IBM BPM Tips Q&A - Recent questions and answers in Best Practices

Answered: Any tool available for Project/code analysis in BPM like Wombat

Thu, 05 Dec 2019 22:58:45 +0000

IDA has a checkstyle feature which checks for around 80 code anomalies

Answered: How do you propogate changes to 100Custom.xml to all runtime nodes in a clustered environment?

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 18:44:34 +0000

https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/en/SS8JB4/com.ibm.wbpm.admin.doc/topics/deployingconfigurationfiles.html

Answered: Can someone post a Code Review Checklist for IBM BPM Process Application?

Sun, 14 Jul 2019 16:17:37 +0000

We have built a automated code review tool "Dosvak Code Analyzer" which checks for the following items

Product Page with Live Demo

Non-Parametrized queries	1	6	Script
Compexity Score Per PO	1	7	Application/Model
Recursive Activity Link BPD	1	10	BPD
Recursive Component Link	1	10	TWProcess
Unconverted BPD to Process	1	8	BPD
Unconverted Services	1	8	TWProcess
Unconverted HHS to CSHS	1	8	TWProcess
Combined too many ajax calls in Load handler	1	7	CoachView
Table control heavily loaded with Coach Views	1	7	CoachView
Tab / Stack used with too many tabs	1	7	CoachView
Deeply nested Coach Views	1	7	CoachView
SQL calls in a loop	1	7	TWProcess
Java Connector in a loop	1	7	TWProcess
Web Service invocation in a loop	1	7	TWProcess
Repeated Ajax Services on Coach	1	7	CoachView
BPD swimlane assigned to All Users	1	8	BPD
System Tasks delete at completion not checked	1	8	BPD
Auto-tracking of BPDs turned on	1	8	BPD
Large HHS/CSHS Context Size	1	7	TWProcess
Large BPD Context Size	1	7	BPD
BPD Claim Check Pattern not used	1	7	BPD
BPD Envelope Pattern not used	1	7	BPD
Too Large Variables	1	7	TWClass
Human Service Complexity Score - Too complex Human Service/CSHS	1	7	TWProcess
BPD Complexity Score - Too complex BPDs	1	7	BPD
Direct access to Product DB	1	8	Script
System Activity as first step of Multi-Instance Loop	1	8	BPD
Heavily Loaded Coaches	1	7	TWProcess
Large Number of Steps before Coach	1	7	TWProcess
Decision Services in Loop	2	5	TWProcess
Missing Error Handling JavaConnector	2	6	TWProcess
All User Exposure BPD	2	6	BPD
Too many steps in a BPD	2	4	BPD
Script Length > 2000	2	5	Script
There is no script Content (Empty Script)	2	5	Script
No Usage of Resource Bundles	2	4	ResourceBundleGroup
Empty Server Definitions ECM/REST/WEB SERVICE	2	5	Application/Model
Service Steps with Unknown in Name	2	5	TWProcess
Dead Branches and steps in BPD	2	5	BPD
Mixed Brazos and OOB controls	2	4	TWProcess
Unconnected End Points in BPDs	2	5	BPD
Unconnected End Points in Human Services	2	5	TWProcess
Unconnected End Points in services	2	5	TWProcess
Large Coach Views with too many controls - (Atomic Coach Views)	2	4	CoachView
Prototype Event Handler not enabled for multiple usages in a Coach	2	5	CoachView

Answered: What tools are available for automated code review a.k.a static analysis of Snapshot/twx?

Sat, 13 Jul 2019 11:56:05 +0000

As per our knowledge there are 3 tools available

1. BP-3 Neeches - Software as a service application

2. IDA - IBM Deployment accelerator besides having automated testing capabilities has a CodeStyle feature which checks for about 80 rules, in house stand alone application which pulls snspahots from a process Center.

3. Dosvak Code Analyzer - Our own tool which is just released with 180+ customizable rules along with service and process diagrams to pinpoint the issue. Provided as a Process Application which you can self host on your Process Center or Process Server, unlimited usages.

Live Demo available at Product Page

4. salient Process is building a twx analyzer but is currently more of a structure analysis rather that static analysis agains errors and best practices

Answered: Is it right approach to implement a process with two start , in which one of them is start message event and another is plain start?.

Mon, 20 May 2019 02:06:25 +0000

Yes, It is the right approach if you want to start the BPD or process by UCA also.

Answered: What are examples of some reusable organization wide toolkits/COE toolkits?

