Liferay European Symposium 2011 - Building complete workflow solutions
- 1. Building complete workflow solutions with LiferayTomek LipskiChief of R&D, BlueSoft, Poland@tomeklipski
- 2. AgendaBlueSoft – 60 second introduction
- 3. Aperte Workflow – more than just BPM
- 5. The frontend – focus on usability and user experience
- 6. The platform – where modularity is #1 goal
- 7. The backend – BPM engine, persistence, integration
- 8. How do these tools combine into a complete workflow solution
- 9. The process
- 10. Automated steps
- 11. Human tasks
- 12. Other mechanisms
- 14. Demo and Q&ABlueSoftWho are we?One of the largest independent software vendors in Poland
- 16. Largest enterprise integration team in Poland
- 17. We support biggest companies in Poland: telecoms, financial, logistic, etc.BlueSoft as a Liferay partnerWe use Liferay as a platform for our solutions since 2006
- 18. We became Liferay Service Partner in 2011
- 19. In 2011, we have released some of our Liferay based products under GNU LGPLAperte WorkflowMore than just BPMBuilt on top of a compilation of Open Source frameworks and libraries
- 20. Business processes built from reusable components
- 21. Multiple BPM implementations supported
- 22. Liferay 6.0 as a base
- 23. Plugin mechanism backed by OSGi stack
- 25. Rich User InterfaceAperte Workflow is available under GNU Lesser GPL:https://github.com/bluesoft-rnd/aperte-workflow-core
- 26. Choosing right toolsPrefer Open Source where possibleAccess to source codes
- 27. Stable and clean relashionship with tools’ vendors
- 28. Open Source communities provide great aid and feedbackUse existing tools, try not to create new onesExisting tools/frameworks/libraries are constantly verified and tested by their users
- 29. They provide features you might never think of
- 30. It is easier and safer for potential users to learn and use a solution based on components they are already familiar with… but when no good tool exists, do not hesitate to develop one!
- 31. The frontendLiferay - enhances user experienceAny application can be functionallydivided into portlets
- 32. Introduce new portlets and features
- 33. Out of the box featuresRich User Interface is provided by Pluggable controls („widgets” and „actions”)
- 34. No HTML/CSS/JavaScript hassle in most cases
- 35. Great for plugins – management, development, etc.
- 37. We can use JSR-223 scripting languages too (Scala, Clojure, Jython, JRuby, etc.)The platform OSGi service platformIndustry standard for modularity
- 38. Ready to use and complete plugin system
- 39. Classloader safety for pluginsPlugins deliver over 90% of the solutionWidgets and actions
- 40. Automated steps
- 44. And many more...The backendCommon BPM APIjBPM4, jBPM5, Activiti, Aris, …
- 45. Pick your favorite BPM implementationMule ESB as an embedded OSGi pluginPowerful and flexible MuleClient is available for other plugins
- 46. Simple Mule services can be deployed as Aperte Workflow OSGi plugins
- 47. Put your processes in the Cloud with Mule iONPersistence is provided by Hibernate/JPAData model can be extended by plugins using JPA API annotations
- 48. Hibernate makes us slightly more RDBMS vendor indepenentThe processStandard BPM APIThe process flow is controlled by currentlydeployed BPM engine
- 49. Every implementation of BPM interface fulfills simple API with basic operations
- 50. Human tasks, process state, process history, etc. are all available to other compenents/plugins
- 51. Process data available outside of BPM implementation
- 52. Aperte Workflow grants the reusability of components applied in process – on every level possibleAutomated stepsModular and reusableAutomated steps are provided and invoked as OSGi plugins
- 53. Each OSGi plugin has seperate classloader, which resolves most of the dependency conflicts
- 54. The output from automated step can be used to guide process executionSample automated steps: Invoke Drools rule
- 55. Generate a document from process data
- 56. Invoke Web Service using Axis
- 57. Use MuleClient to invoke Web Service
- 58. Use MuleClient to invoke internal Mule service operating on JMSHuman tasksA GUI that meets business requirementsAperte Workflow provides dedicated Liferay portlets for human tasks management
- 59. User interface is composed from widgets and action buttons provided as plugins
- 60. Widgets can perform differentroles:
- 62. Provide generic operations on process data
- 63. Integrate with external systems (e.g. LDAP or ECM)
- 64. Action buttons allow the user to make a decision in a process
- 65. Process decision can require additional UI logicSample widgets & buttonsCMIS WIDGETPROCESS DATA WIDGETPROCESS HISTORY WIDGETAccess an ECM folder using CMIS(Alfresco, Nuxeo, Sharepoint, ...)Universal forms, capable of displaying and editing process instance’s attributes.Widget displaying process history entriesUSERDATA WIDGETSUPPLIER WIDGETTABSHEET WIDGETSelect a user for a dedicated role from differnt source (e.g. LDAP or Liferay)Custom widget dedicated for a procurement process in a large companyWidget arranging its subwidgets in tabs.COMMENTS ACTION BUTTON(...)A button that requires an explanation of user’s decision.User provided input is stored as a comment.
- 66. Other mechanismsBuild any features you requireThe Aperte Workflow manages plugins and connects them to its API
- 67. The plugins can be used to provide process components
- 68. Other mechanisms can be introduced, for example:EMAILCAPTUREPROCESS STATE NOTIFICATIONRESTAPIStart process instance or propagate its execution when certain email is received. Notify task owner or any other recipient that a certain process instance has entered designated process step.Provide access to Aperte Workflow’s API using REST.(...)
- 69. Seeing the benefitsMore than BPMNo need to construct yet another application around your BPM
- 70. Use a set of pre-built features and plugins
- 71. Build only processes and plugins you needConstruct processes from reusable componentsSimple, process-agnostic plugins
- 72. Provide any feature you require
- 73. Maintain control over your implementedprocessesWell-known, open technologiesStable foundation for any solution
- 74. Existing user base and communities
- 75. It is easy tolearn and use Aperte WorkflowDemo
- 76. Questions & AnswersMore information:http://www.bluesoft.net.pl/aperte-workflowhttps://demo.aperteworkflow.org/https://github.com/bluesoft-rnd/aperte-workflow-corehttp://www.bluesoft.net.pl