Using the Stages & Processes tab

The Stages & Processes tab on the Case Designer landing page enables you to design your application by describing the stages within a case type, and then define the steps that happen in each stage. Select a case type on the Cases Explorer to begin your configuration.

About stages and steps

A stage is a first level of organizing the tasks required to complete work associated with a case. For example, you may use checklist to capture the large, and then small, tasks needed to complete a job or project. That checklist is similar to a stage.

You identify the high level groupings (stages), then organize the required and optional tasks as steps in the stage diagram. This approach lets you get a sense of what you have to do first, what must happen in sequence, and what can happen in parallel. A a set of step types are available in the Stages & Processes tab; each is processed as a flow. When you add a step and define its type, the system automatically creates the appropriate flow.

A stage can be configured with required and optional steps and actions, which can range in scope from a single assignment to complex, multi-step processes. Stages are a means of sequencing those tasks and establishing dependency relationships between them. Optional actions are available during the appropriate stage, but are performed at the discretion of the user.

The layout of a case lifecycle management design appears as a horizontal sequence of chevrons and boxes; each chevron is a stage and the boxes beneath them are the a stage's steps. The processing sequence is indicated by a number on each chevron label.

After all of the steps in a stage have been completed, the system can automatically transition to the next stage, while controlled transitions allow cases to move to any stage. You can also block entry into a stage if initial criteria are not met, or skip a stage entirely if certain conditions are met.

After all stages are completed, the case can be resolved. To indicate this point – and to prevent the case from transitioning automatically to another stage – you can designate a stage as a resolution stage. The resolution stage acts as a visual indicator of the end of the lifecycle of the case (Stage 4. Closure in the above example), but does not automatically resolve the case.

Understanding stage shapes and step boxes

Depending upon your stage and step configurations, the stage shapes and step boxes are modified to indicate the settings. Select Actions > Legend to see descriptions for each of the variations.

Configuration guidelines

As a best practice, cases should not exceed nine stages; parent cases should include at least three stages. Remember that stages are a tool to aid in managing a process. For example, if two stages fully describe the lifecycle of a case, additional stages may make the design more difficult to understand and develop.

A sub-case typically contains fewer than three stages as it represents a relatively small part of the overall business process.

Beginning your configuration

When you add case types either from the Cases Explorer or Application Express, the system displays one default stage, which contains a default single-step assignment (pzDefaultStageStep). The placeholder stage enables you to process a sample case without further configuration and demonstrate stage-based case processing. The stage is meant to be removed or replaced as you begin developing your application.

If your case types are not configured for stages (for example, the case types were created in V6.3, or you manually deleted all the existing stages), the tab displays only the case type's processes in one of three ways. Select one of the following icons to control the presentation:

— Show images of the Process Modeler diagrams in a vertical array. A green border indicates a starting process. Click the image to open the flow rule. To create a flow, select the Click to add a new process in the empty frame at the bottom of the array to open a Create Flow Record form.

— Show images in a horizontal array. Use the arrows beneath the diagrams to scroll the display.

— Display a list of processes and their classes. Click a process name to open its form.

To start a stage-based design, click the Add Stage button. The system creates a default stage and step.

For information about the controls in the Case Designer header, see About Case Designer landing pages.

Working with stages

To add a stage to an existing diagram, do one of the following:

Click the plus icon to the right of the last stage shape . A new shape appears; the stage number increments by 1. Click the label to display it in edit mode and update the default name.
Select Edit Stages in the Case Designer landing page header. In the Edit Primary Stages dialog, click Add Stage. Enter a stage name , which appears as a label on the shape. Add a row for each stage and click OK when you are finished.

To delete a stage and its steps, place the mouse pointer on a stage shape, click the down arrow icon , and select Delete stage.

Configuring stage behavior

Place the mouse pointer on a stage shape, click the down arrow icon , and select Configure stage behaviors to open the Stage Configuration dialog.

