Sequencing Process Instances

Process instances can be executed in the order they were created. ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks allows you to specify a sequencing key on process starters that determines which process instances to execute sequentially. Process instances with sequencing keys that evaluate to the same value are executed in the order they were started. Process instances can have sequencing keys that evaluate to different values, but only process instances with the same value for the sequencing key are executed sequentially. Process instances with different sequencing key values can be executed concurrently.

ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks also allows you to control process execution administratively by setting properties in the deployment configuration of the project. TIBCO Administrator allows you to control the maximum number of process instances in memory as well as the maximum number of concurrently executing process instances. Using these settings, you can specify that all process instances should be executed sequentially in the order they were created. This method is not as flexible as using the Sequencing Key field on a process starter. Using the administrator settings is only recommended when you cannot change the process definitions in the project before deployment (for example, if you purchase a pre-built project from a third party).

This section details examples of using the Sequencing Key field on the Misc tab of process starters to control the order of process execution. For more information on using TIBCO Administrator to set deployment configuration parameters, see TIBCO ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks Administration.