1

Choice Points for e-BusinessChoice Points for e-Business

Approach to Linking and Switching with Approach to Linking and Switching with Context Orchestration SupportContext Orchestration Support

Choice PointsChoice Points

http://www.DFAS.info

For Enterprise Agility & Interoperability

Mike LubashMike Lubash703.607.1166703.607.1166Mike.Lubash@DFAS.milMike.Lubash@DFAS.milXML Team LeaderXML Team LeaderDoD Finance and Accounting Namespace ManagerDoD Finance and Accounting Namespace Manager

David RR WebberDavid RR Webber301.482.2597301.482.2597

drrw@smartdraw.comdrrw@smartdraw.comXML eBusinessXML eBusiness

Presenters:Presenters:

2

Agenda

• Overview of BCM semanticsOverview of BCM semantics

• Introduction to ContextIntroduction to Context

• Choice Point ApproachChoice Point Approach

• Implementation and AdoptionImplementation and Adoption

3

Stating the Business Needs Today

• Creating the balance between the business community and the technology implementers - so the two work in synergy.

• Roadmap - state transitions and sequencing diagrams showing what to accomplish, with accountability and decisions along the way

• Collaboration - – need external view, not just internal

– understanding information - not just data - because context is vital.

4

For Enterprise Agility & Interoperability

5

Understanding Context

• Context is the pervasive driver to effective engineering• Providing and managing context is needed to drive

dynamic process configuring and control• Knowing context is needed to ensure accurate

information capture, packaging and delivery• Qualifying context is key to ensuring correct

relationships between partners in a collaboration

Lack of context control mechanisms is the most prominent reason why legacy e-Business systems are

difficult and complex to extend and support

Date: circa 15681 : the parts of a discourse that surround a word or passage and can throw light on its meaning2 : the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs

Date: circa 15681 : the parts of a discourse that surround a word or passage and can throw light on its meaning2 : the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs

6

Sample Context Types

• Community of interest determination• Business agreement context • Business agreement roles• Classification of artifacts context • Process selection context• Process tracking context• Transaction context• Exception handling context• Decisions context• Rules context

Choices tend to be one off and embedded in code, rather than an approach from a strategic viewpoint –

people don’t look outside their purview

7

Choice Point Roles

1.1. CContext that extends beyond the local decision pointontext that extends beyond the local decision point, , and if persistence of decisions is requiredand if persistence of decisions is required

2.2. ContextContext by refining criteria dynamicallyby refining criteria dynamically, and that , and that may include from undetermined start pointsmay include from undetermined start points

3.3. Context requires a threadContext requires a thread to establish and track the to establish and track the state of a process.state of a process.

Choice Points can be seen as providing three enablers for agile information exchanges:

So not all decisions are Choice Points; knowing the right questions to ask is critical.

8

Choice Point Components

• Inputs – facts (assert and retract)– potential outcomes (allowed choices)– rules and constraints (e.g. codelists, nodes in hierarchy)

• Outputs – outcome decision(s) – that link and switch– allowed choices / node paths in hierarchy– changed state(s)– additional requested actions

• Choice engine technology– simple, inference, agent, backward chaining, etc

• Actions– request an action from choice point– request current state of thread

9

Choice Point Overview

Infe re nc e E ng ine

Fa ctA s s e rt io n s

R u leA s s e rt io n s

C h o ice s / O n to lo g y No de s

O u tc o m e s

I n p u ts

R u le s / C o n s tra in tsR e q u e s t / A c tio n

D e c is io n (s )

1

2

3

P e rs is te nc e S to re

Choice EngineChoice EngineContext

State

State

Potential

10

Context Actions

• Context Actions can be viewed as a decision tree or series of cascading choice points that have:

– inputs through the assertion of facts

– the operation of rules and constraints

– that determine the outcome(s) from available choices.

• Context ranges from the very simple – “if then do” style, to event handlers, to complex decision agents that operate on sets of dynamic facts.

