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Process access control in FlowX.AI is managed through a flexible role-based system that allows you to control who can access, view, and interact with different parts of your processes. This guide covers the complete setup and configuration of access roles for processes.

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Overview

FlowX.AI provides two main mechanisms for controlling process access:
  • Swimlanes: Group process nodes by participants and control access at the node level
  • Business filters: Restrict access based on dynamic business rules and user attributes
Both mechanisms work together to provide granular control over process security and user permissions.

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Prerequisites

Before configuring process access roles, ensure you have:
  1. Identity Provider Setup: A configured identity provider (Keycloak, Entra ID, etc.) with user roles defined
  2. Service Account: A service account with appropriate permissions in your identity provider
  3. Platform Configuration: Proper platform configuration to connect to your identity provider

Identity Provider Setup Guide

Complete guide for setting up identity provider integration

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Access Control with Swimlanes

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What are Swimlanes?

Swimlanes provide a way of grouping process nodes by process participants. They allow you to ensure that only users with specific roles can access certain process nodes. Key characteristics:
  • By default, all process nodes belong to the same swimlane
  • When a token moves between swimlanes, user access is evaluated
  • Users without access to a swimlane will see the process in read-only mode
  • Users receive notifications when access changes

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Configuring Swimlanes

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Step 1: Set Up Roles in Identity Provider

First, configure the desired user roles in your identity provider solution and assign users to the appropriate roles.
Use the Access Management tab under General Settings in FlowX Designer to administrate all roles and view their current assignments.
Access Management Roles

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Step 2: Configure Service Account

A service account with appropriate permissions must be configured in your identity provider to allow FlowX.AI to access role information.

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Step 3: Configure Swimlane Permissions

Navigate to your process definition and access the Permissions tab in the process settings panel. Here you can configure access for each swimlane. After defining roles in your identity provider solution, they will be available in the process definition settings panel for configuring swimlane access. When you create a new swimlane, it automatically comes with two default permissions assigned.

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Default Swimlane Permissions

Every process comes with a Default swimlane that includes two standard permissions:
Default Swimlane Roles
  • Execute: Users can start process instances and run actions on them
  • Self-assign: Users can assign process instances to themselves and begin working on them
These default permissions are available in FlowX.AI platform version 2.11.0 and later.

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Swimlane Execution Control

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Allow Multiple Swimlane Executors

For each swimlane, you can control execution permissions by switching between:
  • Swimlane owner + multiple executors (default)
  • Only Swimlane Owner
This setting can be configured individually for each swimlane in your process definition.
Allow Multiple Executors Configuration
When multiple executors is enabled, you gain additional flexibility to configure permissions at the UI Element level within User Tasks for the selected swimlane.
Permission-Based UI Configuration
This granular control allows you to:
  • Assign different UI elements to different roles within the same swimlane
  • Create more complex permission structures for sophisticated workflows
  • Maintain security while enabling collaborative work on process instances

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Additional Permissions

You can manually add additional permissions based on your specific requirements:

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Core Permissions

  • View: Users can view process instance data
  • Execute: Users can start process instances and run actions
  • Self-assign: Users can assign process instances to themselves

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Task Management Permissions

These permissions are specifically for use with the Task Management plugin:
  • Assign: Assign tasks to other users
  • Unassign: Remove task assignments from other users
  • Hold: Mark process instances as on hold
  • Unhold: Remove hold status from process instances
  • Change Priority: Modify task priority levels
Process Permissions Configuration
Version Compatibility:
  • 2.11.0+: Specific roles must be configured for each operation, otherwise restrictions will be applied
  • < 2.11.0: If no role is configured, no restrictions are applied

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Access Control with Business Filters

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What are Business Filters?

Business filters allow you to restrict process access based on dynamic business rules. For example, you might want only users from a specific bank branch to view process instances started from that branch.

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How Business Filters Work

Business filters use attributes that are:
  1. Configured in your identity management platform
  2. Made available on the authorization token
  3. Assigned to application users
  4. Stored in process instance parameters
When a business filter is applied, only users with matching attributes can interact with the process instance.

