The MDM Workflow Engine 

Each MDM workflow consists of a sequence of steps and allows you to orchestrate a series of data management operations that include user tasks, validations, and approvals against one or more records.

MDM workflows are a tightly integrated component of the MDM Client interface. Meanwhile, the underlying MDM workflow engine features a number of innovations that make designing, modifying, and executing workflows quick and easy for even the most non-technical MDM user:

·        Microsoft Visio design-time environment

The flow diagram representing a workflow is designed using a Microsoft Visio plug-in, making workflow definition directly accessible even to end users.

·        Task-oriented execution-time environment

Workflows move from step to step, showing up as tasks in each user’s inbound task queue within the MDM Client, ready for processing by the user.

·        Multi-record jobs

Each workflow is invoked as a job that can consist of multiple records that move through the steps of a workflow as a group while simultaneously maintaining record-level granularity.

·        Record filtering

Selecting each workflow task limits the records in the Records pane to just those records in the job, making it easy to identify and focus in on the particular records that require processing.

·        User- versus role-based execution

A step can be assigned explicitly to one or more users, or it can be assigned to one or more roles, which are expanded into the applicable users during workflow execution.

·        Group steps

A set of steps can be organized into a single group, which eliminates much of the complexity of typical flow diagrams, since a group step has just a single input and a single output.

·        Any versus all execution

Any or all of the steps in a group can be executed; similarly, a single step can be performed by any or all of its assigned users.

·        Sequential versus concurrent execution

The steps in a group can execute sequentially or concurrently; similarly, a single step can be performed sequentially or concurrently by its assigned users.

·        Push versus pull model

Receiving users can pull each task as it appears in their task queue, or sending users can push it to a particular user.

·        Validations

Workflows can invoke validations that must succeed for every record in the job, or the job is kicked back to the previous step with Validation Result columns for each validation and every record.

·        Approvals

Workflows can also require user approvals (either a single approval or the unanimous approval of all approvers), with Approval Result columns for each approver and every record.