There’s a lot to do and consider when working with process models in Appian. How do we set ourselves (and our process models) up for success from the beginning? Process model design should not only be focused on optimizing the load on the system hardware, but should also ensure the future application support team will be able to quickly and easily address end user concerns. Performance considerations for minimizing process runtimes and node counts help ease the burden on the system, but there are a few key aspects that we should address when creating any process model to ensure maintainability:
Tackling these aspects early on in the development of every process model will ensure that you, and any future developer that might pick up your project, are set up for success in developing, testing, and troubleshooting your process model.
Process model security is addressed when any process model is initially created and is the most complex security of any Appian object. In addition to the typical object security roles of Administrator, Editor, Viewer, and Deny, process models also have Manager and Initiator. To initiate any process, a user must have at least the “Initiator” permission level. Users who have no access to initiate a process model will be unable to see any record actions associated with that process model.
Ensure the correct user groups have the appropriate level of security access to your process model from the beginning. If security for a process model needs to be updated it can be accessed from the Appian Designer Object View or from the Process Modeler itself. For more information, see the Process Model Security table.
By default, new processes in Appian have the same process display name as the process model object. This makes it difficult to differentiate between process instances when troubleshooting.
As you can see, the above instances of the AA Add Vehicle process model version 3.0 are not easily distinguished. A better approach is to update the Process Display Name on the General tab in the Process Model Properties to include some dynamic information such as the year, make, and model of the vehicle being added.
Dynamic display names make it easier to distinguish between process model instances and can provide valuable context when troubleshooting a process model that is misbehaving.
Every time a process model instance is executed, Appian caches information from that instance. Over time, this information can take up a lot of space. It is important to consider this when configuring the data management for your process model. Except in rare circumstances, it is best to avoid the “Do not automatically clean-up processes” option. For process models that require history or may need extra recoverability during development or initial deployment, use the “Archive” option. For process models where the history is not important, use the “Delete” option.
See Consideration for Archiving Processes for more best practices.
Alerts for a process model are triggered when there is an issue with a process instance. The system default for alerts is to send an email to all system administrators. Typically, however, alerts are sent to the administrators of the application while it’s in development. After deployment these alerts will be configured to be sent to the administrator of the production environment. Therefore, during initial set up, you should configure the alerts to be sent to the application administrators and not the system administrators.
Creating manageable, efficient, robust, and maintainable process models begins with a strong foundation. Addressing the areas of security, dynamic display names, data management, and alerts from the beginning will set you and your process models up for success in the future.