Chapter 1   Overview of iPlanet Process Manager


Process Manager is a system for automating the flow of control for business processes. This chapter briefly discusses process workflow, and gives an overview of how Process Manager can be used to automate the flow of control in business processes.

This chapter has the following sections:

• Workflow in Business Processes

• Designing a Process

• Performing Tasks in a Process

• Administering Processes

• Summary of Process Manager Components

Workflow in Business Processes

---

Most business processes can be broken down into a series of discrete tasks to be performed by different people or groups of people or to be executed automatically. When one task is completed, the flow of control moves to the next task.

Consider the process for preparing an office for a new employee. Several different activities make up the process -- assigning an office, ordering a computer, installing the phone, installing the computer, and checking that the office furniture has been arranged properly. Some of these tasks need to be performed sequentially, for example, you must order the computer before installing it. Other tasks can be carried out in parallel, for example you don't need to wait for the computer to be ordered before installing the phone. Different people perform different tasks -- the purchasing department orders the computer, but the Information Systems department installs it when it arrives.

For another example, consider a process for submitting an insurance claim. The players and activities in this case include the customer submitting the claim; the computer retrieving details of the the claimant's policy from a database; the insurance underwriter approving or denying the claim; and the finance department mailing the check.

Process Manager allows you to create web-based applications that define the different tasks in a process, specify who should perform them, and map out how the process flows from one task to another. The following list summarizes the tasks involved in using Process Manager:

• Designing a Process

  Using the Process Builder component, process designers create and deploy an application that maps the steps in a business process.

• Performing Tasks in a Process

  The Process Express component provides a web-based interface that aids the people assigned to perform a task.

• Administering Processes

  The Process Administrator component provides a web-based interface for administrators to do administer process applications, such as shutting down processes.

Designing a Process

---

Using Process Builder, which is a graphical user interface with drag and drop capability, you build a process application that controls the flow of a process. The process can contain tasks, or work items, that require human intervention such as approving a purchase request, as well as activities that can be completely automated such as retrieving data from databases and writing log files.

Figure 1-1 illustrates Process Builder.

Figure 1-1    Process Builder

Performing Tasks in a Process

---

When the process is deployed, Process Manager routes tasks at each step in the process to the people that need to perform them. Process Manager uses a web-based interface, called the Process Express, to interact with the people involved in the process. The Process Express displays a web-based work list (much like an inbasket or to do list) to let a person know that a task has been assigned to them, as illustrated in Figure 1-2.

Figure 1-2    The Worklist in the Process Express

When the assignee is ready to perform the task, he or she clicks on the task name. Process Express displays a form that provides the data needed to perform the task, as illustrated in Figure 1-3.

Figure 1-3    Example of a work item form

When the assignee has performed the task, he or she enters any data needed to complete the task and then submits the form. The work item automatically disappears from the assignee's work list. The process moves onto the next step and the next task shows up in the worklist of the appropriate person.

Process Manager automatically performs any automated tasks that do not require human intervention.

Administering Processes

---

Process Manager includes another set of web-based interfaces, called Process Administrator and Business Administrator, for performing administrative duties, such as shutting down deployed processes. Figure 1-4 shows one of the administrative interfaces.

Figure 1-4    Process Administrator

Summary of Process Manager Components

---

Table 1-1 summarizes the tasks involved in using Process Manager and describes where to go for more information about each one.

Table 1-1 Summary of Process Manager Components

Do What?	Which Process Manager Component?	Comments
Build a process application	Process Builder	The Builder is a graphical user interface for building processes. For more information about Process Builder, read the rest of this book.
Perform the steps in a process	Process Express	The Express is a web-based interface that is used by the people who perform tasks in a process. It includes a customized worklist for each person as well as a web-based form for each task. For more information about Process Express, see the Process Express User's Guide.
Administer a process application	Process Administrator and Business Administrator	This is a set of web-based interface for doing administration tasks such as shutting down processes. For more information, see the Administrator's and Business Manager's Guide.
Build Java custom data fields and activities in Java. Also use the Java API to programmatically interact with Process Manager.	Process Manager Java classes and API which are available in a JAR file.	Java programmers can build custom data fields and custom activies in Java that can be imported into the Process Builder. Programmers can also create Java applications that embed Process Manager functionality or present customized front ends to Process Manager. For more information, see the Process Manager Programmer's Guide.

Providing the backend support to these interfaces is the Process Manager Engine, which performs the "behind the scenes" work of managing the process applications as well as performing and routing tasks in individual processes.

Process Manager requires various other software components to be installed, such as an application server and a directory server. See the Administrator's and Business Manager's Guide for more details of these additional components.

This book, the Process Builder's Guide, discusses how to use Process Builder to design and deploy applications, and it describes in detail the sample applications that ship with the builder.