"Business Manager’s Guide Netscape Application Server: Process Automation Edition": Introduction to PAE Business Management

Chapter 1 Introduction to PAE Business Management

Netscape Application Server: Process Automation Edition (PAE) is a business process management system that runs on Netscape Application Server with a graphical design interface for defining forms and their routing, two administrative interfaces for configuring and maintaining the PAE components, and an end-user interface for creating work requests, handling work items, and performing searches.

This guide focuses on using the business management interface in Process Business Manager to monitor statistics and process instances. See the the Administrator's Guide for information on the system administration interface of Process Administrator.

This introductory chapter includes these sections:

Overview

Process Business Manager

Process Instance Forms

Statistics Forms

Overview

PAE consists of these components:

Process Engine: The software internal to PAE.

Process Administrator: An application accessible through your web browser that is used for managing clusters and applications in PAE.

Process Business Manager: An application accessible through your web browser that is used for managing processes and statistics for PAE.

Process Builder: The Java application for building PAE applications.

Process Express: The HTML-based interface for end users who are accessing PAE applications.

PAE also uses these other components, which it associates into a cluster:

a corporate user LDAP directory service

a configuration LDAP directory service that stores the application definitions

a relational database for user data, such as the products available from Oracle and Sybase

one or more Netscape Application Servers

a Netscape Enterprise Server

a mail server for notifications

When an application developer using Process Builder deploys an application so that end users can access it, they must identify the cluster on which to deploy it. All successfully deployed applications are available to any valid end user on any Netscape Application Server across the cluster. All applications in a cluster share the same common database and directories. They access the same repository for their application definitions and they use the same set of cross-application tables in the database.

End users use Process Express to access the applications built in Process Builder. As they create new work requests and other examples of business processes, and as they complete their assigned tasks, they are generating user data that is stored in the cluster's database.

As the business manager, you have these abilities:

searching for process instances

searching for work items

monitoring process instance and work item statistics

Your first task is to install the PAE components and make sure they are configured correctly for your environment. See the Installation Guide for instructions.

After end users begin using Process Express, you can view the process instance and work item data that they generate.

Process Business Manager

To perform your tasks as a PAE business manager, you must have the application server that you are using for PAE running on your local computer. Access to Process Business Manager is through its home page at

http://yourServer/Business.apm/

Process Business Manager uses a tabbed HTML-based interface that provides access to management functions in these areas:

Process Instances

Statistics

Process Instance Forms
Process Business Manager provides several forms for finding and administering process instances. You can find all process instances that match certain criteria, or you can manage a specific process instance and view its details and history.

Find Process Instances. Used to find process instances that match the criteria.

Process Instances List. Used to list the matched process instances. You can select one instance to administer it or to view its details and history.

Display Process Instance. Used to manage a specific process instance.

Details and History. Used to display information about the process instance as well as provide its history as end users handle it through Process Express.

Find Work Items. Used to find work items that match the criteria.

Work Items List. Used to list the matched work items. You can select one work item to administer it or to view its details and history.

Display and Administer a Work Item. Used to perform administrative actions on a work item.

Statistics Forms
Process Business Manager provides two forms for obtaining statistics about process instances. You can set up criteria for the process instances you are interested in and you can obtain a report about them.

Process Instances Statistics. Used to set the criteria for the process instances to be included in the statistics report.

Process Instances Statistics Report. Used to report process instance statistics.

Work Item Statistics. Used to set the criteria for the work items to be included in the statistics report.

Work Item Statistics Report. Used to report work item statistics.