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Configuring Business Filters

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Step 1: Identity Provider Configuration

Configure business filter attributes in your identity provider as:
  • A list of filters on the authorization token
  • Attributes assigned to specific users

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Step 2: Process Definition Setup

In your process definition, include nodes with actions that store the current business filter value to: 
task.businessFilters
This value must be set in the process instance parameters.

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Step 3: Runtime Behavior

Once configured, only users with the correct business filter attribute can interact with process instances that have the filter applied.

Business Filters Guide

Detailed guide on implementing business filters

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Configuration Examples

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Standard User Configuration

For regular users who need basic process interaction:
Regular User Roles Example
 
Permissions:
  - execute: USER_ROLE
  - self-assign: USER_ROLE  
  - view: USER_ROLE

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Administrator Configuration

For administrators who need full process management capabilities:
Admin User Roles Example
 
Permissions:
  - execute: ADMIN_ROLE
  - self-assign: ADMIN_ROLE
  - view: ADMIN_ROLE
  - assign: ADMIN_ROLE
  - unassign: ADMIN_ROLE
  - hold: ADMIN_ROLE
  - unhold: ADMIN_ROLE
  - change-priority: ADMIN_ROLE

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Team Lead Configuration

For team leads who can manage their team’s tasks: 
Permissions:
  - execute: TEAM_LEAD_ROLE
  - self-assign: TEAM_LEAD_ROLE
  - view: TEAM_LEAD_ROLE
  - assign: TEAM_LEAD_ROLE
  - unassign: TEAM_LEAD_ROLE

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Platform Configuration

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Engine Configuration

Configure the FlowX Engine with the necessary environment variables for your identity provider:

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Required Variables

SECURITY_OAUTH2_BASE_SERVER_URL=https://your-keycloak-server.com
SECURITY_OAUTH2_CLIENT_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id
SECURITY_OAUTH2_CLIENT_CLIENT_SECRET=your-client-secret
SECURITY_OAUTH2_REALM=your-realm

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Optional Variables

# Default role for process access (default: FLOWX_ROLE)
FLOWX_PROCESS_DEFAULTROLES=CUSTOM_ROLE

# Data anonymization for sensitive information
FLOWX_DATA_ANONYMIZATION=true

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REST API Access Control

To restrict API calls by user role, configure path authorizations: 
security:
  pathAuthorizations:
    - path: "/api/**"
      rolesAllowed: "ANY_AUTHENTICATED_USER"
    - path: "/api/admin/**"  
      rolesAllowed: "ADMIN_ROLE"

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Process Instance Management

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Viewing Process Instances

Users can view active process instances and their data from FlowX Designer if they have the appropriate role (default: FLOWX_ROLE). Data Privacy: Use the FLOWX_DATA_ANONYMIZATION environment variable to configure whether sensitive user data should be hidden in process views.

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Starting Processes

The FLOWX_ROLE (or your configured default role) is required for users to start new process instances.

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Troubleshooting

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Common Issues

Users can’t see processes: Verify that users have the correct roles assigned in your identity provider and that the service account is properly configured. Permission denied errors: Check that the required permissions are configured for the specific operations and that users have the appropriate roles. Business filters not working: Ensure that business filter attributes are properly configured in the identity provider and available on the authorization token.

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Version-Specific Considerations

Platform Version < 2.11.0: If no role is configured on an operation, no restrictions will be applied. This behavior changed in version 2.11.0 where explicit role configuration became mandatory.

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Best Practices

  1. Principle of Least Privilege: Only grant the minimum permissions necessary for users to perform their tasks
  2. Role Hierarchy: Design roles hierarchically (e.g., Admin > Team Lead > User) to simplify management
  3. Regular Audits: Periodically review role assignments and permissions to ensure they remain appropriate
  4. Documentation: Maintain clear documentation of what each role can do and who should have each role
  5. Testing: Always test permission changes in a non-production environment first
  6. Business Filters: Use business filters for dynamic, data-driven access control rather than static role-based restrictions

Swimlanes

Detailed swimlanes configuration guide

Business Filters

Advanced business rules for access control

Task Management Plugin

Task management features and permissions

Identity Provider Setup

Complete identity provider configuration