To allow iterative development, cross-product synchronization support has been added to both WebSphere Business Modeler and WebSphere Integration Developer version 6.1.2.

WBM offers the capability to transform a business model to business process. The business analyst can export the business process to be imported into WID, so that the integration developer will work on it. In previous versions, if the business analyst then continued developing the business model in WBM and decided to export a new version, there was no easy way for the integration developer to associate the new artifacts with the previous artifacts, or to merge the changes into the application.

Starting from version 6.1, continuous changes can be made in the WBM and then new version of the model is exported. This version can then be merged with the exiting business process project in WID. In addition, the integration developer can report the changes made in the WID back to the business analyst. Business analyst can, in turn, analyze the changes and manually choose to update the business model to be synchronized with the business process.

In this article, we will show you - by example - how to perform this closed cycle development which is illustrated in Figure 1:

Figure 1 shows the steps of the scenario used in this article, which are summarized as follows:

1. Create WBM Model: In this stage the business analyst models the process in WBM based on the requirements.
2. Export WID Module: The business analyst exports the model into WID project interchange.
3. Import PI into WID: The integration developer imports the project Interchange into WID.
4. Export Change Report: After making modifications in WID module, the integration developer exports the change report.
5. Analyzing Changes in WBM: The business analyst analyzes the changes and manually updates the business process model.
6. Export WID Module after changes in WBM: If the business analyst would like to make other changes to the model, then he can export the WID module and hand it over to the integration developer.
7. Synchronize Changes: The integration developer synchronizes the changes between the current WID module, and the PI imported from WBM. This is done automatically. This ability allows the integration developer to modify the process exported from the model without losing those changes when a newer version of the process is exported.

Create WebSphere Business Modeler Model

In this section, a simple model will be built in WBM. This model is composed of one simple task. The model will then be exported as a project interchange to be imported in WID:

1. Create the model - shown in the figure below - that contains only one task having a business object BO1 as input and output.
   
   Figure 2. WBM Model
   
   
   
2. The business object (BO1) has only one attribute, which is Name, and its type is Text as shown in the figure below.
   
   Figure 3. Business Object
   
   
   
3. Right click on the model created, and select Export...
   
   Figure 4. Export Option
   
   
   
4. Export the model to the WID as WebSphere Integration Developer export.
   
   Figure 5. WebSphere Integration Developer export wizard
   
   
   
5. Select Module + Library option, and click Finish.
   
   Figure 6. WebSphere Integration Developer export wizard details
   
   
   
6. A project interchange (zip file) will be created, and ready to be imported to WID.

Back to top

Import PI into WebSphere Integration Developer

In this section, The project interchange that is exported from WBM will be imported in WID.

1. Import the project interchange into WID. The generated assembly diagram is shown Figure 7. The business process Process1 has one reference to Task (which is an SCA component without implementation). The business process is linked to Process1 (which is an export without binding).
   
   Figure 7. Assembly Diagram
   
   
   
2. The generated business process Process1 is shown in the figure below.
   
   Figure 8. Business Process
   
   
   

Back to top

Making Changes in WebSphere Integration Developer

In this section, Simple changes will be made to the WID module. The changes will be in the business object BO1, the interface of the SCA component Task, and in the business process Process1.

1. The business object BO1 has Name as attribute.
   
   Figure 9. Business Object BO1
   
   
   
2. Add the attribute Address of type string to the business object BO1.
   
   Figure 10. Business Object after Modification
   
   
   
3. Make changes to the WSDL of the SCA component Task, Shown below is the WSDL created by WBM.
   
   Figure 11. Task interface
   
   
   
4. Add a new method called operation1, which has input input1 and output output1 of type string.
   
   Figure 12. Task interface after Modification
   
   
   
5. Insert a new human task Process1Task1 - after Task invoke - in the business process Process1 as shown in the figure below.
   
   Figure 13. Business Process After Changes
   
   
   

Back to top

Export Change Report

This section will illustrate the steps required for synchronizing WID module with the WBM model by exporting the change report.

1. After making the changes shown above, synchronize with the WBM model by selecting the Synchronize with Modeler Export on the project level as in figure 14, below.
   
   Figure 14. Synchronize with modeler
   
   
   
2. Browse to the project interchange exported from WBM, to be compared with the current version of the WID module.
3. Click Synchronize.
   
