Managing process instances

A system, comprising:

• a processor;
• a memory containing a program that, when executed on the processor, performs an operation, the operation comprising:
• providing, by a processor, a plurality of policies for managing existing process instances of a business process management (BPM) engine, wherein each of the plurality of policies comprises:
• a policy target descriptor specifying a set of process instances;
• an action to be executed;
• and
• a prerequisite condition to perform the action;
• receiving, by the processor, a first status change event related to a first existing process instance, wherein the first existing process instance is defined by a first process definition, wherein the first process definition specifies a first workflow to implement a first plurality of related tasks of a first process;
• matching, by the processor, the first existing process instance with a first policy of the plurality of policies, by comparing attributes of the first existing process instance to the prerequisite condition of the first policy;
• and
• in response to determining that the attributes of the first existing process instance satisfy the prerequisite condition of the first policy:
• determining, by the processor, that a plurality of existing process instances match a respective policy target descriptor of the first policy, wherein the plurality of existing process instances are defined by a second process definition that specifies a second workflow to implement a second plurality of related tasks of a second process;
• executing, by the processor, a respective action of the first policy on the plurality of existing process instances;
• and
• updating, by the processor, in an instance guarding table, a respective field of a respective row associated with each respective process instance of the plurality of existing process instances to indicate that the respective action has been performed on the respective process instance, wherein the respective row associated with each respective process instance of the plurality of existing process instances in the instance guarding table comprises:
• an identifier of the first policy;
• and
• an original status of the respective process instance that indicates whether the respective process instance was active prior to the first status change event.

A computer program product, comprising:

• a computer-readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor perform a method, the method comprising:
• providing, by a processor, a plurality of policies for managing existing process instances of a business process management (BPM) engine, wherein each of the plurality of policies comprises:
• a policy target descriptor specifying a set of process instances;
• an action to be executed;
• and
• a prerequisite condition to perform the action;
• receiving, by the processor, a first status change event related to a first existing process instance, wherein the first existing process instance is defined by a first process definition, wherein the first process definition specifies a first workflow to implement a first plurality of related tasks of a first process;
• matching, by the processor, the first existing process instance with a first policy of the plurality of policies, by comparing attributes of the first existing process instance to the prerequisite condition of the first policy;
• and
• in response to determining that the attributes of the first existing process instance satisfy the prerequisite condition of the first policy:
• determining, by the processor, that a plurality of existing process instances match a respective policy target descriptor of the first policy, wherein the plurality of existing process instances are defined by a second process definition that specifies a second workflow to implement a second plurality of related tasks of a second process;
• executing, by the processor, a respective action of the first policy on the plurality of existing process instances;
• and
• updating, by the processor, in an instance guarding table, a respective field of a respective row associated with each respective process instance of the plurality of existing process instances to indicate that the respective action has been performed on the respective process instance, wherein the respective row associated with each respective process instance of the plurality of existing process instances in the instance guarding table comprises:
• an identifier of the first policy;
• and
• an original status of the respective process instance that indicates whether the respective process instance was active prior to the first status change event.