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Customize Automation Request Workflow

The RWM application was deprecated with Appian 24.1. The application will no longer be updated or pre-installed for new Appian Cloud sites with Appian RPA enabled.

RWM will be removed in a future release and we encourage customers to use the Operations Console to manage robots instead.

Introduction

The Robotic Workforce Manager Automation Planner allows users to submit new Automation Requests that are reviewed by various groups, such as the Business Center of Excellence (CoE) and the Technical CoE. Follow the steps below to introduce new steps with new forms and questions to this workflow.

Objects summary

The instructions below will require you to duplicate the following objects to use in other steps. Your duplicate objects will also need to be updated to have different names and have different values based on the content of the new steps being added to RWM.

  • RWM_TEMPL_newProcessFlow
  • RWM_VAL_DEP_MAN_STATUS_AI_REVIEW
  • RWM_DM_STAGE_AI_SPECIALIST_REVIEW_OF_RPA_REQUEST

The following objects will also all need to be modified by the end of this process:

  • RWM_PROCESS_STATUS_NAME_LIST
  • RWM_PROCESS_STATUS_ID_LIST
  • RWM_setTaskName
  • RWM_setStatus
  • RWM_onboardingProcessStatusDeadline
  • RWM_setAssigneeBasedOnStatus
  • RWM_DM_FORM_requestNewRPAProcess
  • RWM_FM_processRecordOnboardingView
  • RWM_PROCESS_ONBOARDING (CDT)
  • RWM_PROCESS_ONBOARDING (Database Table)
  • RWM_requestSaveButtonText
  • RWM_processOnboardingPrimarySaves

Adding a new step

  1. Update the RWM_LOOKUP_STATUS table in the database with a new row, incrementing the primary key. Take note of this primary key value and the status name.
  2. Create a status id constant by duplicating constant RWM_VAL_DEP_MAN_STATUS_AI_REVIEW, setting its name to something that represents this new step in the Automation Request Workflow, and updating its value with the ID from the first step.
  3. Then create a task name constant by duplicating constant RWM_DM_STAGE_AI_SPECIALIST_REVIEW_OF_RPA_REQUEST and updating its value with the new workflow step's name.
  4. Update constant RWM_PROCESS_STATUS_NAME_LIST and RWM_PROCESS_STATUS_ID_LIST with the new workflow step's name and ID respectively. Ensure that it is placed in order in this constant so that it matches the sequence of steps in your desired Automation Request workflow. For example, if it is the first step after the initial request, place it between the Request and Business COE Review steps.

    Note:  Do not insert your new step before Request or after In Development

  5. Update RWM_setTaskName with the task name constant constant created from duplicating RWM_DM_STAGE_AI_SPECIALIST_REVIEW_OF_RPA_REQUEST in the second array. The order of constants should match the order of the desired workflow steps.

    Figure 1

  6. Update the three arrays in RWM_setStatus labeled with Add the new status id constant here with the status id constant constant duplicated from RWM_VAL_DEP_MAN_STATUS_AI_REVIEW, but maintaining the sequence of items from RWM_PROCESS_STATUS_ID_LIST.

    Figure 2

    Figure 3

  7. Update RWM_setAssigneeBasedOnStatus with corresponding assignment group. You can create a new group for this if it does not currently exist in the application.

    Figure 4

  8. Update RWM_onboardingProcessStatusDeadline with the task deadline timeframe value in the second array as now() + <number of days>.

    Figure 5

  9. Duplicate the template interface RWM_TEMPL_newProcessFlow, and place custom form content in line 113 in place of the rich text display field placeholder. You can also customize the form content working in design mode.

    Figure 6

    Figure 7

  10. Update table RWM_PROCESS_ONBOARDING with new columns corresponding to the questions added to the interface in the previous step.
  11. Update CDT RWM_PROCESS_ONBOARDING with the same fields, with data types and labels that match the columns in the previous step.
  12. Update the form RWM_DM_FORM_requestNewRPAProcess with the interface created from duplicating RWM_TEMPL_newProcessFlow around line 191. Use an if() statement and the constant created from duplicating RWM_VAL_DEP_MAN_STATUS_AI_REVIEWto dynamically show or hide this step. For example, if(tointeger(index(ri!process, "status", null)) = cons!<My constant>, rule!<my form>, {}).

    Figure 8

  13. Update the form RWM_requestSaveButtonText to display updated Save button text for the new form. Note that the order of labels in this expression's array should match the order of the workflow.

    Figure 9

  14. Update RWM_processOnboardingPrimarySaves at the bottom of the page with an if statement if(index(ri!process, "status",null)) = cons!<constant duplicated from RWM_VAL_DEP_MAN_STATUS_AI_REVIEW> to store any additional data or perform any logic related to the new workflow step added that are beyond what were added in CDT RWM_PROCESS_ONBOARDING in previous steps.

    Figure 10

  15. Update RWM_FM_processRecordOnboardingView with the interface duplicated from RWM_TEMPL_newProcessFlow so that the read-only records for Automation Requests will contain the new step.

    Figure 11

And that's it! If you create a new automation request from the Automation Planner, you should now see your new step with new questions present in the workflow after the automation request is first submitted.

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