Chapter 10. Implementing advanced workflow

 

This chapter covers

  • Learning about new workflow features, including delegation and subtasks
  • Integrating Activiti with an LDAP server
  • Using the multi-instance BPMN construct for workflow
  • Advanced usage of Activiti forms

In the previous chapters, we implemented a lot of user tasks to deal with manual or workflow functionality in a business process. By now, you’re also already familiar with the technique of defining form properties to create forms in the Activiti Explorer web application. But there’s a lot more to explore.

When you’re dealing with tasks like “Organize a developer conference,” you want to be able to structure tasks into subtasks. Imagine that you have that exact task. You could break the work up into multiple subtasks like “Book venue,” “Invite speakers,” and “Organize catering.” Activiti provides an API to create such subtasks.

In addition, you’ll want to be able to assign a task or subtask to another person and be informed when the task is completed. Activiti provides task delegation functionality that allows you to delegate a task to another person, and when this person completes the task, the task will be placed in your inbox again.

10.1. Going beyond a simple user task

10.2. Managing the user identities in an LDAP server

10.3. Implementing the BPMN 2.0 multi-instance activity

10.4. Custom form types and external form rendering

10.5. Summary