Introduction

On June 24^th, 2008, IBM® announced version 6.1.2 of WebSphere Business Modeler (hereafter called Modeler), along with other products in the Business Process Management (BPM) stack. Version 6.1.2 of Modeler includes many new features that cross the spectrum of functional areas within the product.

Back to top

New features in process modeling

The process modeling tool includes several significant new updates and options. These new features make modeling easier, modernize the editor, and add standards support to Modeler.

New palette design

The palette that used to add elements to the process model has been redesigned. In previous versions of Modeler, related constructs were stacked on top of each other, with only the most recently used item available to add into the process model. In version 6.1.2, related constructs are still grouped together, but you can select any of them at any time. Figure 1 shows folders that are used to organize different constructs. The folders may be collapsed or left open. You can select any item from an open folder, and then add it into the process diagram. This allows you to create processes more easily, with fewer mouse clicks.

You can also collapse the entire palette by clicking the arrow icon in the upper-left corner. When the palette is collapsed, more room is available in the diagram, as shown in Figure 2. You can click the arrow to expand it back out, or you can fly the mouse over the word "Palette" to pop it back into sight. After you select an item from the palette in this mode, it automatically collapses back out of sight. The palette is also movable now, allowing you to move it over to the right side of the canvas if you prefer.

The palette has a new context menu that includes several new options. You can right-click the palette to view the new menu, as shown in Figure 3.

Some of the options are:

• Show Labels: This option is on by default. If you turn it off, only the icons for the modeling constructs are shown, which greatly reduces the space needed.
• Use Large Icons: This option is off by default. If selected, a larger set of icons is used. This option is helpful on high-resolution screens where the default icons are too small. Figure 3 shows the palette with Show Labels turned on, with small icons. Figure 4 shows the palette with large icons and no labels.
• Automatically Close Drawers: This option is off by default. When you select it, only one of the icon drawers with the folder icon is open at a time. If you open a different folder, the currently open folder is closed automatically. This allows you to only see one set of icons at a time.
• Add to Favorites: If you right-click an icon on the palette, you can select this option to add it into a new drawer called "Favorites". For example, if you generally use tasks, decisions, and merges, you can add these three to your Favorites folder. You have them available at your fingertips, rather than having to search them from the other folder drawers.
• Show as View: This option is off by default. If you select it, the palette moves entirely from the process editor, and then down into the lower right pane. Using this option frees up more space in the process editor, which allows you to see more of your processes all at once.

Finally, the icons on the palette, which are not related to the process elements, have been moved to the toolbar at the top. The option to toggle the grid on and off has been moved to the View menu.

Taken together, these new palette features provide a more customizable and easy to use modeling experience.

Customizable diagram element graphics

Most elements in a process model include icons, such as the "recycle" icon for global tasks. Modeler 6.1.2 replaces these icons with ones of your own choosing. You can use this feature to decorate the model elements with visual elements. You can select an icon for each individual element or at the process level.

To update a single element:

1. Right-click the element, and select Change Image > Custom Image...
2. If you have not imported the image yet, click Import Images... to select a JPG, GIF, ICO, or PNG file. Select the image from your file system and click Open. If the image you select is larger than 64 x 64 pixels, it is automatically sized down. Alternatively, if you have previously imported the image, it shows up in the list of imported images. Select the image you want from this list.
3. Click OK. The model element now uses the custom image, as shown in Figure 5.
4. You can right-click the element at a later time and select Change Image > Default Image if you want to go back to the default setting.
   
   Figure 5. Task with custom image
   
   
   

To update all elements of the same type in the process:

1. Click the Visual Attributes tab of the process editor.
2. Click Element images.
3. Select an element type. For this example, select local task. Click the icon for the current image, and then click the ellipsis button next to the icon.
4. Select a predefined or imported icon or import a new image and click OK.
5. In the diagram, all local tasks will now have the selected icon, except for any individual tasks you have updated with their own unique icons. In other words, updating an individual element with its own icon overrides the global setting from the Visual Attributes tab.

