Executing a business process by a standard business process engine

• US 10,621,531 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2017
• Issued: 04/14/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Breiter, Gerd, Kloppmann, Matthias, Spatzier, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Brockington, III, William S
• Application Number:
  US15/851,727
• Publication Number:
  US 20180121852A1
• Time in Patent Office: 845 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06316 Sequencing of tasks or work
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0633 Workflow analysis

Abstract

Executing a business process can include providing a context data object including a payload data structure for storing a payload data and automatically splitting an annotated context data object into one or more utility data objects. Responsive to creating a second utility data object, a pre-processing task can be injected into the business process, the pre-processing task using a copy of a first mapping to read data from the predefined data structure instance and to store the read data as payload data in the payload data structure of the first utility data object. Responsive to creating a third utility object, a post-processing task can be injected into the business process. The post-processing task can use a copy of the second mapping to write the payload data of the first utility data object to elements of a predefined data structure instance.

Claims

1. A computer hardware system configured to execute a business process by a standard business process engine, comprising:

a hardware processor configured to execute the following executable instructions;

automatically splitting a context data object including a payload data structure, using a processor and upon the context data object being annotated with a first mapping, into a plurality of utility data objects including;

a first utility data object including the payload data structure;

a second utility data object including a copy of the first mapping; and

injecting a pre-processing task into the business process, wherein

the pre-processing task uses the copy of the first mapping to

read data from a predefined data structure instance and

store the read data as payload data in the payload data structure of the first utility data object.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein

the payload data conforms to a standard data object definition processable by the standard business process engine;

and

the standard data object definition does not include a specification of the predefined data structure instance.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein

each of the plurality of utility data objects conform to a standard data object definition,

the context data object is annotated with the first mapping and a second mapping,

the first mapping connects elements of the predefined data structure instance to elements of the payload data structure,

the second mapping connects elements of the payload data structure to elements of the predefined data structure instance, and

the context data object does not conform to the standard data object definition.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein

the predefined data structure instance is an instance of a schema.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein

the predefined data structure instance acts as an I/O interface of a service, and

the predefined data structure instance is an instance of a schema processable by the service.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein

each of the plurality of utility data objects conform to a standard data object definition,

the payload data structure is an XML data structure, and

the standard data object definition is an XML schema.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein

the standard business process engine is a program operable to interpret and execute only business processes having been defined in BPMN and/or BPEL.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the hardware processor is configured to execute the following further executable instructions:

deploying a business process definition to a runtime environment within which the business process is executed, wherein

the business process definition being a document comprising one or more task specifications each specifying a task to be executed by the standard business process engine upon executing the business process, and

the injecting the pre-processing task is executed during the deploying the business process definition.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein

the injecting the pre-processing task includes inserting an additional task specification into the business process definition.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein

the runtime environment is a service container.

11. A computer hardware system configured to execute a business process by a standard business process engine, comprising:

a hardware processor configured to execute the following executable instructions;

automatically splitting a context data object including a payload data structure, using a processor and upon the context data object being annotated with a second mapping, into a plurality of utility data objects including;

a first utility data object including the payload data structure;

a third utility data object including a copy of the second mapping; and

injecting a post-processing task into the business process, wherein

the post-processing task uses the copy of the second mapping to write payload data in the first utility data object to a predefined data structure instance.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein

the payload data conforms to a standard data object definition processable by the standard business process engine;

and

the standard data object definition does not include a specification of the predefined data structure instance.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein

each of the plurality of utility data objects conform to a standard data object definition,

the context data object is annotated with the first mapping and a second mapping,

the first mapping connects elements of the predefined data structure instance to elements of the payload data structure,

the second mapping connects elements of the payload data structure to elements of the predefined data structure instance, and

the context data object does not conform to the standard data object definition.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein

the predefined data structure instance is an instance of a schema.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein

the predefined data structure instance acts as an I/O interface of a service, and

the predefined data structure instance is an instance of a schema processable by the service.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein

each of the plurality of utility data objects conform to a standard data object definition,

the payload data structure is an XML data structure, and

the standard data object definition is an XML schema.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein

the standard business process engine is a program operable to interpret and execute only business processes having been defined in BPMN and/or BPEL.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the hardware processor is configured to execute the following further executable instructions:

deploying a business process definition to a runtime environment within which the business process is executed, wherein

the business process definition being a document comprising one or more task specifications each specifying a task to be executed by the standard business process engine upon executing the business process, and

the injecting the post-processing task is executed during the deploying the business process definition.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein

the injecting the post-processing task includes inserting an additional task specification into the business process definition.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein

the runtime environment is a service container.