Business Process Modeling: IBM Sterling B2B Integrator
Business Process Modeling: IBM Sterling B2B Integrator
Business Process Modeling: IBM Sterling B2B Integrator
Copyright
This edition applies to Version 5 Release 2 of Sterling B2B Integrator and to all subsequent releases and
modifications until otherwise indicated in new editions.
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2000, 2016.
US Government Users Restricted Rights – Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract
with IBM Corp.
Contents
Business Process Modeling . . . . . . 1 Business Process Model Validation. . . . . . 45
About Business Processes . . . . . . . . . . 1 Creating a Business Process Definition . . . . 47
Business Process Models . . . . . . . . . 1 About Checking in Business Process Models . . 47
Benefits of Business Process Modeling Flexibility . 2 Business Process Model Testing. . . . . . . 48
Business Process Capabilities . . . . . . . . 3 Business Process Model Processing Options . . 48
Business Process Concepts . . . . . . . . . 5 Checking In Business Process Models Through
Business Process Model Components . . . . . 8 the GPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Business Process Flow . . . . . . . . . . 8 Checking In a Business Process Model Using the
Business Process Management Activities . . . . 10 Text Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Planning Business Process Models . . . . . . . 11 Checking In a New Business Process Model
How to Approach Business Process Planning . . 11 Using Sterling B2B Integrator Interface . . . . 61
Business Process Model Planning Stages . . . . 12 Checking In a New Version of an Existing
Identifying Business Needs . . . . . . . . 13 Business Process Version in Sterling B2B
Identifying Activities in a Business Process . . . 13 Integrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Identifying Subprocesses . . . . . . . . . 14 Testing a Business Process Model in Sterling B2B
Identifying Opportunities for Automation . . . 15 Integrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Identifying Integration Points in Your Process . . 17 Modifying and Managing Business Process Models 64
Organizing Your Business Process Models . . . 19 Business Process Version Management . . . . 64
Maximizing Visibility Into Business Processes . . 22 Checking Out a Business Process Model Using
Using Predefined Business Process Models . . . 24 the GPM Source Manager . . . . . . . . 67
Decision Points and Rules in Business Process Checking Out a Process Model in the Sterling
Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 B2B Integrator Interface . . . . . . . . . 69
BPML Activities in Business Process Models . . 27 Modifying a Business Process Model Using the
Creating Business Process Models . . . . . . . 30 GPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Process Summary of Creating a Business Process Modifying a Business Process Model Using the
Model in the GPM . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Text Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Creating or Modifying a Business Process Model Enabling a Disabled Business Process. . . . . 71
in the GPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Deleting a Business Process Model . . . . . 72
When to Configure Services for Business Process Commonly Used Predefined Process Models . . . 73
Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Business Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Configuring Parameters in GPM Element Editors 35 ACHDeenvelope Business Process . . . . . . 74
Adding Subflows in the GPM . . . . . . . 37 ACHEnvelope Business Process . . . . . . 76
Defining and Assigning Rules and Conditions . . 38 EDI Deenvelope Business Process . . . . . . 78
Deleting an Annotation . . . . . . . . . 40 MigrateMsgsToGlobalMbx business process . . . 80
Customizing an Annotation . . . . . . . . 40 OverdueAckCheck Business Process . . . . . 84
Assigning Name-Value Pairs in a Business HandleSOAPRequest Business Process . . . . 84
Process Model . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 SendSOAPRequest Business Process . . . . . 89
Copying a Business Process Model for Use In the
GPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Creating and Modifying Business Process Models Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
In the Text Editor . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Terms and conditions for product documentation. . 96
Creating a Subprocess . . . . . . . . . . 44
Using the OnFault Group in the GPM . . . . 44 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Implementing Business Process Models . . . . . 45
Managing Business Process Model Versions . . 45
You coordinate and automate the activities that make up the processes your
company completes to do business. From advanced file translation and transport to
content-based routing and complex integration, including human interaction, you
can configure the activities you need using business process modeling features.
Invoicing, order fulfillment, and updating employee information are all examples
of business processes.
Most processing activities of Sterling B2B Integrator are predicated upon defined
business processes—the custom-designed programming instructions you provide to
Sterling B2B Integrator, to perform your required activities. The fact that you can
customize create business processes in Sterling B2B Integrator means that you
control:
v Which Sterling B2B Integrator components perform the activities
v What rules, constraints, or decision points play a role in the execution of the
activities
v The degree of available visibility into processing
v The amount and type of data the system records about the activities
The Sterling B2B Integrator components and features are designed to provide a
variety of options for configuring your activities. As a result, you often have
multiple choices available when determining how to achieve a given goal. With so
many choices, you can create business processes that are expressly suited to your
organization's requirements—not only to complete the required work, but also to
maximize processing efficiency for all of your processes, streamline your ongoing
maintenance tasks, and facilitate monitoring and tracking operations.
For example, some of your processes may require quick turnaround, while others
may involve batch processing not tied to a time limit. You can configure efficient
processing of both types of processes by running low-priority batch processes
during slow periods, which frees system resources for the higher-priority items
that run immediately. Customizing your processing activity for maximum
efficiency keeps system resources available for enhanced management options such
as archiving, data persistence and document tracking.
Creating business process models is the central endeavor around which your use
of Sterling B2B Integrator hinges. Think of business processes as the structures by
which you organize software components and activities to fulfill your work
objectives.
Your business processes and the efficiency with which they progress are the key to
your organization’s success. To be competitive, you must be responsive to constant
change within your trading partner community. Changes driven by new
requirements such as new data formats and communication protocols, new
business exchanges, and a broad range of partners varying in size, type, and
sophistication, mean your organization must be flexible enough to adapt quickly
and efficiently.
Sterling B2B Integrator components and tools are designed to support the full
range of standards, foreign languages and data types, in a user-friendly fashion.
The graphical modeling tool (Graphical Process Modeler, or GPM) enables you to
create business process models using a visual, drag-and-drop palette, converts your
graphic business process models into code, saving you the effort of writing code.
Your process models are immediately executable, and the process development
cycle time is short.
The primary benefits of business process definition using the model format are that
you do not need direct developer involvement, you can create your models in a
visual medium, and you can copy any business process model or portion of a
model to use it in another process, eliminating the need to duplicate effort.
The services and adapters provided with Sterling B2B Integrator are developed
using publicly agreed-upon specifications for data formats, communications
protocols, workflow modeling, and security to maximize interoperability between
systems and trading partners.
Sterling B2B Integrator provides more than 200 available services and adapters you
can build into your business process models.
This includes a host of configurable adapters ready for use in business processes
for activities such as running legacy programs, ERP systems, Perl scripts, Java™
code, decision engines, defined subprocesses, or virtually any program.
Based on your task and the standard you are using in the business process models
you create, you can process high volumes of transactions per hour.
Sterling B2B Integrator enables you to view general and detailed processing
information for active and recent business processes and service activities.
In addition to process data, you can enable document tracking for a business
process so that the system carries tracking information with the document, and
then, for monitoring and tracking purposes you can:
v Track processing history of the document
v View transaction details related to the document
v Obtain processing state information related to the document
Any time you can replace manual intervention points in your business processes
with automated capabilities, you save money. Classic examples of intervention
points include exception management such as escalation and transaction
reconciliation, error handling, and content-based routing.
Examples
The following table provides examples of how business process models can help
you to automate and integrate your activities:
Automating
v Route messages according to their content.
v Configure mailbox store-and-forward services.
v Support real-time request and reply processing within a process.
v Build on-fault processing steps into your process models
v Send alerts and notifications automatically within a process.
Integrating
The Business Process engine runs business processes according to the instructions
that comprise your business process models. Technically, a business process model is
defined by a single, unique BPML document, a .bpml file. BPML is an XML-based
language used to describe (model) and run business processes.
Business process models are the executable tasks and instructions that make up
processes. The Graphical Process Modeler, or GPM, enables you to create business
process models by manipulating icons that represent services, adapters, and other
specific instructions, in a graphical palette. The GPM converts the graphical
representation of business processes to BPML behind the scenes.
</sequence>
</process>
Any business process can be a subprocess. The term subprocess indicates a business
process that is invoked as part of another business process (the initiating process is
called the parent process).
Reusability is the concept related to creating business processes that can be used in
multiple operations. For example, if you use a single business process model as a
subprocess within many larger process models, any time you need to modify the
activities in the subprocess, you need only update one model, and the changes are
reflected everywhere the process is used.
A variety of predefined business processes are available for your use. For
additional information, see Using Predefined Business Process Models.
Services exist on two levels in Sterling B2B Integrator: as service types and service
configurations. Service types are the services installed with Sterling B2B
Integrator—these are service definitions provided for you to copy and configure
according to your needs.