Enter the following:

Item	Description
Stage Name	Enter a name that appears as a label on the shape.
Stage entry validation	Select a validate rule that tests whether the tasks and processes in the stage can begin. If the validation fails, the user is returned to previous stage with validation error messages.
Skip stage when	Select a when rule that must evaluate to true in order for the system to automatically skip the steps in this stage and proceed to the next stage. This setting not available on last stages — they cannot be skipped.
Service level for stage	Select a service level record to set goal, deadline, and past deadline dates and actions for the stage. The service level starts when the case enters a stage, and ends when the case leaves a stage or when the process within the stage stops.
Is this a resolution stage?	Select Yes to indicate that the case cannot transition to another stage for further processing. The setting does not necessarily mean that the case is resolved. A red line appears beneath the chevron as a visual indicator. If you select Yes, the When all stage process are completed or skipped fields do not appear.
When all stage processes are completed or skipped	Select one of the following: `Transition to the next stage` — The system automatically makes the stage transition when all steps that were started in the stage are completed (including any optional processes), or when all the steps in this stage were skipped (as defined by the Skip when condition). `Stay in the current stage` — Transitions occur only by user selection or as defined in your process (for example, transitions controlled by case, stage, flow-wide, or assignment local actions). You can configure automatic or manual transitions to the next stage within a stage step using any of the following: Change Stage smart shape pxChangeStage activity pyChangeStage flow action For example, if you select the `Transition to the next stage` option, you can use the pyChangeStage flow action to also allow manual transition at any point .
Optional Processes	Add a process that users can manually start within this stage only. Allowed When — Identify the When Name key part of a when rule. This rule must evaluate to true to enable the process.
Optional Actions	Add a flow action that users can manually start within this stage only. Allowed When — Identify the When Name key part of a when rule. This rule must evaluate to true to enable the flow action.

Configuring entry validation

Item	Description
Stage entry validation	Select a validate rule that tests whether the tasks and processes in the stage can begin. If the validation fails, the user is returned to previous stage with validation error messages.
Attachment validation	Select an attachment category that validates whether an attachment of this category is attached to the case before it can enter this stage. To associate attachment categories with this case type, use the Attachments setting on the Case Designer landing page Details tab.

Rearranging the stage sequence

To rearrange to stage sequence, select Edit Stages in the Case Designer landing page header. In the Edit Primary Stages dialog, hover your mouse pointer to the left of the stage you want to move. Drag and drop the stage above or below the desired row. Click OK. The system automatically rearranges the chevrons on the tab and adjusts the stage sequence to ensure automatic stage transition.

Deleting a stage

To delete a stage, do one of the following:

Place the mouse pointer on the chevron and click the down arrow icon , select Delete this stage, and click OK. The system removes the chevron and its steps from the tab.
Select Edit Stages in the Case Designer landing page header. In the Edit Primary Stages dialog, click . Click OK.

The system automatically adjusts the stage sequence to ensure automatic stage transition.

Alternate stages

Your stage design represents the primary path through which cases progress as work is completed. You may require alternate stages that are not part of "normal" processing, but must be available under certain circumstances. These alternate stages can only be accessed manually, and therefore, are not in sequence relative to the other stages.

For example, while building an insurance application, the designer considers that some claims are fulfilled and some claims are denied as part of normal disposition. Occasionally, when a claim is denied, the customer engages a lawyer to dispute the decision. This scenario is not part of normal processing, and does not need to be a primary stage of the case type. However, the end user needs to be able to manually transition the case to an alternate stage, such as Legal Engagement, as needed.

The table below provides examples that describe the methods you can use to transition cases among stages.

Method	Can go to Primary stage	Can go to Alternate stage
Make Change Stage flow action available on Actions menu.	Yes	Yes
Add Change Stage shape to a utility step in a flow; no UI.	Yes	Yes
Use pxChangeStage API in an activity or a rule that calls activities.	Yes	Yes
Use stage configuration to automatically transition to the next stage when all processes are complete.	Yes	No

To add alternate stages, select Actions > Configure Alternate Stages in the landing page header. The alternate stage and step images appear beneath the first primary stage chevron

Configure the stages and steps as described above for primary stages.

To hide the alternate stages, select Actions > Hide Alternate Stages.

Stage-related history records on the audit trail

By default, the system writes history records for the following stage-related processing steps and displays them on a user form's Audit tab:

Automatic Stage Transition (When all stages processes are completed or skipped Stage Configuration setting)
Manual Stage Transition (pyChangeShape flow action)
Process Stage Transition (Change Stage Smart Shape)
Stage Skipped (Skip stage when Stage Configuration setting)
Stage Started (written when the case is created and starts the first stage).

To determine which work history steps appear for a case type in your application, copy the standard decision tree Work-.FilterHistory into your application ruleset with an appropriate Applies To class, and update your copy as desired. See Flows — Controlling the volume of generated work item history instances.

