JBPM — Lesson 2: Human Tasks, Forms, Variables, Rules, Decisions, and Business Logic

Learning Objectives

• Configure the main services, objects, and controls involved in human tasks, forms, and process variables.
• Apply rules and decisions while preserving reviewable technical evidence.
• Recognize and correct the risk where a valid command creates the wrong outcome because variables, identity, or sequencing are incorrect.

Detailed Topics

• human tasks: apply the concept to a development team automating an approval and case-management process with jBPM, record the relevant settings or decisions, and explain the operational consequence.
• forms: apply the concept to a development team automating an approval and case-management process with jBPM, record the relevant settings or decisions, and explain the operational consequence.
• process variables: apply the concept to a development team automating an approval and case-management process with jBPM, record the relevant settings or decisions, and explain the operational consequence.
• rules: apply the concept to a development team automating an approval and case-management process with jBPM, record the relevant settings or decisions, and explain the operational consequence.
• decisions: apply the concept to a development team automating an approval and case-management process with jBPM, record the relevant settings or decisions, and explain the operational consequence.

Instructor Demonstration

The instructor demonstrates human tasks, forms, variables, rules, decisions, and business logic by tracing the relevant architecture, commands, configuration, messages, and evidence. The walkthrough highlights how a valid command creates the wrong outcome because variables, identity, or sequencing are incorrect and shows how to isolate the cause without masking dependent issues.

Hands-On Exercise

Implement the core workflow and compare expected versus observed behavior for Human Tasks, Forms, Variables, Rules, Decisions, and Business Logic. Add verified outcomes to the BPMN process model, executable jBPM project, test evidence, and process operations guide.

1. Confirm the scope, versions, access, dependencies, and success criteria.
2. Perform the workflow while recording commands, settings, output, and platform events.
3. Test one expected case and one controlled exception specific to this lesson.
4. Retest the correction and document ownership, rollback, and follow-up actions.

Scenario Analysis

• Identify which dependency most strongly influences human tasks in the stated scenario.
• Compare two approaches for rules and explain the security, reliability, and support trade-offs.
• Decide what evidence must be retained in the BPMN process model, executable jBPM project, test evidence, and process operations guide before operational acceptance.

Troubleshooting Guidance

Begin with the first observable difference from the expected result. Check configuration, permissions, sequencing, and functional behavior separately, then correlate logs, events, commands, and configuration history. Do not accept the initial assumption that a valid command creates the wrong outcome because variables, identity, or sequencing are incorrect; confirm the cause with a reproducible retest.

Validation Checklist

• The required configuration, permissions, sequencing, and functional behavior were checked and recorded.
• The normal path and a course-specific exception were tested.
• The BPMN process model, executable jBPM project, test evidence, and process operations guide links conclusions to commands, configuration, logs, or other objective evidence.
• Corrective actions, rollback steps, ownership, and handover notes are complete.

Lesson Outcome

Learners can apply Human Tasks, Forms, Variables, Rules, Decisions, and Business Logic, explain the observed Red Hat platform behavior, and support the result with a reviewable BPMN process model, executable jBPM project, test evidence, and process operations guide.