Template graph

The template graph is a graphical process editor that uses BPMN notation. In the graph you create and name tasks and link them with arrows (connections). On each connection you set the conditions that decide which path the case takes. To open the graph, go to the Graph tab of the template. The same data is also available as tables: tasks on the Tasks tab, and connections under the Connections button on the same tab.

The images in this article show the sample template Equipment request: an employee submits an equipment request, a manager approves it or returns it for rework, an automatic task records the approval and IT hands over the equipment.

Graph editor

Changes in the graph are only saved when you click Save. If you leave a graph with unsaved changes, TAS asks "Save changes made to the whole diagram?".

Graph of the sample template Purchase Order: in the centre is an automatic task with conditional (red) connections leading to sixteen approval tasks. Tasks with a coloured fill have a colour set, the task marked ||| runs as a multi-instance task and the task marked ⊞ creates a subprocess. The circles with a triangle are Event tasks that wait for a button or another event.

How to add a task

1. In the palette on the left, drag the icon of the task type you want onto the canvas.
2. Double-click the new task and type its name. Click outside the task to confirm the name.
3. Connect the task to the other tasks (see Task context menu).
4. Click Save. The task is created in the template and appears on the Tasks tab only after you save.

A faster way is to add a task directly after an existing one: select the task and click the type icon in its context menu. The new task is placed to the right and is automatically connected to the previous task.

Task context menu

When you click a task, a context menu appears next to it:

The context menu of a connection has only the Edit and Remove items.

Properties panel

The panel in the top-right corner describes the selected element. Use the arrow in its header to collapse it.

For a task, the panel shows the task type, who the solver will be and how the solver is selected. In the Color section you choose the fill colour of the task. Colours help tell phases or roles apart in a large graph and are saved with the graph.

For a connection, the panel shows the source and target task (From, To), whether it is the default connection, its priority and a summary of the conditions with variable IDs.

Connections and conditions

A connection determines which task is activated after the previous task is completed. To open the connection settings, use the connection's context menu (Edit) or the Connections page.

A connection without conditions always applies. In the image, the connection to the Record approval task applies only if the manager selected Approved and the estimated price is lower than 2,000.

Operators

How conditions are evaluated

After a task is completed, TAS goes through all its outgoing connections in order of priority and activates every task whose connection applies. If several connections apply, the process splits into several parallel branches. The default connection is used only if no other connection applies.

If several connections lead into a task (for example after parallel branches or in a loop), its start is controlled by the Task start condition in the task settings: waits for one, waits for (a specified number) or waits for all.

How to set up an approve / return decision

1. From the approval task, draw two connections: one to the next step of the process and one to the rework task.
2. Open the first connection and click Add condition. Select the variable with the decision, the equals operator and the value Approved. Click Save.
3. For the second connection, set the same variable with the value Rejected, or mark it as Default connection.
4. From the rework task, draw a connection back to the approval task.
5. Save the graph.

Connections page

On the Tasks tab, the Connections button opens a list of all connections in the template.

The page is useful for quickly checking conditions in templates with many connections that are hard to find in the graph. New connections are created in the graph.

Check on save

The graph is not saved if:

• a task has no name ("Please fill in names for all tasks."),
• two tasks have the same name ("The diagram contains errors…"). The editor highlights the problematic tasks.

For two connections between the same tasks, the editor shows only a warning and the graph can be saved.

Diagram import

Use the Upload file button or drag a .bpmn file onto the canvas to load a diagram from a file into the editor, for example from another tool or from the downloaded graph of another template. The loaded diagram replaces the content of the canvas.

Related: Template tab; Case statuses; Template headers.