WebMethods Workflow

Why we need workflows ? Typical Workflow Scenarios

 Human validation is required

 “Has the bill of lading been packaged?” or “Is this your correct
address?”

 Approval is a multi-step process

 “Checks and balances” transactions requiring peer approval

 Mission-critical tasks must be escalated

 “We need to sign this contract today, and the head of
Purchasing isn’t in. Who else in Purchasing can sign?”

 Advanced warning of key exceptions is required

 “If our biggest supplier does not acknowledge one of our orders
within three hours, we need to know that and find out why.”
 Defining Workflow

 Business process management,

where people perform the individual
steps
 Business rules guide the process
flow from step to step
 Spans companies, applications, and
people

webMethods
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and human
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workflow.
 Workflow Architecture

webMethods Workflow offers a distributed architecture that is based on webMethods Broker.

webMethods Broker provides the core messaging infrastructure of webMethods Workflow.
The webMethods Workflow components act as clients of the messaging infrastructure to
coordinate webMethods Workflow activity across the platform.
Design Concepts

 Top-down methodology is key to a successful implementation of the

webMethods platform, including Workflow

 The Workflow Concepts Guide provides a thorough overview of the

product, and how to apply top-down design to your workflow projects

 Nest workflows inside of higher-level workflows to achieve top-level

design

 Business analysts can design at the highest process levels

 Workflow developers can complete the underlying logic to perform

individual steps
Applying a Top-Down Approach

 Begin at top-most level, describing the real-life process for your

enterprise (pseudo-logic)
 Define the highest-level workflow to represent this process
 Break the model into lower-level sub-processes (nested workflows)
 Break the sub-processes into individual tasks representing actual
steps being performed
 Identify GUI elements: where is data entered or accessed by the
people participating in the process?
 Identify non-GUI elements: which steps being performed require
no human interaction?
 Define process flow: where will branches, timers, or external
programs be employed?
Key Workflow Features

 Linked with Business Integrator

 Graphical environment
 Role-based:
 Assign tasks to roles, not
people
 People can play one or more
roles
 Absence conditions (what to do
if someone is away)
Checklist for Creating a Workflow Process

Basic steps are:

 Create a project and a workflow
 Define documents to contain the data your workflow will use
 Create roles for the participants in the process
 Inside the workflow, add:
 Tasks and GUI elements for the process
 Controllers and other non-GUI elements to complete the process
logic
 Assign roles to tasks
 Map the data to flow between components of the process
 Wire the control flow to connect the process steps
 Wire the data in the documents to the task views
 Create an Implementation Module to publish/subscribe Enterprise data
 Designer Building Blocks

 Projects
 Workflows
 Tasks
 Controllers
 Implementation Modules
 Documents
 Roles
 Workflows
 Routers
 Assigners & Comparators
 Timers
 Joins
 Notifiers
 Plug-Ins
Workflow Server Components

webMethods Workflow Server

The server side of webMethods Workflow includes the following

components:

 Process Server
 Distribution Control Service (DCS)
 Authentication Service
 Portfolio Service
 Log Service
 Server Manager Service
 Resource Service
Workflow Client Components

The webMethods Workflow client is a graphical user interface that

allows Workflow users to start the webMethods Workflow Users.

Designer
Inbox
Generator
Administrator
Monitor tools.

Users can select the toolbar buttons to start any of these six tools
that they are authorized to access.
Login

 After startup completes, login dialog will display

 Log in as ‘Administrator’ to begin
 Additional users and passwords are created using the Workflow
client
The Workflow Console

 Start, Programs, webMethods, Workflow

 Each icon in the console launches a different component of the Workflow
product

Users Inbox Administrator

Designer Generator Monitor

Flow Control vs. Data Control

Two fundamental activities are required to complete a workflow design:

1. Defining flow control – sequence of the workflow process
 Who: Users, roles
 How: Workflows and Tasks, GUIs, logic
 When: Calendars, timers
2. Defining data control – passing documents through process
 Documents
 Joins and Routers
 Assigning values
 Wiring GUI elements to data controllers
 Interacting with Enterprise documents
Integrated User Interfaces

GUI and HTML user interfaces are

built dynamically without coding

Seamlessly link from interface to

logic & data in underlying system
Graphical Capabilities

Multi-user environment for

collaboration on design &
implementation.

Create multi-level authorizations

Workflow - example