JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

Building a Job Reclassification Application using Workflow Engine,

MVC Architecture, uPortal and OpenLDAP

Ying KussmannAdministrative Computing Services

University of California, Irvine

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

Presentation ContentsPresentation ContentsFastClass Overview – the job reclassification applicationComponents used to build FastClass and the reasons

they are chosen Architecture of application – how the various

components are put together Desired state Lessons learnedDemoQuestions

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

FastClass OverviewFastClass Overview

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

FastClass OverviewFastClass OverviewConducted a process review

Identify client needs and satisfactionFeedback from the Campus that the paper-based process was...

> Confusing> Applied differently across the campus > Viewed as a “Black Hole”> Difficult to understand

Measure current process performanceBrainstorm solutions with the campusIdentify how technology can help

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

FastClass OverviewFastClass OverviewGoals achieved with FastClass

Web-based, paperless submittal process Simplify and standardize the process resulting in…

Reduced review timeImproved information sharingEnhanced communication

Built-in business rules for routing so users don’t have to remember where the reclassification package goes next

Tracking of requests from submittal to approval Integrated with UC Irvine’s Data Warehouse and other online

tools for easy information lookup

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

FastClass Overview FastClass Overview

Process Flow Chart

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

FastClass Overview FastClass Overview Build FastClass as a workflow application

What is workflowThe automation of a business process, in whole or part, during which

documents, information or tasks are passed from one participant to another for action, according to a set of procedural rules.

Business NeedsTracking of start/end time and duration of task and workflowAnalysis Report to track bottleneck of processAssign tasks to a single user or a group of designated users

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

FastClass OverviewFastClass OverviewUse a third party workflow engine instead of building a

custom application to handle workflowCustom applications developed to handle workflows are

inadequate:Expensive to develop a custom application for each processMay not be robust and reliable enough at runtimeHave to be modified as business processes change

Use an off- the-shelf solution for workflow managementAbstracting the business process definition and separating it from the

intelligence that executes it.Simplify and standardize integration with other applicationsFlexible as opposed to hard-coded business rules

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

FastClass Components FastClass Components Expresso Framework

Integrates with Struts which is a MVC light weight framework emphasizing presentation and application configuration

Capabilities for securityRobust object-relational mappingLogging integrationDatabase connection poolingCaching Configuration managementAutomatic database maintenance

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

FastClass ComponentsFastClass ComponentsDrala Workflow Product Suite from DralaSoft

100% Java component for business process automation, pluggable database

Embeddable, small footprintPowerful visual design tools High-performance Advanced features including caching, thread-pooling,

persistence, fail-over, load balancing, and notificationXML, RMI, and some SOAP support Cost effective No J2EE server required

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

FastClass ComponentsFastClass ComponentsDrala Workflow Product Suite

Workflow Engine – Runtime platform for process orchestrationWorkflow Studio – Visual design and workflow modeling tool

Drag and drop predefined tasksInstall custom tasksLaunch and test workflows

Workflow Manager – Workflow monitoring toolGather and analyze statisticsReporting

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

FastClass ComponentsFastClass ComponentsOpenLDAP

Used as data source for users in Expresso framework and staff portal

Plan to use as Drala Resource/Role repositoryuPortal

Displays workflow task list to campus users via “My Workflow Tasks” channel

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

ArchitectureArchitecture

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

Architecture Architecture Business process is modeled as workflow. Business rules

(how the process flows and which resource/role gets assigned to which task) are designed into the workflow template and executed by the workflow engine at runtime.

The application tells the workflow engine to set certain tasks to “done” and defines certain workflow/task attributes. The workflow engine uses these attributes to determine the flow as well as resource/role assignment.

The application queries the workflow engine for task start, end time and other workflow related information to present to user.

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

ArchitectureArchitectureThe FastClass

workflowtemplate

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

ArchitectureArchitectureThe FastClass workflow template

Asynchronous TaskTasks requiring manual or human activity to complete. Engine initiates task but does not wait for the task to complete. Engine has to be notified explicitly when task is complete

Synchronous TaskAppropriate for automated functions. Engine activates task and calls a callback method which performs work associated with the task.

Branch TaskBranches can be used to decide which path to take moving forward in a workflow.

Loop TaskCould be used to repeat tasks for a fixed number of times. A loop task is complete when no more iterations are deemed necessary.

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

ArchitectureArchitecture

(Workflow Management Coalition The Workflow Reference Model http://www.wfmc.org/standards/docs/tc003v11.pdf)

Generic Workflow Product Structure

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

ArchitectureArchitectureWorkflow Relevant Data and Application Data

Workflow relevant, or ‘case’ data, is the only type of application data accessible to workflow engine. Process navigation decisions or other control operations within the workflow engine are based on data generated /updated by workflow application programs.

Workflow application data is manipulated directly & only by workflow applications. Workflow engines may be responsible for transferring such data between applications – different applications are invoked at different activity points within workflow process.(Workflow Management Coalition The Workflow Reference Model http://www.wfmc.org/standards/docs/tc003v11.pdf)

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

ArchitectureArchitectureWorklist

Workflow engine places items on to worklists for attention when user interactions are necessary within the process execution.

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

ArchitectureArchitectureFastClass and Worklist

Discrete list – User being presented single item or a subset of the worklist

Log on to FastClass and navigate to appropriate area for tasks related to that area or click on link in notification emails to go directly to a certain task

Comprehensive list – User select individual items of work from a comprehensive/complete worklist

Log on to staff portal and navigate to “My Workflow Tasks” channel where the user can view the entire list

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

ArchitectureArchitecture

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

ArchitectureArchitecture

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

ArchitectureArchitectureTalking to the Drala workflow engine

Retrieving from the workflow engine

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

Desired StateDesired StateMultiple workflow applications that display their tasks in

the workflow channel of the staff portalMigrate from using Drala’s internal resource/role

management to using LDAP for workflow resource/role management

Migrate from using RMI to SOAP, so that other applications on campus built with technologies other than JAVA can use Drala workflow engine and have task list display within workflow channel in the portal

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

Desired StateDesired State

SNAP

My WorkflowTasks Channel

Client Application

A&BS: WorkFlow Architecture -- DRALA WF Engine

DRALAWF Engine

SOAP/HTTPServer

Client Application

Update(SOAP/HTTP)

Update(SOAP/HTTP)

Poll(SOAP/HTTP)Task List Poller

Query(HTTP)

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

Lessons LearnedLessons LearnedUnderstand in detail the business process and

the workflow application being built before designing the technical implementation

Focus on designing a flexible workflow template and allow for changes in the process

Link the workflow engine with existing resource/role repository if possible

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

Lessons LearnedLessons LearnedMix and match static and dynamic workflow

capabilities – define most of the workflow statically, and a portion of it at runtime – could be based on earlier user input in the workflow

Expect delays between task execution. Design template to accommodate this

Know what constitutes application data and what constitutes workflow data

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

DemoDemoFastClass Demo

JASIG, December 2003

University of California, Irvine

ReferencesReferenceswww.dralasoft.comwww.jcorporate.comhttp://www.wfmc.org/standards/docs/tc003v11.pd

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Q & AQ & A