Implementing Web Applications with CM Information Integrator for Content and OnDemand Web Enablement Kit

Chapter 2. Content Manager overview 37

2.3 Document Routing

There are several workflow options available for Content Manager: Document

Routing, Advanced Workflow, and MQSeries® Workflow.

In this redbook, we focus only on the Document Routing option. The other

options are beyond the scope of this redbook.

2.3.1 Key concepts

A common work process in a business environment involves gathering the

necessary paperwork and information, moving all of this from one person

(department) to another, getting the appropriate approval, going through some

special processing, and completing the process. The Document Routing feature

of Content Manager enables you to go through this workflow process, paperless.

You can set up, configure, and program the Document Routing feature to move

documents or folders within a pre-defined process.

There are several basic concepts in Document Routing:

򐂰 Work package

򐂰 Work node (work basket and collection point)

򐂰 Document Routing

򐂰 worklist

A

work package refers to a set of documents or folders that move along the

workflow process. The documents or folders can be added or deleted along the

way. The work package contains the information (such as priority, state, resume

time, and Item ID) that users need to complete tasks within the process.

A

work node is a place (step) within a workflow process at which the documents

or folders wait until users perform some actions on them (such as reject or

approve). A work node can be a simple node, known as a

work basket, or a

special node, known as a

collection point. The collection point (a special work

node) is a place where a user or the system waits until a pre-defined set of

documents or folders are gathered. After all documents or folders are in the

system, the user or the system can perform actions on the documents or folders

to continue the workflow process.

The routing of the documents or folders within the work nodes is known as

Document Routing. At any point, you can define how users see the items

(documents or folders) within the Document Routing process. The view you

defined is known as a

worklist. A worklist can contain the items from multiple

work nodes or just the items from one specific node; this depends on the

business requirements.

38 Implementing Web Applications with CM Information Integrator for Content and ODWEK

In the remainder of this section we describe the workflow process, and discuss

the other key concepts in more detail.

2.3.2 Process

A process is a series of steps through which an item (document or folder) is

routed. A process contains at least one start work node, one action, and one end

work node. You can use one-step processes to create ad hoc processes.

Processes can have as many steps and as many work nodes as you want.

There are a variety of processes:

򐂰 Serial processes: Takes work from start to finish without any deviations.

򐂰 Dynamic process: Enables the direction work through different routes

depending on the action performed by a user or the system.

Content Manager provides two default actions:

Continue and Escalate.

Depending on which action the user chooses, you can direct items (documents

or folders) to a different work node. Note that these default actions names are

labels only. You can change them or add additional actions such as reject or

approve.

For example, if you want a building permit application to go from one node to

another, you can select Continue as the path it takes. At some point in the

process, a reviewer must either approve or reject the application. This means you

must create two additional work nodes: one is where the application will be

routed to if it is being approved, one is where it will be routed to if it is being

rejected. Figure 2-11 demonstrates this concept.

Figure 2-11 Simple workflow branching with for building permit application

Start

Continue

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End

Chapter 2. Content Manager overview 39

Figure 2-12 shows the actual process we define for our building permit example.

Figure 2-12 Define process in Document Routing

We will discuss more about the building permit example later.

2.3.3 Work nodes

Each step in a process is referred to as a work node. As mentioned earlier, a

work node can be either a work basket or a collection point.

Figure 2-13 shows the specific screen where you define a work node from a

System Administration Client.