RSA Archer Advanced Workflow Overview & Troubleshooting 1. Introduction 1.1 Advanced Workflow Notes: Welcome to this Advanced Workflow overview and troubleshooting training.
1.2 Outline Notes: Throughout this training, we will provide an Advanced Workflow overview and how to conduct basic troubleshooting.
1.3 Course Objectives Notes: Upon completion of this course, you should understand the basics of Advanced Workflow and where to start when troubleshooting common errors.
2. Advanced Workflow Overview 2.1 Advanced Workflow Overview Notes: Let s first explore some basics of Advanced Workflow.
2.2 Advanced Workflow Overview Notes: The Advanced Workflow feature in Archer was newly introduced in version 6.0 and leverages an external engine called Workpoint. Advanced Workflow offers some advantages over the featuredriven workflow: There is a drag-and-drop interface that allows admins to visually follow the path a record can take, rather than spending a lot of time deconstructing rules and actions. The final diagram as defined in Archer can be printed for distribution to users. Task Management is integrated with Advanced Workflow, enabling the automatic creation of task records. Those task records are also automatically closed as the record continues through the workflow process.
2.3 Two Approaches to Automation Notes: At this point, we have two different general approaches to workflow; meaning two different approaches to automating parts of a business process. Pre-6.x processes were automated via featuredriven workflows in which admins were free to add or remove data-driven events and other elements at will. Once built, a feature-driven workflow process can only be viewed as a collection of events, calculations, and so on - there is no clear visual representation of a record s life through that application or questionnaire. These feature-driven processes are still available; however the Advanced Workflow feature was introduced with its own workflow designer to help admins confidently confirm the paths a record can take through a workflow. Some of the same elements, and a lot of the same concepts, as the featuredriven workflow are used when building out a process with Advanced Workflow. Some of the biggest differences between feature-driven and Advanced Workflow are listed on screen.
Feature-driven (Slide Layer) Adv Workflow (Slide Layer)
2.4 Legacy Workflow-Related Features Notes: We want to drive home the point that several of the feature-driven workflow elements are integral to a clean Advanced Workflow build; that this doesn t mean DDEs are obsolete, or you can never create another subscription notification. These features can be leveraged in conjunction with each other in order to automate a workflow, reduce clicks, and improve the end user experience.
2.5 Using Workpoint Notes: We ll look at the workflow designer over the next several slides. If you are not yet familiar with Workpoint, please take a moment to review the intro videos linked under the Resources tab. It is also highly recommended that you take our 1-day Advanced Workflow and Navigation course.
2.6 General Process Properties Notes: Let s be honest, there are lots of settings to remember, so we ll recap some of that workflow designer functionality over the next few slides. Hover over the Enrollment options on screen to refresh your memory on these general process properties. Note that if no Content Enrollment options are selected, naturally, the record has no way of enrolling into Workflow.
Re-Enrollment (Slide Layer) New Records (Slide Layer)
Updated Records (Slide Layer) User Initiated (Slide Layer)
2.7 Advanced Workflow Nodes Notes: We have 5 nodes available on the left side of the designer: evaluate content, send notification, update content, user action, and wait for content update. Click each button at the bottom of the screen for more information on each node.
Evaluate Content (Slide Layer) Evaluate Content Node The Evaluate Content node is used when the system should evaluate the record s content against rules you define. The rules make use of if/then kinds of logic scenarios, allowing the process to branch out to a number of possible paths, based on what the user defines within the record. Evaluate Content Nodes require a default transition, which allows the Workflow to progress if all rules governing transitions evaluate to False. Except for error and default transitions, each outgoing transition must be configured with one rule so the record has a clearly defined path based on defined criteria.
Send Notification (Slide Layer) Send Notification Node The Send Notification Node is used when the system should send an email to a user at a certain point within the process. Desired emails must first be built out via On Demand Notification Templates from the Admin toolkit. You will receive an error if no notification is selected under Settings.
Update Content (Slide Layer) Update Content Node The Update Content Node is used when the system should update one or more fields at a specific point within the process. For example, you may want the system to update the Overall Status values list field to Awaiting Review once it s submitted. Other field types that can be changed with these nodes include text, numeric, user/groups list, and date. Note that some Values Lists are configured to require the User to enter Other text if a particular value is selected. Advanced Workflow cannot update those text fields, so a Values List that offers that option cannot be selected for an Update Content node.
