Importing and exporting BPMN models

Business Automation Workflow supports importing and exporting of models in the BPMN 2.0 format. You can import BPMN models into the IBM® Workflow Center, for example BPMN models that have been exported from IBM WebSphere® Business Modeler, WebSphere Business Compass, Blueworks Live, or IBM Rational® Software Architect. You can also export your process applications from the IBM Workflow Center to a BPMN 2.0 file archive (.zip).

• To import BPMN models into the IBM Workflow Center complete the following steps:
  1. Open IBM Workflow Center.

     You can trigger the import of the models in two ways. You can either click Import Process App (on the Process App tab), or Import Toolkit (on the Toolkit tab). Either of these actions will result in an import window.

  2. Click Import Process App. The Import Process App window displays.
  3. Click Choose File to select the BPMN 2.0 archive (.zip) file that you exported from the WebSphere Business Compass or IBM WebSphere Business Modeler and click OK.
  4. In the Import Process App window, a name and acronym have been specified based on information in the file you selected. You can edit the name and acronym and add a description. If you have an Advanced deployment environment, you will see radio buttons that you can use to choose what will be generated for unimplemented services. Select either Advanced Integration Services or Integration Services and then click OK.
     Note: Advanced integration services are only available for unimplemented services. Integration services are always generated for implemented services. Both radio buttons display only in an Advanced deployment environment. For more information, see Implementing an Advanced Integration service and Invoking an Advanced Integration Service.
     A Summary of the import results pane opens containing any generated error, warning and information messages. A new process application or a toolkit is created that contains content from the BPMN 2.0 archive.

     The process application or toolkit contains one or more processes that were generated from the BPMN archive during import.

     The content will include integration services if the model contained web service bindings and advanced integration services if the model contained unimplemented advanced integration services. All Blueworks Live artifacts will also be integrated with a BPMN import if Blueworks Live phases and other BPMN 2 extensions were in the model.

     A snapshot of the process application is automatically created in the Workflow Center, for your use as a baseline, in the future, if necessary.

  5. You can filter the messages by clicking Errors or Warnings. Click Save and specify a location if you want to save the messages. All the messages will be saved as a text file even if a filter has been applied. Click Close.
• To export your process applications from the IBM Workflow Center to a BPMN 2.0 file archive (.zip), complete the following steps:
  1. Select the Process Apps tab.
  2. In the list of process applications, click the application that you want to export.
  3. Find the snapshot that you want to export. If a snapshot does not exist, create one by clicking Create New Snapshot.
  4. Click the Export option for the snapshot.
  5. Select BPMN 2.0 export (.zip).
  6. Locate the directory to which you want to save the export file, name the file, and then save it.

     The BPMN 2.0 export will include any process that is referenced in a process application or toolkit. No data artifacts such as business objects or services such as Advanced Integration Services will be included in BPMN 2.0 exports.

     The exported file can be imported into any Workflow Center repository.