Fri, 14 Dec 2018 14:53:15 +0000

Enterprise Identity Toolkit

Data Cleanup Toolkit

LDAP Toolkit

Global Cached Static Data Toolkit

Governance and Deployment Toolkit/Process Application

Environment Monitoring Toolkit

Global User Management Toolkit

Logging Toolkit

Global Configuration Toolkit

Content Management Toolkit

Common Utilities Toolkit – pdf, excel, file operations etc.

Enterprise Domain Business Objects Toolkit

Exception Handling Toolkit

Log Analysis Toolkit

Code Review and Analysis Toolkit

Regression Testing Toolkits

Answered: What are the essential Documents which need to be created to Establish a BPM Center of Excellence ?

Fri, 14 Dec 2018 14:29:19 +0000

Following are some of the base set of documents which need to be created

1. Application Environment Configurations - This should be created and maintained at a central location for Each Application.

2. COE Application Inventory - This is one per COE carrying a listing with high level overview and elementary details about each on-boarded application.

3. Application Overview Template - A Template providing guidelines to create an overview per application.

4. Architectural Guidelines - Architectural guidelines to be followed while designing and developing Process Applications.

5. Artifact Naming Conventions - It is recommended to have a globally applicable naming conventions for all your artifacts spread across different Process Applications.

6. Code Review Checklist - A centrally maintained code review checklist to be adhered to by the Process Application Teams.

7. COE Standardization Toolkits - standardization reusable toolkits like environment variable toolkit, content management toolkits, custom controls, Business Objects toolkits, Look and Feel Template Toolkits should be developed to promote reuse and central management of configurations.

8. Deployment Procedures - Deployment Procedures should be goverened at COE level and directions provided via this document.

9. Development Best Practices - Recommended Best practices should be documented as development and design guidelines for new applications and developers.

10. In-Flight Migration Considerations

11. Integration Best Practices and Directives

12. Non-Functional Requirements Template

13. PDW Reporting Guidelines

14. Performance Considerations and Guidelines

15. Recommended Design Patterns

16. Project Charter Template

17. Project LifeCycle and Development Methodology Guidelines

18. Security Considerations and Best Practices

19. Project Sizing and Estimation Worksheets

20. Application validation and Smoke Testing Procedures Manual - Per application

21. Unit Testing Best Practices

22. User Interfaces UI and UX Guidelines

23. User/Team/PG Management Guidelines

Answered: What are the Use Cases you are familiar with for IBM BPM Process Applications, some I know of are as follows?

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 16:43:11 +0000

Loan Origination
Financial Fraud Detection
Banking KYC Process (Know Your Customer)
Financial Complance
Supply Chain
Enterprise Content Management & Organization
Static Data Maintenance
Credit Evaluation
Customer Due Diligence
Patient Wellness and Care Management
Asset Management
Change Management and Excursions
Patient Survey Call Center
Cash Flow Management
Financial Workflows

Answered: How can we determine if Product Database is being accessed from a Process Application?

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 15:44:45 +0000

One quick way will be to search for LSW_ in a twx, how to seaerch a twx is described at the following thread

https://bpm.tips/79/how-can-we-search-for-a-certain-string-in-an-entire-process-app-from-process-server-database?show=79#q79

Answered: What are the best automated testing tools for IBM BPM?

Fri, 13 Oct 2017 22:30:59 +0000

Two prominent products which come to mind are

https://www.royalcyber.com/resources/webcasts/ibm-business-process-manager-test-automation-with-behavior-driven-framework

https://www.capbpm.com/capq/

Answered: What is best practice for stopping and starting a Production Process Server/Cluster?

Thu, 30 Jun 2016 07:14:10 +0000

Use ripple start.

In WAS Admin console there is a button on "servers" page.

using script (Jacl) >> $AdminControl invoke $cluster rippleStart

Answered: What are the unit testing Best Practices for a IBM BPM Process application?

Wed, 08 Jun 2016 22:01:05 +0000

Unit Testing/debugging is generally done by launching a service from Process Designer or from Process Inspector, If you have complex services or Processes Ideally you should have two monitor where in on one you see the task/service executing in browser and on the other the Process Inspector shows where the token is. This is fine when developing. But for maintenance regression and modification purposes the Best practice is to have a Unit Test Wrapper Service with data constructors, coupled with select drop downs for providing various combinations of input data to the underlying service which is being tested. You may also want to put in a display coach at the end of invocation if the service outputs data which needs to be validated.

