This document discusses jBPM5, an open-source business process management project. It provides an overview of key BPM concepts like workflows and processes. jBPM5 aims to make processes ready for the future through support for BPMN 2.0, flexible processes, integration of rules and events. The roadmap includes adding features like business activity monitoring and service orchestration to the 5.x releases.

1. jBPM5:
Are your business
processes ready for the
future?
Kris Verlaenen
Core Developer

2. Overview
• Key characteristics of (j)BPM
• From Workflow to BPM
• Ready for the future?
• jBPM5: What, where?
• Roadmap

3. Key Characteristics of BPM
A business process is a process that describes
the order in which a series of steps need to be executed,
using a flow chart.

4. Business Process Example

5. Key Advantages of BPM
• Visibility
• Monitoring
• Higher-level
• Continuous improvement
• Speed of development
• Increased agility
• ...

6. Key Characteristics of jBPM5
• Open-source business process
management project offering:
– generic process engine supporting native
BPMN 2.0 execution
– targeting developers and business users
– collaboration, management and monitoring
using web-based consoles
– powerfull rules and event integration

7. From Workflow to BPM
• Core engine is a workflow engine in
pure Java
– state transitions
– lightweight
– embeddable
– generic, extensible
Core
Engine

8. Core Engine
Knowledge
Base
Stateful
Knowledge
Session
Process
Definition
Process
Instance

9. Java Interface
ProcessRuntime interface
• startProcess(processId)
• startProcess(processId, parameters)
• signalEvent(type, event)
• signalEvent(type, event, instanceId)
• abortProcessInstance(instanceId)
• getProcessInstance(instanceId)
• …

10. From Workflow to BPM
Core
Engine

11. From Workflow to BPM
Core
Engine BPMN
2.0
XML

12. BPMN 2.0
• OMG standard that defines
– Graphical notation
– Process definition format (XSD / XMI)
– Execution semantics
• Focus on executable processes
• Extensible + Interoperability !
• http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/2.0/

13. BPMN 2.0 Example
<definitions ... >
<process id="com.sample.bpmn.hello" name="Hello World" >
<startEvent id="_1" name="StartProcess" />
<sequenceFlow sourceRef="_1" targetRef="_2" />
<scriptTask id="_2" name="Hello" >
<script>System.out.println("Hello World");</script>
</scriptTask>
<sequenceFlow sourceRef="_2" targetRef="_3" />
<endEvent id="_3" name="EndProcess" />
</process>
</definitions>

14. Java Example
// (1) Create knowledge base and add process definition
KnowledgeBuilder kbuilder =
KnowledgeBuilderFactory.newKnowledgeBuilder();
kbuilder.add(
ResourceFactory.newClassPathResource("sample.bpmn"
),
ResourceType.BPMN2);
KnowledgeBase kbase = kbuilder.newKnowledgeBase();
// (2) Create new stateful knowledge session
StatefulKnowledgeSession ksession =
kbase.newStatefulKnowledgeSession();
// (3) Start a new process instance
ksession.startProcess(“com.sample.bpmn.hello”);

15. From Workflow to BPM
Core
Engine BPMN
2.0
XML
Oryx Web-
Based Editor
Eclipse
BPMN2
Editor

18. From Workflow to BPM
Core
Engine BPMN
2.0
XML
Persistence
Trans-
actions
JPA
JTA

19. From Workflow to BPM
Core
Engine BPMN
2.0
XML
Persistence
Trans-
actions
Events
History
Log
Management
Console BAM

23. From Workflow to BPM
Core
Engine BPMN
2.0
XML
Persistence
Trans-
actions
Events
Integration
Domain-specific
Processes
Human Task
ServiceESB

24. Domain-specific Processes
• Extend palette with domain-specific,
declarative service nodes
– define input / output parameters
– runtime binding

25. Human task service
• User task
• Human task
service (WS-HT)
– Task lists
– Task life cycle
• Task clients
– Task forms

26. Ready for the future?
Traditional systems have problems with
change, complexity, flexibility, data-
intensive applications, etc.
• Adaptive Case Management (ACM)
• Unstructured, non-lineair or flexible processes
• Event-driven BPM (edBPM)

27. 27
Processes + Rules + Events

28. Flexible processes

29. jBPM5: What, where?
• jBPM home page
• Source http://github.com/krisv/jbpm
• Hudson
http://hudson.jboss.org/hudson/job/jBPM5
• Blog http://kverlaen.blogspot.com/
• #jbpm on irc.codehaus.org
• jbpm-dev@jboss.org
• jBPM user forum

32. jBPM5 Installer
• ant install.demo
– Download JBoss AS
– Download Eclipse (+GMF)
– Install Drools Guvnor into JBoss AS
– Install Oryx Designer into JBoss AS
– Install the jBPM gwt-console into JBoss AS
– Install the jBPM + Drools Eclipse plugin
• ant start.demo
– Start the H2 database
– Start the JBoss AS
– Start Eclipse
– Start the jBPM Human Task Service

35. Misconceptions
• For developers only?
– Targeting business users as well
• Proprietary, not standards-based?
– BPMN2, WS-HT, JPA, JTA, BPAF, etc.
• Low-level, technical details?
– Domain-specific nodes
• Not flexible?
– Processes + Rules + Events

36. jBPM5 Roadmap
• jBPM 5.0 snapshot releases available
• Beta before the end of the month
• Final release of 5.0 before the end of
the year
• jBPM 5.x
– Business Activity Monitoring
– Service Orchestration
• Productization during 2011

37. jBPM5:
Are your business
processes ready for the
future?
Kris Verlaenen
Core Developer