Workflow Policies vs Workflow Processes

Building a solution with Siebel Workflow often involves the use of both Workflow Policies and Workflow Processes. Siebel Workflow, taken together, is a complete application for automating server processes defined using declarative relationships between logical objects. As a Siebel Developer, you need to understand the difference between a Workflow Policy and a Workflow Process.

A Workflow Process is a program that runs on the Siebel server. It is defined through a graphical interface as a set of steps. When the process runs, a single record is processed. The workflow process steps are performed as a series of data operations.

A Workflow Policy is a specific event that occurs on the Siebel database. Based on a database trigger, it can include many complex criteria, but it ultimately evaluates to a true/false condition to determine whether to execute a program or not. Commonly, a Workflow Policy will execute a Workflow Process.

Do not be confused between the Business Object that is part of the Workflow Process definition and the Workflow Policy Object that is part of the Workflow Policy definition. A Workflow Process runs on the business layer of the Siebel object model. The Business Object that helps define a Workflow Process is the same Business Object that governs the logical data entity relationships between Business Components in Siebel screens and views.

A Workflow Policy Object is also configured in Siebel Tools, and it also represents a logical data entity, but it seems closer to the data layer of the Siebel object model. Workflow Policy Objects, Components, Columns, and Component Columns are a objects that do not contain or enforce any business rules. They are essentially columns and tables, and the relationships between them.

By first understanding the basic differences between these two core components of Siebel Workflow, a Siebel Developer can begin to grasp the basics of the powerful business process automation application known as Siebel Workflow.