Everyday Activities and Flow

Your use of the Graphical Process Modeler (GPM) follows your business process modeling goals.

Before you create a business process model, carefully plan it, so that you know which components you must include, as well as how you must configure the services and activities within it. For instructions, see Planning Your Business Process Models.

As you familiarize yourself with the GPM components, you will develop your own favorite methods of using it and navigating in the layers of your process models, as well as your own preferred order of completing the steps involved in creating and modifying business process models.

The following table describes the activities generally involved in creating business process models in the GPM. You can complete the activities in different order, but the table is arranged in a logical order as a starting point for your reference.

Activity Description
Check out a business process model. To modify an existing business process model that is checked in to Sterling B2B Integrator, you must check the process model out before you can work with it in the GPM. For instructions, see Modifying and Managing Business Process Models.
Determine which stencils you need to display. Stencils are palettes of the services and activities you include in your process models. Because hundreds of services are represented, each stencil lists a given category of services. You will want to display only the ones you are likely to need for the process model you are working on. For information about available stencils and how to display them, see GPM Stencils.
Arrange icons in workspace. This activity involves:
  • Dragging and dropping the icons representing the services and BPML activities that comprise your process model into the workspace
  • Arranging the icons according to the desired flow
  • Linking the icons
Configure parameters for services, activities and links. Some BPML activities, some links between your services and activities, and most services require some configuration in the GPM, depending on the task your business process model must accomplish. Use GPM element editors to view and modify parameters for the different components, or elements, of business process models. For information, see Element Editors in the GPM.
Add decision points, rules and conditions. Rules and conditions can be simple instructions or more complex directions defined using XPath expressions. The GPM enables you to assign rules using an element editor, as well as to define them using the Rule Manager and XPath Expression Builder tools. For information, see:
  • Defining and Assigning Rules and Conditions
  • GPM XPath Expression Builder
Make your process model descriptive for future reference.
  • Name the components of your process models in meaningful ways.
  • Use your company's naming conventions to name your process model when you save it.
  • Add annotations to the graphical display of your process model. For information, see:
- Modifying Annotations- GPM Annotation Tool
Save, validate, and check in the model. After you create or modify a process model, you can simply save it or save and validate it, and check it in to Sterling B2B Integrator. For information, see Checking in a Business Process Model.