A business process version is one of these copies of a business process model checked
in to Sterling B2B Integrator. The saved versions enable you to revert to using an
older copy of a business process model if the need arises, and to compare different
iterations of your process models.
At the core of the system architecture is the integration engine, which executes the
services and adapters needed to achieve your business goals and enable visibility
into processing activity. Each step in a process model either initiates an activity in
the process flow, is initiated and runs during a process flow, or ends a process
flow.
At each step in a business process, the integration engine calls the indicated service
and one of the following ensues:
v Services run within Sterling B2B Integrator.
v Adapters call third-party applications to perform activities outside of Sterling
B2B Integrator.
v BMPL activities configured in the business process model provide instructions to
the integration engine regarding the process flow, such as start and stop, assign
a specified value in the process data, run specified activities simultaneously, and
so forth.
When an activity completes, the integration engine progresses to the next step in
the business process.
At each step in a business process, Sterling B2B Integrator saves a copy of work
flow context (WFC) data, which records the state of the business process from
service to service. The WFC contains the document being manipulated by the
business process and is where each service reports any errors.
The following figure illustrates the tasks in a simple process containing a decision
point (a diamond represents a decision point):
For more information about structuring business process models, see Organizing
Your Business Process Models on page 27.
Because business process models are likely to have decision points and interrelated
subprocesses, creating business process models may be complicated by the need to
manage many business processes at the same time. Often, a business process
shares aspects of other business processes, such as access to the same software
applications, use of the same B2B processing standards, and use of the same
resources in Sterling B2B Integrator.
Your business process models are Sterling B2B Integrator resources, meaning, you
can save them to an offline directory and import and export the files as needed
from one copy of Sterling B2B Integrator to another.
For detailed information about planning and creating your business process
models, see Planning Your Business Process Models.
Understand your business problems in detail and prepare to invest the bulk of
your effort in process planning and collecting related information. This will make
creating your business process models easier.
Much of your research may already be complete. When you outlined your
implementation of Sterling B2B Integrator, you most likely worked with IBM
Professional Services to create an architectural design plan detailing the ways you
intend to use Sterling B2B Integrator, and the associated components and features
you will employ.
Many of the details of your architectural design plan describe the business process
models needed to automate the execution of your processes. Use that information
as you progress through the business process planning steps provided in this
documentation.
The following table lists the phases of business process development, with a link to
detailed instructions:
Stage You must identify: For details, see:
1 Your business needs “Identifying Business Needs” on page 13
2 The separate activities that make up the process of “Identifying Activities in a Business Process” on
fulfilling your business needs page 13
3 Logical and manageable groups of activities within “Identifying Subprocesses” on page 14
the process that can be developed as subprocesses
4 Steps where the process can be automated “Identifying Opportunities for Automation” on
page 15
5 Integration points between steps “Identifying Integration Points in Your Process” on
page 17
6 The most efficient structure for your business process “Organizing Your Business Process Models” on
model page 19
7 Your needs for visibility into active and completed “Maximizing Visibility Into Business Processes” on
process activity page 22
The topics describing each of the planning stages provide details, instructions, and
an example process that continues from stage to stage. Proceed through the stages
in sequence for the complete planning process.
Remember that the information provided here may not apply to every scenario;
consider it a general baseline for all scenarios.
For example, if your business need is to process customer orders, you might note
the following actions:
1. Receive order.
2. Route order to appropriate departments for processing.
3. Fulfill order.
4. Generate data for invoices.
5. Update inventory records.
6. Generate invoice statements.
The following illustration shows a sample depiction of the business need and its
related actions:
For example, the following table identifies the activities in each step of the example
process for Customer Order Processing (see “Identifying Business Needs”):
After you have outlined the activities within your process, proceed to “Identifying
Subprocesses.”
Identifying Subprocesses
Remembering that the concept of reuse is the key to efficient ongoing management
of your business process models, you must take the time to identify possible
subprocesses in your scenario.
For information about the concepts of reuse and subprocesses, see “Business
Process Concepts” on page 5.
Examine the outline of business process activity details you created in Stage 2, and
look for logical, manageable groups of activities that you can create as separate
subprocesses. Aim to create distinct process models for each subprocess within
your overall scenario. You can then configure a parent process model that links the
subprocesses.
Subprocess Example
You can see an example of a subprocess in Step 2 of the Customer Order
Processing scenario consisting of orders translating into a format the order
processing system uses to the order processing application sending shipping
information to the order fulfillment department.
These activities comprise one unit of work, may be reused, and different adapters
can call this process to initiate translation.
After you have determined which processes and subprocesses to create, proceed to
“Identifying Opportunities for Automation.” You must complete the remaining
stages for each process and subprocess you will create.
Now that the business process, its steps, and the activities within those steps are
defined, you must consider process automation. Process automation means running
each step of a business process with little or no user intervention.
The following process shows which activities in the example Customer Order
Processing model (see “Identifying Business Needs” on page 13) could be
automatic and which could be manual:
1. Order entry
v EDI orders enter system through the EDI VAN or communications
adapter (Automatic).
2. Order processing
v Orders are translated into a format the order processing system uses
(Automatic).
v Order documents are sent to the order processing application
(Automatic).
v Picktickets are produced and sent to warehouse (Automatic).
3. Order fulfillment
v Orders are picked according to pickticket print-outs (Manual).
v Workers scan each item picked into a hand-held scanner, routing data to
inventory control and order system for updates (Manual and
Automatic).
v Shipping records and pickticket information sent to data processing
(Automatic).
v Exceptions process started if needed (for example, item not on shelf,
backordered, etc.) (Automatic).
4. Data processing
v Order data is updated (Manual).
v Invoice data is generated (Automatic).
v Data sent to Accounts Receivable application (Automatic).
v Data sent to Inventory Control application (Automatic).
5. Inventory control
v Inventory control system records updated (Automatic).
When you have noted the automatic and manual activities within your process,
proceed to “Identifying Integration Points in Your Process.”
Integration points are points at which documents within your process move from
one system or application to another.
For example, in a customer order process, you can use adapters that enable
Sterling B2B Integrator to move documents from the order processing system to
the accounts receivable system. The documents first go through a translation step
so that they are in a format that the accounts receivable system can use.
Carefully consider which external applications and systems you need to have
communicate within your process model, then review the adapters Sterling B2B
Integrator has available to find the adapter that fulfills your need. If necessary, you
can also create custom adapters using the Service Software Developer's Kit (SDK).
The following example table identifies the activities in which documents move
from one system to another, within the example Customer Order Processing
process (for information, see “Identifying Business Needs” on page 13), but this
table does not name specific applications, as you should do for your actual plan:
After you have completed Stage 5, you are ready to plan the best structure for
your process models. Proceed to “Organizing Your Business Process Models” on
page 19.
Using the GPM to create your business process models is simple to do, but
requires some knowledge about structuring the physical design of your process
models in a way that makes them easy to understand and maintain. In addition,
your process models must use specific BPML activities in circumscribed ways.
Some activities must be used in pairs, to bracket other activities. That is, for a
given activity, you must use one of these bracketing, or parent, activities at the
beginning and one at the end. For example, before a series of activities in a
business process model that you intend to run simultaneously, you must include
the All Start BPML activity, and after the series, you must include the All End
activity. For a complete list of available BPML activities depicted in the GPM, and
the requirements related to using them, see “BPML Activities in Business Process
Models” on page 27.
Organizational Concepts
There are specific times and uses for different concept or structural elements
related to designing business process models.
The following table outlines concepts and structural elements related to designing
business process models:
Concept or
structural
element Description When to use
Subflow A subflow is a subset of Use subflows to streamline the
activities in a business process display of your process model in
model. In the GPM, a subflow the GPM by organizing a logical
is represented as an icon in the subset of activities in a single
process model. You add the layer of the process model. This
subflow icon to your process facilitates easy navigation among
model and then define the the separate parts, or layers, of
components of the subflow. your process model, while
The subflow is invoked in providing a simpler visual
sequence during process display of the process as a whole
execution. Also see the at the parent-layer level.
documentation on layers.
Bootstrap adapters are generally input adapters, such as the File System adapter,
Command Line Adapter 2, and FTP Client adapter.
When you plan your business process models, use bootstrap adapters to run
independently of the process model and then dynamically start the process
whenever possible. This strategy encourages reusability, which is one of the best
practices recommended for creating your business process models.
From there, add decision points, loops and subflows as needed, configure any
activities that initiate subprocesses, and add OnFaults where appropriate. You
might also find Xpath expressions and name-value pairs to be useful in the
construction of your process models. For more information, see “Assigning
Name-Value Pairs in a Business Process Model” on page 40. Always remember to
follow the best practices for business process models.
