IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Administer applications and processes in the runtime environment > Manage processes and their components > Administer BPEL processes and human tasks

Manage work authorizations and assignments

After a task or BPEL process instance has started, you might need to manage work authorizations or assignments for the task or process, for example, to better distribute the work load over the members of a work group.

A work item is the assignment of a business entity, such as a task or a process instance, to a person or a group of people for a particular reason. The assignment reason allows a person to play various roles in the business process scenario, for example, potential owner, editor, or administrator.

A task instance or a process instance can have several work items associated with it because different people can have different roles.

For example, John, Sarah, and Mike are all potential owners of a task instance and Anne is the administrator; work items are generated for all four people. John, Sarah, and Mike see only their own work items as tasks on their list of tasks. Because Anne is the administrator, she gets her own work item for the task and she can manage the work items generated for John, Sarah, and Mike.

Sometimes, you might need to change a task or process instance assignment after they are started, for example, to transfer a work item from the original owner to someone else. You might want to specify absence settings for the time you are away. You might also need to create additional work items or delete work items that are not needed anymore.

• Create work items for BPEL processes using Business Process Choreographer Explorer
  Work items of a process instance are used to manage administrator or reader authorization for the process instance. You might want to create process work items for new administrators, for example, when a user claims the ownership of a process instance because the user ID of the starter of the process instance will be deleted.
• Transferring BPEL process work items if you are the administrator of the process
  

  You might need to change a work item assignment associated with a BPEL process.

  For example, you might want to transfer a process work item to another user because the ownership of the process instance needs to be claimed by another person. This might happen, for example, in a long-running process if the organization has changed since the process started.

• Claiming the ownership of BPEL process instances using Business Process Choreographer Explorer
  

  You can transfer the ownership of a BPEL process instance by having a person with process administrator authorization take ownership of the process instance. You might want to do this, for example, in situations where the process starter is no longer with the company.

• Delete work items for BPEL process using Business Process Choreographer Explorer
  

  You might want to delete work items associated with a BPEL process, for example, if you created work items in error, or if they were generated for someone who no longer works for the company.

• Transferring tasks that you own
  

  If you are the owner of a task, you might need to transfer the task to another user, for example, if someone else needs to provide information to complete the task.

• Transferring task work items if you are the starter, originator, or administrator of the task
  

  You might need to change a task work assignment after work begins on the task.

  For example, you might want to transfer a task work item to another user if the task owner is on vacation and the task must be completed before this person returns. The way in which you can transfer a work item depends on the role that you have, the state of the task, and the role the new owners or groups have.

• Create task work items
  

  You might want to create task work items for new potential owners, for example, when none of the current potential owners can accept any additional work. You might also want to create task work items if the query against the people directory does not return any potential owners. This might happen, for example, in a long-running process if the organization has changed since the process started.

• Delete task work items
  

  You might want to delete task work items, for example, if you created task work items in error or if task work items are generated for someone who no longer works for the company.

• Specifying absence settings
  

  If you intend to be away from the office for a certain time, specify a substitute for your tasks.

• Specifying absence settings for users
  

  If users are prevented from working on their tasks, for example, if they are on sick leave, specify a substitute for the user's tasks.

Administer BPEL processes and human tasks

Related concepts:
Authorization roles for human tasks
Authorization and work items