Specifying workflow for the Self Service Portal

Customers interact with objects in the Self Service Portal (SSP) through workflow items: Forms and Service Actions (Create Actions and Actions). The following aspects of object workflow are available for customization:

• View Form: The Self Service Portal uses View Forms to display the details of existing objects such as Approval Requests and Incidents. Each object class that is available in the SSP has a single View Form.

• Create Actions: The portal uses Create Actions to prompt customers for relevant information when they choose to create a new object (an Incident or a Reservation) and to initialize some properties of this new object, particularly those that will not be visible in the SSP.

• Actions: Actions specify how customers update objects when they choose to perform an action in the SSP (update an Incident, approve or reject an Approval Request, etc.) and how this action affects other participants of the business process. When actions require input data, the Action provides initial values from the Template or prompts the customer to provide input using a Form.

In the Self Service Portal > Workflow section, configure workflow items for the Self Service Portal as follows:

• [Object Class] > View Form: The Self Service Portal uses View Forms to display the details of existing objects: Approval Requests, Computers, Hardware, Incidents, Library Items, Reservations, Service Catalog Items, and Service Requests.

• To modify an existing View Form:

  1. Under [Object Class] > View Form, double-click the Form to modify.

  2. Make your changes. For details, see Configuring View Forms.

  3. When done, click OK.

• To delete a View Form:

  • Select the Form and click Delete.

  Alloy Navigator clears the View Form and displays the Double click to add new View Form row.

• To add a View Form:

  1. When there is no View Form for an object class, Alloy Navigator displays the Double click to add new View Form row under [Object Class] > View Form. Double-click this row to bring up the View Form [ViewFormName] window.

  2. Configure the View Form. For instructions, see Configuring View Forms.

IMPORTANT: The Self Service Portal supports only a single View Form per object class.

• [Object Class] > Create Actions - The Self Service Portal employs special Create Service Actions for creating Incidents and Reservations. You can configure several Create Service Actions for different types of Incidents and Reservations you want to provide in the SSP.

• To modify an existing Create Action:

  1. Double-click the Action to modify.

  2. Make your changes. For details, see Configuring Service Actions.

  3. When done, click OK.

• To add a new Create Action:

  1. Under [Object Class] > Create Actions, double-click the Double click to add new Create Action row to bring up the Create Action for Self Service Portal [ID] window.

  2. Configure the Create Action. For instructions, see Configuring Service Actions.

• To change the display order of Create Actions:

  • If you have multiple Create Actions for an object class, select an Action and use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to change its position.
    
    Repeat this step to re-order other Actions as needed.

• To enable or disable a Create Action:

  • Right-click the Action and choose Enable or Disable from the pop-up menu.

• To delete a Create Action:

  • Select the Action and click Delete.

  NOTE: In contrast to View Forms, Create Actions for the SSP that you configure here are duplicated in the Workflow and Business Logic > [Module] > [Object Class] > Workflow > Actions > Service Actions section, among all other Service Actions for this object class.

• [Object Class] > Actions - Service Actions specify how the system updates objects when SSP customers choose to perform an action on existing objects. For each object class, you can configure multiple Actions for different actions that you want to provide in the SSP.

• To modify an existing Update Action:

  1. Double-click the Action to modify.

  2. Make your changes. For details, see Configuring Service Actions.

  3. When done, click OK.

• To add a new Update Action:

  1. Under [Object Class] > Actions, double-click the Double click to add new Action row to bring up the Update Action for Self Service Portal [ID] window.

  2. Configure the Update Action. For instructions, see Configuring Service Actions.

• To change the display order of Update Actions:

  • If you have multiple Actions, you can select an Action and use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to change its position.
    
    Repeat this step to re-order other Actions as needed.

• To enable or disable an Update Action:

  • Right-click the Action and choose Enable or Disable from the pop-up menu.

• To delete an Update Action:

  • Select the Action and click Delete.

  NOTE: In contrast to View Forms, Update Actions for the SSP that you configure here are duplicated in the Workflow and Business Logic > [Module] > [Object Class] > Workflow > Actions > Service Actions section, among all other Service Actions for this object class.

IMPORTANT: If your users are working with SSP on multiple languages, you may need to localize your customizations. For instructions, see Administration Guide: Localizing Forms and Actions in SSP Workflow.

Related Information:

Self Service Portal modules and naming conventions

Configuring self-registration

Modifying templates for SSP notifications

Workflow management