© 2007 IBM Corporation SOA on your terms and our expertise Software WebSphere Process Server and Portal Integration Overview

© 2007 IBM Corporation

SOA on your terms and our expertise

Software

WebSphere Process Server and Portal Integration Overview


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Agenda

Portal / Process Integration Concepts

Interface Overview

Architecture and Development Environment Overview

Developing a Process Portal


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Best Practices from Current Customers Achieving Business Flexibility through Business Process Management (BPM)

1

4 Achieve real-time visibility into processes

3 Deploy BPM on a dynamic SOA Platform

2 Create services with business and IT linkage

Model and simulate the process


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Business Process Concepts Process Portal - A Process Portal is a portal in a process-driven environment.

Business Process Application - an application that people use to manage the flow of tasks and information required to achieve a business goal.

Processes - A business process is defined by the process model, which is specified by a process template.

Process Management - The Manage Processes portlet displayed on the My Processes page, lists all of the process and task templates installed on the WebSphere Process Server. New process instances can be launched, running process instances can be analyzed and terminated or deleted as appropriate.

Tasks - Every business process has tasks that must be performed and completed, either automated tasks performed by the system or human tasks performed by users working with the application.

Task Page - Each human task template can contain a reference to a portal task page definition that shall be used to render task instances of this task template.

Task List - The Task List portlet, displayed on the My Tasks page, displays all of the tasks assigned to the current user. Users can filter the list to show all tasks, claimed tasks, and tasks not claimed.

Task Processing - Users can add the generic Task Processing portlet to task pages to show a generic user interface for tasks by displaying a form user interface for the BPEL input and output messages of the task. Line of business users typically appreciate a more dedicated user interface for working with tasks.

More information at: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wpdoc/v6r1/topic/com.ibm.wp.ent.doc_v6101/bizproc/bpi_concepts.html


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Enabling Process Integration in Portal To enable business process integration in your WebSphere Portal

environment, you install the WebSphere Process Server Client on top of WebSphere Portal and run the configuration task for enabling process integration.

Must understand the concept of:

– Cross Cell Deployment Scenarios - In a cross-cell deployment, IBM WebSphere Portal is managed in a cell that is separate from the cell of the IBM WebSphere Process Server server to which it connects.

– Single Cell Deployment Scenarios - In a single-cell deployment, IBM WebSphere Portal is managed in the same cell with the IBM WebSphere Process Server server to which it connects.

Must verify the setup of process integration More information at: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wpdoc/v6r1/topic/com.ibm.wp.ent.doc_v6101/bizproc/bpi_setup.html


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Custom ClientCustom Client

Business Process Choreographer (Processes and Human Tasks)Business Process Choreographer (Processes and Human Tasks)

JSF ComponentsJSF Components

Process PortalProcess Portal

Task PageTask PageTask

PageTask PageTask

PortletTask Portlet

• Work with tasks• Portlet based• “Task list” portlet• “Work on task”

portletsorCustom written

Custom ClientCustom Client

Task PageTask Page

Task PageTask Page

Task PageTask Page

• Remote web application

• Portal application

• Any client technology EJB, JMS, Web services

• Multiple platforms J2EE, .NET

• Range of client types Thin clients Rich clients Portal-based

WPS Provided User ClientsWPS Provided User ClientsExplorer• Manage tasks &

processes• Web application• Customizable

View by exampleTask forms (JSP)Look & feel

Observer • View

aggregated state

• Based on historical data

• Web application

• Custom queriesTask

PageTask PageTask

PageTask PageCustom

JSPCustom

JSP

Process & Human Task Administrators

Business users

Customer-written application

Customer-written application(Tools/Generator support)

IBM deliverable (supported)

New Workflow Client Generator Framework Easily build custom business user applications from powerful components Extensible – customer or third party can add own generators Generators get data and model access from framework

Range of Workflow ClientsEasily build custom business user applications from powerful components


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Comparison of the programming interfaces for interacting with business processes and human tasks

EJB Inteface Web Service Interface JMS Message Interface

Rest Interface

Functionality Clients that work generically with processes and tasks

Clients for a known set of processes and tasks.

