Process Flows
Process Flows is the low-code toolset for designing, running, and monitoring business processes in Neptune DXP - Open Edition.
A process flow is a sequence of connected steps that runs a business process from start to end, such as an approval, an onboarding, or a scheduled data update. You build a process flow visually on a canvas, define the data it works with, and let the engine run it. Process Flows is the successor to the original Workflow tooling.
Process Flows framework architecture
The Process Flow Designer canvas is built on React Flow, a React-based framework for node-based diagrams. The engine that runs a process flow follows the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) 2.0 standard, a recognized industry standard for modeling business processes. For the standard itself, see the BPMN website, maintained by the Object Management Group.
Because the notation is standard, anyone familiar with BPMN can read a process flow, and the concepts transfer to and from other BPMN tools.
Process flow use cases
You can use Process Flows to automate a process that involves more than one step, more than one person, or more than one system. Common uses include the following:
-
Route a request down different paths depending on its data, for example approve, reject, or escalate.
-
Ask a person to act, then continue based on the action they select.
-
Run several steps at the same time and wait for all of them to finish before continuing.
-
Repeat a step until a condition is met, for example send a task back for amendment until it is approved.
-
Pass data produced by one step into a later step, or send an email that includes that data.
How is a process flow built?
A process flow has two parts, and you work on both in the Process Flow Designer.
- Canvas
-
The visual diagram of the process. You add nodes for each step, such as Run Script, Decision, User Task, or Send Email, and connect them with flows to set the order.
- Interface
-
The data contract of the process flow. It declares the inputs the process flow works with, so a step can read them and a caller knows what data to provide.
Working on a process flow has two distinct moments:
- Design time
-
When you design the process flow and declare the data it needs.
- Runtime
-
When the engine runs the process flow, evaluates decisions, and people complete tasks.
Which tools does Process Flows work with?
Process Flows spans the following connected Cockpit tools.
- Process Flow Designer
-
Where you build a process flow: the canvas, the nodes, and the interface.
- Process Flows Overview
-
Where you monitor process flows: a dashboard of every execution and a step-by-step trace of what each run did.
A process flow also reuses tools you can already have set up in Neptune DXP - Open Edition:
-
Approver groups from the original Workflow tool, under Workflow > Approvers, assign the people who receive a user task.
-
The Script Editor holds the scripts a Run Script node runs.
-
The Email Template and PDF Designer tools provide the templates a Send Email node sends.
Test and run a process flow
You can run a process flow in the following ways:
-
Test it in the Cockpit. In the Process Flow Designer, the Test button runs the process flow with a payload you build by hand, so you can rehearse it without an app or a script. See Test the process flow.
-
Run it in production. When the process flow is ready, start it from a server script or an app, which is how it reaches real users and real data. See Trigger a process flow from an app or a script.
Transition to Process Flows
Process Flows is the successor to the original Workflow tooling. There is no automatic migration path between the two toolsets. Existing workflows continue to run as before, while you can rebuild their processes in the Process Flow Designer.
If you have used the Workflow tooling, the following table highlights the main differences to help you transition to Process Flows.
| Aspect | Workflow toolset | Process Flows toolset |
|---|---|---|
Engine |
Built for the 2017 Neptune DXP - Open Edition release. |
Rebuilt on React Flow and an engine that follows the BPMN 2.0 standard. |
Branching |
Branch logic written in a script. |
A visual Decision node with a condition builder. |
Parallel paths |
Not supported. |
Native parallel split and Wait for Branches, plus inclusive gateways. |
Data model |
A single script payload. |
Task output, read by later steps, and interface data, global for the run, with an explicit binding syntax. |
Design-time testing |
None. Trigger from an app or a script to see it run. |
A built-in test data builder and a Test button in the Process Flow Designer. |
Monitoring |
Workflow logs. |
The Process Flows Overview, with a per-step trace of the inputs and outputs. |
Approvers |
Configured under Workflow > Approvers. |
The same Workflow > Approvers tool, reused without change. |
Task inbox |
The universal workflow inbox. |
The Process Flow Inbox app, generated from the actions on a User Task. |
Getting started
To build your first process flow end to end, follow Build an end-to-end process flow. It walks through one process flow that exercises most of the building blocks in order.