Workflow in action at Sandia

Error 404--Not Found

From RFC 2068 Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1:

10.4.5 404 Not Found

The server has not found anything matching the Request-URI. No indication is given of whether the condition is temporary or permanent.

If the server does not wish to make this information available to the client, the status code 403 (Forbidden) can be used instead. The 410 (Gone) status code SHOULD be used if the server knows, through some internally configurable mechanism, that an old resource is permanently unavailable and has no forwarding address.

Workflow in action at Sandia

IntraNet, 9/22/97

Sandia National Laboratories began its Web-based workflow initiative last November with a foreign travel request application and is following with the rollout this November of an electronic purchase requisition application.

Sandia uses Metro, a Webized version of Action Technologies, Inc.’s client/server workflow package, as the basis for these and other similar applications in the works. Sandia’s workflow team, however, has customized Metro to its particular environment.

For example, the team integrated Sandia’s Sybase, Inc. database with Metro rather than relying on Microsoft Corp.’s SQL Server used by Action. To do so, the workflow developers built a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) program that stores and retrieves most of the content entered and viewed by users via HTML forms in the Sybase database.

A CGI script acts as a transaction center for business forms returned to the Web server. The script extracts the data, stores it in the database and then calls Metro’s APIs to record what has happened so that Metro can decide the next step in the business process.

In this model, HTML/JavaScript forms call the Workflow CGI program, which validates fields against the Sybase tables and stores new transactions in the appropriate tables. The Workflow CGI program then calls Metro, passing on only the key fields needed to retrieve the transaction again from the database. The following screen captures show what Sandia employees view when working their way through these applications.

Foreign Travel

A scientist at Sandia is invited to attend a conference in France, but before he can do so, he needs to obtain an OK from the DOE. To begin the approvals process, the scientist heads to the company Web and goes to the Foreign Travel pages. To initiate a request, he clicks on the "Preliminary" button and fills in the form presented. Electronic Purchase Requisition

A manager at Sandia needs a new desktop computer system, so he heads to the Electronic Purchase Requisition site on the internal Web. He knows there’s an existing purchase requisition that he just needs to modify, so he fills in the appropriate number, in this case AA-1002, and submits the form.

After submitting his request, the manager reviews the Requester Information, which shows his name, the name of the person who initiated the request – his assistant, for example – and the name of somebody to contact in case either he or his assistant cannot be reached.

Scrolling down the page, the manager then needs to fill out a form that allows him to specify the particulars of the desktop computer system he wants. After he’s finished doing so, he clicks on the "Validate" button, which triggers the validation process.

After the purchase requisition is validated, the request is sent to the Web-based workflow system. The workflow system delivers a screen showing who needs to approve the purchase and who will be notified of the request. After reviewing the list, the manager can submit the request for processing.

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