Software model business process variant types

• US 8,312,416 B2
• Filed: 04/13/2006
• Issued: 11/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Freund, Jens, Kenntner, Joachim, Wagner, Frank, Reiss, Thomas, Lang, Klaus-Peter, Fitzer, Joachim
• Primary Examiner(s): Dao, Thuy
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEN, XI DONALD
• Application Number:
  US11/404,147
• Publication Number:
  US 20070265862A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,406 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/067 Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, to realize a software model are described. Process components are defined that characterize software implementing respective and distinct business processes and additionally define at least one process agent that enables communications between a business object associated with the corresponding process component and a business object associated with any other process component. Business Process Variant Types are also defined that associate one or more of the process agents for the corresponding process component so that selection of a process variant type causes the associated one or more process agents to be activated.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

defining, with a computing system, one or more process components, each of the process components characterizing software implementing respective and distinct business processes and defining at least one process agent, each process agent enabling communications between a business object associated with the corresponding process component and a business object associated with any other process component; and

defining, with the computing system, one or more Business Process Variant Types for at least one of the process components, wherein each Business Process Variant Type for a particular process component is associated with a set of process agents of the particular process component different from sets of process agents associated with other Business Process Variant Types for the particular process component, wherein selection of a particular process variant type causes the associated one or more process agents of the particular process variant type to be activated and causes any process agents not associated with the particular process variant type to be deactivated,

wherein each Business Process Variant Type for a particular process component comprises a modeling entity defined, at least in part, by associated message choreographies belonging to different ones of the one or more Business Process Variant Types for at least one of the process components.

2. A method as in claim 1, wherein the process agents are outbound process agents.

3. A method as in claim 1, wherein the process components characterize inbound operations to handle incoming messages associated with a modification or reading of data encapsulated in a business object associated with the process component.

4. A method as in claim 1, wherein the process components characterize outbound operations to handle outgoing messages associated with a modification or reading of data encapsulated in at least one business object associated with another process component.

5. A method as in claim 4, wherein the outbound operations are called after the business object associated with a corresponding outbound operation is read or modified.

6. A method as in claim 5, wherein the outbound operations send messages after they are called.

7. A method as in claim 3, wherein one or more of the inbound operations is a synchronous operation operable to receive a synchronous message generated by an external synchronous outbound operation defined by an external process component.

8. A method as in claim 4, wherein one or more of the outbound operations is an asynchronous outbound operation operable to generate an asynchronous message for receipt by an asynchronous inbound operation defined by an external process component.

9. A method as in claim 3, wherein one or more of the inbound operations is operable to receive a message of a first type and convert it into a message of a second type.

10. A method as in claim 1, wherein at least one of the process agents is an inbound process agent characterizing an inbound operation to handle incoming messages.

11. A method as in claim 1, wherein at least one of the process agents is an outbound process agent characterizing an outbound operation to transmit outgoing messages to an external process component.

12. A method as in claim 1, wherein a first one of the process components is associated with a first deployment unit and a second one of the process components is associated with a second deployment unit, the deployment units characterizing independently operable software.

13. A method as in claim 1, wherein the process components define service interfaces having pair-wise interactions between pairs of process components.

14. A method as in claim 1, further comprising:

defining one or more business objects, each business object being associated with a single process component.

15. A method as in claim 14, wherein none of the business objects of any one of the process components interacts directly with any of the business objects associated with any of the other process components.

16. A method as in claim 1, further comprising:

logically associating a plurality of process components to realize a business scenario.

17. A method as in claim 1, further comprising:

limiting interactions between process components not having a process variant type activating process agents coupled the process components.

18. A method as in claim 1, further comprising:

verifying that each coupled process component has a corresponding process variant type activating an outbound process agent.

19. A method as in claim 1, wherein a particular one of the Business Process Variant Types for a particular one of the process components comprises substantially similar message choreography as another of the process components, and the particular one of the Business Process Variant Types for a particular one of the process components comprises different business configuration settings than the another of the process components.

