Understanding Process Flow

Description of fields on the Process Flow page

Process - Comprised of a user-assigned process code and name.

Frequency - The default is “once” unless a recurring schedule is selected.

Start Date - Start date and time entered in the Scheduler when adding the process.

Status - Status is automatically updated based on the frequency and recurrence end date/occurrences set in the Scheduler. The status options are:

1. Unscheduled - A Process Flow that is saved without entering scheduler details or the Save & Schedule button is not selected on the Process Flow page. No Jobs are added to Job Manager for Unscheduled Process Flows.
2. Active – A Process Flow with scheduler details or the Save and Schedule button is selected on the Process Flow page, there are active jobs for the Process Flow, and the Process Flow is not expired.
3. Inactive- A Process Flow that is expired or contains no active jobs.

When you run the process flow using Run Now without scheduling, the system sets the process status to Unscheduled.

When you schedule the process flow for a one-time run without repetition, the system sets the status to Active. Once the job is completed, the system updates the status to Inactive.

If Scheduler details are modified to run an inactive job again at a later date, the status is automatically updated back to ‘Unscheduled ’ or ‘Active’.

For recurring schedules, the Process Flow status is automatically updated to ‘Inactive’ when the last job is run based on the recurrence end date or at the end of all occurrences.

How to Add a Process Flow?

To add a process flow, follow the steps below:

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Administration > Cloud Scheduler > Process Flow. 
2. Click Add from the Process Flow page. Three tabs are displayed on the Add Process Flow page: General Information, Tasks, and Scheduler.
3. High-level steps to create a process flow are:
   1. Complete the information on the General Information tab.
   2. Add tasks.
   3. Schedule to run or run immediately.

General Information

In the general information section, define the process flow Code, Name, and E-mail recipients.

Code - Mandatory. Enter up to 128 alpha-numeric or Latin-based characters. Code must be unique.

Name - Enter up to 256 alpha-numeric or Latin-based characters.

E-mail Recipients - The user creating the process flow is included as an email recipient by default. Enter e-mail recipients who you want to receive information on the status of the process flow. You can add Planful or external users as email recipients. There is no restriction to the number of e-mail addresses that can be added

Save - Save the process flow you are creating without starting it (i.e., it remains inactive even if the start date occurs). You must have at least one task to save a process flow.

Save & Schedule - Save the process flow and add it to the Job Manager to run as configured. You must have at least one task to schedule a process flow.

Run Now Arrow - Click to execute the process flow, regardless of the start and repeat parameters you have selected.

Tasks

Add one or more tasks to a process flow.

Add/Edit Task - Clicking Add/Edit Task opens the New/Edit Task dialog page. Complete the following fields:

• Task Type- Select from the following task types:
  • Data Load Rule - Process selected Data Load Rules. Only active Data Load Rules with a Cloud Services type are displayed. You must have the appropriate Data Integration permissions to view Cloud Services Data Load Rules.
  • Financial Package - Process a Financial Package.
  • Consolidation - Run the Consolidation Process. Select to include Interim Currencies, Reporting Currencies, Eliminations, Dynamic Journals and Non Controlling Interest to run as part of the Consolidation Process. When scheduling the Consolidation Process to run via Cloud Scheduler, automate the processing of journals and currencies by clicking Configurable Steps and selecting the checkboxes.
    
    Notes:

    • Interim Currency is visible when the Enable Interim Currency checkbox is enabled in the Define Currency Parameters configuration task. To learn more, refer to Using Interim Currency.
    • Reporting Currencies is visible when the set up is complete. To learn more, refer to Using Reporting Currency.
  • Dynamic Journal - Process and post active Dynamic Journals as an independent task. Inactive Dynamic Journals are not available for selection via the Cloud Scheduler. You must make inactive Dynamic Journals active via the Consolidation Control Panel to make them available for selection in Cloud Scheduler. Dynamic Journals can be processed for both the Actual scenario and other scenarios. If you select Custom Period for the Period field, additional From and To fields are displayed. This allows you to select specific dates for which to process Dynamic Journals. If you delete a Dynamic Journal from the Consolidation Control Panel that is part of a process flow in Cloud Scheduler, the Dynamic Journal will be deleted from the process flow along with all the data.
  • Report Collection - Report Collection is integrated with Cloud Scheduler so that you can schedule Report Collections to run as well as manage and track the status on individual schedules. You must have read-only permission at the very least to add Report Collections to a Process Flow. A single Report Collection can be added to multiple Process Flows. When a Report Collection is run as a task in a Process Flow, the following takes place:
    • When substitution variables are used, Cloud Scheduler uses default settings.
    • If the Report Collection is executed successfully, users are notified via email and in application notifications.
    • E-mails and report attachments are sent to users configured on the Task, E-mail recipients, and the users/user groups as configured in the Report Collection, Distribution list.
    • Output files are saved to the File Cabinet if configured in the Report Collection.
    • Folder and file security is enabled as configured in the Report Collection.
    • Output format, number of files generated, file names, sheet names, headers/footers, TOC, and member selections (order of priority) all adhere to the configurations made in the Report Collection.
    • Status is tracked through Job Manager.
  • Scenario Process - Select the Scenario Process task type, Financial or Workforce, to process in the Process Flow.
  • Simulation Engine - Selecting this Task Type displays Scenario and Process selection fields. Any Simulation Engine Process, as configured in the Simulation Process Setup screen, is available for the Scenario selected. For example, after a dataload, you can run a simulation process and then have scenario processing invoke a report collections process.
  • Currency Conversions - The Currency Conversions in Process Flow makes multi-currency reporting accessible to Structured Planning users. Now, the currency conversion process leverages the Ivy framework, resulting in faster processing time from Local to Common Currency, Interim Currencies, and Reporting currencies. While executing Currency Conversions, the Scenario is locked to avoid conflicts.
    