We build Unit Test Wrappers or also called Test Harnesses for

1. Human Tasks (to make then runnable outside a process, though they actually run in a process)
2. Standalone Services (Which Run independently of a Process)
3. Processes which take input data through a message start
4. Reusable Integrations (place them in functional area toolkits with included Test Harnesses)

How much artifact documentation is optimal, what is the right time to put in documentation design time or release time, since artifacts and design evolves as we develop?

Tue, 07 Jun 2016 22:42:29 +0000

Answered: What are the recommended naming Conventions for Services, BPDS, variables, etc.

Sun, 05 Jun 2016 10:15:14 +0000

BPD naming convention - The primary or top level BPD should be clearly marked with some Pre-fix or Post-fix identifier e.g. Primary Process or Top Level, All BPDs are generally named with the format {Verb}{Noun} . e.g., Review Request, Approve Request, Submit Ad-hoc Request, Process Ad-hoc Request etc.
Service naming convention - {type} {verb}{noun} - Type should specify system or the type of the service. For UI services every service should start with UI. Wording should be with capital letters and space between each word. For preposition (on, at, in. etc.) words use a small letter instead of capital letter. Examples: SYSTEMA Get Supplier Details, SYSTEMB Get Supplier Contact Details, SYSTEMC Submit Extension Request, SAP Create Purchase Order, BIZ Rule Map Purchasing Team to Time Zone, UI Submit Supplier Request etc.
Variable Types - {prefix}{noun}. Prefix could be the Business Entity name or sytem name. Every noun will generically describe the several fields grouped in the Variable Type. It can consist of one word or more. Every word should start with capital letter and there is no spaces or underscore between words. Examples: ProjectRequest, ShoppingCart, PurchaseOrder, etc.
Variables Camel case - Javascript industry standard – can consist of one or more word . the 1st letter small case letter. Every words first letter is a capital letter (except of the 1^st word). Examples: attestationRequest, businessContext, processContext etc.
Snapshot naming convention {Project Name} {Release/Environment name} {Date} Future snapshots created on the same date can have a V1, V2 suffix to this format.

Answered: Should BPD Process Application data be treated/used as Record of Origin or Source of Truth ?

Sat, 28 May 2016 13:40:56 +0000

I have come across two school of thoughts on this issue

1. Why have an overhead of updating the Record of Origin or Source of Truth when the BPD is the actual Process Container and holds the latest and greatest version of the data, also there is an overhead involved since after every Data Change Activity e.g. Human Tasks we need to update the application database, also we can use REST APIS to work with the data when we use BPM Processes as the source of truth. Also if the system source of truth is only updated via BPM and there is no need to update it from external applications/systems this approach makes sense.

2. Transaction management is not inherent to the BPM processes and the the BPM processes are not designed for efficient and safe reading and writing of the data simultaneously when processes are operational, also concurrent read and writes have to be kept in mind when we are using BPM as a source of truth. Actually by design IBM BPM is not meant to be used as a source of truth.

Answered: What is a data constructor Service, why is it needed ?

Sun, 22 May 2016 19:18:21 +0000

Data Constructor Services are meant to be used as place holders for actual integration services supplying the data eventually, they initially populate hard coded data to the Business Objects for playback and demo purposes and quick prototyping, without any changes to upper level services the actual data integrations can happen at later stages.

Also it is not a recommended practice to have default values for your business objects, thus for unit testing you can use the plugged in data constructor service to provide the test data also.

Answered: What are the IBM BPM Development Best Practices?

Sun, 22 May 2016 12:00:52 +0000

1. Usability Standards

If there is a large amount of data, it is recommended to use a wizard style user interface wherein user can navigate back and forth between steps maintaining the previous entries they have made
User interface should be capable of handling large amount of data without performance degradation.
As per business needs audit trail of user actions may or may not be needed
Accessibility needs need to be specified if business need is there.
All screens should provide consistency in common screens and features e.g. common header/footer, common way of searching etc.
Feedback: System should provide appropriate feedback to users e.g. progress icons, on page error messages, dialog boxes with status
Bread Crumb/Process Progress Bar, for large processes with a lot of steps and states and statuses it is desirable to provide a progress bar to depict to the users where they are in the process flow.
seamless integration with external systems
Single Sign on
Multiple concurrent sessions may or may not be needed for same tasks screens and appropriate data integrity measures should be implemented, determine as per usage if optimistic locking or pessimistic locking is needed.
Security concerns authorization of data at section or element level may need to be addressed with appropriate control/section based authorizations.
Required fields should be clearly indicated with different color or with red asterisk.

