What is an ActiveVOS Task?
A task is a unit of work that has arrived in ActiveVOS Central.. The task contains information for your review and requires a response. When you submit a response, the task is complete. Tasks are most likely sent to you and other users who share your area of expertise. Each of you can claim a task to work on. When you do this, the task is removed from other users' list.
Note: This pane is not available in some versions of Process Central.
The task you work on is a step in an automated, running business process. The process is waiting for you or someone else to send back data so that the process can continue to its next step.
For details on who can claim and manage tasks, see
About Users and Administrators.
To get started on your task list, see
Responses, Comments, and Attachments.
Navigating in the Tasks View
This topic discusses the items found within Tasks View.
- Roles
- The Roles list contains different types of users. The default types are:
- - User: Potential owners of a task, who can claim and complete a task or assign it to another user.
- - Administrator: Same as potential owners, but can also see a list of all actual owners.
- - Stakeholder: Same as administrator.
- - Initiator: Same as user, but can skip a task if it was defined as "can be skipped."
- By default, all Role types are shown. Your list may contain roles defined for your enterprise.
- Notifications, Open Tasks, Closed Tasks
- Tasks are automatically organized into three groups:
- - Notifications: There is no action required other than to read and remove the notification.
- - Open Tasks: Includes unclaimed and claimed tasks. Claimed tasks are those that you selected to work on.
- - Closed Tasks: Includes completed, exited, obsolete, and error tasks.
- Show
- The Show list allows you to select a group of tasks to display. By default, you can display All, Claimed, or Unclaimed tasks. Your list may contain custom selections.
- Refresh
- Refresh your task list periodically to view new and changed tasks in the list. For details, see Refreshing Your Task List.
- RSS
- For details, see Using an RSS Feed.
- Task Listing
- Each task displayed in the task list has the following default information. Your list may contain custom columns.
- - Id: Assigned when the task is created.
- - Status icon: Indicates the current task status, such as Unclaimed or Completed.
- - Priority: A priority is number beginning at zero, which is the highest priority. Priority zero and one have flag icons. Lower priorities (higher numbers) do not have an icon.
- - Name: Descriptive name for the task.
- - Subject: Short description of the task.
- - Owner: Person who claimed the task, if it was claimed.
- - Created: Date the task arrived in Process Central.
Notice that you can see more details in the Additional Information section.
- Search
- Search on the currently displayed list of tasks. For tips on basic searching, see Using Process Central.
- You can search for a task by Task Id, Search By attribute, or any string in any displayed column.
- If the task definition defines a Search By expression, you can type in the expression result. For example, if an expression evaluates to a product Id or a sales amount, you can type in the value.
Refreshing Your Task List
It is a good idea to refresh your task list periodically by selecting the Refresh button. While you are logged in, the following can occur:
- •New tasks arrive.
- •The priority of a current task changes.
- •Another user claimed the task.
- •A task is removed from your list due to an automated deadline action.
- •Another user released a task back to the pool.
Note: If a task is removed from your list or if its priority changes, look for a related email. Automated actions, such as an email sent to you, are often associated with a change in a task's status.
About Users and Administrators
Depending on your assigned roles, you may be a task user (or task initiator), a task administrator (or stakeholder), or both. Your role is assigned when a task was set up, and can vary from task to task.
You may also have a custom role that is shown in the Roles list.
Administrators can manage the tasks in which they were named as an administrator. In addition to working on tasks, an administrator can view a list of tasks and task owners.
A task initiator can skip a task. If the task was defined with a "can be skipped" option, a Skip button is displayed.
Claiming and Performing Other Actions for a Task
A task goes through stages as different actions occur. Here is a list of actions you can take before completing a task, and what happens when you do:
- •Claim
You can claim a task to start it. When you claim a task, it is not available for other users to work on and they cannot see it. When you claim a task, all of the task work options are enabled, as described in
Responses, Comments, and Attachments.
Note: If you are the only person that a task is sent to, the task is automatically marked Claimed, and you can begin working on it.
- •Assign
- •Release
If you claim a task, you can release it, meaning you will not finish working on it. The task returns to unclaimed status and any user in the group can claim it. The task reappears in other users' task list when they refresh their view.
