Cases and Tasks

The Axon Ivy workflow manages the execution of process instances. A process instance is represented by one Case and one or more Tasks. The Case exists from the first process step until the last process step and holds information about its process instance. The Case is finished when the process is terminated - either completed or aborted. A Case is composed of one or more connected Tasks. Each Task defines a unit of work, which has to be done as one working step. Therefore, a Task is to be executed by a user or role - the Task is assigned to a user or a role. A Task is started by a process-start or a task-switch element and ends at the next task-switch element or process-end element.

Multilingual Name and Description of Cases and Tasks

You can define the name and description of a case or task using multilingual texts from the CMS. Because of performance and system database space reasons, name and description are only stored in the configured workflow languages and not for every language available in the current CMS. Configure available Workflow languages using Security System in the Engine Cockpit or, for the Designer, in the Language Settings.

An end user sees the name and description of a case or task in his preferred language if that language is a supported workflow language. If not, the default workflow language is used. This same language is used when searching for and sorting the names and descriptions of cases and tasks.

As a process developer, you should configure the primary language of your process application as its default workflow language. Add additional workflow languages only if you use multilingual texts from the CMS in your case and task inscriptions and if you have supplied them in multiple languages. If your projects support different sets of languages, consider to configure only the common set of languages that all your projects support as additional workflow languages.

Cases and tasks support only those languages available at their creation. If you add another workflow language to an existing application with active cases and tasks, then

the name and description in the default workflow language of all your existing cases and tasks are copied to the new language.
all existing cases and tasks do not support the new language.
cases and tasks added later support all languages available at the time of their creation.

Note

Adding workflow languages increases the size of your system database and may take a long time because the name and description in the default workflow language of all existing cases and tasks are copied to all new workflow language entries for their names and descriptions.

Note

You can use CMS entries and workflow data in task names, as shown below: <%=ivy.cms.co("/TaskDescriptions/verifyRequest")%>: <%=in1.amount%> <%=ivy.cms.co("/Dialogs/procurementRequest/piecesOf")%> '<%=in1.description%>' <%=ivy.cms.co("/Dialogs/procurementRequest/forTotal")%> <%=in1.totalPrice%><%=ivy.cms.co("/TaskDescriptions/currencySymbol")%> to create the name Verify Request: 10 pieces of 'Apple' for a total of 10$. Find more examples in the Workflow Demo project.

Warning

If you delete a workflow language, then all names and descriptions of all existing cases and tasks in that language will be deleted permanently from the system database. Adding the language again later on will not bring this data back!

Business Case

Modern processes are loosely coupled and highly adaptive. Business processes can break out of the standard process flow and trigger asynchronous processes or send a signal that starts various other processes. As every running process creates a new Case, it can get difficult for the workflow users to track the history and context of a Task.

To clarify the workflow view, multiple Cases can be attached to a single Business Case. Triggered or signaled process-starts define in their inscription whether the started Case should be attached to the Business Case of the calling Case. Moreover, any Case can be attached to a Business Case using the API. If a case map is started, a Business Case is automatically created. See Workflow execution of Case Map Processes.

The first Case of a process always acts as the Business Case (see image ‘First Case’). All Cases attached later to the Business Case are subcases of the Business Case (see image ‘Multiple Cases’).