Managing a run cycle group definition from the UI

The purpose of the following scenario is to show how to use run cycle groups in the context of an example.

About this task

This scenario describes how to use a single run cycle group to synchronize a multi-stage vendor payment process.

Alex, a financial analyst at a leather goods company, must manage two distinct workflows:
  • prep_wf: Preparation tasks to review invoices and verify liquidity;
  • payments_wf: Tasks to generate and send bank files.
By referencing the same run cycle group for both workflows, Alex ensures that the preparation tasks always occur 3 workdays before the payment process. This creates a single point of control: if Alex updates the payment dates in the run cycle group, the preparation schedule adjusts automatically.

Scheduling requirements:

  • Vendor weekly payments: occur every Monday at 9:00 AM;
  • Vendor monthly payments: occur on the 27th day of each month to close the accounting cycle;
  • Preparation lead time: 3 workdays before the target payment date;
  • Inventory suppression: payments must not run during the monthly inventory week, defined in the FISCAL_INV_2026 calendar;
  • Holiday rule: if a payment date falls on a holiday, the process must run on the nearest preceding workday. The same logic applies if a payment date falls on a weekend. Holidays are defined in the HOLIDAYS_2026 calendar.
Prerequisites
  • Create the prep_wf and payments_wf workflows.
  • Create the FISCAL_INV_2026 and HOLIDAYS_2026 calendars.

Procedure

  1. Create a run cycle group named RCG_payments:
    1. In the HCL Universal Orchestrator UI, click Design and create a workspace named payments_workspace.
    2. From the Assets tab, click Create new and select Run cycle group.
    3. In the Name field, type RCG_payments.
    4. Under Scheduling options, in the Non-working days calendar field, select HOLIDAYS_2026.
  2. Define the inclusion rules for the weekly payments:
    1. Click RCG_payments in the breadcrumb menu, go to Subsets section, click Add new and name the subset RCG_payments_subset.
    2. Under Run cycle, click Add new and name it RC_WEEKLY.
    3. Set Non-working days rule to Select nearest workday before non-working day.
    4. In the Rule section, set the Type to Cron expression.
    5. In the Expression field, enter 0 9 * * 1 (every Monday at 9:00 AM).
  3. Define the inclusion rules for the monthly payments:
    1. Click RC_WEEKLY in the breadcrumb menu, click Add new and name it RC_MONTHLY.
    2. Set Non-working days rule to Select nearest workday before non-working day.
    3. In the Rule section, set the Type to ICalendar RRule.
    4. In the Expression field, enter FREQ=MONTHLY;BYMONTHDAY=27.
  4. Define the exclusion rules for the inventory week:
    1. Click RCG_payments in the breadcrumb menu, go to Subsets section, click Add new and name the subset RCG_inventory_subset.
    2. Under Excluding run cycle, click Add new and name it RC_INVENTORY.
    3. Set the toggle to Logical AND.
    4. In the Rule section, set the Type to Calendar.
    5. In the Calendar field, select FISCAL_INV_2026.
  5. Click RCG_payments in the breadcrumb menu and click Add.
  6. Configure the preparation workflow:
    1. From the Assets tab, drag the prep_wf workflow onto the canvas.
    2. In the prep_wf workflow box, click Add triggers > Add new > Run cycle.
    3. In the Name field, type vendor_payments_rc.
    4. In the Rule section, set the Type to Run cycle group and select RCG_payments.
    5. Set the Offset value to -3.
  7. Configure the vendor payments workflow:
    1. From the Assets tab, drag the payments_wf workflow onto the canvas.
    2. In the payments_wf workflow box, click Add triggers > Add new > Run cycle.
    3. In the Name field, type vendor_payments_rc.
    4. In the Rule section, set the Type to Run cycle group and select RCG_payments.
  8. Deploy the workspace.

Results

You centralized the scheduling logic for the multi-stage vendor payment process. The engine evaluates the RCG_payments run cycle group for both workflows. The following logic is applied to handle holidays and lead times:
Holiday and weekend shifting
If the 27th of the month falls on a Saturday or a holiday defined in HOLIDAYS_2026, the HCL Universal Orchestrator first applies the Non-working days rule. Because Alex selected Select nearest workday before, the target payment date is shifted to the preceding Friday.
Lead time calculation
After the payment date is fixed, the offset is calculated. If the 27th of the month is a Tuesday, HCL Universal Orchestrator identifies the target date from the run cycle group. It then calculates 3 workdays back, skipping the weekend, and automatically schedules the prep_wf for the preceding Thursday.
Centralized maintenance
If a new emergency inventory week is added to the FISCAL_INV_2026 calendar, both the preparation and payment workflows are suppressed simultaneously for those dates.
Operational alignment
The preparation workflow is guaranteed to occur in relation to the payment date, maintaining the required 3-day window for financial auditing without manual scheduling adjustments.