TieFlow Process Editor

CAPSTONE TEAM # 203/04/2009CSCI 6838 -01 Spring

2009

Team Information

• Vishal Jadhav.Email: Jadhav66766@uhcl.eduMajor: Computer ScienceRole: Team Leader/ Webmaster/Programmer

• Doyle Rodrigues. Email:

rodriguesd6360@uhcl.eduMajor: Computer Science.Role: Documentation/ Researcher/Programmer

• Shardul Kale.Email: kales4686@uhcl.eduMajor: Computer ScienceRole: Programmer/ Tester/Documentation

• Pratik Zirpe. Email:

zirpep6580@uhcl.eduMajor: Computer Science.Role:Programmer/Reseacher/Tester

Instructor and mentor

• InstructorDr. Alfredo Perez-DavilaAssociate Professor Computer Science and Computer Information Systems.Email perezd@uhcl.edu

• MentorScott HetheringtonTietronix Software, Inc.

Email scott.hetherington@tietronix.com

Agenda

Overview of the Company IntroductionBackgroundProblem DefinitionRequirementsResourcesTime Based SimulationDesign FlowchartDeficiencies and SolutionsWork DoneWork to be Done

Overview of the Company

Tietronix Software, Inc. was founded in 1999 by Victor W. Tang, Michel E. Izygon and Stuart S. Engelhardt.

Tietronix is a full-service provider of custom software applications and advanced technology solutions.

Tietronix’s mission:

First to develop reliable software and technology solutions that solve customers’ problems on time and on budget.

secondly, to apply technologies developed for NASA to commercial markets.

IntroductionWhat is Workflow?

A workflow is a automation of business process within which information, tasks or jobs are passed from one entity to another.

Some Examples

Credit Card application processing.Product design and development.

Existing ApplicationTieFlow Workflow Toolkit

TieFlow Workflow Toolkit is a web based electronic workflow system.

Used to automate manual form based process.

Major FunctionCreate, display, modify process definition in XML.Workflow engine uses XML process definitions to load

database tables to execute peocess.

Current usesNASA's Flight Director's Office uses the same for its

Flight Rules Change Request (FRCR) Process to electronically submit and review changes to the flight rules used during missions.

Problem DefinitionRemoval of current deficiencies present in

Tieflow process Editor.Problems related to reading and writing process

definition XML files.

Errors in editor user interface design.

Failure of removing certain elements defined in process definition.

Features to be addedAbility to reuse the same process as a sub-process

multiple times.

Provide functionality to create copies of processes in the editor.

Refine and improve simulation wizard.

Requirements

• The editor shall use the Xalan/Xerces XML parsers.

• The project shall introduce no third party dependencies.

• The editor does not handle the read and load of the Workflow User element.

• The editor does not handle the read and load of the ActivitiesInstancies Assignees element.

Requirements Cont..

• The editor shall be able to read, load and save the creator tag properly.

• The editor shall use the id values that are already defined.

• The editor shall be able to support the concept of Dynamic repeat

• The Editor shall be able to remove the email address that it stores to send a notification.

• The editor currently shows the properties panel of the parent element when the roles notification element is selected. The property panel should be blank.

Requirements Cont..•The editor shall allow the creation of

transitions between sub-processes.

•The Editor shall allow the user to create a copy of the entire process.▫ The copied process shall have a name as a

new process would have.▫ All elements of the process shall be copied.▫ All elements shall have new unique “id”

attribute values.

Requirements Cont..

• The Editor shall provide a summary view of the resources assignments, start conditions, etc▫The summary view shall be displayed whether

defining or loading a simulation.▫The save simulation shall be moved to the

summary view screen.

• The Time based simulation shall be a wizard type flow of dialogs.▫Each page shall have back and next button▫The wizard shall have no pop-ups except for

browsing a file.

Requirements Cont..

• The Editor shall support a process if it has unequal AND joins and AND splits.

• The Assign resources dialog shall be redesigned to support the following properties.

• Shall allow assignments previously made to be removed.

• Shall allow the users to easily see current resources.

ResourcesHardwareSoftware

J2SE 1.5Eclipse 3.4.1

Time Based Simulation

• What is Time-Based simulation ?• Problems with the GUI of current applicationoHaphazard dialogbox structure oNo modifications to resource assignments to

rolesoDisplay of resource assignments is not easily

comprehensibleoCan not show all the starting conditions for a

simulation before report

Editor ScreenShot

Approach to solution

Load or Define

Simulation

Choose

option

Get the simulation(xml

)

Load or Define

Resource

Define resource and assign them

to roles

Assignments can be changed

A

Choose startup

Get Resourc

e

B

C

Schedule

Recurrent

load

define

load

define

D

Get starting specificatio

ns

C

optioncancel

To D

Summary View

option

back

backTo A save

Final Repor

t

Saved as

xml

end

Choose simulatio

n

Define simulation and

schedule requirements

BLoad xml and

setup conditions

option

option

load

define

back

Summary View

back

option

Change goto A

cancel

Report end

Deficiencies..

•TieFlow Editor allows the user to right-click on the Email Address element and select Remove, but the element is not removed.

•Also TieFlow Editor allows the user to right-click on the ActivityInstanceAssignees element and select Remove, but the element is not removed.

Solution # 1• The removeFromParent() is the method that

is called to initiate the removal process. • The problem with the Activity Instance

Assignee and Email address element was that they or any of their inherited classes did not have a overridden method for removeFromParent().

• Element Activity Instance Assignee is inherited from ElementActivityInstance which didn’t have any overridden method for removefromParent ().

Solution #1 Cont..• So we have added a new overridden method

for removeFromParent () in the ElementActivity Instance class. The definition is same as in the workflowuseratribute.java

• Now when the removeFromParent() function is called it executes the newly written method and the element is now getting removed.

Solution # 2•In the Email Address Problem it was inherited

from the default base class for package elements i.e. DefaultPackageElement.

•We have now made email address to extend WorkFlowUserAttribute instead of Default Package Element.

•Therefore on the removeFromParent function call the function in the WorkFlowUserAttribute is being called and not base class method and hence email address element is now getting removed.

Work Done..

•We have fixed the Activity Instance Assignee and Email Address Bug present in the editor.

•We have also finished with design of the simulation wizard to be developed.

•We have completed the Software Requirements Specification Document for the project.

•We have devised a project plan to decide who and when will be working on the bugs.

Work Done Cont..

•We have spend more time in understanding the editor▫Understanding and analyzing the relationships

existing between various source files and classes

▫Developing a strategy and plan to encounter and cope with the bugs.

▫Deciding on the Best Integration Development Environment for the usage of editor.

•We generated Javadocs for the Editor using Eclipse..

Work to be done

•We have to fix deficiencies in the editor related to XML Reading/Writing.

•We also need to fix few of the problems in the user interface.

•We need to design refined and easy to use simulation wizard for the time-based simulation in editor.

THANK YOU!! ' ANY QUESTIONS??