Disclaimer

This material was developed in conjunction with the hardware and software products specified, and is limited in application to those specific hardware and software products and levels. Read full disclaimer

Back to top

Overview

The assessor automation business scenario in this article was developed and tested at IBM by the Software Group Horizontal Integration Analysis Lab. Read this article to get information about detailed, end-to-end business scenario validation and the various products used to design, develop, and deploy applications that make up business solutions. During testing, multiple products are used together in the context of a business scenario and then validated. (For additional scenarios, visit the product integration overview site.) Acting as the first customer for the assessor automation solution of the eMerge scenario covered in this article, the Software Group Horizontal Integration Analysis Lab built the network and applications, integrated the hardware, software, and applications, and tested the end-to-end solution. The solution passed through a true cycle of design and deployment. (Note that although other viable solutions to the business requirements are possible, testing focused on only one solution mapped to a set of business requirements.)

A benefit of solution testing is the validation of the integration of multiple products, so we include in this article specific information about the interaction among products for the assessor automation scenario, including:

• An overview of the business scenario with links to other IBM developerWorks articles for more details
• A network diagram
• A product matrix showing the products used and their interactions within the solution

Back to top

Understanding the product matrix

Knowing how to read the product matrix is key to this article. Figure 1 shows an example matrix. Dots in the matrix, which represent product integration points, can designate:

• The operating system on which a product is installed (For example, Figure 1 shows that IBM WebSphere® Studio Application Developer V5.1 is installed on a Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Server, indicated by the dot at the intersection of the Windows 2000 Server and WebSphere Studio Application Developer V5.1.)
• Two products that interact with each other using an API or protocol (For example, WebSphere Portal V5.0.2 running on WebSphere Application Server - Enterprise V5.0.2 constitutes an integration point.)
• A software artifact built within a tool and deployed in a runtime environment (For example, a portlet application developed using WebSphere Studio Application Developer V5.1 and deployed to WebSphere Portal V5.0.2 results in an integration point between the two products.)

The blacked-out cells shown in the matrix simply indicate where the same products intersect.

Back to top

Introducing the eMerge assessor automation scenario

Continual business change and organizational consolidation -- whether from a merger or an acquisition or other event -- often results in a myriad of hardware, software, and applications that rapidly need to work together as one solution. From the IT perspective, the response to business integration has traditionally focused on consolidating data and applications. Although this is a valid approach, it is a long-term, high-cost activity that must be balanced with the need to demonstrate a more immediate return on investment.

The assessor automation solution demonstrates that, despite two companies using disparate and different data formats, they can be merged at the process level, connecting to existing applications and data. First, the foundation of the two companies was established. A single, common front end was then introduced for access to both companies' applications and data. WebSphere MQ Workflow provided the business process management for the merged companies, with WebSphere Business Integration Message Broker (WebSphere MQ Integrator Broker) transforming and routing the data to the maintained back-end systems. Several Web services features were incorporated into policy management, including connection to a .NET company through IBM Web Services Gateway to allow the merged insurance companies to check the risk of a new policy request.

The assessor automation stage of the eMerge solution addresses the extension of the current claims business process to include the automatic handling of motor vehicle insurance claim assessments by external independent assessors. It aims to reduce administration costs by minimizing the manual activities in managing the claims assessment through development of a single business process.

The scenario details are considerable and are in two sub-scenarios:

• Request quote / accept quote / register claim
• External claims management and assessor automation

Sub-scenario: external claims and assessor automation

During the merging of the IT infrastructure of the two insurance companies, a consolidated claims system was developed to provide an Internet claims registration facility for customers from both Company A and Company B. The merged claims system leverages WebSphere Business Integration Message Broker as a transformation and routing engine and WebSphere MQ Workflow as a business process engine, to provide a single claims process for both Company A and Company B claims. This consolidated system uses WebSphere MQ Workflow for the long-running claim process workflow as it interacts with systems and people. After Register Claim, a claim goes through several states before reaching its conclusion; Validate, Investigate, and Judge. As part of Investigate claim, WebSphere MQ Workflow can invoke the assessor automation system (see Figure 2) to request a damage report.

The claims handler requests the services of an assessor to process the claim. WebSphere MQ Workflow initiates the automated assessor process in the process choreographer component of WebSphere Business Integrator Server Foundation. The business process commences and a list of assessors is requested from the assessor management system based on the location and the manufacturer of the vehicle. The availability of each assessor in the list is requested by invoking a Web service from WebSphere Business Integration Message Broker. WebSphere Business Integration Message Broker requests the availability of each assessor, performs any required transformations of the data, and using Web Services Gateway, invokes a Web service for each assessor in the list. The scenario has implemented various external assessors as part of the overall assessor automation system, including a WebSphere Application Server assessor, a Microsoft® .NET assessor, a WebSphere Business Integration Message Broker assessor, an IBM CICS® system-based assessor, and a WebSphere MQ Transport for Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) assessor.

WebSphere Business Integration Message Broker aggregates all the replies, carries out any transformations required, and responds to a Web service in WebSphere Process Choreographer. The list of assessors available is passed to the assessor rules engine Web service, and the most suitable assessor is selected (according to the company's business rules). WebSphere Process Choreographer requests the chosen assessor to carry out the assessment, and a Web service in WebSphere Business Integration Message Broker is invoked to carry out any necessary transformations and to invoke the assessor Web service with Web Services Gateway.