When you have planned the structure of your process model, you must determine
your document storage and tracking requirements and the appropriate settings you
need to set for archiving and purging stored process data. For information, see
“Maximizing Visibility Into Business Processes.”
As you plan your process models, considering the degree of access you need to
detailed processing information is important, because you can configure related
settings while you create your process models. Configure your processes and
related resources to enable the visibility you need into processing details, along
with the type of historical processing data you want to be able to access when you
use monitoring and tracking tools.
When your business processes run, Sterling B2B Integrator saves data according to
the level of persistence you have set (see “Business Process Levels” on page 49).
Remember that enabling document tracking overrides persistence settings related
to documents.
In the same manner that you schedule initiation of business processes, you can
schedule the intervals at which you want Sterling B2B Integrator to archive and
purge the contents of the database. Configuring archiving and purging enables you
Note: If you are using archiving, and you using the file system document
storage method, you must handle purging the documents from your file system
manually.
v System Default – Use the default option configured in the jdbc.properties file. As
shipped, the database is the system default. You may have modified this to use
the file system.
v Inherited – Store documents according to the document storage setting applied
to the service that is invoking this business process. Use this option when the
process is invoked by a bootstrap adapter and you want the document storage
method to carry from the invoking adapter to the process.
v This option enables you to configure the process model to use the same
document storage method as the bootstrap adapter that will invoke the process.
For additional information about the processing options you can select when you
check in a business process, see “Business Process Model Processing Options” on
page 48.
When you have completed Stage 7, you may benefit by filling out the Planning
Worksheet for your business process model. The worksheet is a form you can use to
note conceptual and technical details about a process model and refer to it during
the actual modeling of your process.
To do this, check out the business process and open it in the Graphical Process
Modeler, or view the source BPML in the interface. You can open a read-only copy.
Procedure
1. From the Business Process menu, select Manager.
2. Under List select ALL and click Go!
3. Click the name of the business process for which you want to view the source ,
and review the source BPML in the window that displays.
Results
Note: The reference information for each service and adapter identifies any
predefined business processes associated with it. You can use this information as a
starting point for finding a useful predefined process.
For example, for a decision point at which the flow of a business process model
splits into two paths determined by the total amount of a purchase order, you
define a rule indicating the total amount of the purchase order, such as: PO is
greater than $10,000.
Then, you must assign the rule to the decision point within your process model,
and indicate the conditions by which the data progresses through each path from
the decision point. For our example, if the total PO amount is greater than $10,000
(true to the rule), take path A; and if the total PO amount is not greater than
$10,000 (not true to the rule), take path B. The following diagram illustrates the
concept:
The following table shows sample names and rules using simple syntax:
Name Rule
rule1 X>10
rule2 X<=10
For information about assigning rules that require complex syntax, see “Defining
and Assigning Rules and Conditions” on page 38.
Some BPML activities must be used in pairs, to bracket other activities. That is, for
a given processing step in a business process model, you must use one of these
bracketing activities at the beginning and one at the end. These are considered to
be parent activities.
v “Parent Activities Used in Pairs”
v “More Complex BPML Activities” on page 28
This topic explains requirements related to your use of BPML activities in business
process models. Your processes may not run correctly if you do not use the BPML
activities according to the requirements outlined here.
The following list describes the BPML icons in the GPM that represent activities
used to bracket other activities:
The End activity indicates the end of a business process. Every business
process model must finish with End.
The All Start activity is a parent activity in a business process. All Start
indicates that a business process is simultaneously executing all of the
child activities contained within the parent activity.
The All activity runs two or more complex child activities within a
business process simultaneously. Because there are performance
implications to using the All activity, use it only if you expect branches of
Business Process Modeling 27
your business process model to take significant amounts of time (in
seconds or minutes) to complete (very few services take this long).
Do not use the All activity to run two or more instances of the same
subprocess simultaneously. The system will handle the proper load
balancing.
The All End activity indicates that all child activities within the parent
activity are completed. Use All End to finish All Start.
The Choice End activity indicates that the child activity that ran as a result
of the parent activity is completed. Use Choice End to finish Choice Start.
The Sequence End activity indicates that the last child activity in a series of
child activities in the parent activity is finished. Use Sequence End to finish
Sequence Start.
The following BPML activities are not used in pairs to bracket business process
model components. Rather, they enable more complex operations within a business
process. The following list describes the icons and activities:
The Consume activity reads a specific input message and stores that
message in the business process data.
Configuration parameters enable you to indicate a name for an instance of
the Consume activity and the name of the message this activity should
read.
The Join activity merges the results of a completed nested business process
into the business process data.
Configuration parameters enable you to indicate a name for the business
process for which the Join activity is waiting.
The Produce activity generates a message from the business process data
and delivers it to a designated participant or activity.
Configuration parameters enable you to indicate the message and name of
the receiving participant or activity.
The following table lists the stages in the process of creating a business process
model using the GPM. The table provides links to additional information.
This process assumes that you have completed the planning steps described in
“Business Process Model Planning Stages” on page 12 and reviewed Business
Process Modeling Best Practices.
If you are using an existing process model as the foundation for your new process,
see the following topics for more information: “Using Predefined Business Process
Models” on page 24 and “Copying a Business Process Model for Use In the GPM”
on page 42.
You must perform the following configuration tasks before creating a process
model:
Procedure
1. Open the GPM.
2. In the GPM, from the File menu, select New to open a new document, or
open the .bp file you want to use as a foundation for a new process model
(checked out business process models are saved as .bp files).
Note: If you open a business process model that was created or edited in the
text editor, the GPM displays the components in “autolayout” mode—the
icons are aligned in a linear arrangement.
3. Open the stencils containing the service icons you need to create the business
process model. For each stencil you need, from the View menu, select Stencil
> <stencil name>.
4. Click the title bar for the BPML stencil to expand the stencil (the BPML stencil
is open by default).
5. If you are creating this process model from scratch, add the Start icon to the
business process workspace by dragging and dropping that Start icon onto the
workspace. To add an icon to a business process model, click to select the
appropriate icon from within a stencil, and then, holding down the mouse
button, drag the icon onto the workspace and release the mouse button.
6. Add other icons to the business process model as needed:
v From the BPML stencil, add icons representing BPML activities and
instructions required in your business process.
v From the stencils, add icons representing services, BPML activities and
instructions, and integration points in your business process.
This step might include adding one or more subflows, as well as services to
invoke other process models (subprocesses). For more information, see the
following topics:
v If you want to use a service that is not installed, contact your system
administrator.
v “Adding Subflows in the GPM” on page 37
v For how to invoke another process model from within this one, see “Using
Predefined Business Process Models” on page 24.
7. If you are using a predefined business process model as the basis for creating
this process model, remove any icons that you do not need to keep for the
new model.
8. If you are creating this process model from scratch, add the End activity to the
business process model.
9. Arrange the icons in the order that meets the requirements of your business
process. Do not use the Autolayout tool unless you have arranged and linked
your icons first (complete step 10), because it will line up the icons in a
vertical row that takes time to reorganize appropriately.
10. To link the icons, click the arrow on the right side of the first icon and drag it
to the arrow on the left side of the next icon. Repeat as necessary.
Results
You can now check in and test your business process model. If needed, create a
schedule for running this business process model.
The services you include in your business process model may require configuration
in order for your process to run correctly. You configure some parameters in
Sterling B2B Integrator interface (this is called creating a service configuration),
some in either the interface or the GPM, and some exclusively in the GPM. A few
require manual editing in the BPML code. The reference documentation for each
service describes the parameters for the service and indicates where to perform the
parameter configuration.
If you are working in the GPM and you use Sterling B2B Integrator interface to
change the configuration for a service, you must select View > Refresh Services to
update the GPM with your modified service configuration.
Procedure
1. In the workspace, double click the icon representing the service, adapter, or
activity you want to configure.
The GPM displays the appropriate element editor for the selected element in
the Element Editor pane beneath the workspace. For example, when you select
the Assign icon, the Property editor opens, providing parameters to configure.
For most services, the Service editor displays.
2. Configure the parameters by entering the appropriate values in the related
fields as needed.
For Service Editor only: The following list describes parameters in the Service
Editor. Some services and adapters have additional parameters that display in
addition to the parameters described here, which are documented with the
service information.
Name Name of the service you are using in your business process model.
You can customize the name, but, to facilitate your future reference, the
best practice is to leave the name as-is or to include the service name in
the new name you create. This is especially helpful should you need to
identify business processes that may contain retired services at a later
date.
Config
Name of the service configuration for this service that you want to use
in this business process model. The field displays previously created
service configurations for the selected service.
After you select a service configuration, additional configuration
parameters display.
