Glossary

A

Activity

One of the steps that make up a process model. This can be a program activity, process activity, or block activity. It is also one of the building blocks that constitute a process model

Activity Instance Manager

The module that handles all functions related to the Activity instances data

Administration Sessions

The sessions Enterprise Java Beans (EJBs) are used to administrate the Monitor server. They handle cleanup of the Monitor database, security, and the import of the .org modeling data from IBM WebSphere Business Integration (BI) Workbench™.

Administration Utility

A Web-based client that allows users to start the Event Queue triggers and create the Monitor and Event Queue database tables.

API, Application Programming Interface.

An interface provided by the MQ Series Workflow manager that enables programs to request services from the MQ Series Workflow manager. The services are provided synchronously.

Application Server

A server-side program that runs on a distributed network computer. It provides the business logic for an application program. The application server is usually considered as part of a three-tier application, consisting of a graphical user interface, an application (business logic) server, and a database.

Arrival Time

The timestamp at which a Job has been created.

Auto Cleanup

A Functionality in the Cleanup Utility that allows the application to automatically perform the process instances and history data cleanup on a periodical basis

B

Buildtime

An MQ Series Workflow component with a graphical user interface for creating and maintaining workflow models, administering resources, and the system network definitions.

Business Measures

Measures that allow users to evaluate the performance of the business process while running. There are two types of measures: those predefined by BI Workbench such as cost and duration and User-defined ones.

C

Client Sessions

The sessions Enterprise Java Beans (EJBs) handle the communication with Monitor and Business Monitor client.

Completion Time

The timestamp at which a Job has been completed.

Container Data

The input /output data of an activity or process.

D

Data Connectors

Connections drawn between tasks in the process diagram. They determine the flow of data from an originating Task Object or Process Object to a target Task Object or Process Object respectively.

Data Container

Storage for the input and output data of an activity or process. See input container and output container.

Data Structure

A named entity that consists of a set of data structure members.  Input and output containers are defined by reference to a data structure and adopt the layout of the referenced data structure type.

DB2

It is an IBM’s universal database management system used by MQ Workflow and BI Monitor to store process models and process-relevant data.

Decisions

An internal or external environmental condition (e.g., an event, a specification, or a standard) that affects a Business Process. A Decision is the question that is asked to determine the exact set of activities during the execution of a Process. For example, a question might be “What type of order?” or “How will the order be shipped?” A Decision is represented by a Decision Object in an Activity Decision Flow Diagram. There are two types of Decision Objects: Binary and Multiple.

Delay Status

The status of the current process that is based on its number of jobs, which are delayed as opposed to the number of jobs, executed on time.

E

Elapsed Duration

The Elapsed Duration of the Process Instance or Activity Instance.

Enterprise Java Beans (EJBs)

Enterprise Java Beans (EJB) is an architecture for setting up program components written in Java that run on the server side of a computer network that uses the client/server model.

Event

A message that comes from MQ Workflow to indicate a change in the Workflow entities, and their states. Examples of event types are ‘Process Started’, ‘Activity instance ready’, ‘Work item created’, ‘Process completed’.

Event Collector Triggers

They are the triggers that get installed on the MQ Workflow database to collect the events of the container data and store them in the Monitor Event Queue tables to be processed later by the Monitor Engine.

Event Queue

The event queue is implemented as three database tables in DB2 that hold the event records to be picked up later by the Monitor Service for event processing.

Event Queue Manager

A program that handles the Event Queue filled in by triggers; reads the event and process data, processes events, and deletes them from the database.

F

FDL File: MQ Series Workflow Definition Language.

The language used to exchange MQ Series Workflow information between MQ Series Workflow system groups. It is used by the Import and Export function of MQ Series Workflow and contains the workflow definitions for staff, programs, data structures, and topology.  This allows non-MQ Series Workflow components to interact with MQ Series Workflow. See also export and import

H

Head Unit

The Organization Unit to which another Organization Unit reports.

History Data

The high-level information calculated based on the Instances data, which represent business measures associated with a process

I

IBM MQSeries Workflow

A Workflow application developed by IBM that allows users to automate, manage and control their business processes.

Import

An MQ Series Workflow utility that accepts information in the MQ Series Workflow definition language (FDL) format and places it in an MQ Series Workflow database.

J

Java Database Connectivity (JDBC)

The mechanism by which Java code interfaces with a Database.

Job ID

The Workflow name of a Job or Process Instance.

M

Monitor Client

A Java client used on the enterprise network that allows business analysts to monitor the business processes at run time.

Monitor Data Model

A layer that grants access to the database data through

Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) of the Monitor Server. All Monitor Database SQL statements are encapsulated in this layer.

Monitor Databases Tables

Tables that store two types of information. The first type is the information captured from the process model, such as the Process Activity Flow Diagram, that will be displayed during run time, the data associated with tasks such as User ID, Task or Activity name, Estimated Duration, etc, and Business Measures associated with the process model. The second type of information is that which is processed or deduced from the run time data captured from the Workflow database.

Monitor Engine

A module that handles the events coming from MQ Workflow. It picks up the events, processes them, and stores the result in the Database for later retrieval by the clients. Processed events are deleted after processing.

Monitor Event Queue Tables

Tables that store the events together with the container data triggers that are installed on the MQ Workflow database.

Monitor Import Utility

A Java client that allows users to open the Organization Folders containing the processes they want to monitor as well as the Business measures they have defined in BI Workbench. They can select these measures, and import them to the Monitor Server.

