Create start and end events

Events represent something that happens in the process. A start event is the trigger of the process and is depicted as a circle. The end event concludes a process and is depicted as a circle with a bold outline. Each workflow must only have one start event but there may be multiple end events.

To create start and end events in Flowable Eclipse Designer:

  1. From the Start event section of the Palette, drag a StartEvent to the Start user lane.

  2. From the End event section of the Palette, drag an EndEvent to the Start user lane.

Note The start and end events are now disconnected but for the workflow definition to be executable there must always be a connection between them. You will create that connection as you add more elements to the workflow.

Configure the start event

In the start event configuration, you can define a variable that identifies the user who starts the workflow if you need that user to perform any other task or to receive workflow notifications.

To identify the user who starts the workflow:

  1. In the shared area, select the start event.
  2. In the Properties view, select the Main config section.
  3. In the Initiator field, enter a name for the variable that defines the user who starts the workflow. We are using startUser in this example. The value of the variable becomes the username of that user.

The start event form variables set values that are used throughout the workflow. You can change these variables from the worfklow definition page in Collibra Data Intelligence Cloud. You can use these variables to identify the users that need to perform workflow tasks and to set customizable values that are used by this or another workflow, for example the Voting Sub-Process.

Tip Set the Readable property to false to prevent the user who starts the workflow from being prompted for input.

Id Name Type Default Required Readable
chiefStewardUserExpression The Chief Steward user expression string role(Chief Steward) true

false
officersUserExpression The Data Governance Officers user expression string role(Data Governance Officer) true

false
stewardUserExpression The Steward user expression string role(Steward) true

false
votePercentage The percentage of voters that are needed to approve string 100 true

false
voteWarningTimeDuration Time before a warning mail is sent to the voter string P5D false

false
voteTimeoutDuration Time before the voting is stopped and the process continued string P10D true

false

To add a start event form variable:

  1. In the shared area, select the start event.
  2. In the Properties view, select the Form section.
  3. Click New.

    The Form property configuration window appears.

  4. In the Form property configuration window, enter the required information:
    • Id: chiefStewardUserExpression
    • Name: The Chief Steward user expression
    • Type: string
    • Default: role(Chief Steward)
    • Readable: False
    • Required: True
  5. Click OK.

To update your workflow with all the required start event variables, use the text editor in Eclipse to replace the startEvent element with:

<startEvent id="startevent1" name="Start" activiti:initiator="startUser">
    <extensionElements>
        <activiti:formProperty id="chiefStewardUserExpression" name="The Chief Steward user expression" type="string" default="role(Chief Steward)" readable="false" required="true"></activiti:formProperty>
        <activiti:formProperty id="stewardUserExpression" name="The Steward user expression" type="string" default="role(Steward)" readable="false" required="true"></activiti:formProperty>
        <activiti:formProperty id="officersUserExpression" name="The Data Governance Officers user expression" type="string" default="role(Data Governance Officer)" readable="false" required="true"></activiti:formProperty>
        <activiti:formProperty id="votePercentage" name="The percentage of voters that are needed to approve" type="string" default="100" readable="false" required="true"></activiti:formProperty>
        <activiti:formProperty id="voteWarningTimeDuration" name="Time before a warning mail is sent to the voter" type="string" default="P10D" readable="false" required="true"></activiti:formProperty>
        <activiti:formProperty id="voteTimeoutDuration" name="Time before the voting is stopped and the process continued" type="string" default="P5D" readable="false"></activiti:formProperty>
    </extensionElements>
</startEvent>

Additional resources