Message

The body of the email will either be a fixed string or a variable. When the content is to contain more than one item of variable data that variable will need to be populated using the General - StringFormat action. See string format.

Wait For Reply

Checking the Wait For Reply check box will cause this workflow to pause until a reply to this email has been received. Selecting the Switch button  enable the option to be changed to 'Sent OK' rather than a reply being received before the workflow continues.

Reply Timeout

When Wait For Reply has been checked, the workflow will wait for a reply for a defined number of seconds. Once that time has been exceeded the workflow will continue. If a reply is received the workflow will continue immediately on receipt and if configured it will set the Reply Received variable to True

Output mapping

SMSSent OK

The activity will return true or false as to whether the message was sent successfully but not necessarily that it was received at the far end. This output may be mapped to a variable which can then be used to determine if additional workflow activity is required such a sending the message again or an alternative message type if the send failed.

Reply Received

When sending a message either email or SMS a reply timeout may be set. If a reply to the message is received within the timeout period then true will be mapped to the configured variable. If the time out occurs before a reply is received then false will be mapped. These outputs may then be tested to determine any subsequent workflow activities that may be required.

Workflow Designer Best Practice

Loop within a loop

Do not create a loop within a loop. Each loop has an internal ID which gets modified by the looping activities ForEach or While. If a loop passes through the same Merge activity a second time with the same loop ID, the workflow will stop at this activity and hang.

Parallel Timers

Activities do not get processed instantaneously. Each activity is queued and executed and if execution fails for some reason may be retried with each step in the process possibly taking seconds. If the workflow is split into parallel branches with the same wait timers, the branches may not necessarily exit at the same time and this needs to be catered for within the workflow such as using Merge activity with synchronization set to 'All' to ensure all branches are completed.

Activity Naming

While it is not a requirement for all activities to have unique names, it does make it a little easier when looking at workflow traces if significant activities, if not all activities, have unique names.

Check While Loops

Before publishing a workflow double check the loop functionality so as to avoid an infinite loop and in the example of a bad loop below, avoid a flood of emails. In the example below the condition is to check if the email was sent successfully and if not to try again. However the While loop transition is set to false, so the loop will only exit if the email send fails otherwise it will send emails continuously. To correct this, click the line between the While activity and the Finish activity, and in the Transition Criteria check the Result check box for the While activity to exit on True.

Testing Workflows

There are a couple of ways to test a workflow. For a major alarm workflow for instance, the alarm rules would be configured as required to run the workflow to be tested, with the required callout list and the appropriate alarm severity level. A Severity 2 alarm can then be generated by running the Avaya Communication Manager shell command 'testinads'. Another way would be to use a lower severity alarm that may occur on a regular basis by setting the alarm rules severity condition to a lower level such as 4 and even define the alarm name you wish to trigger a workflow. In the unresolved alarm history, resolve the specific alarm so that the next alarm will be a new alarm and correctly escalated.

While developing a workflow, a workflow trace is available to be reviewed through the same customer unresolved alarm list by right clicking on the alarm and selecting Response Rule Log. See Response Rule Log for more information.