Workflows in AEM

 Workflows in AEM

 

Definition : a workflow is a sequence of steps or tasks that automate and streamline content-centric processes. Workflows in AEM are used to define and manage the lifecycle of content, such as content creation, review, approval, publishing, and archival. Workflows provide a structured and automated approach to content processing, ensuring consistent and efficient execution of business processes.

Workflows can access assets (e.g. images, videos, documents), content pages, services, and resources in the AEM JCR repository. This makes workflows a perfect choice to perform complex tasks which involve interaction between different users and resources. AEM has a very strong framework to build and extend these workflows. This allows developers to quickly develop workflows specific to project requirements.

 

To access workflow console, click on Tools and then click on Workflow, as shown in below picture.

Within the Workflow console, there are several tabs:

• Models - Lists the workflow models currently available. Here you can create, edit or delete workflow models.

• Instances - Shows you details of workflow instances which are currently active. These instances are also version dependent.
• Archive - Enables you to access details of workflow instances which have terminated, for whatever reason.
• Launcher - Allows you to define a workflow to be launched if a specific node has been updated.
• Failures - Enables you to monitor and manage failed worklow instances.

What is a Workflow Model?

• A workflow model is a skeleton or a blueprint of the workflow consisting of sequential steps.
• Process steps are defined either by a Java class or an ECMAScript.
• For the Java class processes, the fully qualified class name is provided.
• For the ECMAScript processes, the path to the script is provided.
• Every model has a start and end step.
• To initiate a workflow from the model, we need to select a payload which could be an asset or page which gets passed to each step as a string that is either a JCR path or a JCR identifier (UUID).
• Individual process steps that do act on the payload will usually expect a payload of a certain type, or act differently depending on the payload type.

 

What is a Workflow Process/Step?

A workflow step component defines the appearance and behavior of the step when creating workflow models:

1.       The category and step name in the workflow sidekick

2.       The appearance of the step in the workflow models

3.       The edit dialog for configuring component properties

4.       The service or script that is executed at runtime

As with all components, workflow step components inherit from the component that is specified for the sling:resourceSuperTypeproperty. The following diagram shows the hierarchy of cq:componentnodes that form the basis of all workflow step components. The diagram also includes the Process Step, Participant Step, and Dynamic Participant Step components, as these are the most common (and basic) starting points for developing custom step components.

 

Workflow models consist of a series of steps of various types which can be extended with scripts to provide the functionality and control you require.

• 
  
  PROCESS STEP - It executes an ECMA script or calls an OSGi service to perform automatic processing.
  
     
  Process
  The process implementation to execute. Use the drop-down menu to select the ECMA script or OSGi service that are available
  Handler Advance
  Select this option to automatically advance the workflow to the next step after execution. If no selected, the implementation script must handle workflow advancement.
  Arguments
  Arguments to be passed to the process.
• PARTICIPANT STEP - It enables you to assign ownership for a particular action. The workflow will only proceed when the user has manually acknowledged the step. This is used when you want someone to take an action on the workflow; for example, a review step.
  
     
  

User/group
A drop down selection box will allow you to navigate and select a user or group.
Email
You can notify participant(s) by sending them an email when the workflow reaches the step.
If set to On, an email will be sent to the user defined by the property User/Group or to each member of the group if a group is defined.

• CONTAINER STEP - A container step starts another workflow model that executes as a child workflow.
  
     
  
  
  

Sub Workflow
Select the workflow to start. more

• OR SPLIT - It creates a split in the workflow, whereby only one branch is active. This allows you to introduce conditional processing paths into our workflow. more
• AND SPLIT - An AND Split creates a split in the workflow; both branches will be active. This component enables you to introduce multiple processing paths into the workflow. For example you can allow certain review steps to occur in parallel, saving time. more
• GOTO STEP - The Goto step specifies the next step in the workflow model to execute, depending on the result of an ECMA script. more