A search index is data that is attached to a process and is used to distinguish between cases of the process in Bonita BPM Portal. You can define up to five search indexes for a process.
For example, in a process handling insurance claims, you could define the claim number that is automatically assigned from a database to be a search index, so that you can search in Bonita BPM Portal and find the case associated with a given claim. The value of this search index would be fixed for the entire lifetime of a case. You could also define a claimState search index that is updated at key points while the claim is being handled, and could be used to find all your cases that are in a given state.