| Automation of business processes is crucial, and | | | | treated as a single task, be bound to a particular |
| doing it manually prophesies a higher probability of | | | | repetition, or be constrained by certain conditions. |
| detrimental risks. In the business context, they can | | | | This is where Groups come in to support extended |
| be bombs against profitability such as time delays, | | | | capabilities for the process to handle loops, |
| improper implementations, deployment problems, or | | | | transactions, collective error trapping, or |
| buggy application. TIBCO provides a way out with its | | | | synchronization. TIBCO provides nine group actions; |
| ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks product which allows | | | | each is unique for a particular purpose. These are as |
| modeling of business processes graphically. Such | | | | follows: No Action, If, Critical Section, Pick First, |
| graphical rendition of a business process is called a | | | | Iterate, Repeat Until True, While True, Repeat On |
| process definition. BusinessWorks comes with a | | | | Error Until True, and Transaction. |
| Designer tool which provides an environment for | | | | Each activity contains specifications that must be |
| developing and testing process definitions. The | | | | configured in order to meet the required behavior |
| execution of process definitions involves creation of | | | | from it. A configuration can be properties, pieces of |
| their corresponding process instances which is | | | | input and output information, or error schemas that |
| seamlessly handled by the TIBCO ActiveMatrix | | | | must be supplied with proper settings or entries. |
| BusinessWorks process engine. Each process instance | | | | However, there are specifications that are shared |
| is an automated business process in action. | | | | among activities like database connections, WSDL |
| A TIBCO process definition has five building blocks, | | | | files, schema definitions, etc. With this, it is necessary |
| namely: Activities, Transitions, Groups, Shared | | | | to use Shared Configuration resources. They actually |
| Configuration Resources, and Subprocesses. The | | | | do not form part of the explicit flow but are created |
| logical combinations of these components define how | | | | outside process definitions and are used in the |
| a process definition intends to function. | | | | Configuration tab of activities. Activities make |
| In its simplest form, a process definition is a | | | | references to these shared resources in order to |
| sequence of activities and transitions. It starts with | | | | make use of them. |
| either a Start activity or a process starter and ends | | | | What about a subprocess? A subprocess is a |
| with an End activity. Activities are the specific | | | | process definition called within another process |
| individual units of work which defines the actual | | | | definition. This is ideal when modeling a very complex |
| operations and processing. They are logically grouped | | | | business process. Plotting the entire logic flow in one |
| with their related counterparts into sets known as | | | | gigantic process definition complicates how the |
| palettes. For example, all operations pertaining to file | | | | business process is represented. Turn it into bite-size |
| processing, such as reading, writing, or copying a file, | | | | bits by chopping one complex process into smaller |
| are represented with their corresponding activities: | | | | processes definitions and then call the latter from the |
| Read File, Write File, and Copy File. These activities | | | | main process. Subprocesses make process diagrams |
| are grouped in the File palette. Similarly, all tasks that | | | | more readable and easy to comprehend, trace, and |
| pertain to database access and manipulation are | | | | countercheck. Another good thing is that |
| grouped in a single palette - the JDBC palette. On the | | | | subprocesses are reusable across different process |
| other hand, transitions define the control flow as to | | | | definitions. Just a note, they cannot contain process |
| when activities in the process definition take their | | | | starters. |
| turn. It is graphically represented by a unidirectional | | | | In short, TIBCO ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks |
| arrow between activities. It directs how interaction | | | | provides the convenience and efficiency of graphically |
| between activities should proceed, dictating how and | | | | modeling business processes and executing them |
| when activities get executed. Although an activity | | | | automatically. It saves you the pain and agony of |
| may exists in a process, when there are no | | | | weaving complex business processes manually like |
| transitions that connect it to the entire flow with | | | | you have to do in other programming languages. |
| other activities therein, it can never be executed. | | | | From our experience, the level of productivity |
| There are situations when an activity or a certain | | | | increase in the creation of business application using |
| collection of activities in a process definition must be | | | | TIBCO ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks is significant. |