Business Process Modeling Notation Style

When Modeler V5.0 was first released, the shapes of the different elements were influenced by an emerging standard called Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN). Currently, version 2.0 of BPMN is in the works, with IBM and other vendors working to create the standard. Modeler 6.1.2 offers the choice to use the classic "Original style" from previous versions, or to use a new "BPMN style" for your process diagrams. When creating or importing a process, you can choose which style to use, as shown in Figure 6.

You can switch back and forth between styles for a process by right-clicking the background of the process and selecting Original style or BPMN style.

One of the goals of BPMN is to have a standard set of shapes to represent the elements of a process model, making it easier to communicate the process with others. When you use the BPMN style for your process, the shapes for the elements in the model are based on the BPMN 2.0 standard, rather than the ones previously used by Modeler, as shown in Figure 7 to Figure 10.

Other modeling updates

There are several other visual updates to the process modeling tool:

• When using the original style, decisions have a new look that uses less space in the diagram, as show in Figure 11. The label for the decision has been moved down below the diamond, allowing decisions with long names to remain small in size. This new style allows more model elements on the screen at the same time.
  
  Figure 11. New style for decisions
  
  
  
• Tabs in the attributes view have a new and cleaner style.
• There is a new option on the context menu for the process editor called "Fit To". You can select to have the view fit to the process width or height, rather than having to zoom in or out manually. There is also an option for fit to view, which will zoom out to show the entire process.
• When creating a new process, the default Stop Node is placed at the far left by the default Start Node. In previous versions, the default Stop Node was placed at the far right of the diagram. This makes sizing down the diagram easier. In addition, it was sometimes easy to forget you had the default Stop Node at the end of the diagram. Now the Stop Node is where you can easily see it, at the beginning.
• In previous versions of Modeler, there was a button on the palette to go in and out of connection mode. Modeler 6.1.2 eliminates this mode by always connecting to model elements. If you move the mouse over an object, you can still click to select it. If you move the mouse to the right side of the object, the mouse pointer changes, indicating that you can click to connect the element. Once you have clicked, you can move the mouse to the target, then click again to select where the connection goes. The arrow icon shown in Figure 12 indicates that you are connecting the element. This new feature connects modeler elements faster with fewer clicks, and without having to enter connection mode.
  
  Figure 12. Entering connection mode
  
  
  
• Some models are decomposed into multiple levels, such as a While loop within a local subprocess, within a While loop. In previous versions of Modeler, you can navigate through multi-level models with the context menu (selecting "Return to Root Process" or "Return to Parent Process"), or you can double-click in the outline view, when using structure mode. Modeler 6.1.2 provides a new option for navigation through multi-level processes. The top of the process editor now shows the current location. For example, if you were inside a For loop, nested inside a Subprocess, inside a While loop, and inside the Main process, you can now navigate back two levels to the While loop by clicking it from the bar at the top, as shown in Figure 13.
  
  Figure 13. Multilevel process navigation
  
  
  

Back to top

Asset repositories

In previous versions of Modeler, you can store artifacts in IBM Rational® ClearCase or CVS for source control and versioning. Modeler V6.1.2 adds an additional capability of using an asset repository. Unlike a source control system that holds source code specific to one tool, an asset repository can share artifacts from Modeler, WebSphere Integration Developer, and WebSphere Business Monitor together in one central place. Typically, an artifact is not placed into the asset repository until it has been completed, unlike a code management system that is used for work in progress. Assets you find in the asset repository are ready to be used and reused in your process models.

IBM Rational Asset Manager is used as the asset repository. A new tab is available in the lower right pane, where you can define your connections to asset repositories and find assets across the repositories, as shown in Figure 14.

When using an asset repository, you can browse for existing assets, import one of them into your local workspace, or add an asset into the repository. If you use an asset from the repository, you can set up a notification so that if the asset is updated or changed, you are notified via an email message.

Back to top

Storyboarding human tasks using forms

When modeling a business process, it is useful to visualize how the process might appear from a user's perspective. Modeler V6.1.2 has a new feature that steps through a sequence of human tasks, viewing the form associated with each step in the process. This feature is called "storyboarding", which you can use to demonstrate a proposed business model or to review the model with the stakeholders.

If the process you are modeling has decisions, you can create different storyboards for each path through the process. For example, if a request is rejected, the steps you go through will be different for the case where the request is accepted. You can create a storyboard for each scenario.

