Discussion
Tata Consultancy Services
GB
Last activity: 7 Apr 2017 7:09 EDT
Can I built a declare rule that can run and be invoked whenever a flow action is started
I have a requirement that when a Flow Action is started I need to throw a message to the user if a mutually exclusive Flow Action is already running. The mutually exclusive list of Flow Action is changeable by the end user.
To meet the requirement I’m thinking to built a declare rule that can run and be invoked whenever a flow action is started by the end user. Is there any way I can achieve this objective in pega.
Many thanks.
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Pegasystems Inc.
US
Biswajit,
Sounds like an interesting problem, but I am having a hard time understanding what you mean by "if a flow action is running". What you mean by this will be crucial to finding a solution. A flow action is used to present a UI and apply pre actions, data validation and post actions to the data in the section it displays, saying it is running has no technical meaning. When a flow action is about to be displayed it will run any pre-actions, but once it is displayed to the user they could just either switch to a different flow action or cancel out. The server has no way to know if you are still looking at the form and intend to submit it or if you have abandoned it. Once you submit the form validation is done and if it passes validation post actions are run. The time between it being shown and being submitted (if it ever is) is what I assume you mean by running, the problem is the end user can abandon it and never submit, so maybe you would need a time out period?
Hopefully this can help you clarify what you need to do, if you post a clarification I'll see if I can help more.
Cecil Howell
Pega Academy, Senior Instructor
Tata Consultancy Services
GB
Many thanks Cecil and apologies for not getting back sooner.
By "Flow action is running" I mean that a flow action is being invoked but not yet finished / abandoned by the user. I get the feedback that pega has no in built mechanism to determine this.
We will customise our process to catch this events and take action accoprdingly.
Thanks again.
Pegasystems Inc.
US
You never clarified what type of data your Flow Action runs against.
If you are referring to case data (anything derived from Work-) there is nothing to be concerned about.
No one but the person or thing (Agent, Service) who has opened and locked the case can execute a Flow Action against that case.
The Flow Action (FinishAssignment Activity) runs until either the next Assignment is reached or the case ends.
This mechanism has always been built into Pega.
Whether a human initiates a Flow Action and decides to abandon it is neither here nor there.