20. A method as in claim 1, further comprising:

verifying, with at least one of the Business Process Variant Types, process interaction models associated with a particular integration scenario.

21. A method as in claim 1, further comprising:

deriving, during an application run-time, at least one of the Business Process Variant Types based, at least in part, on business configuration settings, master data, or incoming messages; and

storing the derived Business Process Variant Type in a business object node.

22. A method as in claim 1, wherein the one or more Business Process Variant Types are defined in at least two categories comprising:

a first category defining one or more main Business Process Variant Types that are unique for a particular business object; and

a second category defining one or more optional Business Process Variant Types that only exist in combination with at least one of the main Business Process Variant Types.

23. A computer-implemented method of defining interactions between two process components, the method comprising:

defining, with a computing system, for each process component, a plurality of process agents, each process agent being either an inbound process agent or an outbound process agent, an inbound process agent being operable to receive a message from an inbound operation, an outbound process agent being operable to cause an outbound operation to send a message; and

defining, with the computing system, interactions between at least one inbound process agent of a first process component and at least one outbound process agent of a second process component;

defining, with the computing system, interactions between at least one inbound process agent of the second process component and at least one outbound process agent of the first process component; and

defining, with the computing system, one or more Business Process Variant Types for at least one of the process components, wherein each Business Process Variant Type for a particular process component is associated with a set of process agents of the particular process component different from sets of process agents associated with other Business Process Variant Types for the particular process component, wherein selection of a particular process variant type causes the associated one or more process agents of the particular process variant type to be activated and causes any process agents not associated with the particular process variant type to be deactivated,

wherein each Business Process Variant Type for a particular process component comprises a modeling entity defined, at least in part, by associated message choreographies belonging to different ones of the one or more Business Process Variant Types for at least one of the process components.

24. A computer-implemented method comprising:

displaying, in a first view, a process interaction map illustrating interactions among a plurality of process components linked together by selected Business Process Variant Types, each of the process components characterizing software implementing a respective and distinct business process, and each of the process components defining a respective service interface for interacting with other process component;

displaying, in a second view, a process component architectural design illustrating an inbound part, a business object part, and an outbound part for a selected process component, the inbound part identifying all external process components that use one or more inbound operations of the selected process component, the business object part identifying all business objects associated with the selected process component, the outbound part identifying all external process components utilized by one or more outbound operations of the selected component; and

displaying, in a third view, a process component interaction architectural design illustrating message transfer between exactly two process components to modify or read business objects associated with each business object, each process component illustrating a plurality of process agents, each process agent being either an inbound process agent or an outbound process agent, the inbound process agent being operable to receive a message from an inbound operation, the outbound process agent being operable to cause an outbound operation to send a message,

wherein only outbound process agents associated with a selected process variant type are activated and outbound process agents not associated with the selected process variant type are deactivated, wherein each Business Process Variant Type comprises a modeling entity defined, at least in part, by associated message choreographies belonging to different ones of the one or more Business Process Variant Types for at least one of the process components.

25. A computer program product encoded on a tangible, non-transitory storage medium, the product comprising computer readable instructions for causing one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

defining a process component, the process component characterizing software implementing respective and distinct business processes and defining a plurality of process agents, each process agent enabling communications between a business object associated with the process component and a business object associated with any other process component; and

defining a first Business Process Variant Type and a second Business Process Variant Type for the process component, the first Business Process Variant Type associated with a first set of one or more process agents from the plurality of process agents and the second Business Process Variant Type associated with at least one process agent from the plurality of process agents not included in the first set, wherein selection of the first Business Process Variant Type activates the one or more process agents in the first set and deactivates the at least one process agent not included in the first set,

wherein each Business Process Variant Type for a particular process component comprises a modeling entity defined, at least in part, by associated message choreographies belonging to different ones of the one or more Business Process Variant Types for at least one of the process components.