Output Msg
Choose one of the following types of information:
v Message Only – Send only service configuration information to a
service.
v Obtain Message first, then Process Data – Send service configuration
information, name-value pair in the Service editor, and business
process data. If duplicate information exists between the service
configuration and business process data, the business process data
overrides the service configuration information.
v Obtain Process Data first, then Message – Send service configuration
information, name-value pair in the Service editor, and business
process data. If duplicate information exists between the service
configuration and business process data, the service configuration
information overrides the business process data.
Some service parameters that are configurable in both Sterling B2B Integrator
interface and the GPM display as read-only in the Service editor if you configured
them in the interface prior to working with them in the GPM.
The GPM enables you to override these preconfigured settings so that you can
modify the parameters. To enable the parameters to be changed in the GPM:
Procedure
1. From the Options menu, select Preferences.
2. Select the Service Editor tab.
3. Select Override Default Service Configuration Values and click OK.
If the Service editor is already open when you complete these steps, you must
exit the Service editor (right-click the Editor tab and select Close Editor Tab)
and then re-display the Service editor for the change to take effect (double-click
the service icon in the workspace).
You can expand the view to work with the components of the subflow by using
the Layers tab in the Navigation pane.
For information about planning subflows for your business process models, see
“Organizing Your Business Process Models” on page 19.
Procedure
1. From the Tools menu, select Add Sub Flow. The GPM adds the subflow icon
to the workspace and expands the structure in the Navigation pane to show the
subflow.
2. In the workspace, drag and drop the subflow icon to the appropriate location
within the business process model. You may need to remove the link that
connects two previously arranged icons in order to insert the subflow icon. To
remove the link, click the link and press Delete.
3. Link the icons accordingly.
4. To rename the subflow, select the subflow icon, right-click, and select
Properties to display the Property editor. Type the name for the subflow in the
Value field. When you click out of the Property editor, the subflow icon
displays the new name in the workspace. Now you are ready to configure the
subflow components.
5. In the Layers tab of the Navigation pane, click the subflow to display the
workspace for the subflow. The GPM includes unlinked Start and End icons for
your convenience.
6. Create a business process model for the subflow:
a. Add the icons that meet the requirements of your business process.
b. Arrange the icons.
c. Link each icon, including the Start and End icons.
d. Align the business process model.
Procedure
1. Define rules.
2. Assign the rules and related conditions in a business process model. After
defining your rules, or if your rules are already created, see “Assigning Rules
and Conditions in Business Process Models” on page 39.
Results
These procedures assume you have planned your business process model and
created its core structure in the workspace in the GPM. For a conceptual overview,
see “Decision Points and Rules in Business Process Models” on page 26.
Procedure
1. From the Tools menu, select Rule Manager.
2. Click Add.
3. In the Name field, type a name that describes the rule. For example, if you are
creating choice within your process model that determines what step to take if
the total amount in a purchase order is greater than or less than $10,000, you
might define a rule named TotalPO.
4. In the Expression field, type the syntax, and then click OK. Following the
example in step 3, the expression might be document/total > 10000.
5. Repeat these tasks until you finish defining simple syntax rules.
Results
You can now assign rules you have created to steps in a business process model.
See “Assigning Rules and Conditions in Business Process Models” on page 39.
Results
You can now assign rules you have created to steps in a business process model.
See “Assigning Rules and Conditions in Business Process Models.”
In the process of creating the core structure of your business process model in the
workspace, you may have already completed steps 1 and 2.
Procedure
1. To a business process model open in the workspace, add the decision point to
which you will assign rules, along with related icons for each possible
processing sequence (you may need to remove the link that connects two icons
in order to insert the new icons):
a. At the appropriate point in the process model, add the following icons:
v Choice Start and Choice End
v Two copies of Sequence Start and Sequence End
v Icons for the activities required in each sequence. For example, two copies
of the Assign icon.
b.
Deleting an Annotation
You can delete a custom annotation by clearing it, but the GPM automatically
replaces it with the default system annotation for the icon.
Procedure
1. In the workspace, select the icon for which you want to delete a custom
annotation.
2. Right-click to display the menu and select Annotation.
3. Click Clear, and then click OK.
Customizing an Annotation
You can customize annotative descriptions of components in your process model.
Though you cannot delete the default annotation for an icon, you can modify it to
provide descriptive information that is useful to you.
Procedure
1. In the workspace, select the icon for which you want to customize the
annotation.
2. From the Edit menu, select Annotation.
3. In the Annotation dialog box, type the annotation, and click OK.
You can use any of the following methods to assign name-value pairs:
v Applying the provided name-value pairs provided in the GPM to a service
v Creating your own unique name-value pairs for a service
v Implementing the Correlation service to enable Sterling B2B Integrator to
generate correlations, according to a business process, or according to documents
exchanged as a result of a business process that ran.
Procedure
1. To display the Service editor, select the icon representing a service or adapter
and click Properties.
2. Under the Value column, select the value that describes the name-value pair
corresponding with elements in both the input and output documents.
Procedure
1. To display the Service editor, select the icon representing the service or adapter
and click Properties.
2. Click Advanced to display the Advanced Editor.
3. Click Add to display the Name and Value columns.
4. Under the Name column, type a unique name to describe the value in the field.
5. Under the Value column, type a character or XPath expression that describes
the value in the field.
Note: To use the XPath Expression Builder to help you create an XPath
expression, click the ellipses button to display the Value of Null dialog box, and
then click the button to the right of the Value field to display the XPath
Expression Builder. See “Adding XPath Expressions to Service Configurations
in the GPM” on page 36.
6. Under the Use XPath? column, enable the field to indicate that you are using
an XPath expression for the value, and then click Add.
7. Repeat steps 1 - 6 until you finish creating name-value pairs for this service or
adapter.
After running the business process, you can then use the generated correlations
when you search for a business process or document results in Sterling B2B
Integrator.
Before using the Correlation service, you must determine whether you want
Sterling B2B Integrator to generate correlations according to the results of business
processes or document exchange.
Procedure
1. Check out the business process you want to copy and save it with the name of
the new process model you are creating.
2. In the GPM, open the business process model you checked out.
3. Modify the business process model as needed.
4. Validate and check in the new process model.
5. If you locked the original business process model at checkout, and you need it
to be available in Sterling B2B Integrator, check it back in.
Creating a business process model using a text editor rather than the GPM requires
advanced knowledge of BPML, and XPath. Unless you are an advanced user, use
the GPM to create your process models.
Procedure
1. From the Business Process menu, select Manager.
2. Do one of the following:
v To create a new process model, next to Create Process Description, click
Go!
v To modify an existing process model, use the Search or List feature to locate
the model to modify, select Source Manager for the process, and click Edit.
Go to step 5.
3. Type the name to identify the business process you are creating. The name
must not contain spaces. See “Business Process Name” on page 49.
4. Under Select an input mode for defining the new process, select Business
Process Text Editor and click Next.
Results
You can now test the business process model. If needed, create a schedule for
running this business process model.
Note: If you edit a file in BPML and then open the file in the GPM, the model
displays in Autolayout mode; it does not keep its original GPM layout, if
applicable, after its source file has been manually edited.
Procedure
1. Follow the instructions for creating a business process model, remembering that
a subprocess should comprise a simple, single unit of work.
2. Validate the subprocess.
3. Check the process model in to Sterling B2B Integrator.
4. Test the subprocess, monitoring the activity. If needed, modify the process
model and repeat steps 1-4 as needed.
5. Create a business process model that calls the subprocess (this is the parent
business process model). The Invoke Business Process service enables you to
call the subprocess from the parent process and specify the processing mode
(asynchronous, synchronous, or inline).
6. Validate and check in the parent business process model.
7. Test the parent business process model, monitoring the activity. If needed,
modify the process model and repeat this step as needed.
8. Run the parent business process as needed.
In the Property Editor there is an Add button that will add additional elements as
needed. Configure an onFault element by doing the following:
Procedure
1. From the workspace, select the OnFault Group icon where you want to view an
element editor.
2. To access the element editor where the onFault element can be modified or
additional onFault elements can be added to the OnFault Group, select
Properties from the Edit menu.
3. Click in the Name or Error Value field.
4. Click the view button.
5. The Workspace will contain an OnFault Start and an OnFault End.
6. Add the process you want to run when the fault specified in the Error Value
field occurs.
Note: The Error Value field must match an error in GIS for that element to
execute. If you leave the Error Value field blank, all errors will execute that
branch unless the specific error has its own element. The first onFault element
could have a specific value and the second element could be blank. That way
the specific error would execute the first element and all other errors would
execute the second branch.
The first time you check in a business process, the data you enter creates a
business process definition—a uniquely named copy of the process model to be
stored in Sterling B2B Integrator. The business process model stored in Sterling B2B
Integrator is independent of any .bp file of the process that you may have saved in
a local directory.