- •Set Priority
You can change the priority of a task after you claim it. The highest priority is zero. You can assign any non-negative number (0, 1, 2, and so forth) to lower or raise the priority. The Set Priority feature is in the Additional Information section at the bottom of a task in the Detail tab. Select the link on Priority to open the Set Task Priority dialog. Add a number, zero or higher, and click OK.
- •Save
- •Complete
- •Skip
Skip the task, meaning it will not be completed. If the task's definition does not have an Is Skippable value, this option is not available.
Responses, Comments, and Attachments
A task has information you need to complete it. This section has general information about your tasks.
Note: You must provide a response in each field marked with an asterisk. These fields are required.
Saving Your Response
After you enter a response, select Save. Saving your response prevents its loss in case your session times out.
Using Additional Information
The Additional Information section of a Task has four tabs:
Comments
You can view and add comments about a task for other users and administrators to see. The comments accompany a task.
You can edit or delete comments that you add, but not comments that others have added. Administrators can edit or delete any comments associated with the task. Once the task is completed, comments cannot be edited or deleted.
- To add a comment:
- 1. Scroll to the bottom of a task to see the Additional Information section.
- 2. On the Comments tab, select Add.
- 3. Type text into the Add Comment window.
- 4. Click OK.
- To edit a comment:
- 1. On the Comments tab, select a comment that you added.
- 2. Select Edit.
- 3. Add to or revise text in the Edit Comment window.
- 4. Click OK.
- To delete a comment:
- Delete a comment that you added by selecting the comment and pressing Delete.
Attachments
Attachments are documents that support a task that you or others may need to use.
- To view an attachment:
- 1. Scroll to the bottom of a task to see the Additional Information section.
- 2. On the Attachments tab, if it exists, attachments are listed by name and type.
- 3. Select the attachment to display the Open dialog.
- 4. Select an option to open the file or save the file to your computer.
- To add an attachment:
- 1. On the Attachments tab, select Add.
- 2. Select the file you are adding.
- 3. Press Save.
- To delete an attachment:
To remove an attachment from the task, select it and then press Delete. This action does not affect files on your computer.
Completing a Task
Completing a task sends a response back to the business process.
To complete a task:
- 1. On the task form, supply the response. A field marked with an asterisk is a required field.
- 2. If needed, add or remove attachments and add comments.
- 3. Press Save.
- 4. Press Complete.
The task is marked Completed and is no longer displayed in your list of Open tasks. If desired, you can view a list of Closed tasks.
Note: Closed tasks are deleted by an automatic process. This is set up and controlled by your Process Server administrator.
Assigning a Task to Another User
A task's potential owners, actual owner, and business administrators can assign a task to another user, making that person the actual owner of the task. It also adds that person to the list of potential owners if not already on the list. A task can be assigned when it is in an active state (Unclaimed or Claimed), and for the new owner, it is in the Claimed state. If the old and new owners are already logged in, they must select Refresh to see the change to their task list.
To assign a task:
- 1. Select a task from the list.
- 2. Select Assign.
- 3. In the Assign Task dialog, select a user. The user does not need to be among the potential owners group, but must be a named in the Identity Service (member directory).
The task is now claimed by the new owner.
Deadlines: What Happens When a Task is Overdue
A task can have several deadlines and associated actions, including:
- •Start deadlines, which describe when a potential owner must start working on the task. The deadlines are enabled as soon as the task is created and are disabled once a potential owner starts the task.
- •Completion deadlines, which describe when an owner must complete the task. The deadlines are enabled as soon as the task is created and are disabled once an owner completes the task.
- •Expiration date, which is enabled as soon as the task is created and is disabled once an owner completes a task
Based on start and completion deadlines, a task can trigger escalation actions. For example, there might be the following type of actions, each with its own start deadline:
- •If this task is not started within three hours after it is created, send an email reminder to the task owner.
- •If this task is not started within six hours after it is created, raise the priority level, and send an email reminder to the task administrator.
- •If this task was claimed but was not started within three hours after being created, release the task from the current owner and return it to the pool of potential owners.
Similar types of escalation actions could also exist for completion deadlines.
Because there may be escalation actions associated with the tasks you are working on, you should refresh your task list, as described in
Refreshing Your Task List.
