Working with the BEA AquaLogic BPM Suite

Bring All the Services Together via the AquaLogic BPM Suite 

Using the AquaLogic BPM Studio, one can integrate with multiple systems and sub-systems. The goal in this section is to integrate with the JPD built with WebLogic Integration, with the Web services exposed from the service bus, and directly with the Web service from the BEA test server. This will complete the example integration scenario.

With the AquaLogic BPM Studio, one can introspect the JPD created previously. Once the Studio has completed the introspection step, one can call the process directly from the process flow. Figure 13 demonstrates the WebLogic Integration module that was created and the Web services that were called so that AquaLogic BPM Suite can interact with the JPD.

Figure 13. Module where a WebLogic Integration process has been introspected

After the introspection step is completed, it can instantiate and call JPDs directly from the business process flow. Figure 14 shows a process node expanded and the code used for calling a Java process.

Figure 14. Simple scripting to interact with the JPD

The same can be done directly with the AquaLogic Service Bus and the weather service. Figure 15 demonstrates how the modules can be created and code can be added to interact with each service.

Figure 15. Module to talk with the AquaLogic Service Bus and a simple Web service

At this point, the developer should have all the products installed in the environment. All the related components have been configured with WebLogic Integration 8.1.5 and AquaLogic Service Bus 2.1.

How do you model your business processes and integrate them with AquaLogic BPM Studio? You list all your external system resources, define each entry point, introspect them with the AquaLogic BPM Studio tool, and test the flow with the built-in ALBPM engine.

The AquaLogic BPM Suite moves beyond the limitations of traditional human workflow and process technology. It provides a single suite of software used to support the complex, collaborative business processes in heterogeneous environments.

Access AquaLogic BPM Suite via a Web Browser

The Web tier represents the main entry point for business users around the enterprise to initiate, manage, monitor, and collaborate with business processes and other users. In this section I will demonstrate how BEA provides several touch points to cover the Web tier for a variety of use cases.

AquaLogic BPM Suite has three major integration points:

• Out of the box the business users will find the AquaLogic BPM 5.5 HiPer Workspace. This is a powerful Web front end to the business process lifecycle. This front end can also be customized to fit different environments and to work with external systems.
• A second major integration point is with AquaLogic Interaction Process 1.5, where business process management meets enterprise-class collaboration. This combination provides a powerful set of features to enable business users to participate in collaborative process flows.
• A third option is JSR 168 portlets available with the AquaLogic BPM Suite 5.5. They can be surfaced in any JSR 168-compliant container, which includes the WebLogic Portal 8.1 among other portal products.

Figure 16 demonstrates how one can also interact with processes directly from the AquaLogic BPM HiPer Workspace. After the business user login, they perform several actions, such as initiating a business process, participating in process flow, reviewing the history of different processes, browsing through related attachments, and much more.

Figure 16. AquaLogic BPM HiPer Workspace

AquaLogic Interaction Process 1.5 provides tools for delivering composite applications that coordinate user activities and system integration across a business process. It is very easy for organizations to create and deploy new applications that encompass business processes. Figure 17 shows the integration between AquaLogic Interaction Process with AquaLogic BPM Suite in a single collaborative environment.

Figure 17. AquaLogic Integration Process 1.5

For the complete documentation on how to deploy collaborative process flows, review the AquaLogic Interaction Process 1.5 documentation.

WebLogic Portal and other JSR 168-compliant portals can call the BPM portlets included in the AquaLogic BPM Suite 5.5 to interact with different business processes. Figure 18 shows the JSR 168 portlets surfacing a WebLogic Portal 8.1 installation.

Figure 18. WebLogic Portal 8.1 running the BPM portlets

There are several ways to enable process interaction from the Web tier. One can use the built-in AquaLogic BPM HiPer Workspace for all its process management capabilities. Business analysts can participate in process collaboration using AquaLogic Interaction process. Finally, customers that use portal software can leverage the portlets for integration with existing applications and process interaction.

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Summary

Business analysts and members of the IT department can start using AquaLogic BPM Suite today with other BEA products such as WebLogic Integration 8.1.5, AquaLogic Service Bus 2.1 or later, AquaLogic Interaction Process 1.5, and WebLogic Portal 8.1.5.

Please share feedback and requests with the AquaLogic BPM team. The AquaLogic BPM Newsgroup page is available on Dev2Dev.

References

Additional information related to business process management (BPM) standards and the BEA products is available online:

Alex Toussaint is a Senior Product Manager at BEA Systems. Alex is part of the AquaLogic BPM team with responsibilities for product planning and strategy.