At any time, you can open an existing process model, modify and save it, and then
either check in the new version to Sterling B2B Integrator, or save the modified
copy of the process in Sterling B2B Integrator as a new process altogether. All
previously checked-in versions of business process models continue to be stored in
Sterling B2B Integrator. This enables you to revert to using an older version should
the need arise.
For more information, see “Business Process Version Management” on page 64.
The following list describes the checks performed when you validate a business
process model in Sterling B2B Integrator:
You can validate your business process models in both the GPM and Sterling B2B
Integrator interface.
v Validation in the GPM
In the GPM, you can save a business process model at any time and then
validate it later, or you can configure the GPM to validate every time you save
the file. By default, the GPM prompts you to validate a model when you save it
(to disable or enable this behavior, select Preferences from the Options menu).
Because you may check in unvalidated process models or processes containing
validation errors using the GPM, be sure to validate before check-in. Processes
that are checked in but not valid are not executable. For more information, see
“Checking In a Single Business Process Model in the GPM” on page 57.
v Validation in Sterling B2B Integrator Interface
In Sterling B2B Integrator interface, validation is part of the procedure for either
checking in a process model created in the GPM or creating a business process
model in the text editor.
For more information about the types of check-in procedures, see “About Checking
in Business Process Models” on page 47.
Any time you have upgraded Sterling B2B Integrator software and you want to
re-validate previously implemented business process models using the upgraded
application, simply check the process models out and check them back in again.
You create the business process definition during the check-in process:
v During the Add (check in) process in the GPM
v When you create a new process definition in Sterling B2B Integrator interface
Create a definition only the first time you check in a business process model.
Then, any time you check it out later and check it back in again, check in a new
version of this definition, unless you want to save another copy of the business
process model in Sterling B2B Integrator, with a new name.
The name you assign in the process definition is the identifiable name used to
indicate the process throughout Sterling B2B Integrator interface and Sterling B2B
Integrator and GPM Source managers.
Both Sterling B2B Integrator interface and the GPM provide a Source Manager
feature you use to check in a business process. The two Source Managers differ
slightly, but both enable you check in new business process definitions and new
versions of previously checked-in process models. Both display the current list of
business process models and versions.
Each time you check in a business process, you create a version of the business
process, either the first version of a new process model, or a new version of a
previously checked-in business process model. The Sterling B2B Integrator saves
each checked in version so that you retain a copy of every iteration of a process
model that you check in. You cannot check in a version of a business process that
is checked out and locked (protected) by another user.
The check-in procedure differs depending on your goal and the application you are
using. The following list describes the options and provides a link to appropriate
instructions:
Type of Check-In
For Instructions, see:
Check in a new business process model in the GPM
“Checking In a Single Business Process Model in the GPM” on page 57
Note: This applies to both original process models and any modified
models you want to check in as a new process rather than as a version of
an existing one.
Check in new version of a business process model in Sterling B2B Integrator
interface
“Checking In a New Version of an Existing Business Process Version in
Sterling B2B Integrator” on page 62
Check in a new or modified business process model from the text editor in
Sterling B2B Integrator
“Checking In a Business Process Model Using the Text Editor” on page 61
Use a test environment if possible. If Sterling B2B Integrator reports errors, make
appropriate corrections to the business process model or the service and adapter
configurations in it. Retest the business process until it is working as needed in the
test environment.
When you are ready to implement the business processes in your production
environment, you can export the resources from the test environment and import
them into production. The ability to tag resources can expedite the automation of
the export and import process.
Remember that the flexibility of Sterling B2B Integrator often enables you to
choose from among many options to accomplish a given task. Test cycles will help
you determine the most efficient methods for your needs.
For instructions for testing a business process model, see “Testing a Business
Process Model in Sterling B2B Integrator” on page 63.
Your selections may affect system performance, error handling, amount and type of
data available for monitoring events, and so forth, so be sure to review the options
described here before you check in a business process model, and determine which
selections are appropriate for your needs (you can modify them as needed later by
re-checking in the process model).
Remember that some processing options can be set at the global level for the entire
system and some within the BPML for a process model. These settings may or may
not override settings you make at the business process level, depending on the
options you choose. The field descriptions indicate which settings override other
settings.
Note: Archiving and purging from the file system may require special
handling.
v System Default – Use the option configured in the jdbc.properties file.
This is the default document storage setting for process models. As
shipped, Database is the document storage type configured in the
jdbc.properties file; it may be modified for your installation to use the
file system.
v Inherited – When one document is created as a result of another, the
new document uses the previous document's storage type.
Enable BP Execution Settings
This option displays only when you are using a clustered Sterling B2B
Integrator environment. Select this option to display the available choices
for specifying the node to run the process on. If you do not specify a node,
the system uses any available node. To select a node:
1. In the Select Node field, select the node on which you want the
process to run.
2. In the Execution Node Specific field, specify whether the process must
run on the selected node or can use others. Options are:
Preferred Node – Run the process on the selected node unless the node
is unavailable (inactive for some reason).
Mandatory Node – Always run the process on the selected node (if the
node is unavailable for some reason, the process will fail).
Note: The Execution Role Specific field is reserved for future use.
The following table describes the persistence options and indicates the types of
data persisted for each:
Deadline Settings
A Deadline Setting allows you to specify a time for a business process (that is not
in a state of ACTIVE) to move to the front of the queued business processes
waiting to run.
This notifies the system to place the business process in queue to move to the front
of the queue. Every effort will be made to run the business process at the front of
the queue. If the business process in queue misses its queue and reaches the first
and second deadline, an exceptional event will be fired and posted to the
dashboard. In order for you to receive the notification, you need to define the
event posted to dashboard by setting EnableDeadlines=true in noapp.properties for
each queue and define the eventrule in the eventrule.properties file.
EnableDeadlines.1=true for queue 1.
To set the Deadline Setting, set it for the number of hours or minutes from the
business process start time. By default deadline and notifications are not set. To
modify a Deadline Setting, you must modify the business process by checking the
business process out, then check it back in.
Note: The deadline setting applies as long as the business process remains
in a queue and does not apply for running business process.
First Notification: Hours and Minutes
Enables you to specify whether to receive notification before a business
process deadline (as long as business process remains in a queue).
Second Notification: Hours and Minutes
Enables you to specify whether to receive another notification before a
business process deadline (as long as business process remains in a queue).
Deadline Notification also requires additional setup for these property files:
1. Uncomment rule1 and rule2 in eventrules.properties
v Uncomment the following two sets of rules to turn the # on Event
Notification.
name.rule1 = RuleEventAbnormal
expression.rule1 = "/event[contains(ExceptionLevel,'Abnormal') or
contains(ExceptionLevel,'ABNORMAL')]"
action.rule1.1 = com.sterlingcommerce.neo.event.rule.BPSpawnerAction
priority.rule1 = 3
name.rule2 = RuleEventExceptional
expression.rule2 = "/event[contains(ExceptionLevel,'Exceptional') or
contains(ExceptionLevel,'EXCEPTIONAL')]"
action.rule2.1 = com.sterlingcommerce.neo.event.rule.BPSpawnerAction
priority.rule2 = 4
2. Confirm rules listener setting in listenerStartup.properties.
# rule listener
Listener.Class.3=com.sterlingcommerce.woodstock.event.listeners
.rule.RuleListener
3. The user wishing to receive these notifications needs to belong to the following
groups
v Abnormal Event Notifications
v Exceptional Event Notifications
For information, see “Business Process Model Processing Options” on page 48.
The check-in procedure you use with the GPM Source Manager differs somewhat
depending on what you need to do. Select the procedure that applies to your
situation.
Procedure
1. In the GPM, select Tools > Source Manager.
2. Type the same user ID and password that you use when logging in to Sterling
B2B Integrator.
3. In Source Manager, select Process > Add.
For the remaining steps, the order of the fields that display may differ,
depending on whether your GPM settings specify Expert Mode for the Source
Manager. If you did not specify Expert Mode, click Next to display the
following fields.
4. Enter the appropriate values in the following required fields:
v Process Name – see “Business Process Name” on page 49.
v File Name – Browse to select the business process document (.bp file) from
the directory on your client computer where you saved it.
v Description – see “Business Process Description” on page 49.
v Start Mode – see “Business Process Levels” on page 49.
v Transaction Level – see “Business Process Levels” on page 49.
v Set Queue – see “Business Process Levels” on page 49.
v Persistence Level – see “Business Process Levels” on page 49.
v Event Reporting Level – see “Business Process Levels” on page 49.
v Recovery Level – see “Business Process Levels” on page 49.
v Document Storage – see “Business Process Levels” on page 49.
v Preferred Node – If you are using a clustered environment of Sterling B2B
Integrator and you want to assign a specific node on which you prefer this
process model to run, select the node. Otherwise, the field defaults to a
value of None. For more information, see “Business Process Levels” on
page 49.
v Mandatory Node – If you are using a clustered environment and you want
to assign a specific node on which this process model must run, select the
node. Otherwise, the field defaults to a value of None. For more
information, see “Business Process Levels” on page 49.
v Category – see “Business Process Levels” on page 49.