The assessor responds to the request with a message of "accept" or "reject," which is forwarded to the WebSphere Process Choreographer Web service. If the response is accept, WebSphere Process Choreographer must wait for the report from the assessor. If the response is reject, WebSphere Process Choreographer invokes the necessary compensation and a staffing flow, which allows a claims handler to manually restart the process flow by selecting another assessor. When the chosen assessor completes the report, it is sent to a Web service in WebSphere Business Integration Message Broker, where it is transformed and forwarded to WebSphere Process Choreographer Web service. WebSphere Process Choreographer invokes the document handler Web service to register and store the report. Finally, the actual date and result of the assessment is returned to WebSphere MQ Workflow, which, upon receipt of this information, processes the claim.

The matrix in Figure 3 shows the product integration points for all stages of the assessor automation scenario.

See a larger version of this matrix.

Back to top

Summary

Deciding which products to use when developing solutions can be a daunting task. Integrating and configuring the products to meet the business needs is another challenge. This article is intended to help you more easily design cross-product IT infrastructures for business requirements by using the example solution that was built and tested in an IBM lab.

Back to top

View a Flash demo of this scenario

View a Flash demo of the eMerge assessor automation scenario now.

Disclaimer

This material was developed in conjunction with the hardware and software products specified, and is limited in application to those specific hardware and software products and levels. Your environment might contain hardware and software components not present during IBM testing that significantly alter the performance or operability of any test scenario. Any performance data contained in this document was determined in a controlled environment, and therefore, the results that may be obtained in other operating environments might vary significantly. Users of the material should verify the applicable data for their specific environment. Further, the information contained in this material has not been submitted to comprehensive testing and is distributed AS IS. No warranties or guarantees are given, other than those accompanying the sale or license of the IBM products. The use of this information or the implementation of any of these techniques is your responsibility and depends on your ability to evaluate and integrate them into your operational environment. While each item may have been reviewed by IBM for accuracy in a specific situation, there is no guarantee that the same or similar results will be obtained elsewhere. Customers attempting to adapt these techniques to their own environments do so at their own risk. The information related to non-IBM ('vendor') products in this material, if any, has been supplied by the vendors and is included for your convenience only. IBM assumes no responsibility for its accuracy or completeness. IBM may have patents or pending patent applications covering subject matter In this document. The furnishing of this material does not give you any license to these patents. You can send license inquiries, in writing, to the IBM Director of Licensing, IBM Corporation, 500 Columbus Avenue, Thornwood, NY 10594 USA. References in this publication to IBM products, programs or services do not imply that IBM intends to make these available in all countries in which IBM operates.

Resources

Learn

• "Coordinate a cross-product infrastructure to develop an eMerge mergers and acquisitions solution," (developerWorks, December 2005). Companion article to this one, it gives you more information about additional stages of the merger and acquisitions scenario.
  
  
• "Merging disparate IT systems," (developerWorks, January 2004) points you to more articles about the eMerge business scenario.
  
  
• eMerge scenario: View a Flash demo of this scenario.
  
  
• Product integration overview: Get more information about other IBM lab-tested product integration scenarios.
  
  
• WebSphere Business Integration Server Foundation: Get more information about this integration platform that can help you build and deploy composite applications.
  
  
• WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment: Get more information about advanced deployment services of this product, including clustering, edge-of-network services, Web services enhancements, and high availability for distributed configurations.
  
  
• WebSphere Business Integration Modeler: Extend modeling capabilities and provide open systems availability and the ability to generate Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) with this product.
  
  
• WebSphere Studio Application Developer Integration Edition: Discover the advantages of using this integrated development environment.
  
  
• WebSphere MQ: Find out how to get a proven foundation for your Enterprise Service Bus (ESB).
  
  
• WebSphere MQ Workflow: Learn how WebSphere MQ Workflow can automate business processes.
  
  
• WebSphere Business Integration Message Broker: Discover the features of Message Broker that distribute business event information in real time.
  
  
• Tivoli Enterprise Console: Get automated problem diagnosis and resolution with this product, helping to improve your system performance and reduce support costs.
  
  
• Tivoli Business Systems Manager: Discover how this product can empower executives with real-time knowledge of critical business services and service-level agreements.
  
  
• developerWorks IT Architecture area: Explore the resources here to help you more efficiently design your IT architecture.
  
  

Get products and technologies

• WebSphere Studio Application Developer Integration Edition: Download a trial version of this next-generation integration development environment.
  
  
• WebSphere Business Integration Modeler: Download a trial version from developerWorks to design, test, improve, and communicate complex business processes.
  
  
• WebSphere MQ: Get a robust messaging backbone for deploying an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) as the connectivity layer of a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). Download a trial version now.
  
  

About the author

Rate this article

Comments

Back to top

Table of contents

• Overview
• Understanding the product matrix
• Introducing the eMerge assessor automation scenario
• Summary
• View a Flash demo of this scenario
• Disclaimer
• Resources
• About the author
• Comments

Local resources

• IBM Innovation Center - Austin, TX
• IBM Innovation Center - Chicago, IL
• IBM Innovation Center - Dallas, TX
• IBM Innovation Center - San Mateo, CA
• IBM Innovation Center - Waltham, MA
• Technical Briefings in North America