User Action (Slide Layer) User Action Node The User Action Node waits for the user to click an Action button. Action button(s) are labeled according to the names of the outgoing transition(s) that follow the node. In addition to action buttons being included with this node type, a specific layout must be tied to each User Action node: The Default layout will be seen before the workflow process begins and after the workflow ends Other layouts must be configured for each stage New/copied layouts can be configured on the fly For example, when a record enters the Approver Stage, the end user would see the Approver Layout, which might grant read access to the work completed by the Submitter and Reviewer; and a few buttons at the top of the record that allow the Approver to Accept, Reject, or Return the record. Nothing will change within the record until the Approver clicks one of those buttons. On top of all that, automatic task creation is also enabled here: Note that the application must have Task Management enabled for the application (General tab), and The application must have at least one User/Groups List field included A Priority must be assigned to the task. In the Subject/Description/Resolution fields, if you select Enter Text, you must enter the text you want to use. If you select Choose Field, you must select a field to use.
Wait for Content Update (Slide Layer) Wait for Content Update Node The Wait for Content Update Node is intended to be used following an Evaluate Content node. It must be associated with a layout, and is typically used with a layout that prompts the user to take some kind of action. This node includes a Delay Timeout property that sets the maximum time to wait before the record returns to the previous node and follows another path.
2.8 Other Node Types Notes: There are two more nodes you may see if you re working with Risk Management: a Create Self- Assessments node and a Publish node.
2.9 Transitions Notes: Let s talk a little bit more about transitions. Transitions allow you to indicate the path of the workflow as each node is completed. From a User Action Node, the name of the transition(s) display as the name of the button(s) the user clicks on the record. In the left screenshot, we can see 4 transitions outgoing from the Review Finding User Action node. Each of those transitions appears as buttons in the screenshot on the right - the screen the end user sees.
2.10 Transition Properties Notes: Depending on the transition, you have three transition options: Successful, Error, and Always Complete. When you first create a transition, it defaults to the Successful value, indicating the record will move to the next node once the current node completes successfully. An Error transition out of a node allows you to create a path for a workflow in the case that the node runs into an error. You may want to create error paths in your workflow if your jobs are running into the occasional error on a particular node and you want to force the job to continue on through the workflow instead of stopping. For example, if you have intermittent errors with your mail server, but do not want the job to stop just because a notification could not be sent, you might create an error path to allow the workflow to continue to the next node. A transition with a value of Always Complete indicates the record must proceed to the next step. The Wait for Content Update node only offers the value of Always Complete because it must move on once the allotted time frame passes.
2.11 Transition Loops Notes: When the business process needs to circle back to a previous node, transitions may be labeled as looping. Looping transitions are denoted by a dashed line in the Workflow Designer. The last transition in the loop must be the only transition marked as looping to avoid errors. If the system detects a process loop, but no transitions are flagged as looping, you will see an error. On the opposite end, if you have a transition marked as looping, but it is not actually part of a loop, you will see an error.
2.12 Builder and Active Jobs Notes: A quick blurb before we get into troubleshooting - as changes are made and saved to the workflow, only new records enrolling into workflow will follow the saved changes. Records currently enrolled in Workflow will continue in the version they started with, unless you cancel jobs in Job Troubleshooting.
3. Troubleshooting Advanced Workflow 3.1 Advanced Workflow Notes: This section covers basic Advanced Workflow troubleshooting tips.
3.2 General Troubleshooting Notes: Let s look at where to start when troubleshooting general advanced workflow problems. Use the numbered buttons at the bottom of the screen to explore potential causes and solutions regarding basic Advanced Workflow issues. A great deal of issues with Advanced Workflow may be caused by misconfiguration.
1 (Slide Layer) 1: If Workpoint does not display in the Advanced Workflow tab of an application or questionnaire, or if it does not display when trying to access Job Troubleshooting from the admin toolkit, the Workflow Service may not be running. Right click the RSA Archer Workflow Service and click Start to resume the Service. Note that if other requisite Services are disabled, you will need to resume them in the appropriate order. For example, if the RSA Archer Configuration, Queuing, and Workflow Services are not running, you would need to right click > Start each Service in the appropriate order.
2 (Slide Layer) 2: If tasks do not appear when they should to the expected users, first confirm tasks are enabled for the application or questionnaire. Then check the Assign To field name in the related User Action Node Properties. Be sure the appropriate users and groups are available for selection in that field, as well.
3 (Slide Layer) 3: If users do not receive notifications when expected, first check to see if Notifications are enabled for the application or questionnaire. Then confirm the correct Notification template is selected for the related Send Notification Node. If the correct template is selected, check the settings behind the notification.
4 (Slide Layer) 4: If specific fields are not updating as expected, check that the correct fields are selected in the related Update Content Node, and confirm those fields appear on the layout.
