How to add a process variable in already initiated process instance and map this new process variable to a form input.

Question

Hi All, 
 I have a encountered an issue where a process instance on production environment is launched on previous process model,as the process was still in progress when we did our new patch release. The scenario is that in one of our user input task we have added a new mandatory field and as the process initiated on previous version of process model does not have process variable to capture this new field and our form is stuck due to this. Can you please provide your inputs what will be best solution to handle this problem ? Can we use IFIM or Process upgrade service to achieve the requisite condition? Please provide your valuable inputs for this.

aloks0189 · Answer

Yes, We can create a variable in the running instance and can map this newly created variable into their respective node in edit mode. 
 
You can follow below mention steps to do so: 
 
1. Monitor an ongoing process instance >> Click on Properties >> Click on Add Variable >> Define the properties for the newly created variable such as Variable Name, Type etc.. 
 
2. Now, edit this process instance and you can find this newly created variable available in edit process mode, and you will be able to map this variable into the various nodes such as Script Task, User Input Task, Gateways etc... 
 
Note: Cancelling an ongoing instance (Specially in production environment) is not the best approach, because if this process has critical business logic implemented including DB operation, then this might impact the business, also the number of instances can be huge. 
 
Also, when we talk about the Patch deployment, it's always a best practice to handle inflight instances(by doing the null check, or some other approach) instead of modifying them one after another, as you aware if number of instances are huge then it will be a difficult job to modify these many instances either manually or by using IFM Smart Service. 
 
Hope this helps.