If you enter an audit note in the Change Stage flow action or Smart Shape, your note overrides the standard note generated by the system and is not affected by the filter history settings noted above.

Working with steps

Within each stage, you can add one or more steps. To add a step:

Hover your mouse pointer beneath an existing step box. An + Add step box appears.
Click the box. A blank text field appears.
Select a flow that can be added to an open case created by a previous step execution. Do one of the following:

–To use an existing flow, enter text characters in the field to select the flow from the auto-complete list.

– To create a new flow (step), enter a short description and tab out of the field. The system automatically creates a flow rule in the case type and its RuleSet version. The short description is concatenated and used as the flow's Name key part. By default, the step is a single-step assignment.

You do not need to click the Save button on the landing page header.

Configuring step behavior

Hover your mouse pointer over the new step, click the down arrow icon , and select Configure step behaviors. The Step Configuration dialog appears. Do the following:

Optional. Add a specification to the text area at the top of the dialog. When you click OK to close the dialog, the system creates a flow-wide specification in this case type and RuleSet version; the short description is concatenated to create the rule's Name key part.
Select the Step Type — Single Step Assignment, Multi Step Process, Case, Attachment, or Approval. The default is single step. If you change selections, a warning reminder appears indicating the change is not reversible.

The fields that appear in the dialog are dictated by the Step Type.
Configure the fields. See the section below, Step configuration fields for descriptions.
Click OK in the dialog to save your settings and close it.
To rearrange the order of steps, hover your mouse pointer over the left side of a step and use the handle to drag and drop the shape on the desired location.
Click the Run button on the Stages & Processes header to create a case and test its runtime behavior.

Step configuration fields

All Step Configuration dialogs contain the following fields:

Item	Description
Step type	Select one of the following: Single-step assignment — A single-step flow that contains one Assignment shape. Multi-step process — The flow contains two Assignment shapes. Case — A single-step flow that contains a Create a Case Smart Shape. You can configure this step to create a single sub-case, multiple sub-cases, or a top-level case. Approval — A single-step flow that contains the Approval Flow subprocess. You can configure this step for cascading or single approval. Attachment — A single-step flow that contains the single-assignment flow named Attach File.
Start Step	Select either: upon stage entry — The step starts when the case enters the stage. This enables steps to be started in parallel when entering a stage. upon completion or skip of previous step — This step starts only when the previous step is skipped or complete.
Only run when	Optional. Select a when rule that must evaluate to true in order for the system to start according to the Start Step selection.
Use service level	Optional. Select a service level rule for this step. If you have defined a flow SLA for this step, the step SLA takes precedence. See Flow form — Completing the Process tab.
Launch on re-entry?	Not available if you selected upon completion or skip of previous step. Select if you want to initiate the step again if case processing enters this stage again. For example, a subsequent stage may be configured to return to this stage. Selecting this option allows the step to run its process.

Case step configuration

The Case step type presents the following fields:

Field	Description
Click one of the three radio buttons to indicate the case(s) you would like to create. Below the radio buttons, the fields and parameters appropriate for your selection appear.
Create a top case	Select to create a top level case. This invokes the utility pxCreateTopCase.
Create a subcase	Select to create one or more subcase. This invokes the utility pyCreateSubcasesFlow.
Create multiple subcases	Select to create more than one subcase. This invokes the utility pyCreateSubcases.
For each item in list	Required, if you select Create multiple cases. Select a pagelist property. The pxAddChildWork activity creates a case for each item in the list.
Case type	Required, if you select Create a top case or Create a subcase. Select the case type you would like to create. All coverable cases appear. If you select Create multiple subcases, the field is optional. If no value is provided, the class of each subcase is determined by the class of each page in the specified pagelist.
Data transform	Appears if you select Create a top case or Create multiple subcases. Select the data transform rule for setting properties for all child cases. If you do not select a data transform and the CopyPageData parameter of the pxAddChildWork activity is set to true, all page data from the parent or the entry in the PageProperty parameter is copied to the child case.
Property to store ID of top case	Appears if you select Create a top case. Select the property that stores the top case ID.
Starting process	Appears if you select Create a subcase or Create multiple subcases. Select a flow in this case type to designate it as a starting process. All inherited flows appear. When you enter at least one flow, this case type rule – not the Creates a new work object? check box on the Flow form's Process tab – defines the starting processes. The system disables the check box on all Flow rule forms in this case type; flows not in the list are designated as non-starting processes. If you leave this list empty, use the check box on the Flow rule form to configure starting processes.
Source page parameter name	Appears if you select Create multiple cases. Identify the page that contains data to be propagated to the sub-case.
Copy page data to new subcase	Copies the data from the embedded page to the newly created sub-case.

