Introduction to Process Applications

Developing a custom Process application involves customizing the user interface and the way work is done for one or more steps in a workflow, how the application accesses data and other resources, how data is updated, and how the application interfaces with the Process Engine and related services.

A custom Process application may be created as any of the following:

Step Processors

A Step Processor is an application that performs the operations associated with a step in a workflow. There are two types of Step Processors:

For information about Step Processors from the user and administrative perspective, see Participating in or Launching a Workflow.

There are two ways of developing a Step Processor or Launch Step Processor: as an HTML Step Processor or as a Java™ Step Processor application or applet.

Work Performers

A work performer is an application that performs an operation or set of operations associated with a workflow step, but which does not require a user interface. Typical work performer operations include logging into and establishing a Process Engine session, polling a work queue (to find operations related to a workflow step), locking the retrieved object, processing the work (such as, performing updates of data, and saving), and cycling back to queue polling. See Overview of Work Performers for more information.

There are two types of work performers:

User Inbox

A User Inbox is typically an HTML page or Java applet that provides the user (workflow participant or Tracker) with notifications for work items. In Workplace, the page displayed when you click on the Tasks tab is a User Inbox. The notifications in the User Inbox include information and associated attachments provided from a user or work queue.

For overview information on developing a custom User Inbox as either an HTML page or a Java applet, see Overview of User Inbox Development.