Optional actions in workflow
Not every Case follows the same workflow every time. For example, a CSR might need to temporarily update the mailing address for a scheduled delivery if the recipient is on an extended vacation, or a customer might want to cancel their request for roadside assistance if they manage to change a deflated tire on their own.
In Pega, optional Actions provide flexibility for Case resolution by providing alternatives to the standard path of a workflow.
In this topic, you explore how optional Actions can be used to control the flow of a Case at runtime.
Optional Actions
Optional Actions complement a Case by providing out-of-sequence actions that do not change the flow of a Process but help to provide additional information or processing flexibility. You can define conditions to display an Action only when it is relevant to the conditions of the Case. For example, an insurance company may have a Case Type for handling property damage from car accidents. While reporting the accident, the customer mentions having a new phone number. The customer representative uses an optional Action to update the customer's contact information.
You configure an optional Action of one specific Step as an optional user Action. For an optional Action that requires a series of Steps, you configure an optional Process. You can add optional Processes and optional user Actions as Case-wide or Stage-only Actions. If your Action or Process is relevant only in the context of a specific Stage, configure the work as a Stage-only Action.
Stage-only example
In an Online shopping Case Type, there are three Stages: Shop, Confirm Billing Details and Complete order. There is also an optional Process called Cancel Order. The Cancel Order optional Process can launch from the Confirm Billing Details Stage only. During the Shop Stage, there is no order for you to cancel, so the Cancel Order optional Process is not applicable. Because you cannot cancel an order online after the order ships, the cancellation cannot be made online during the Complete Order Stage, so the optional Process is not applicable.
Case-wide example
In the previous insurance application Case Type example, you configure the Update Phone optional Action to launch from anywhere in the Case Lifecycle so that agents can update customer contact information at any time during the Case.
Match the numbers to the following image to learn more about optional actions:
- Case-wide Actions: Configure Case-wide optional Processes and Actions to be launched from anywhere in the Case Lifecycle.
- Stage-only optional Actions: Configure Stage-only optional Processes and Actions to be launched only from a specific Stage.
- Optional Actions: An optional Action is a single action that a user can invoke at any time during a particular Stage, or at any time during the Case. Examples of optional actions include editing details on a single View or changing the Case to a different Stage.
Note: Optional Processes are a series of Steps that a user can invoke at any time during a particular Stage, or at any time during the Case. At run time, both optional Processes and optional user actions are accessible from the Actions menu in the Case.
Promoted Actions
Promoted Actions are a specific way of highlighting certain Optional Actions on the Full Case View. A promoted Action is displayed as a button on the heading of the Full Case View to give it more visibility. Promoted Actions give users quick access to a frequently used Action, like Change Stage.
The optional Action that is selected to be a promoted Action is determined by the following conditions:
- Each Case Type supports one promoted Action.
- The promoted Action is the first Stage-wide Action.
- The promoted Action is the first Case-wide Action if no Stage-only Action is available.
Check your knowledge with the following interaction:
This Topic is available in the following Module:
If you are having problems with your training, please review the Pega Academy Support FAQs.
Want to help us improve this content?