Configure approval forms, workflows, and monitoring
Maintain definitions in Workflow Center and instances in Workflow Monitoring under System Management > Workflow Management. Marketplace approvals still require offline delivery.
Distinguish four concepts
| Concept | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Scenario | Business approval category |
| Workflow | Nodes and participants; several can serve one scenario |
| Instance | One triggered approval |
| Form | Information collected/displayed |
Built-in workflows cannot be deleted. Configurability does not imply identical nodes/approvers.
Edit forms
- Select scenario/workflow.
- Edit Form.
- Inspect existing fields and add required properties.
- Set unique codes and value types.
- Save and test a request.
Types include text, number, date, and user. Approver expressions can resolve people dynamically; department-manager routing requires accurate organization/leadership data. Follow actual expression syntax.
Create and model
- Select scenario and New Workflow.
- Give it a distinct name.
- Edit the model.
- Configure nodes, participants, and conditions.
- Verify all start/approval/end paths and save.
Activiti provides modeling. Administrators design; applicants use deployed workflows.
Deploy and verify
- Deploy the saved definition.
- Confirm deployment success.
- Submit a controlled business request.
- Inspect actual participants/path in Monitoring.
- Test required approval/rejection paths and forms.
Saving is not deployment. Definition edits do not necessarily change running instances.
Inspect instances
Check name, initiator/department/time, state, and current reviewer. View historical nodes. Diagnose the stalled node and participants/organization/parameters before resubmitting duplicates.
Deletion restrictions
Built-in, business-referenced, or unfinished-instance workflows cannot be deleted. Resolve dependencies first.
Troubleshoot
- Old routing: deployment and actual selected workflow.
- Missing/wrong reviewer: form property, expression, organization.
- Missing tasks: current reviewer, account, rights.
- Evidence: retain instance/node history, not definition screenshots alone.