With AgilePoint NX 7.0 SU2, WebHooks were introduced and have since enabled completely new ways of reacting to events in the AgilePoint system. With AgilePoint V8, WebHooks have now left the beta stage. Nevertheless, we noticed that this feature is still quite unknown. For this reason, we want to go into it a bit in this blog post.
What are WebHooks?
WebHooks are used to respond to an event in real time. It basically works like a subscription. To illustrate with an example: If I want to read a newspaper article online, I have to actively go to the desired website and I can select the latest article there. This means that as long as I don’t actively go to the website myself, I don’t know whether there are new articles. With a subscription, however, I can now tell the newspaper that I want to be informed as soon as a new article has been published.
This is exactly what happens with WebHooks. Normally, I have to query the target system via an API to know if something has changed. With a WebHook, however, I can turn the tables. When registering a WebHook, I can specify at which event the WebHook should be triggered and to which URL (WebHook Endpoint) this information should be sent.
What kind of WebHooks are available on AgilePoint?
AgilePoint WebHooks can be accessed from Administration -> System -> Webhooks and offer two main categories.
1. Workflow/Instance based
This WebHook can be used to react to events of running process instances. For example, it can be selected that the WebHook should be triggered when a process is started, when a task is finished or when a mail is sent:
This selection can be further refined by specifying for which application/process or even process instance the event can be triggered and whether the WebHook is only active for a certain time.
2. Access control based
These are administrative events. These are triggered as soon as someone has changed something in the users, groups or roles.
Monitoring the access controls can thus ensure that no one makes unnoticed changes to the rights.
What are the use cases for WebHooks?
There are countless possibilities:
Ensure that no one changes permissions unnoticed
Immediately notify the respective process owner if one of his processes has encountered a problem
Ensure that all emails are sent
Monitor which processes are triggered
Immediately notify stakeholders when a task is not completed on time
Monitor how tasks are shared (ensure sensitive information does not go to uninvolved parties)
These scenarios can be implemented with WebHooks. This requires AgilePoint WebHooks and a WebHook endpoint that receives the data and processes it according to the organization’s governance. The architecture for implementing the above use cases varies from organization to organization. Factors such as the existing IT landscape, existing monitoring software or internal/external specifications usually determine the setup.
One way we have already implemented is to use AgilePoint to build a type of self-monitoring. We have developed a RESTful API based on .Net Core. This runs on the same IIS as AgilePoint.
The API receives the event, checks the type of event, and triggers an appropriate process on AgilePoint based on the information.
The advantages of this approach are:
No additional infrastructure needs to be built for this
Die API kann nur lokal oder auch nach aussen Erreichbar gemacht werden
Again, since an AgilePoint process is invoked, all the business logic for handling an error, reporting to responsible parties, etc. is handled in an AgilePoint process. This approach alone has several advantages.
The processes can be managed by the customer
Maximum transparency
Adaptations to business logic can be implemented quickly without writing a line of code
Easy extensibility for new WebHooks or events
Conclusion
AgilePoint offers a powerful tool with the WebHooks. Being able to respond to specific events in real time allows problems to be identified and resolved quickly. This builds confidence with end users and helps AgilePoint managers monitor the system as a whole. If you are interested or have any questions, be sure to talk to us now. You are also welcome to contact us to learn more about the low-code/no-code projects currently underway.