Stream Integration Blog Data Governance and IBM InfoSphere Information Server, Part 4: IGC Workflow

In this installment, we discuss setting up and working with the Workflow function in IGC. This function allows you to "promote to production" business assets within the tool and maintains a history of who changed what and when.First, we will walk through turning Workflow on. Second, we will walk the Categories from the last installment through the publishing process.The Workflow functionality in IGC allows you to manage the process of development and publishing business assets, including Business Terms, Categories (Business Domains), Policies, and Business Rules.Before Workflow is turned on, you will see only the "Catalog." All assets that are created are shown in this "Catalog." Once Workflow is enabled, you will see both a "Glossary Development" and a "Catalog." All assets are now created in "Glossary Development" and must be published to be viewed by the entire organization in the "Catalog." Your process may require multiple inputs and reviews from different parts of the organization before an asset can be published. There may even be some give and take that needs to occur before business assets can be released to the greater enterprise for general consumption.Note: Prolifics has tried and true processes for navigating terms and definitions through creation, review, and approval. Please contact us if you would like more information.Turning Workflow OnYou will need Administrator privileges to turn on Workflow. Here's how:Log in as Administrator.Go to the "Administration" section on the black bar: Go to "Catalog Management/Workflow:" Turn on Workflow by checking the box next to "Enable Workflow" and clicking "Save:"CAUTION: If Workflow is already enabled and you turn it off, everything that has not been published will be lost.Note: Ignore the "Workflow Role Assignments" that appears when you click "Enable Workflow." We will cover that in a different installment.You should now see the green phrase: Workflow is enabled.Go back up to the black bar, hover over "Administration," and verify you can see:CatalogGlossary DevelopmentAdministrationPublishing an AssetWe are going to take one asset, "Auto_Loaded_Category" from the last installment, and publish it. Now that we have Workflow on, you can go to the Catalog and verify that you cannot see it when you look in:Glossary/Category HierarchyIf you now go to Glossary Development, you can see that Category. The icon next to it is blue and has a pencil, indicating we are still working on it and it is not available for enterprise consumption.Once an asset is entered, the next step is to send it for approval:Click on the asset.Under the asset details, in this case "Category Details," click on the "Send for Approval" button: A comment box comes up. Enter any relevant notes, then click OK:Once the approval review process has run its course, the asset is either approved or returned to draft. Approve the asset:Again a comment box comes up that will all you to enter any relevant notes, the click OK:The final step is to publish the asset making it available to the enterprise for consumption.Publish the asset:You will receive a warning that this will overwrite any changes currently in the Catalog. Click "Yes" to proceed and then click "OK" in the subsequent comment box.This asset will now be viewable in the Catalog.Publishing Multiple AssetsYou will rarely want to publish just one asset. Here is a quick guide on how to do it by the batch.You can publish multiple assets at once by going to Glossary (gray bar)/Develop and then clicking on the appropriate Workflow area you want to find assets under:From there, you can select the assets you want. I used "select all items" in the dropdown on the right. You can further refine your list by clicking on the funnel, which brings up Filters on the left, which is the subject for a different installment. Ronald ZurawskiSenior Technical ArchitectRon's experience includes 4 years of working Policy Driven Data Governance with the IBM's InfoSphere Information Server and 20+ years covering the entire spectrum of Enterprise Data Warehousing.His strategic experience includes Strategic planning, systems architecture, Program and Project Management. His tactical experience includes analytics development, architecture, ETL and database administration. Ron has experience in both Big 4 and Boutique Professional Services organizations. His goal in this blog is to provide easy to find simple concise solutions to common tasks. Policy Driven Data Governance refers to prioritizing, implementing and exposing that information directly related to the organization's primary objectives. Having a common agreed upon terminology is the first step to efficiently moving forward together. Ron holds a MBA from the University of California and an MSCS from the University of Colorado.Author Image: