How to Add a Delay to the Process Flow

18-8 Modeling and Implementation Guide for Oracle Business Process Management is running. When the timer start event fires, the BPM service engine creates a copy of the token and routes it thought the event subprocess flow.

18.6.1 How to Run Additional Activities While an Activity is Running

You can run a parallel process flow while an activity is running. Generally you design a parallel process flow to trigger after a certain time when you know that the main activity might take long to complete. To run additional activities while an activity is running: 1. Locate the activity to run in parallel to the additional activities.

2. Create an additional process flow by adding activities connected by sequence

flows, outside the main process flow.

3. Add a timer event as a boundary to the activity.

A sequence flow for you to connect to an activity appears.

4. Connect the sequence flow to the additional process flow you created.

18.6.2 What Happens When You Run Additional Activities While an Activity is Running

If the token is still in the activity when the non-interrupting fires, then the BPMN Service Engine creates a copy of that token and routes it through the flow that the timer event defines. The timer might fire multiple times while the activity in the main process flow is running.

18.6.3 How to Run Additional Activities While a Process is Running

You can run additional activities while the main process flow is running. Generally you design a parallel process flow to trigger after a certain time when you know your process might take long to complete. To run additional activities while a process is running: 1. Add a subprocess event to your process. 2. Right-click the start event in the subprocess event.

3. Select Properties.

4. Click the Implementation tab.

5. From the Implementation Type list, select Timer.

6. Verify that the Interrupting Event option is not selected. 7. If you want the additional activities to run on a specific date, then you must configure the timer event as time date. If you want the additional activities to run periodically, then you must configure the timer event as cycle. See Section 18.7.1, How to Configure a Timer Event To Use a Specific Date and Time for more information on how to configure a timer event as time date. See Section 18.7.3, How to Configure a Timer Event to Use an Interval for more information on how to configure a timer event as cycle. 8. Add the additional activities to the subprocess event. Adding Delays, Deadlines, and Time Based Cycles to Your Process 18-9

18.6.4 What Happens When You Run Additional Activities While a Process is Running

When the timer start event in the event subprocess fires, the BPMN Service Engine creates a copy of the token in the main process flow. The copy of the token in the main process flow follows the additional process flow the subprocess event defines. The timer start event may fire multiple times while the main process flow is running.

18.7 Configuring Timer Events

You can configure timer event to fire on a specific date and time, or to fire after a certain time passes. In both cases you can choose to provide a fixed time value or an expression that calculates it.

18.7.1 How to Configure a Timer Event To Use a Specific Date and Time

You can configure a timer event to use a specific date and time. You can provide the date and time or use an expression to calculate it. To configure a timer event to use a specific date and time: 1. Right-click the timer event.

2. Select Properties.

3. Click the Implementation tab.

4. Select Time Date.

5. Provide a date. The following options are available to provide a date: ■ Click the calendar button next to the Date field. Select a date and enter a time and close the calendar dialog. ■ Enter the date in the Date field. For example: Jan. 18, 2010 4:31:10 PM ■ Select Use Expression and provide an expression that returns a Date. See Section 22.4, Writing Expressions in Timer Events in Chapter 18, Adding Delays, Deadlines, and Time Based Cycles to Your Process for more information.

6. Click OK.

18.7.2 What Happens When You Configure a Timer Event to Use a Specific Date and Time

The timer event fires on the specified date and time. If you used an expression to specify the date and time, then the engine evaluates this expression to determine when to fire the timer event.

18.7.3 How to Configure a Timer Event to Use an Interval

You can configure a timer event to use an interval. You can specify the interval or use an expression to calculate it. Note: The date and time you specify correspond to the time zone the BPMN Service Engine uses.