A storyboard is an aspect of process simulation. To perform storyboarding, do the following:

1. Right-click your process and select Simulate...
2. Click OK to continue. If asked to check that all paths have stop nodes, you can accept or decline. Keep in mind that processes with paths that do not end in stop nodes will not simulate properly.
3. Once the simulation snapshots open, click the Storyboard tab in the lower right pane. This is a new tab in version 6.1.2.
4. Click New to create a new storyboard. Only human tasks with forms will show in the list, as seen in Figure 15.
   
   Figure 15. Storyboard tab
   
   
   
5. As an option, you can move the tasks up and down in the list if you want to change their order. If you are satisfied, click the start button (the green arrow) to begin the storyboard.
6. The first human task in the storyboard will be selected. The task is shown in the visual diagram with a black border. There is an arrow in the storyboard tab to indicate which step you are on, as shown in Figure 16.
   
   Figure 16. Storyboard
   
   
   
7. Click the forward button, located by the start button. This moves the storyboard ahead to the next human task. After the first step is done, the backward button becomes active, allowing you to move back to a previous human task.
8. When moving forward to a new task, the data is not propagated. This means that when moving to the next task, the form will be empty, other than any initial values you have defined, as shown in Figure 16.
9. After you have moved through all the tasks, click the red stop button to exit the storyboard.

Back to top

Interactive simulation

When running simulations in previous versions of Modeler, all automatic or human tasks were simulated. No input was possible to the process, other than simulating with business item instances. The data used for the business item instances was static, flowing through the model. Using business item instances, you can use the decision logic to dictate the flow of the process, instead of just using percentages for the branches of the decision.

Modeler V6.1.2 extends this capability by enabling interactive simulation. When running an interactive simulation, human tasks with forms defined for their output are displayed to the user for input, much as in storyboarding mode. However, you can use the data entered in the form in the process, just as business item instance data, to make branching decision based on the actual values.

You can use this capability at the workbench level (for all simulations you create), at the simulation snapshot level (for all simulations in the snapshot), or at the simulation profile level. To enable this capability for your simulation snapshot:

1. Open the simulation snapshot by double-clicking it.
2. On the General tab, set "Method of selecting an output path" to Based on an expression. If you do not use this setting, the option to enable form simulation is grayed out.
3. Click the Yes radio button to enable form simulation, as shown in Figure 17.
4. Save the simulation snapshot.
   
   Figure 17. Setting up interactive simulation
   
   
   

Back to top

Import and export

There are several new features available for importing and exporting to and from Modeler V6.1.2 using the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and WebSphere Business Services Fabric.

Microsoft Excel

A common requirement in modeling is to extract data for further off-line analysis and the need to import data from existing sources. Modeler V6.1.2 supplies a sample spreadsheet to use as a template, enabling the import of the following objects:

• Business items
• Business item templates
• Bulk resources
• Bulk resource definitions
• Bulk resource definition templates
• Business rules tasks
• Global tasks
• Human tasks
• Individual resources
• Individual resource definitions
• Individual resource definition templates
• Locations
• Location definitions
• Location definition templates
• Organization units
• Organization unit definitions
• Organization unit definition templates
• Role

For example, in the early stages of gathering information for a process model, business analysts can enter the data into the spreadsheet, then perform an import into Modeler. This option is available on the import menu, as shown in Figure 18.

WebSphere Business Services Fabric

IBM WebSphere Business Services Fabric (hereafter called Fabric) extends WebSphere Process Server to allow dynamic assembly components, where endpoint services are selected based on policies for content, context, and contract. The tooling for Fabric is WebSphere Integration Developer, with additional Eclipse plug-ins added. Previous versions of Modeler can export to WebSphere Process Server, but not to Fabric. To enable these capabilities, new features were added to Modeler V6.1.2:

• WebSphere Business Services Fabric mode: This new modeling mode extends WebSphere Process Server mode by adding the option to select "Dynamic Assembler" as the implementation type in the technical attributes, as shown in Figure 19.
  
