Developing case management applications

IBM® Business Automation Workflow and the IBM FileNet® P8 software provide tools for building custom web applications to manage cases. You can use various extension points and application programming interfaces (APIs) to extend Case Client by adding custom pages, widgets, actions, events, or services. Alternatively, you can use the APIs to build custom applications that incorporate IBM Business Automation Workflow features without using Case Client.

You can use Case Builder to create a solution by using one of the industry-solution templates provided by IBM or by using a blank template. You can then modify that solution to meet your requirements.

Restriction: You cannot use a custom application to create a solution. You must use Case Builder to create or modify solutions.

You might create an application that implements a custom widget that interacts directly with the Case Client widgets. For example, if a Work Item Toolbar widget does not provide the functionality you need, you can implement a custom widget to replace that widget. You can then wire the custom widget with the other Case Client widgets on the Work Details page and the Add Activity page.

Alternatively, you might create an application that enables case workers to process cases without using Case Client. For example, you might create such an application to use your existing user interface for processing cases with IBM Business Automation Workflow.

You can use the following APIs to extend your case management client application:

IBM Business Automation Workflow JavaScript API: Use this API to customize your Case Client application.
IBM Business Automation Workflow Java™ API: Use this API to create servlets for custom web applications and to develop custom component queue applications.
Content Platform Engine add-on extensions for Case Builder: Use these add-on extensions to access the custom metadata and data that is stored in object stores.
IBM CMIS for FileNet Content Manager: Use the IBM Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS) for FileNet FileNet Content Manager to enable applications and clients that use the OASIS CMIS standard to access content that is stored on Content Platform Engine. In a case management application, you use CMIS to manage the case folders and documents and to retrieve case information.