Reading and Removing Notifications
A notification requires no action except to read it. When you finish with it, you can remove the notification.
Viewing Task History
In the Additional Information section at the bottom of a task form, you can see the History tab.
The History tab displays the various stages a task goes through. You can see when the task first arrived and what has happened to it since then. The History tab shows who made changes and who owns the task.
Viewing Task Details
In the Additional Information section at the bottom of a task form, you can see the Detail tab
The Detail tab, which is in the Additional Information section at the bottom of the task form, displays the same information as in the task listing, as well as a few additional details. Here are the fields within it:
- •Task name: The name of the task
- •Subject: Brief text indicating the kind of task
- •Description: An explanation of the detail
- •Created: The date and time the task arrived
- •Modified: The date and time the task was last modified; for example, it shows when a comment or attachment was added
- •Escalated: The date and time that an escalation action occurred; for example, an email sent to an administrator
- •Owner: If the task is claimed, the name of the person who claimed it
- •Status: Claimed, Unclaimed, Completed
- •Priority: A non-negative number indicating the priority of working on a task--the highest priority is zero
- •Start By: The date and time by which the task must be claimed, if specified
- •Complete By date: The date and time by which the task must be completed, if specified
- •Expires: The date and time that the task is no longer available to work on, if specified
For examples of various
Start Byand other deadlines, see Deadlines: What Happens When a Task is Overdue.Using an RSS Feed
You can use built-in RSS feeds to access the data within the Process Central. You set up an RSS subscription by selecting the RSS button in the listing area. Type in the credentials you used to log into Process Central. (The subscription is for a RSS 2.0 feed.) For example, if you want to view a list of open tasks as RSS, you can subscribe on that page.
You can also view task details by using the Process Server task feed service and a feed URL can be set up with optional parameters.
ATOM Example
With the Process Server running, type the following into a Web browser:
http://[host]:[port]/active-bpel/services/REST/
AeB4PTaskFeed?filter=open&role=administrator&maxTasks=10
Provide the host and port for your installation of Process Server.
This URL returns feed data for a maximum of 10 open administrator tasks from the Process Central authenticated on your server.
RSS Example
"Open Tasks" is the default setting, so there is no need to add any of the optional query parameters except for the format (rss):
http://[host]:[port]/active-bpel/services/
REST/AeB4PTaskFeed?format=rss
The following table describes the parameters you can use in a URL.
Parameter | Allowed Values |
|---|
details | true or false (default) If true, feed content includes additional text such as status, priority, and owner. Otherwise, only the feed item subject is returned. The default value is false. |
filter | notifications, open (default), closed, unclaimed, claimed, completed, error, obsolete, failed |
format | atom, rss. Indicates the preferred feed format - ATOM 1.0 or RSS 2.0. The default is atom. |
maxTasks | integer_value; default is 20. |
role | user (default), administrator, initiator, stakeholder. |
searchBy | "Search By" expression that is part of the task definition |
taskIndexOffset | integer_value. Start at task integer_value and display integer_value + maxTasks; default is 0; for example, Display tasks 15 through 35. |
Note: When you enter user credentials for an RSS feed, they remain cached until the browser is restarted. So if you logout of Process Central and sign back in with different credentials, the credentials match those you previously entered for the RSS feed.
Vacation Delegation Settings
Select the Settings link next to the Log Out link in the header of Process Central to open the Vacation Delegation Settings dialog.
You can select a delegate to work on a task while you are on vacation (or for any other reason). You can specify different delegates for different time periods, but the time periods cannot overlap. This feature gives you a way to specify a task assignment for all tasks, instead of on individual tasks that have an Assign feature.
A delegate can only work on claimed or auto-claimed tasks from an actual owner.
A delegated person can work on your tasks after logging into Process Central.
Tips for selecting delegates:
- •Select Add Delegate to open the Delegate Details dialog.
- •Enter the name of another user in your identity service and a Start Date.
- •An End Date is not required, but if you leave it blank, you cannot add additional delegates.
- •Add additional delegates for different time periods.
- •If you picked the wrong times, select Remove and re-add the delegate.
- •Search text matches the exact name of a delegate.