IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Create processes in IBM Process Designer > Modeling processes > Business objects and variables > Declaring and passing variables
Mapping input and output data for an activity or step
In Process Designer, to pass variables to an activity or a step you have to set the input and output data mapping.
You must have a business process definition (BPD) that contains a set of declared variables and an activity or a service that contains a set of declared variables and a step. The activity or step must implement a service or linked process which also contains a set of declared variables matching the ones in the main BPD, in the case of an activity, or the service, in the case of a step.
When developing processes in Process Designer, you must set the input and output mapping for each activity included in a BPD so that the variable values received and generated by the sub-processes and services that implement the activities map to the variables from the main BPD. Similarly, if you have a service, you must set the input and output mapping for each step included in the service.
This task is not relevant if you use the Activity Wizard to create a service to implement an activity.
The following procedure describes how to map both input and output data for an activity or a step. Depending on the logic of your BPD or service, an activity or step may only require input or output data and not both.
Procedure
- Open the diagram of your BPD or service.
- Click the activity in the BPD diagram or the step in the service diagram and then click the Data Mapping tab in the properties. The Data Mapping tab displays the variables that are available from the service implemented in the activity or step.
- To complete the data mapping, click the Auto-map
input properties with variables from service icon (
) in both the Input Mapping and Output Mapping sections.
Auto-mapping works only when variable names and types match exactly. You should always use an identical name and data type for a set of input and output variables that are passed in, processed, and then passed back.
If your variable is a shared business object then the output mapping from the activity or step is not required.
- To save the configuration, click the Save icon.
What to do next
The data mapping is complete, you can test it.
Declaring and passing variables
Related tasks:
Declaring variables for a BPD or a service
Testing declared variables and data mapping with coaches