5. Indicate deadline settings for the business process to run. See “Deadline
Settings” on page 54.
6. Indicate archiving information for the data you are retaining. See “Business
Process Life Span” on page 55.
7. Select validation options:
v Select Validate Process to validate the process model now.
Validate Process is activated by default, but is optional. Successfully
validated business process models are checked in and enabled for use in
Sterling B2B Integrator. When validation errors occur during GPM check-in,
Source Manager checks the model in, but it will not be enabled for use, and
Results
You can now run your business process in Sterling B2B Integrator. Test the
business process before running it in your production environment. For
information, see “Testing a Business Process Model in Sterling B2B Integrator” on
page 63.
For details about the processing options you can set when you use the single
check-in procedure, see “Business Process Model Processing Options” on page 48.
Before adding multiple business processes at the same time, consider that:
v Sterling B2B Integrator automatically sets each business process model you are
checking in as the default version for that process model, and enables it for
execution. Do not check in multiple process models if you do not want each of
them to be the default processes.
v An invalid business process cannot be selected as a default business process,
therefore Sterling B2B Integrator does not check in multiple process models if
one or more of the models you are checking in has not been successfully
validated.
v Sterling B2B Integrator applies the system default archiving configuration
already defined in Sterling B2B Integrator to each business process, including:
– The queue setting (this allocates resources related to the order in which
business processes are processed)
– Level of persistence for retaining business process data
– Length of time (days and hours) to retain archived business process data
Results
You can now run your business process models in Sterling B2B Integrator. Test the
business processes before running them in your production environment. For
information, see “Testing a Business Process Model in Sterling B2B Integrator” on
page 63.
Procedure
1. In the GPM, select Tools > Source Manager.
2. In Source Manager, select the business process model name from the left pane
(not the version) to check in, and select Process > Check In.
If the Check In option is not active, one of the following is true:
v No version of the selected process model is currently checked out.
Results
You can now run your business process in Sterling B2B Integrator. Test the
business process before running it in your production environment. For
information, see “Testing a Business Process Model in Sterling B2B Integrator” on
page 63.
Before you check in a business process model, consider the processing options you
will want to associate with it. For information, see “Business Process Model
Processing Options” on page 48.
To use the Sterling B2B Integrator interface to check in a new business process
model saved in the GPM:
Procedure
1. From the Business Process menu, select Manager.
2. In the Create section, click Go!
3. Type a name that helps identify the business process definition you are
creating. See “Business Process Name” on page 49.
4. Under Select an input mode for defining the new process, select Check-in
Business process created by the graphical modeling tool and click Next.
5. Select the business process document (.bp file) from the directory on your
client computer where you saved it.
6. Type a description that helps identify the business process you are creating
and click Next. See “Business Process Description” on page 49.
7. Specify whether you want to track the progress of the document when the
business process runs. See “Business Process Levels” on page 49.
8. Specify whether you want the business process to run its onFault protection
should the business process encounter an error when it is running. See
“Business Process Levels” on page 49.
9. For Set Queue, indicate the queue, previously defined to allocate resources, at
which to place this business process for processing. See “Business Process
Levels” on page 49.
10. Indicate the level of persistence to retain data that makes up the business
process. See “Business Process Levels” on page 49.
During check in you will indicate which saved version will be the default version.
Note: You cannot check in a new version of a business process model if you do
not own the lock on the pre-existing model; that is, if you are not the user who
checked the process model out prior to this attempt to check in the new version.
Procedure
1. From the Business Process menu, select Manager.
2. Use the List or Search options to locate the process model you want to check
in.
3. Next to the name of the business process model for which you are checking in
a new version, click source manager.
4. Click Go! next to Check-in an updated definition for this Business Process.
You can also click check-in next to a business process to disable the lock and
check in a business process.
5. Select the business process document (.bp file) from the directory on your
client computer where you saved it.
6. Type a description that helps identify this version of the business process. See
“Business Process Description” on page 49.
7. Specify whether you want to track the progress of the document when the
business process runs. See “Business Process Levels” on page 49.
8. Specify whether you want the business process to run its onFault protection
should the business process encounter an error when it is running.
9. For Set Queue, indicate the queue level. See “Business Process Levels” on
page 49.
One testing method is to test the business process using sample input data by
starting the business process manually.
This process assumes that you have checked in and enabled the business process
model that you are testing.
Procedure
1. From the Business Process menu, select Manager.
2. Type all or part of the name for the business process you want to test into the
Search box and click Go!.
3. Next to the business process you want to test, click execution manager.
4. On the Execution Manager page, ensure that the business process you want to
run is enabled and set as the default version.
Note: If you use a 0 (zero) byte file as the primary input document on
the Execute Business Process Input screen, the following message
appears: File was not found or is empty, select another file. If the business
process needs to be executed with a zero-byte file, use the File System
adapter to get the file.
Server filename
Name of the host server for your client computer. Optional
Encoding Type
Character encoding for the business process. Optional. Valid values are:
v [Not Applicable]
v UTF-8 ISO-8859-1
v ISO-8859-5
v US-ASCII
v ISO_8859-1
v EUC-JP UTF-16
v ISO-2022-JP
Run As User
Assume user-rights of another user in order to run this particular
business process. The default user is Admin; therefore, if you do not
change the user in this field, whomever runs this business process will
have the same rights as an admin user. Optional.
Input data is not required, click Go to continue.
File the business process requires as input. Optional.
Results
Sterling B2B Integrator runs the selected version of the business process and opens
the Execute Business Process page.
After you initiate the process model, you can monitor the processing activities.
Note: If you click Edit in the interface and modify a process model without
checking it out, this locks the process.
v When you complete your modifications, you check in the now-updated process
model. Rather than over-writing your existing copy of the model saved in the
Source Manager, the system saves a new version.
Sterling B2B Integrator saves all previously checked-in versions of business process
models. Therefore, a single process model may have many available versions listed
in the Source Manager. One version is the designated default version. The default
version is the version that Sterling B2B Integrator automatically runs when the
business process model is invoked. Retention of all versions enables you to revert
to using an older version should the need arise, and saves you having to maintain
versioned backup files on your client computer.
Working in the GPM, the Source Manager displays a file system-type list of the
process models saved in the system. Working in the interface, you use search or
list tools to locate a process model and access the
When you check in an updated version of a business process model, you indicate
which version is the default version in Sterling B2B Integrator.
The ability to specify a default version enables you to let bootstrap adapters run
the default version of a business process model as needed, while other versions
can be reserved for later use or be configured to run on a preset schedule. Any
time you manually start a business process, you can select the version to run.
Generally, when you check out a business process model, Sterling B2B Integrator
locks the process model so that other users and the system can not access it until
you check it back in. If you plan to use an existing business process model as a
foundation for a new model altogether, you can check out the model without
locking it.
For instructions for checking out business process models, making modifications,
and managing your versions of business process models, see the appropriate topic
as indicated in the following list of tasks:
Check out a business process model in the GPM
“Checking Out a Business Process Model Using the GPM Source Manager”
on page 67
Procedure
1. From the Tools menu, select Source Manager.
2. Type the same user ID and password you use to log in to Sterling B2B
Integrator.
3. In Source Manager, select a business process and select Process > Check Out.
4. Specify a directory on your client computer in which to save the business
process model (.bp file).
Note: If you specified a file location using the GPM preferences, you do not
need to perform this step. To set a default file location from the GPM, select
Options > Preferences > File Location.
5. Indicate a new file name for the business process model when necessary. For
example, to create a new version of a business process, indicate a new name
that helps identify the version. See “Business Process Name” on page 49.
6. To prevent other users from checking out this business process, verify that the
Lock Business Process option is selected. If you do not want to lock the
process, clear the check. If you are creating a new business process model but
want the model you are checking out to remain as-is in Sterling B2B Integrator,
you do not need to lock the process model.
A lock symbol displays beside the business process when protected.
7. Click OK twice. The business process is checked out and you can open it in the
GPM by:
v Selecting File > Open
v Navigating to the directory where you saved the checked-out model
v Selecting the model and clicking Open.
Procedure
1. From the Tools menu, select Source Manager.
2. In the Log In dialog, enter your Sterling B2B Integrator user ID and password.
3. In Source Manager, double-click the parent folder to display all business
processes in the right pane.