Messaging clients for a known set of processes.

Web 2.0-style clients for a known set of processes and tasks.

Data Handling Supports remote artifact loading of schemas for accessing business object metadata.

Schema artifacts for input data, output data, and variables, must be available in an appropriate format on the client.



Client Environment A WebSphere Process Server installation or a WebSphere Process Server client installation.

Any runtime environment that supports Web service calls, including Microsoft® .NET environments.

Any runtime environment that supports JMS clients, including SCA modules that use SCA JMS imports.

Any runtime environment that supports REST clients.

Security Java™ Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) security.

Web services security. Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) security for the WebSphere Process Server installation. You can also secure the queues where the JMS client application puts the API messages, for example, using WebSphere MQ security mechanisms.

Client application that call the REST methods must use an appropriate HTTP authentication mechanism.

More Information at: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/dmndhelp/v7r0mx/topic/com.ibm.websphere.bpc.doc/doc/bpc/cbpcapi_compare.html


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Process Server API's correspond with the Service Components


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Portal / Process Server Integration Development Architecture

WebSphere Business Modeler

Business Process ModelMonitoring Model

Product Purpose User

IBM Rational Application Developer

Provides wizards and tools for developing portlets.

Portlet Developer

IBM WebSphere Integration Developer

Provides the Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) process editor used to define business processes. Includes a runtime environment for testing and debugging business processes. Can directly generate specific task processing portlets for individual human task from within the business process definition.

Process designer

WebSphere Business Modeler

Provides the ability to design the Business models and identify the Key Performance Indicators to be used for developing the business process appliation

Business Analyst

IBM WebSphere Portal Integrated with IBM Process Server

Provides the portal framework for users to view and manage the installed and deployed business process applications.

Portal Administrator


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High Level Business Process Integration

WebSphere Process Server

BPEL Process

Human Task

WebSphere Portal Server

My Task Portlet

Task 1

Task 2

Task 3

Task 1 Processing

Portlet

To do task

Completed task

Source: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/ibm/library/i-odoebp18/

The My Tasks portlet is used in the portal server, which lists all to do tasks (tasks that need to be worked on and completed). Manual

Steps

IBM® WebSphere® Portal uses dynamic task pages that provide user interfaces in which the current states of the associated business processes are displayed.


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Basic paradigm of multi-participant human task workflow

WPSWPS

Reserver Flight

Reserver Hotel

Reserver Car

CLAIM

COMPLETE

CLAIM

COMPLETE

CLAIM

COMPLETE

Basically, any human task must be claimed before it can be worked on by someone


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Typical Flow of Control Single Person

When the same person is working on a different part of the process instance that person should only need one claim

Reserver Flight

Reserver Hotel

Reserver Car

CLAIM

COMPLETE

CLAIM

COMPLETE

CLAIM

COMPLETE

WPSWPS


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Developing a Process Portal

This information is based on the Redbook “Human-Centric Business Process Management with WebSphere Process Server V6 ( http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/SG247477/wwhelp/wwhimpl/java/html/wwhelp.htm )

Portals are the ideal interface for the human component of business processes.

A process portal has two distinct portlet types:

– An originating portlet ( process initiation )

– A participant portlet ( task processing )


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Components of Process Portal (Participant Portal)


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Process Portals

Are defined by

– Originating (Kicker) Portlets that are designed to start business processes by initiating an instance of a process template

– Participating Portlets that are responsible for retrieving the business message ( payload) from the Human Task Manager (HTM) and sharing business context with other portlets on the page.


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Thank YouMerci

Grazie

Gracias

Obrigado

Danke

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© 2007 IBM Corporation SOA on your terms and our expertise Software WebSphere Process Server and Portal Integration Overview