5 (Slide Layer) 5: If tasks are not automatically closing when expected, the fields required for task management may not be required in the record. For example, if the Resolution for the task is set to a populated Justification field, but the Justification field is not required in the record, the user may skip populating that field and the system will not recognize the task as resolved, even if it has moved on to another node. To correct this, require the field listed as the Resolution, or change the Resolution field to one that is already required.
6 (Slide Layer) 6: If the record does not follow the expected process flow, check the related Evaluate Content Node. Confirm the fields in the Rules haven t been changed, and that the values haven t been updated. Confirm the correct transition is selected based on the Rule, and that the correct Default Transition is selected.
7 (Slide Layer) 7: If there is a problem with the process flow around a loop, check to see which transition is labeled as the Looping transition. As one consultant found out the hard way, you may run into problems if the last transition is not the one and only transition flagged as looping. In the screenshot on the left, the dotted line is placed at the beginning of the loop - this is the incorrect format. In the screenshot on the right, the dotted line is placed at the end of the loop - this is the correct format. Note that if you are moving nodes or transitions around, Advanced Workflow may automatically assign one of your transitions as the looping transition, and it may not always flag the correct one.
3.3 Job Troubleshooting Notes: Let s look at Job Troubleshooting. From the Admin toolkit, under Advanced Workflow, click Job Troubleshooting. A list of applications and questionnaires opens. Either double click the desired application or highlight the app and click Open at the top left. Note if there are no records currently in workflow for an application or questionnaire, you will see the message No jobs matching your criteria were found when you try to open the app from here. Click the numbered buttons at the bottom of the screen to walk through potential troubleshooting steps.
1 (Slide Layer) 1: After opening the list of records in Workflow for your app or questionnaire, you can view which records are in Active or Error state. Highlight a row and click the ellipsis button to activate, cancel, suspend, or record the error from this screen. To view more details on a record, either highlight a row and click Open at the top left, or double click the record.
2 (Slide Layer) 2: Within the Job, you can view the process flow and where the job got stuck. You have another ellipsis button here that offers more options. Notably, restarting the job kicks the record back to the beginning of the workflow and any work previously completed is reset, so use it wisely. Click the question mark icon on screen to view more information about the node and transition states.
3 (Slide Layer) 3: The Job Properties panel contains an Error History section that may present helpful information regarding the cause of the job error. Hover over the error history message in the panel, then click the eye icon to open the error.
4 (Slide Layer) 4: If the job is hung up at a particular node, highlight the Selected, or current node to view nodespecific information and actions.
5 (Slide Layer) 5: Each node contains a History section in which you can view when the node s state changed.
6 (Slide Layer) 6: For this node, we have the options to Reset or Change the State. Resetting the node resets it to try again. All downstream nodes will be reset as Planned. Changing the node state to complete or skipped pushes the record to the next node.
7 (Slide Layer) 7: In this case, we reset the node to restart the Wait for Content Update time. Our job switched from Error state to Active state, and we can monitor it for further or repeat issues.
8 (Slide Layer) 8: If Workpoint does not provide enough clues to identify the source of the issue, you can check the Advanced Workflow log files for more information about the error. In this case, we can see it threw an error when this particular operation timed out. Note that the timestamps in the server logs are recorded in UTC, but the timestamps on your Job Troubleshooting errors will be appropriate for your time zone. Use the Job ID provided in Job Troubleshooting to track down the error in the log file. For example, if the job error reads, Job Monitor max evaluation retries exceeded (3), moving job 1251:CUST into error state, look for 1251:CUST in the error log.
9 (Slide Layer) 9: Finally, although Advanced Workflow is not handled by the ACP Job Engine Manager, you can monitor the Job Engine Manager for clues relating to the Workflow. For example, if the expected notification(s) is not sending, you may be able to identify why from the Job Engine Manager - maybe it is stuck behind other jobs.
3.4 Node & Transition States Notes: Hover over each node and transition to review what each color represents. These colors will help you to quickly identify what path a given record has taken, and which path(s) have been skipped along the way.
Planned (Slide Layer) Selected (Slide Layer)
Completed (Slide Layer) Skipped (Slide Layer)
Planned Transition (Slide Layer) Selected Transition (Slide Layer)
Skipped Transition (Slide Layer) Planned Transition - Looping (Slide Layer)
3.5 Course Evaluation Notes: That s all we have! Before you go, please take a moment to provide feedback on the course. Your feedback is important to us and we thank you in advance for providing thoughtful answers to the questions in this survey.
3.6 Thank You! Notes: Thanks for your time! We hope this was helpful. Please feel free to download the slides and register for the 1-day Advanced Workflow and Navigation course from the resources tab at the top right of your screen.