4. Complete one of the following steps:
v To select more than one business process, click to select the business process
from the right pane. Press and hold Ctrl and click again for each additional
business process that you want to select.
v To select a range of business processes, click the first business process in the
range from the right pane. Press and hold Shift and click the last business
process in the range.
5. From the Process menu, select Check Out.
During the check-out procedure, Sterling B2B Integrator prompts you to lock the
business process. Locking the business process not only prevents others from
checking out the same business process, it also prevents the possibility of
inadvertently replacing an existing business process. If you do not lock the process
in Sterling B2B Integrator, you cannot check in a new version of it, although you
can check it in as a new process model.
You can also check out a read-only copy of the process model. Using the read-only
copy enables you to view and modify the business process model (in the GPM
only, until you check it in to Sterling B2B Integrator), but you must save it with a
new name. Use this option if you want to create a new business process model
using an existing one as the basis for it.
Procedure
1. From the Business Process menu, select Manager.
2. Type all or part of the name for the business process you want to modify into
the Search box and click Go!
3. Click source manager next to the business process you want to modify.
4. Click check out next to the business process.
5. Determine whether to lock the file by completing one of following steps:
v To check out the business process for modification, click OK. Use this option
to create an updated version of the process model in the GPM or the text
editor.
v To check out a read-only copy of the business process without locking it,
click Cancel. Use this option to view the model in the GPM or to use it as
the foundation for a new business process model (in this case you must open
it in the GPM and save it with a new name).
6. In the File Download dialog box, click Save.
7. In the Save as dialog box, select a directory on your client computer and click
Save to begin downloading the business process document.
8. When the download completes, close the Download dialog box, if it remains
open.
9. Open the directory where you downloaded the file for the business process and
open the file in the GPM to begin modifying it.
After you have modified a business process model, you must check it back in to
Sterling B2B Integrator so that you can run it. For information, see “Implementing
Business Process Models” on page 45.
Procedure
1. Check out the business process. See “Checking Out a Business Process Model
Using the GPM Source Manager” on page 67. The check-out process enables
you to save the business process to your client computer. You can then open
the checked-out .bp file in the GPM and modify the business process model.
You can change the processing options for the model when you check it back
in, if needed (in step 3 below).
2. Follow the general instructions for business process creation to modify your
business process model (see “Creating or Modifying a Business Process Model
in the GPM” on page 32).
3. When finished, check the new version in to Sterling B2B Integrator. For
information about implementing new versions of business process models, see
“About Checking in Business Process Models” on page 47.
Note: If you do not need to modify the BPML but only need to change processing
options, skip step 6. By doing this, you check the process out and then
immediately begin the check-in procedure where you can set the processing
options.
Procedure
1. From the Business Process menu, select Manager.
2. Type all or part of the name for the business process you want to edit into the
Search box and click Go!
3. Click source manager next to the business process you want to edit.
4. Click edit next to the business process to access the text editor. This checks
out the process and locks it.
5. Type a new description that helps you identify this version of the business
process. See “Business Process Description” on page 49.
6. In the Business Process field, either type or copy and paste BPML code that
you want to edit.
Complete this procedure if you want to run a business process model that is
disabled for use:
Procedure
1. From the Business Process menu, select Manager.
2. In the List section, select the first letter of the name of the business process you
need to enable, and click Go!
3. Next to the name of the business process to enable, select Execution Manager.
4. Select Enable and click Return.
Not all users can delete business process models. The ability to delete is governed
by a permission setting in your user account. Only user accounts that have UI
Delete Business Processes permission can delete business processes.
Note: Identify any uses of the business process model to ensure that deleting it
does not prevent other business processes and subsequent services from running.
Procedure
1. From the Business Process menu, select Manager.
2. Search for the business process you want to delete.
3. In the Business Process Manager search results page, click source manager next
to the appropriate business process model.
4. Do you want to delete one version of the business process, or all versions of
the business process model?
v To delete one version of the business process model:
– Next to the version, under Delete, select the check box.
– For Delete Selected Versions, click Go!
v To delete all versions of this business process model, next to Delete All
Versions, click Go!
After determining business goals and identifying the activities that enable you to
meet the goals, you can either use the predefined business processes or create your
own business processes.
Business Goals
You can use predefined business processes, that are included when you install
Sterling B2B Integrator, to accomplish common business goals.
The following table lists business goals and the predefined business process that
accomplishes the goals:
<rule name="PostProcess">
<condition>InvokePostProcessBP/text()=’YES’</condition>
</rule>
<sequence>
<assign to="NACHA-Interchange" from="PrimaryDocument/@SCIObjectID"></assign>
<operation name="ACHDeEnvelope">
<participant name="DeenvelopeACH"/>
<output message="Xout">
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
</output>
<input message="Xin">
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
</input>
</operation>
<choice>
<select>
<case ref="PostProcess" activity="PostACHDeEnvelope"/>
</select>
<sequence name="PostACHDeEnvelope">
<operation>
<participant name="InvokeSubProcessService"/>
<output message="Xout">
<assign to="INVOKE_MODE">INLINE</assign>
<assign to="WFD_NAME" from="//SuccessBPName/text()"></assign>
</output>
<input message="Xin">
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
</input>
</operation>
</sequence>
</choice>
<onFault>
</sequence>
</choice>
</onFault>
</sequence>
</process>
Procedure
1. Activate your license for the ACHDeenvelope service.
2. Create an ACH-CTX inbound envelope.
<sequence>
<sequence>
<operation>
<participant name="EnvelopeACH"/>
<output message="Xout">
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
</output>
<input message="Xin">
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
</input>
</operation>
<onFault>
<operation>
<participant name="BPExceptionService"/>
<output message="Xout">
<assign to="exceptionCode" from="’Translation Error’"></assign>
</output>
<input message="Xin">
</input>
</operation>
<sequence name="invoke_contract_workflow">
<operation>
<participant name="InvokeBusinessProcessService"/>
<output message="Xout">
<assign to="INVOKE_MODE">ASYNC</assign>
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
</output>
<input message="Xin">
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
</input>
</operation>
</sequence>
</choice>
</sequence>
</process>
Procedure
1. Activate your license for the ACHenvelope service.
2. Create an ACH-CTX inbound envelope.
The following figure shows the EDI deenveloping business process model as it
displays in the GPM:
The following BPML code makes up the EDI deenveloping business process:
<process name="EDIDeenvelope">
<sequence>
<operation>
</sequence>
</process>
The following scenario shows how the EDIDeenvelope business process can
deenvelope ANSI X12 documents:
1. The File System adapter collects a file from an ANSI X12 collection folder and
invokes the EDIDeenvelope business process.
2. The EDI Deenveloping service determines that the file contains an X12
document and starts the X12Deenvelope business process.
3. The X12Deenvelope business process removes the envelopes to make available
the transaction set envelope for the X12 document and determine the next
action to perform.
4. For documents with CII Syntax Rule requirements, the X12Deenvelope business
process parses the message group and uses the values indicated in the message
group header to locate a matching envelope. The envelope then determines the
next action to perform.
Before you use the EDIDeenvelope business process, you must complete the
following tasks:
Procedure
1. Create the trading profile, including a contract.
2. Create necessary envelopes.
3. Create a business process that initiates the EDIDeenvelope business processes.
When creating a business process that enables inbound ST (or UNH) envelopes
to translate transactions when running EDIDeenvelope business processes,
consider:
v Delimiters sent in the ISA or UNA segments are placed into process data in
Sterling B2B Integrator.
v The GPM makes available parameters that represent the delimiters, which
you must configure to enable the envelopes to translate transaction.
v You must create an XPath expression that describes the location of envelopes
and apply it to the Translation service.
The initial primary document is a Sterling B2B Integrator export file containing
mailboxes specifically selected for message migration. The final primary document
contains a report detailing migration activity. Only extractable traditional messages
are migrated, and they are set to unextractable in the traditional mailbox after
migration. The business process can be executed again safely (such as after error
resolution) without risking duplicate migration. The migrated Global Mailbox
messages retain the original extractability of the corresponding traditional message.
Global Mailbox event rules are not executed for the migrated Global Mailbox
messages.
