Designing a Case Life Cycle

Effective case management requires individual contributors to complete steps in a coordinated manner so they can resolve cases efficiently. A case life cycle design is a visual model used to define the major steps of how work gets done. Case life cycle design provides a more natural, business-friendly way to develop an application.

Business applications are the foundation of every organization. These business applications are used to automate the work to be completed to achieve specific business outcomes. For example, opening a new account, ordering merchandise online, or filing an accident claim.

A Business View of Work

To help business users effectively achieve business outcomes, they need a way to work in a coordinated manner. Business applications should function in the same way business users naturally think about and describe their work.

Business users often think of the work they do — investigating a fraud claim, processing a loan application — as a case. Business users understand, and work with the case as it moves from one person to the other, from one part of the organization to another. What business users are describing is the life cycle of a case — how they manage the case as it is opened, worked on, and resolved.

 A Case is work performed to produce a specific business outcome.

Case life cycle design

Case life cycle design is a modeling technique Pega uses to describe, in business terms, how a business application should work. Case life cycle design allows business users to see, and interact with a case in the same way they think about it and to work in a coordinated manner across accounts, departments and applications

Case Type

A case type is used in Pega 7 to model the life cycle of a case. Case types are generally named after the case they represent. For example, a case type for:

1. Insurance claims for car accidents might be named Insurance Claim.
2. Loan applications for a new vehicle might be named Auto Loan.
3. Processing mortgage applications might be name Home Loan.

Guidelines for Naming Case Types

Case types are generally named after the case they represent.

For example, a case type used to process loan applications for a new vehicle might be named Auto Loan, while a case type used to process mortgage applications might be name Home Loan

The name given to the case type is usually only one or two words. For example, a case type used to open new accounts might be named New Account.

Use names that are relevant and meaningful to the business users. For example, a case type used to process auto accident claims might be named Accident Claim.

Use a singular context when naming case types. For example, a case type used to process a fraudulent credit card charge might be named Fraud Claim.

Stage

A stage is the first level of organizing work in your case type.

It contains the workflows, or processes, that users follow before they can move a case to the next phase in the case life cycle.

Stages represent the most likely course of action that leads to the expected outcome for a completed case.

In a case life cycle, stages that lead to the expected outcome are called primary stages. The sequence of primary stages is often referred to as the happy path.

Guidelines for Defining Stages 

Stages typically represent the transfer of the case from one authority to another, or from one part of the organization to another.
Stages may also represent a significant change in the status of the case.

Use names that are most meaningful and relevant to the business users. Use a noun, or noun phrase, to describe the context of the stage. As much as possible, try to limit the stage name to no more than two words.

Consider limiting the number of stages in any given case type to 7, plus or minus 2. If you find yourself needing more than 10 stages, consider combining one or more stages, or using a separate case type.

If you find yourself needing more than 10 stages, consider combining one or more stages, or using a separate case type.

On the minimum side, do not be concerned if a case has only one or two stages. Focus on maintaining a maximum number of stages in any given case type and the minimum will work itself out.

Process Steps

By organizing related tasks into processes, you can control how, when, and by whom work is performed in each stage of the case life cycle.

Guidelines for Defining Process Steps
By organizing related tasks into processes, you can control how, when, and by whom work is performed in each stage of the case life cycle.
Consider every process as a distinct action taken to help resolve a case. Finally, every process should have a goal that can be expressed as a singular outcome.