When a user is working on a case, they may need to launch a separate but related case to resolve a customer’s need. In Pega Customers Service, you have the flexibility to control how this new case is displayed to the user.
This guide demonstrates two ways to launch a secondary case from within a primary case:
-
As a new, separate Interaction
-
Embedded directly within the current Interaction context
Prerequisites
This is for Pega Customer Service applications only. Running Constellation and Infinity ‘25.
Demonstration
We begin inside an active case—in this example, a “General Service Request”. From the Actions menu, we have configured two custom processes to demonstrate the different behaviors.
Full Video
Detailed Guidance
Scenario 1: Launching in a New Tab
In this scenario, we want the new case to open as a completely separate Interaction that the user can navigate to.
-
Configuration: Process with a create case shape
-
Action: From the primary case, we select our first process, “SpinOffAddressChange”.
-
Result: A new “Address Change” case is created and automatically opens in a new tab in the portal. The user can now see two tabs: the original “Interaction” and the new “Address change” case, and can switch between them as needed.
Scenario 2: Launching Embedded in the Same View
Here, we want the user to complete the new case as part of the workflow of the original Interaction, without navigating away.
-
Configuration: Process, with an assignment, followed by create case shape.
-
Action: From the primary case, we select our second process, “SpinOffAddressChange2”.
-
Result: The new “Address Change” case is created and its screen is rendered directly within the content area of the original Interaction.
Configuration in App Studio
This behavior is configured using Optional Actions in the case type’s life cycle.
-
In App Studio, navigate to your primary case type (e.g.,
General service request). -
From the settings, find the section for case-wide optional actions.
-
To create the spin-off actions, click + Action and select Process.
The difference between the two scenarios lies in how these processes are configured:
Configuration for Scenario 1 (New Interaction)
Create a process that contains a single Create case step. When this process is run, it creates the new case and the default behavior is to open it as a new interaction (tab).
Configuration for Scenario 2 (Embedded)
Create a process that begins with a user assignment, such as a Start Case step that displays a confirmation screen. Follow this with the Create case step. This initial assignment signals to Constellation that the subsequent case should be processed within the current view.
Summary
To control how a spin-off case is launched in Constellation:
-
To launch in a new interaction: Create an optional process that directly uses the
Create caseshape. -
To launch embedded in the current interaction: Create an optional process that begins with a user assignment before the
Create caseshape.- However, there is a known behavior in the approach in that the new/launched case overwrites the existing case in the Task manager. We’re discussing how this could be resolved in a future release, but currently in Infinity ‘25, there is no control for that behavior.
This powerful feature allows you to design more flexible and intuitive workflows for your users.
Hope this helps you build better case processing experiences!
Constellation 101 Series
Enjoyed this article? See more similar articles in Constellation 101 series.