    Note:

    You can add a single scenario to multiple Process Flows, however, it can be used only once in each Process Flow.
  • Reclassifications Journal – Use this task type to predefine the scheduling process for Reclassification journals.
  • Recurring Journal – Auto-process recurring journals with multiple processing options using the Cloud Scheduler. This reduces the manual effort involved in processing recurring journals and posting standard journals on a predefined schedule.
  • Refresh Closed Period Data – Schedule the refresh process for closed period data in Forecast and Plan scenarios. This process runs in the background (in the cloud), minimizing time-consuming manual efforts.
  • Refresh Preloaded Data – Use this task type to automate the preloaded data process by scheduling it at predefined periods through the Cloud Scheduler feature.
  • Standard Journal – Schedule Standard Journals for a specific day or time using the Cloud Scheduler. Automating the Standard Journal posting process helps prevent delays caused by manual posting.
  • Template Snapshot – Use this task type to schedule the template snapshot creation. This automatically creates snapshots and ensures the template is consistently backed up at the roll-up level without continuous user intervention.
• Task Name – A required field. Perform a search and select the appropriate task based on the populated hierarchy in the right pane.
• Dependencies– An optional field. Select tasks which must be executed in sequence with the task you are creating. Dependency means that the new task cannot be started until the dependent tasks are successfully completed. A dependent task is executed only if the task in which it is dependent upon is successfully completed. If the task in which it is dependent upon fails, the dependent task will not execute. All tasks without dependencies are executed in parallel.

  A single task can have zero, one, or multiple dependencies. When a task has no dependencies it is added directly under Start in the Workflow. One task type can have a dependency with the same or different task type. For example, a Data Load Rule can be dependent upon another Data Load Rule. A task cannot be added as dependency to itself. Circular dependencies are not allowed. For example, Task B has a dependency on Task A so Task A cannot have a dependency on Task B.

  Note:

  A single Data Load Rule can be linked to multiple Process Flows. But a single Data Load Rule cannot be used multiple times in a single Process Flow.

• E-Mail Recipients- Default E-Mail Recipients are displayed based on the Data Load Rule. You can edit E-Mail Recipients and add or delete recipients. These changes are not reflected in the original Data Load Rule as they are specific to the Process Flow only. Both Planful users and non-users can be added to E-Mail Recipients.
  Note:

  E-mail address format is verified but the existence of the email address is not verified.

Delete - When a Task is deleted, other tasks dependent upon the task being deleted are updated and the dependency is removed.

Save - To save the Process Flow, at least one valid task must be added to the Work Flow/List View.

List View - Click to view in a list format.

Scheduler

Use the Scheduler tab to run the process flow at a scheduled date and time, or, a selected frequency.

Start Date - Select the date in which you’d like to process flow to execute.

Start Time - Select the start time in which you’d like to process flow to execute.

Time Zone - Select a UTC-specific time zone (e.g., UTC-08:00 Pacific Time, UTC-05:00 Eastern Time, etc.)

Repeat - Select to have the process execute more than once.

Repeats - Select to have the process executed daily, weekly, monthly, hourly, or by 30 or 45 minutes. You can view Process Flow schedules 5 days out in Job Manager. This applies to schedules that are configured to repeat daily, weekly, and monthly. For schedules that repeat hourly or based on minutes, the jobs are shown in Job Manager as soon as they start running. Every job added to Job Manager is first queued and begins processing based on server availability.

Recurrence Ends:

• Never – the process is executed indefinitely according to your repeat specifications.
• End after: _ occurrences – the process will no longer execute after a given number of occurrences.
• End by: - the process will no longer execute after a given date.

Auditing of Process Flow

Cloud Scheduler auditing allows you to track actions performed on process flows. By enabling this feature, you can monitor activities such as adding, deleting, and editing process flows, helping you maintain the records.

How to Enable Process Flow Auditing?

You can enable the auditing of Process Flows by following the below steps:

1. Navigate to Maintenance > Application Audit >Setup Application Audit.
2. Select the Cloud Scheduler checkbox.
3. Click Save.

How to View the Cloud Scheduler Audit Logs?

To view the Cloud Scheduler process flow actions, follow the steps below:

1. Access Maintenance > Application Audit > View Audit Log.
2. Select Cloud Scheduler from the Audit Area drop-down.
3. Optionally, use Action, From, To, and Audit Type options to narrow down the filter.
   
   Note:

   You can also change the user name from the Application User drop-down.
4. Click the View Logs button to view Cloud Scheduler process flow actions, which include Add, Delete, and Edit.
   To learn more about View Audit Log, click here. 

Overriding Substitution Variables for Report Collections and Financial Package When Running a Process Flow

When process flows for Report Collections or Financial Publishing Packages (FPP) are run, you can edit substitution variables for dynamic reports with substitution variables in the header, footer, member selections, report sets, or line headers.

The substitution variables user prompt is displayed when Process Flows are executed via Run Now.

A consolidated list of all substitution variables used in all reports across all Report Collections and FPPs mapped in the Process Flow tasks is displayed. Users can override the values before generating the report. To do so, click the Browse (arrow icon) option. Choose the desired value from the list, and click OK.