Approval step configuration

In the Approval type field, select either:

Single — The case requires the approval of only one manager or operator.
Cascading — The case requires approval by one or more managers or operators.

Your selection dictates the fields that appear.

Single approval

Field	Description
Approval to be completed by	Select one of the following: Reporting manager — Route to the manager specified in the Reports to field on the current operator's Operator ID record. Work group manager — Route the case to the manager of the workgroup specified in the Work group field on the current operator's Operator ID record. Cost center manager — Route to the manager specified in the Cost Center Manager field on the Organization Unit record's Accounting tab. Operator — Select an operator who has access to the application.
- If approved then - If rejected then	Select one of the following: `Continue` — Advance the case in the flow. `Change stage` — Advance the case to a stage you select in the drop-down list. `Update status` — Advance the case in the flow and apply a work status field value you select in the SmartPrompt field.
Enable email approval	Select to send an email to the individual specified in the Approval to be completed by field. An email listener and account must be configured for the work group. See About the Email wizard.

Cascading approval

See Cascading Approval in Process Modeler - Smart Shapes for a description of the fields in this panel

Attachment step configuration

This step provides a form that enables the user to attach a file and its associated attachment category to a case.

Complete the following fields:

Field

Description

Category

Select an attachment category defined for this case type.

If you do not specify a category, the default Work-. File attachment category in Pega-ProCom (no security settings) and any attachment categories defined in the case type are available to the user at runtime.

As a best practice, create categories using the Attachments option on the Case Designer landing page Details tab.

The Required for Resolution setting on the Attachments dialog is ignored. The user must add an attachment in the Attachment step in order for the process to advance.

Instructions

Enter a text description of the attachment. This text appears as a heading in the Attachment form. If you leave this field blank the default Attach File heading appears.

To automatically attach content to a case, use the Attach Content Smart Shape. See Process Modeler - Smart Shapes.

Creating and configuring user forms in single-step assignments

The user form configuration feature available for single-step assignments allows you to:

Automatically create a form consisting of a flow action, referenced section, and data properties.
Manage data properties on an existing form.

To create a form:

Hover your mouse pointer over a single-step assignment, click the down arrow icon , and select Form configuration. The Form Configuration dialog appears.

This is the same dialog that appears when you select the Configure form link in the Process Outline Assignment properties panel.
Select or create fields as described in Defining action areas on user forms.
When you have completed the form, click OK.

The system:
- Automatically creates a new flow action and referenced section in the case type and the highest unlocked ruleset version.
- Concatenates the Step shape label to create the Name key parts for both records.
- Adds fields to the section using the properties you entered in the dialog.
- Populates the Action field on the Process Outline Assignment properties panel with the name of the new flow action.

To edit a form:

Open the Form Configuration dialog.
Update the properties and click OK to save your updates.

This option does not appear if the referenced section has been directly updated in the record form.

Process Outline

The Process Outline feature enables you to configure the processes and shape properties represented by the stages and steps on the Stages & Processes tab. To switch to this view, hover your mouse pointer beneath the last step in a stage and click the Configure process detail link.You can also use Process Outline to design processes that are not configured in a stage-based design by clicking a process tile.

For more information , see Using Process Outline.

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Tools — Process and Rules

Help System home page Help Home

Using the Stages & Processes tab

About stages and steps

Understanding stage shapes and step boxes

Configuration guidelines

Beginning your configuration

Working with stages

Configuring stage behavior

Item

Description

Configuring entry validation

Item

Description

Rearranging the stage sequence

Deleting a stage

Alternate stages

Method

Can go to Primary stage

Stage-related history records on the audit trail

Working with steps

Configuring step behavior

Step configuration fields

Item

Description

Case step configuration

Field

Description

Approval step configuration

Single approval

Field

Description

Cascading approval

Attachment step configuration

Field

Description

Creating and configuring user forms in single-step assignments

Process Outline