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Get on top of your business processes through automation with WebSphere and WebSphere MQ Workflow Tillmann Schall (anaptecs GmbH)

Alexander Marschoun (IBM Austria)

IBM Software Group | WebSphere software

Agenda

� Introduction

� Integrating WebSphere MQ Workflow into EJB-Environments

� Extending WebSphere MQ Workflow with scheduling functionality

� Summary and Conclusion

� Questions and Answers


Table of contents

Introduction

Integrating WebSphere MQ Workflow into EJB-Environments

Extending WebSphere MQ Workflow with scheduling functionality

Summary and Conclusion

Questions and Answers


Introduction / Background

� Presentation is based on experiences that were made in a projectfor a group of liability insurances in Germany.

� Within this project all business processes were optimized and fully supported by the developed software. All existing legacy systemswere stripped.


Architecture for Workflow Applications

EIS Tier

WebSphere Application Server

WorkflowService

IBM DB2

IBM SecureWay(LDAP-Server)

IBM WebSphere MQ Workflow

IBM Content ManagerUser Access

Management

Persistence-Layer

SchedulingService

Additional Services

(e.g. DocumentService)

Application Client

Web Client

Firewall


Table of contents

Introduction






WebSphere MQ Workflow Overview

� Who?Persons

� What?Processes

� With?Applications


WebSphere MQ Workflow Overview

BuildtimeBuildtimeWorkflow DefinitionWorkflow Definition(Processes, Staff, (Processes, Staff, ……))

RuntimeRuntimeWorkflow ExecutionWorkflow Execution

FDLFDL


Why integrating the Runtime?

� Need for application with consistent look & feel

� Starting Use Cases which are not executables

� Transferring business data from activity to activity

� Evaluating business data in transition conditions


The Business Process Metamodel

Business Process

Use Case

Business Transaction


Workflow Service Architecture Overview

Application Client

MQ WFClient

MQ WorkflowServer

Workflow Service

Service B

Service A

WebSphereEJB Server

MQ WorkflowBuildtime

FD

L

Worklist


Solution Architecture Details

� WebSphere Application Server 4.0 & MQ Workflow 3.2

� Stateful Session Beans

� Caching Adapter Objects – Presenting Item Data Objects

� Item Identifiers

� Instantiating the Use Cases (Check out, Check in, Transferring Context Data)


Refreshing the Worklist

Application ServerApplication Client

WfS-Stub

WfS-Bean

MQ WFClient

refreshWorklist()

queryWorkitems()

cacheItems()createItemDataObjects()

MQ WFServer


Starting a Use Case

Application ServerApplication Client

WfS-Stub

WfS-Bean

MQ WFClient

startUC(Identifier)

fetchWorkItem(Identifier)

checkOut()evaluateUCName()evaluateInputContext()createUCBeanObject()startUCBean()

MQ WFServer


Context Data Mapping

In MQ WF every activity has Input- and Output-Variables with oneof the following types: String, Float, Long, Binary.

• How to transfer application specific Business Objects between activities (Use Cases)?

• How to evaluate transition conditions based on attributes of Business Objects without spoiling the application code?


Contract

Context Data Mapping

#FE08##FE08#

ABC

Workflow ServiceWorkflow Service

Customer

#4711##4711#

XYZ

#Input#ABC:Customer,…#Output#XYZ:Contract,DEF:Contract.amount,…#

Application View

MQ WF View


Authorization

User Access User Access ManagementManagement

(Application specific – e.g. LDAP)

WebSphere WebSphere MQ WorkflowMQ Workflow

(Authorizations:Processes,Work Items)


Table of contents

Introduction

Integrating WebSphere MQ Workflow in EJB-Environments





Scheduling Service - Meeting real life demands

Business Process Requirements� Most processes are still focused on documents. Returning documents trigger

continuation of running process(es)

� Processes may require delay between business activities (e.g. sending invoice and checking of payment two weeks later)

Restrictions of WebSphere MQ Workflow� No time- / date-triggered business activities

� No triggers to continue suspended processes

� No support for start of new business processes at a certain point of time

Real life?


Modeling Scheduled Use Cases

STATUS = BECAME_DUE

STATUS = MANUAL_STARTED

Use Case sets scheduling parameters

Technical activity ensures that scheduled use case, will not start immediately

Depending on how the technical activity completed, use cases are executed


Scheduling Service Architecture

EIS Tier


WorkflowService

IBM DB2

IBM SecureWay(LDAP Server)

IBM WebSphere MQ Workflow

User AccessManagement

Persistence Layer

SchedulingService

Desktop

Scheduler

scheduler to start activities

that became due

special work list for scheduled activities

persistent objects to manage scheduling

information


How to access WebSphere MQ Workflow?


stateless Scheduling

Service BeanWorkflow

Service Bean

stateless Scheduling-

Service Bean


Service Bean

EJB Container 0


Service BeanWorkflow

Service Bean


Service Beanstateless

SchedulingService Bean

EJB Container n-1

Shared Workflow Service bean in each container

. . .


Scheduling Service Programming Model


SchedulingService

Business Transaction n

begin…create,update, start, delete, search…commit

Business Transaction n+1

Business Transaction n-1

EJB uses container managed transactions

to participate in transaction n

value objects for client- / server-communication

Business Activity


Table of contents

Introduction







� Both solutions are working quite well. The developed software system is almost productive, field tests are already running.

� Integrating and extending WebSphere MQ Workflow is quite a lot of work especially when dealing with complex requirements

� Since current version 3.4 integration is much easier due to support for stateless servers and synchronization of user data with LDAPdirectories.


Table of contents

Introduction





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