   Figure 15. Before and After Changes
   
   
   
4. The synchronization window shows the changes made in the WID module. Click on Commit.
   
   Figure 16. Detailed Changes
   
   
   
5. A change report is then exported as zip file.
   
   Figure 17. Change Report
   
   
   

Back to top

Analyzing Changes in WebSphere Business Modeler

This section goes through the steps to perform the changes required on WBM model by analyzing the change report.

1. Be sure you are in the WebSphere Process server mode.
2. In the Project Tree view, right click the project and select Analyze Model Implementation Changes....
   
   Figure 18. Analyze Changes
   
   
   
3. Choose the change report path to analyze.
   
   Figure 19. Report Change Zip file
   
   
   
4. The changes analysis view tab opens with the following changes reported. Some changes are viewed such as the addition of new attribute Address in the BO1.
   
   Figure 20. Report Change (BO)
   
   
   
5. The change in the WSDL is tracked but it is not reported with details.
   
   Figure 21. Report Change Details (Task)
   
   
   
6. Here we can import the WSDL and business objects alone from any folder containing XSDs and WSDLs. Right click on the project, select Business services and service objects (.wsdl,.xsd), and browse to the folder .
   
   Figure 22. Importing XSDs and WSDLs
   
   
   

Back to top

Applying new changes in WebSphere Business Modeler

This section illustrates the scenario where the business analyst would like to make other new changes in WBM model, and merging these updates into the existing WID module.

1. The business analyst starts to make updates to the WBM model based on new requirements from the customer.
2. After making the changes, he exports the WID project interchange from WBM as shown in figures 5, 6.
3. The integration developer synchronizes the updates in WBM model with the existing WID module implementation. This is done by repeating steps 1, 2, 3 in Export Change Report.
4. Then, Select Accept All Non-Conflicting Changes button on the top left corner to update the WID module implementation, then click Commit.
   
   Figure 23. Updating WID Module
   
   
   

Back to top

Conclusion

This article detailed the iterative development with WebSphere Business Modeler and WebSphere Integration Developer version 6.1.2. It presented a step-by-step example to illustrate the closed cycle development. This development model facilities the software development to a great extend by bridging the gap between the business analyst modeling - in WebSphere Business Modeler - and the integration developer implementation - in WebSphere Integration Developer.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr. Alaa Youssef, Mohamed Mahmoud Kattaya, and Ghaly Stefanos for reviewing the article and for their valuable suggestions.

Resources

• Developing iteratively with WebSphere Business Modeler
  
  
• Check out developerWorks blogs and get involved in the developerWorks community .
  
  
• Explore the IBM developerWorks SOA Sandbox The IBM SOA Sandbox provides a mix of full-version software trials and "try online" hosted environments where you can explore tutorials and get architectural guidance.
  
  

About the authors

Rosaline Makar is a software engineer at IBM Egypt Cairo Technology Development Center (C-TDC). Her current work areas include SOA and Web services. She has a B.Sc. in computer engineering and a M.Sc. in computer science. Rosaline co-authored number of IBM Redbooks and developerWorks tutorials.

Emad EL-Agouz is a staff software engineer with IBM Egypt Cairo Technology Development Center (C-TDC). He has over 4 years of experience working with a variety of products of the IBM software portfolio. He has a B.Sc. in computer and systems engineering. Currently he is working in projects that involve SOA and business process modeling, implementation, and deployment.

Allaa Ibrahim Mostafa is a staff software engineer within IBM Egypt Cairo Technology Development Center (C-TDC). She has over 5 years of experience working with variety of IBM products. She has a B.Sc. in systems and biomedical engineering from Cairo University in Egypt. She got her master degree in Information Technology (M.Sc. in IT) from Nottingham University in the United Kingdom. Currently, she is working in projects that involve SOA and modeling, and deployment. Previously, she worked in Portal related technologies.

Comments (Undergoing maintenance)

Back to top

Trademarks  |  My developerWorks terms and conditions

Table of contents

• Create WebSphere Business Modeler Model
• Import PI into WebSphere Integration Developer
• Making Changes in WebSphere Integration Developer
• Export Change Report
• Analyzing Changes in WebSphere Business Modeler
• Applying new changes in WebSphere Business Modeler
• Conclusion
• Acknowledgements
• Resources
• About the authors
• Comments

Next steps from IBM

• Try: WebSphere Business Modeler Advanced
• Briefing: Building SOA solutions and managing the service lifecycle
• Buy: WebSphere Business Modeler Advanced

My developerWorks community

Dig deeper into SOA and Web services on developerWorks

Rate a product. Write a review.

Write a review for Rational products today!

Special offers