  Figure 19. Setting implementation type to Dynamic Assembler
  
  
  
• The export to WebSphere Integration Developer creates a project interchange file with a dynamic assembly component, if you selected one. You can only import this file to a copy of WebSphere Integration Developer that has the Fabric tooling installed. Dynamic assembly components are not valid in the base version.

Back to top

Human tasks and business rules

Modeler V6.1.2 includes several new features in the area of business rules and human tasks.

Human task scheduling

WebSphere Process Server has a new function at runtime for the scheduling of human tasks using business calendars. Modeler has had the concept of a timetable since version 5.0. With version 6.1.2, exports from Modeler to WebSphere Integration Developer can map Modeler timetables to WebSphere Process Server business calendars. You can use them in constructs, such as expirations. The elapsed number of business hours is used, instead of just elapsed time.

Export of roles, resources, and organizations

To better support rapid testing scenarios, you can export Modeler definitions of roles, resources, and organizations to WebSphere Integration Developer (hereafter called Integration Developer), to update the Virtual Member Manager, the default directory. Integration Developer can then test to ensure that the work assignment in human tasks is working as expected.

When using this capability, several of the work assignment scenarios are not supported:

• Person by name
• Person's manager by person name
• Person's manager by person ID
• Members of group ID

When exporting to Integration Developer, the generated project interchange file includes three administrative scripts:

• WBM_ResourcesVMMCreateScript_YYYY-MM-DDThh.mm.ss.py: This script creates the entries in the test people directory.
• WBM_ResourcesVMMCleanupSessionScript_YYYY-MM-DDThh.mm.ss.py: This script removes the entries created by the first script.
• WBM_ResourcesVMMCleanupAllScript.py: This script removes all entries created by any Modeler script.

Enhanced reporting

Reporting for human tasks and business rules tasks has been enhanced in Modeler V6.1.2. Business rule information on rule templates, if-then rules, and scheduling information have been added to the business rules task specification report. The human task specification report includes information, such as primary owners and details of any escalations you have defined.

Back to top

WebSphere Business Monitor integration enhancements

Versions 6.0 and 6.1 of Modeler can create some of the information needed to use WebSphere Business Monitor (hereafter called Monitor). However, in these versions, you needed to use the Monitor development toolkit to add in technical details before deploying to the Monitor runtime.

In Modeler V6.1.2, you can specify more details in your business measures, and then deploy director to Monitor, without having to rework and enhance the monitor model in the Monitor development toolkit. Predefined business measure templates are supplied with Modeler, which you can use to specify the instance metrics you require. You can then create your aggregate metrics and key performance indicators from these initial metrics.

You can then export the Monitor model at the same time as the export to Integration Developer, or you can export the Monitor model separately.

Back to top

Conclusion

This article described new features in Version 6.1.2 of WebSphere Business Modeler, such as a new function that supports WebSphere Business Services Fabric, better integration with WebSphere Business Monitor, enhanced support for business rules and human tasks, asset repositories, BPMN support, and end user improvements in the modeling tool.

Resources

Learn

• WebSphere Business Modeler announcement letter
  Find out about the new enhancements and features in WebSphere Business Modeler V6.1.2.
  
  
• Business process standards, Part 1: An introduction
  This article discusses three important standards for business processes: WS-BPEL, XPDL, and BPMN.
  
  
• WebSphere Business Modeler Advanced Simulation
  This article gives an overview of advanced simulation features in WebSphere Business Modeler.
  
  
• WebSphere Business Modeler V6.1.2 Information Center
  Get the product documentation you need to get started with WebSphere Business Modeler.
  
  

Get products and technologies

• 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.
  
  

Discuss

• Check out developerWorks blogs and get involved in the developerWorks community.
  
  

About the author

Marc Fasbinder is an I/T Specialist at IBM with the WebSphere Technical Sales team in Southfield, Michigan.

Comments (Undergoing maintenance)

Back to top

Trademarks  |  My developerWorks terms and conditions

Table of contents

• Introduction
• New features in process modeling
• Asset repositories
• Storyboarding human tasks using forms
• Interactive simulation
• Import and export
• Human tasks and business rules
• WebSphere Business Monitor integration enhancements
• Conclusion
• Resources
• About the author
• 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 WebSphere on developerWorks

Rate a product. Write a review.

Write a review for Rational products today!

Special offers