<sequence name="Main">
<sequence name="ParseMailboxes">
<assign to="MailboxPaths" from="DocToDOM(PrimaryDocument,’false’,’false’,’//BASEPATH’)" append=
<operation name="ReleasePrimaryDocument">
<participant name="ReleaseService"/>
<output message="outmsg">
<assign to="TARGET">/ProcessData/PrimaryDocument</assign>
</output>
<input message="inmsg"/>
</operation>
<operation name="AppendReportHeader">
<sequence name="ProcessMailboxes">
<assign to="MailboxIndex">1</assign>
<assign to="MailboxCount" from="count(/ProcessData/MailboxPaths/DocToDOMResults/*[local-name
<operation name="AppendReportMailboxCount">
<participant name="TextDocAppender"/>
<output message="DocAppendInputMessage">
<assign to="appendString" from="concat(’ Beginning processing of ’, MailboxCount, ’ mail
<assign to="." from="*"/>
</output>
<input message="inmsg">
<assign to="." from="*"/>
</input>
</operation>
<choice name="ProcessMailboxLoop">
<select>
<case ref="More Mailboxes?" activity="ProcessMailbox"/>
</select>
<sequence name="ProcessMailbox">
<assign to="CurrentMailbox" from="/ProcessData/MailboxPaths/DocToDOMResults/*[local-name
<operation name="Mailbox Query Service">
<participant name="MailboxQuery" />
<output message="QueryRequest">
<assign to="MailboxPath" from="CurrentMailbox/text()"/>
<assign to="MessageExtractable">YES</assign>
<assign to="." from="*"/>
</output>
<input message="inmsg">
<assign to="QueryResults" from="*"/>
</input>
</operation>
<sequence name="OuterCopyMessageAndUpdate">
<assign to="MessageIndex">1</assign>
<assign to="MessageCount" from="count(QueryResults/Message)"/>
<operation name="AppendReportMessageCount">
<participant name="TextDocAppender"/>
<output message="DocAppendInputMessage">
<assign to="appendString" from="concat(’ Migrating ’, MessageCount ,’ message(s)
<assign to="." from="*"/>
</output>
<input message="inmsg">
<assign to="." from="*"/>
</input>
</operation>
<choice name="ProcessMessages">
<select>
<case ref="More Messages?" activity="CopyMessageAndUpdate" />
</select>
<sequence name="CopyMessageAndUpdate">
<choice name="handleExtractabilityPolicy">
<select>
<case ref="ExtractableExists?" activity="SetExtractable" />
<operation name="AppendReportMessageMigrated">
<participant name="TextDocAppender"/>
<output message="DocAppendInputMessage">
<assign to="appendString" from="concat(’ Migrated message ’,QueryResults/Messag
<assign to="." from="*"/>
</output>
<input message="inmsg">
<assign to="." from="*"/>
</input>
</operation>
Before you use the MigrateMsgsToGlobalMbx business process, you must complete
the following tasks:
Procedure
1. Using the worksheet created in Preparing for migration, locate the resources in
Sterling B2B Integrator.
2. Create a Sterling B2B Integrator export file containing traditional mailboxes
specifically selected for message migration. For more information, see Import
and Export Trading Partner Data.
Run the business process with the export file as the primary document to migrate
messages in the mailboxes. See “MigrateMsgsToGlobalMbx business process” on
page 80
</sequence>
</process>
<rule name="acting_as_endpoint">
<condition>SOAP_INTERMEDIATE_NODE = "false"</condition>
</rule>
<sequence>
<sequence>
<operation name="SoapIn">
<participant name="SOAPInbound"/>
<output message="output">
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
</output>
<input message="input">
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
</input>
</operation>
<choice>
<select>
<case ref="acting_as_intermediate" activity="act_as_intermediate"/>
</select>
<sequence name="act_as_intermediate">
<assign to="xport-http-url" from="NextSoapURL/text()"></assign>
<sequence>
<operation name="HTTP Client Begin">
<participant name="HTTPClientBeginSession"/>
<output message="HttpClientBeginServiceInputMessage">
<assign to="." from="PrimaryDocument"></assign>
<assign to="RemoteURL" from="xport-http-url/text()"></assign>
<assign to="HTTPClientAdapter">HTTPClientAdapter</assign>
</output>
<input message="inmsg">
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
</input>
</operation>
<operation name="HTTP Client Post">
<participant name="HTTPClientPost"/>
<output message="HttpClientPostServiceInputMessage">
<assign to="." from="PrimaryDocument"></assign>
<assign to="SessionToken" from="SessionToken/text()"></assign>
<assign to="RawResponse">true</assign>
<assign to="RawRequest"
from="xport-force-b2b-raw-message/text()"></assign>
</output>
<input message="inmsg">
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
</input>
</operation>
<onFault>
<sequence>
<operation name="HTTP Client End">
<participant name="HTTPClientEndSession"/>
<output message="HttpClientEndServiceInputMessage">
<assign to="SessionToken" from="SessionToken/text()"></assign>
</output>
<input message="inmsg">
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
</input>
</operation>
<assign to="SOAPfaultcode">Server</assign>
<assign to="SOAPfaultstring">There was an error processing the SOAP
request.</assign>
<assign to="SOAPdetail">An error occurred trying to send SOAP
request to next node.</assign>
</sequence>
</onFault>
</sequence>
<operation name="SoapIn">
<participant name="SOAPInbound"/>
<output message="output">
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
<assign to="bootstrap">false</assign>
</output>
<input message="input">
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
</input>
</operation>
<assign to="SOAPOutboundAttachments" from="SOAPResponseAttachments/*"></assign>
</sequence>
</choice>
<choice>
<select>
<case ref="acting_as_endpoint" activity="act_as_endpoint"/>
</select>
<sequence name="act_as_endpoint">
<operation>
<participant name="InvokeBusinessProcessService"/>
<output message="Xout">
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
<assign to="INVOKE_MODE">SYNC</assign>
</output>
<input message="Xin">
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
</input>
</operation>
<onFault>
<sequence>
<assign to="SOAPfaultcode">Server</assign>
<assign to="SOAPfaultstring">There was an error processing the SOAP
request.</assign>
<assign to="SOAPdetail">An error occurred while processing the SOAP
request.</assign>
</sequence>
</onFault>
</sequence>
</choice>
</sequence>
</process>
Before you use the HandleSOAPRequest business process, you must complete the
following tasks:
v Configure the SOAP Inbound service.
v Configure a related B2B HTTP Server adapter so that it is configured for raw
messages, has the same URI as the SOAP Inbound service, and is associated
with the HandleSOAPRequest business process.
v Create the business process that processes the SOAP message where Sterling B2B
Integrator is the final receiver. Depending on your needs, you may need to
assign values to several parameters before using the HandleSOAPRequest
business process.
The following table identifies parameters for various SOAP functions and the
values you must specify:
Required SOAP
Function SOAP Parameter Parameter Values
SOAP enveloping on ADD_SOAP_ENVELOPING True = add SOAP enveloping
primary document (default).
before posting
Digitally sign a SIGN_WITH_KEY Type the exact name of the
SOAP message digital certificate.
Envelope namespace SOAPEnvNSPrefix Type the envelope namespace
prefix for SOAP prefix.
message ADD_SOAP_ENVELOPING
must also be true.
<sequence>
<operation name="HTTP Client Begin">
<participant name="HTTPClientBeginSession"/>
<output message="HttpClientBeginServiceInputMessage">
<assign to="." from="PrimaryDocument"></assign>
<assign to="RemoteURL" from="xport-http-url/text()"></assign>
<assign to="HTTPClientAdapter">HTTPClientAdapter</assign>
</output>
<input message="inmsg">
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
</input>
</operation>
<onFault>
<sequence>
<operation name="HTTP Client End">
<participant name="HTTPClientEndSession"/>
<output message="HttpClientEndServiceInputMessage">
<assign to="SessionToken" from="SessionToken/text()"></assign>
</output>
<input message="inmsg">
<assign to="." from="*"></assign>
</input>
</operation>
</sequence>
</onFault>
</sequence>
<operation name="SoapIn">
<participant name="SOAPInbound"/>
<output message="BPML:output">
</sequence>
</process>
Before you use the SendSOAPRequest business process, you must complete the
following tasks:
Procedure
1. Configure the SOAP Outbound service.
2. Create a separate business process for each SOAP service you want Sterling
B2B Integrator to call. The business process must complete the following tasks:
a. Assign a value to SOAPRequestURL. The value is the URL to which
Sterling B2B Integrator should post the SOAP request.
b. Perform an operation with InvokeBusinessProcessService as the participant,
assigning SendSOAPRequest to the WDF_NAME parameter.
3. Depending on your needs, you may need to assign values to other parameters
before using the SendSOAPRequest business process. The following table
identifies parameters for various SendSOAP functions and the values you must
specify:
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T
testing business process model 48, 63
text editor
creating business process model 42
enabling business process 63
setting default business process 63
tracking
planning your needs 22
tracking level 23
V
validation 32
about 45
BPML syntax 45
version
deleting 72
W
workflow context 10
X
XML documents, assigning rules and
conditions for 26
XPath
and creating rules and conditions 26
Index 99
100 IBM Sterling B2B Integrator: Business Process Modeling
IBM®
Product Number:
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