> ### 5.4 Defining and Modifying Process Definitions

> #### 5.4.1 About making modifications

> As the creator of a process definition, you may set and modify any process definition property. However, you may not modify process definition properties once the process definition has been "published" or has active process instances. In addition, you may not modify a process definition, which is already being edited by someone else. (Instead, copy the published process definition to a new process definition with a new name and modify the new process definition as desired.)

> To make changes to an existing process definition, enter edit mode by selecting the Process Definition menu and clicking Edit. When you have completed making the changes, be sure to save the process definition again.

> Warning! By design Interstage BPM deletes all closed process instances that had been started from a draft process definition every time an edit session is started on that process definition.*

> *Ways to avoid the automatic deletion of closed process instances:

> · Make a copy of the draft process definition and make your changes to the process definition copy.
> · Edit a process instance started from the process definition, and then copy the private process definition corresponding to that process instance to a new draft process definition. For more information and instructions, see Editing Active Process Instances.

> Steps to modify each process definition property are described in detail later in this section. Many properties of a process instance are derived from its process definition, and may not be modified.

> The following are elements and properties that apply to process instances and process definitions:

> · Workflow - sequence of activities and other nodes in a process definition or process instance.
> · General attributes - name, title, and description of process definition or individual process instance.
> · Owner - the owner of a process definition is the person who created or last edited it; by default, the owner of a process instance is also the owner of the process definition from which the process instance was created. You can change process definition ownership using the Process Definitions section of the Administration Facility's User Management (see the Using the Administration Facility chapter in the Interstage Business Process Manager Administration and Installation Guide). Process ownership can be changed in the BPM Console during a process definition edit session by clicking the Properties button, then selecting the Process Owners tab of the dialog box.
> · States - process definitions can be in one of five states: Draft, Published, Private, Obsolete or Deleted. Process definitions in the Draft state are in the design stage. Only the owner of a Draft process definition can create a process instance from it (for testing purposes). When the Draft process definition is ready for general use, the process definition owner asks an Interstage BPM administrator to publish it so others can start process instances from it. If a user modifies a running process instance, a Private process definition is created for just that one process instance. For more information about process definition states, see the Interstage BPM Conceptual Model chapter in the Interstage Business Process Manager Developer's Guide. Instructions for administrators about how to modify process definition states are in the Using the Administration Client chapter in the Interstage Business Process Manager Administration and Installation Guide.
> · Versioning - new process definitions are assigned a version number of 1.0, for example Purchase Order v1.0. You can make a new version of a process definition without changing its name by clicking the Copy button with the process definition displayed in the BPM Console client. Simply enter the same name in the Copy page. The new version of the process definition will have the next whole number, in this case Purchase Order v2.0.
> · Initiator (applies to process instances only) - the person who creates the process instance from a process definition.
> · User-defined process attributes - variables with values, which the users can set on forms in an active process instance. You can also create a default value when designing the process definition.
> · Node attributes - description, behavior, and assignment of nodes.
> · Forms - documents, which allow the user to interact with data, include user-defined process attributes.
> · Timers - components that allow you to specify time-based triggers.
> · Scripts - code, which allows the server to modify the values, including assignees and user-defined process attributes.

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