Simple ComplexIf-then-do Decision Agents

Implementation

Choice Pt.

11

Animal Classification Hierarchy

This by itself only shows me the possible outcomes, not the means to determine which one to select.

R ep tiles M am m als

S n ak e L izar d

S elec t

C h am eleo n

M o n o tr em e W h ales

P la ty p u s E c h id n ea

F is h Bir d s

E lep h an ts

P ig m yS h r ew M an atee

M ar s u p ia ls

12

Solution – Cascading Hierarchy

C h o ic eP o in t

R ep tiles M am m als

S n ak e L izar d

C h o ic eP o in t

C h am eleo n

C h o ic eP o in t

C h o ic eP o in tM o n o tr em e

W h ales

I n p u ts &R u les

I n p u ts &R u les

P la ty p u s E c h id n ea

F is h Bir d s

C h o ic eP o in t

I n p u ts &R u les

E lep h an ts

P ig m yS h r ew M an atee

M ar s u p ia ls

C h o ic eP o in t

I n p u ts &R u les

cro ss-o ver resu lt

C o n tex t: h a s: fo u r leg s, la ys eg g s

C o n tex t: h a s: fo u r leg s, la ys eg g s h a s: w a rm -b lo o d ed

C o n tex t: h a s: fo u r leg s, la ys eg g s h a s: w a rm -b lo o d ed

1

23

4

13

Applied to Information Architecture

Specific Ontology Navigation

Content Rendering

Transaction Handling

Business Processes

Collaboration Agreements, MOA

Codelist subsetting Services; Transaction Processing

Context at Each Information Layer

Context Examples…

Communities of Interests- CoI

11

22

33

44

55

66

778899

10 10

11 11

14

Service-Oriented Architecture

• The choice point approach lends itself to today's Web service technology.

• A choice point can function as a web service, or set of web service calls, that provide dynamic control and predeterministic decision making.

• Or the choice point can be a local component that references assertions and facts as input from a web service.

• Typical uses include tracking and controlling business processes, building transaction content and providing status of discreet events.

SHIFTSHIFT SHIFTSHIFT

Hub n’ Spoke Service-Oriented (SOA)Ad Hoc

15

Cascading e-Business Choices

C P P A'(yo urs )

C P P A''(m ine )

C h o ic eP o in t

O p er a tio n a l D eta ils( s u b - s e t)

f o o ter

O pe rat io nalD e tai ls

( s ub- s e t)

O p er a tio n a l D eta ils( s u b - s e t)

Head er

A B P SS

B B P SS

C B P SS

D B P SS

C hoic eP oin t

M e s s a ge type X

M e s s a ge type Y

M e s s a ge type Z

M es s ag e ty p e Z

M e s s a ge type Y

M e s s a ge type Y

M e s s a ge type X

C h o ic eP o in t

A B P SS

B B P SS

C B P SS

D B P SS

C h o iceP o in t

M e s s a ge type X

M e s s a ge type Y

M e s s a ge type Z

M e s s a ge type Y

M e s s a ge type Y

M e s s a ge type Z

C h o ic eP o in t

R ule C rite r iato p ic k B P S S C A M R u le C r ite r ia

to p ic k M es s ag in g

M es s ag e ty p e Y

M es s ag e ty p e X

Indus try C P A m o de l

S o m e C riteriain h erited

R u le s

R u le s

ke e p thre a dc onte xt s ta te

P R O C E S S F O R P A R T N E R A

P R O C E S S F O R P A R T N E R B

U s e O ntologyto P ic k

16

Choice Point Business Summary

• Allows templates, documents, and exchange decisions based on set of options - built declaratively

• Allows inputs to determine outcomes based on rules• Choice points can call other choice points• Delivers loose-coupling, but with predeterministic tracking

Business Drivers: Model / Process / Constraints

Contract – Collaboration Partner Specific Constraints

Business Goals

Legacy systems

Authoritative Sources

Applying to constructing BCM Templates…

17

Implementing Choice PointsTechnology Details

18

Implementing Choice Point

• A variety of rule engine solutions are available

• Common needs include:

– Fact assertion / retraction

– Rule assertion / retraction

– State tracking mechanism

– Storage of current state decision memory

– Decision testing support (if then analysis)

– Solution determination via backtracking supported

– Audit trail and decision verification (why?)