Monitor Server

The server that handles all the back-end operations of the four User Clients. These clients control the cleanup of the Monitor database, security, and the import of the .org modeling data. The Monitor server also handles the communication with user clients, the events coming from MQ Workflow and the data access encapsulation of the SQL statements.

Monitor User Clients

The four Monitor User Clients that allow users to take all the necessary steps to monitor the business processes they have developed models for, and their associated Business Measures.

Monitoring API

A client layer that handles all the client/server communication and hides the details of the monitor server from the user clients.

N

Notification Duration

The maximum duration allowed for a process instance before a notification is issued. This duration is decided upon the data obtained from the Process model that has been created using the BI Workbench and imported to the Monitor Server along with the Organization file. The value of the Notification Duration is entered by the Modeler in BI Workbench, in the Notification tab of the Task Object dialog box.

O

Organization

An administrative unit of an enterprise. Organization is one of the criteria that can be used to dynamically assign activities to people. See child organization and parent organization.

Organization Files

Files created by BI Workbench They contain all process and repository data the user has entered.

Organization Folders

Folders created by BI Workbench that enclose all process files, Organization files, and other related files.

Organization Unit

The subdivisions in an Organization. Organization Unit can represent departments, divisions, or sections.

Organization Unit Browser

A list that displays all imported Organization Units into the Monitor Database to manipulate it with the Cleanup utility

Organization Unit Manager

The name of the Manager of the selected Organization Unit that is entered by the user in the Organization Unit dialog box in BI Workbench.

Overloaded

The status of the user performing the Work Items. The user is considered overloaded when there are more than four work items in his/her own work list. Overloaded status is indicated in a color code.

P

Phi

An Activity Decision Flow Diagram object outputted from one activity and/or inputted to the next one. This object represents the data or product that is manipulated or produced during the performance of a process. The term “Phi” is derived from the Greek letter phi (F) because it is made up of the letter I (for input) superimposed over an O (for output).

Process

A set of activities in an organization that are linked together

Process Browser

A list that displays all imported Processes into the Monitor Database to manipulate it with the Cleanup utility

Process Instance

An instance of a process that is currently executed.

Process Instances data

The crude data associated with each process instance created and stored in the BI Monitor database.

Process Version

A version of a Process model that contains some changes from the original Process Model. The Process may have one (the original version) or more versions, and each version has a certain date at which this version became valid from.

Process Diagram

A graphical representation of a process that shows the properties of a process model.

Process Elements

The objects within an Activity Decision Flow Diagram, these being Tasks, Process Objects, Decisions, Decision Choices, Phis, External Entity/Process, Go To Objects, Stops, and Connectors.

Process History Manager

The module that handles all functions related to the Process history data.

Process Instance Manager

The module that handles all functions related to the Process instances data

Process Instance or Job

An instance of a process that is currently executed.

Process Management

The MQ Workflow Run time tasks associated with process instances. These consist of creating, starting, suspending, resuming, terminating, restarting, and deleting process instances.

Process Model.

A set of processes represented in a process model. The processes are represented in graphical form in the process diagram. The process model contains the definitions for staff, programs, and data structures associated with the activities of the process. After having translated the process model into a process template, the process template can be executed over and over again. Workflow model and process definition are synonyms.

Process Status

The status of a process instance.

Q

Queue Controls

Controls that provide the Event Queue database with the Control Commands: Start and Stop.

Queue Status

The Event Queue status that could be either Started or Stopped.

R

Repository Manager

The module that handles the import of the .org and grants access to all the build-time entities defined in the BI Workbench.

Role

A responsibility that is defined for staff members. Role is one of the criteria that can be used to dynamically assign activities to people.

Running Status

The status of a Process Instance based on the number of jobs of a process currently running as opposed to the number of jobs that are ready to run.

S

Security Manager

The module that handles authentication and authorizations of the logged-in users.

Setup Manager

The module that handles the creation and removal of the Monitor tables and triggers.

Starting Time

The timestamp at which a job has been started.

Sub-Process

A subordinate process impeded in another one.

T

Task

An activity in a Business Process that is manipulated by a specified Resource. Visually, Tasks represent the lowest level of work you can portray in a Process.

Translate

The action that converts a process model into a Run-time process template.

Tray

A graphical container represented by a yellow container that shows the Work Items waiting to be processed.

U

User

The employee who belongs to one of the Organization Units in an organization.

User ID

An alphanumeric string that uniquely identifies an MQ Series Workflow user.

W

BI Monitor

BI Monitor is a Java-based application developed to allow users monitor and manage their business processes that run on IBM MQ Workflow.

BI Monitor database

A database contains the process instances data and the historical data.

BI Workbench

BI Workbench is a Windows-based application developed to allow users model, analyze, and manage their business processes.

Web Client

An HTML client that allows users to monitor the business processes at run-time.

WebSphere

A set of IBM Java-based tools that allow customers to create and manage sophisticated business Web sites. The central WebSphere tool is the WebSphere Application Server (WAS), an application server that a customer can use to connect Web site users with Java applications or servlet.

Work Item

Representation of work to be done in the context of an activity in a process instance.

Work Item Manager

The module that handles all functions related to the Work items data.

Work Item Set Of A User

All work items assigned to a user

Work list

A list of work items assigned to a user and retrieved from a workflow management system.

Workflow

The sequence of activities performed in accordance with the business processes of an enterprise

Workflow Model

Synonym for process model

Working Duration

The Working Duration of the Process Instance or Activity Instance