2. Naming Standards

Code Review Checklist

1. Is there sufficient documentation of BPD and Service Artifacts is there color coding by type of tasks
2. Is Javascript indented and commented properly
3. Is reusable javascript function library created at a central server js file
4. Is appropriate usage of caching there
5. Is a Unit Test harness built for each task and integration service
6. Is sufficient Error Handling in place both at service and BPD level
7. What logging mechanism has been used and is sufficient logging there with appropriate logging levels set i.e. info, debug, error, alert
8. Is there direct access to Process DB (Product DB), it should be only when absolutely necessary since upgrades and migrations may not go through with Product DB changes
9. Is Performance DB being leveraged, has sizing of PDW database needs been done
10. Is NOLOCK being used for SQL calls
11. Is string concatenation used or StringBuffer
12. what is unit tested load time in Development environment per task and integration
13. Is parametrized query for sql statements being used
14. Is every message on UI and BPD and task attributes connected to a central resource bundle so that they can be changed centrally
15. Is there hard coding of Environment specific variables e.g. hostname, port number, webservice endpoint etc. or they are in the environment configuration of the application
16. Is there a maintenance shutdown for the Process Application feature implemented
18. Are there validation errors in the Process Application
19. Is all the static data appropriately cached, and key based caching used for partially cacheable data
20. Are there default values set/accidentally left out for service input and output variables
21. Are all the static resources for the Process App e.g. css, javascript libraries etc minified and bundled in zip files. images should also be optimized for web delivery
22. Are Artifacts appropriately tagged with Company identifier and type of service
23. Are all the naming conventions adhered to
24. Are decision services being used for business decisions and routing where appropriate
25. If copies of existing controls are made they should be placed in a separate toolkit not mixing up with the Process Application code
26. Is the business data and process data appropriately bundled in context variables at BPD level so that minimal modifications to BPD is needed if additional data elements need to be added.
27. Is autotracking turned off in BPDs
28. Is save execution context checked on
29. Is there service exposure appropriately defined e.g. Admin Services vs Portal Services vs Dashboards
30. Is the exposure of services properly governed by teams and no accidental "All Users" exposures are there.
31. Is only minimal necessary Business Data exposed.
32. Are reusable artifacts e.g. Domain Business Objects, Generic Utility Dashboards etc. properly classified in toolkits.

What are the reuse principles in IBM BPM, How much reuse becomes too much and a maintenance nightmare?

Thu, 19 May 2016 00:41:38 +0000

Answered: What are the common Pre/Post Fixes for Services from Lombardi Era, are they still used/applicable?

Wed, 18 May 2016 00:11:39 +0000

TS Task Service A service that directly implements an activity. Such a serviceis responsible for coordinating a whole task for a user/system.
CS Coach Service A service that implements a single coach. It is generally recommended that a service not have more than a single coach in it.
Init A service that provides specific initialization functionality for the parent service for which its named
Action A service that provides specific post-action functionality for the parent service for which its named
ES Event Service A service that is used specifically to invoke an Event Driven UCA
EI Event Implementer A service that directly implements an Event Driven UCA
BS Batch Service A service that directly implements a Batch/Chron driven UCA
US Utility Service A service that implements some piece of utility functionality (such as text parsing for valid email format, etc)
WS WebService Service A service that directly implements a Teamworks hosted WebService
IS Integration Service A service whose specific purpose it is to wrap a Teamworks Integration connector
DAS Data AccessService A service whose specific purpose it is to get some data from inside (EPV properties) or outside (DB, LDAP) TeamWorks

These were the Lombardi recommended acronyms, as it is evident from the descriptions some of them are no longer applicable and also there was no categorization or tagging back then and the acronyms made more sense, but I have seen they are still in use in certain projects.

Bundling and using your static resources in a zip file?

Sun, 15 May 2016 23:07:49 +0000

Identifying and Resolving BPM Security Issues with AppScan?

Sun, 15 May 2016 22:45:26 +0000

How can we combine all our javascript functions into a single reusable location using Server Files?

Sun, 15 May 2016 22:40:47 +0000

Various ways of implementing logging in a Process Application?

Sun, 15 May 2016 22:23:54 +0000