19

Choice Point Technical Features

• Assertion of facts and/or rules can be passed as inputs to a

choice point, and also inherited

• Choices can be simple fixed set, or could be dynamic set

• Choice points are exposed as components of the architecture

and not closed as inaccessible within a solution

• Choice points can be managed via an ontology and registry

• Choice points can communicate via web services and

messaging as needed

• Choice points can hold the transient state of interactions

20

Technology Requirements

• BCM can define neutral set of mechanisms that implementers can then construct using popular rule engines and XML formats

• Interoperability prime requirement via common mechanisms and shared interfaces

• Ability to use a broad set of communications via service definitions like WSDL

• Can be used by other OASIS specifications to provide dynamic context driven behaviours. examples: BPEL, BPSS, CAM, CPPA, UBL, CIQ

21

Neutral Components

• Rule base and consistent decision mechanisms

• Fact base and consistent representations

• Business-friendly rule constructs, semantics and syntax

• State tracking and ability to assign globally unique thread IDs

• Query and Response action formats

• Change action formats

• Event handling formats

• Security support with audit trail

22

Example Rule EngineDesign

S e rv ice R e s po n s e s (X M L tra n s a ct io n s /

s y s te m a ct io n s )

C h o ice Po in t

S e rv ice R e qu e s t A ct io n s (X M L tra n s a ct io n s )

D e cis io n s

C o m m u n ica t io n s I n te rfa ce

W S D Lde s cript io n

A s s e rt /R e tra ctFa ct s

A s s e rt /R e tra ctR u le s

R e qu e s tO u tco m e

Q u e ry /R e qu e s tTh re a dI D

Fa ct s / R u le s

Th re a dsO u tco m e s

S e t C o n te x t

S e cu rity

In p u ts

R esp o n ses

23

Example Decision Detail

Infe re nc e E ng ine

Fa ctA s s e rt io n s

fa ct s ( [ C o lo u r(re d)C o lo u r(blu e ) ] , [ le g s (R e pt ile , C h a m e le o n ) ] )

R u leA s s e rt io n s

g o a l: - co lo u r(C h o ice ) , s e le ct_ co lo u r(C h o ice , co lo u r_ ty pe ) , s e le ct_ a n im a l( co lo u r_ ty pe ,D e cis io n ) , o u tpu t (D e cis io n ) , !.g o a l: -o u tpu t (" No v a lid co lo u rs a v a ila ble " ) , !.

s e le ct_ co lo u r(C h o ice _ I n pu t ,D e cis io n ) : - g e t_ ru le (Ne x t_ R u le ) , g e t_ a s s e rt io n (Ne x t_ Fa ct ) , t e s t_ ru le (Ne x t_ R u le , Ne x t_ Fa ct , D e cis io n ) , o u tpu t (D e cis io n ) , !.g o a l: -o u tpu t (" No v a lid ru le fo u n d" ) , !.

C h o ice s / O n to lo g y No de s

M a m m a l(e le ph a n t ( ) , s e a l( ) ,wh a le ( ) )R e pt ile (S n a k e ( ) ,L iza rd( ) )

O u tc o m e s

I n p u ts

R u le s / C o n s tra in ts

24

Next Steps

• Solicit vendor participation

• Create Linking and Switching SC of BCM TC and invite participation

– review earlier work (SHOE, RuleML, BRML, etc)

• Liaison with OASIS TCs to refine requirements and implementation model

• Creation of W3C WSDL model for choice points• Development of technical specification (Pareto principle applies!)

• Prototype using available rule engines

• Demonstration using selected business scenarios

25

Communities of Interests

Ontology

Architecture

Processing

http://www.DFAS.info