Managing business transactions

Overview

This article covers how to add, update, import, export, and clone business transactions within a business process in the Custom Logging (push model) type of Business Activity Monitoring (BAM). Transactions define the units of work that BAM tracks end-to-end, grouping stages together under a named, measurable flow.

Business value

Configuring transactions gives you the structure BAM needs to correlate individual stage events into coherent, traceable flows. Once defined, each transaction instance provides a clear timeline of what happened, in what order, and with what outcome — replacing fragmented log searches with a single operational view.

Prerequisites

A business process must already exist before you can add transactions to it. Transactions cannot be created in isolation.

Required permissions

The Manage transactions permission is also granted to users with the Account owner, Contributor, or Reader role.

How it works

Transactions in the Custom Logging type contain fields that control how BAM identifies, tracks, and retains transaction data. Key fields include tracking name (the identifier used internally when sending stage data), friendly name (the label shown in the BAM UI), direction (Inbound or Outbound), reprocess status configuration, and the purge period for older data.

The Custom Logging model receives stage events pushed directly from your integration components — Logic App connectors, the .NET library, or APIM proxies — so transaction definitions here determine what the BAM API expects to receive at runtime.

Steps

Use the following steps to manage transactions within a business process. Navigate to your business process in Business Activity Monitoring and select Transactions to get started.

Add a transaction

Adding a transaction creates a new trackable unit of work within the business process.

1. Go to the Transactions section in a business process.
2. Click Add in the Transactions pane.
3. Enter a Tracking name — the identifier used in stage data sent to BAM to match events to this transaction.
4. Enter a Friendly name — the display label shown in the BAM UI for this transaction.
5. Select Inbound or Outbound from the Direction dropdown.
6. Choose one or more statuses under which a transaction instance can be reprocessed. Instances whose status does not match any selected status cannot be reprocessed.
7. Enter a time period in the Purge data older than field to automatically remove data older than that threshold.
8. Click Create.

Update a transaction

Updating a transaction lets you change its configuration without losing existing transaction instances.

1. Go to the Transactions section in a business process.
2. Click the Edit icon next to the transaction you want to update.
3. Make the required changes. The editable fields vary depending on the current BAM configuration.
4. Click Update.

Import a transaction

Importing lets you synchronize transactions from a previously exported JSON file. Before confirming, BAM shows the status of each transaction in the file relative to the current business process.

1. Navigate to the Transactions section within the business process.
2. Click Import, select the exported transactions JSON file, and click Open.
3. Select transactions marked Added or Modified to include them. To remove transactions no longer present in the file, select those marked Not Found.
4. Click Proceed.

Export a transaction

Exporting saves the selected transactions to a JSON file that you can use to import into another business process or environment.

1. Navigate to the Transactions section within the business process.
2. Click the Export icon in the Transactions pane.
3. Select the transactions to export.
4. Click Export. The selected transactions are compiled into a downloadable JSON file.

Clone a transaction

Cloning creates a copy of an existing transaction, preserving its stage structure and reprocess configuration as a starting point for a new transaction.

1. Go to the Transactions section in a business process.
2. Click the Clone icon next to the transaction you want to copy.
3. Enter a Tracking name and a Friendly name for the cloned transaction and click Next.
4. Review the list of stages that have reprocess configuration. Edit or remove any reprocess configurations before proceeding.
5. Click Clone.

Troubleshooting

1. Transaction does not appear in the tracking UI after creation
   Cause: The tracking name used in the stage event does not match the tracking name defined in BAM.
   Fix: Verify that the tracking name in your integration component (Logic App connector, .NET library call, or APIM proxy) matches exactly the tracking name configured on the transaction.

2. Import fails to apply changes
   Cause: The JSON file was exported from a different business process or BAM environment and contains tracking names that conflict with existing transactions.
   Fix: Review the import status table before proceeding. Deselect any Modified entries you do not want to override.

3. Transaction instances cannot be reprocessed
   Cause: The transaction instance's current status is not included in the reprocess status list configured on the transaction.
   Fix: Edit the transaction and add the relevant status (e.g. Failed) to the reprocess status list.

4. Purge period removes data sooner than expected
   Cause: The purge period set on the transaction is shorter than the retention window your team needs.
   Fix: Edit the transaction and increase the value in the Purge data older than field.

5. Clone option is greyed out
   Cause: The business process is not using the Custom Logging type. Cloning is not available in the Data Queries type.
   Fix: Confirm the BAM type on the business process. If you need a similar transaction in a Data Queries process, recreate it manually.

Related articles

• Business transactions
• Configuring stages in a transaction
• Managing business processes