Is Oracle BPM for only modeling process?

Question

Hi
Is Oracle BPM only for Business process modeling? I know there is a PAPI java library to implement User Interface.
But i geuss it takes a lot of Time. We are planning to use Oracle BPM process and Stuts for front end.
Thanks

Answer 1

Hi,
Oracle BPM is similar to a pure-play process modeling tool in that it supports process modeling, documentation and simulation.
Here's where Oracle BPM and process modeling tools differ. Oracle BPM was built and architected from the beginning as a full lifecycle Business Process Management (BPM) tool. This means that it is a complete solution with modeling, logic / business rules, end user interface, runtime and BAM capabilities built into it from the beginning 10 years ago.
Go here http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13154_01/bpm/docs65/index.html and click on "Oracle BPM data-sheet" for a marketing take on it's capabilities. If you'd like a 3 hour hands-on tour through it, click on the "Oracle BPM Tutorial for new users" link. If you do the tutorial, be sure to ping this forum if you get confused - we'll be glad to help.
Undoubtedly, there's more than you wanted to know in this thread. At a minimum, take a look at the "End User Interface" paragraph below for my take on your Struts question. The nice thing about the forum is that others are sure to disagree with my recommendation and you'll get the benefit from their experience as well.
Modeling
Oracle BPM was built with one process modeling diagram. It is simple, BPMN based and quick to learn. It supports the roles and the activities I need to build robust processes. I use the same diagram to explain the process to executives, managers, IT, SME and business analysts. As a business analyst, the tool is not complicated and can be learned in just a couple hours. As a developer, I use the same modeling diagram, but the tool profile I use is a robust IDE that lets me create the implementation details (objects, logic, integration to services and local testing). If I make a change as a developer, the business analyst can see the change if they look at the same process artifact (typically shared through a source control repository).
Logic and Integration
Process modeling tools are not BPM tools so they are not intended to support the process logic or integration to your existing IT assets needed to execute a business process.
Oracle BPM can use a service bus as the intermediary layer to expose existing IT assets. Alternatively, Oracle BPM can expose and consume components directly if you do not have a service bus. These IT assets are stored in Oracle BPM's catalog for reuse by developers creating the logic needed inside Oracle BPM automated processes.
As a developer using Oracle BPM, I use templates and drag and drop to create much of my logic. Once I catalog an object it can be reused across multiple projects either by using the Project Dependency option or by importing the artifacts. I test my logic either by using the method editor debugger or at the process level. As I create objects used in my logic using Oracle BPM, I inherit attributes provided by introspected components. This means that if you have an ERP system object with 138 attributes, you do not have to rebuild this object from scratch in Oracle BPM.
As a developer using Oracle BPM, I use templates and drag and drop to create much of my logic. Once I catalog an object it can be reused across multiple projects either by using the Project Dependency option or by importing the artifacts. I test my logic either by using the method editor debugger or at the process level.
As I create objects used in my logic using Oracle BPM, I can easily inherit attributes provided by the components exposed to Oracle BPM's catalog. This means that if you have an ERP system with 138 attributes, you do not have to rebuild this object from scratch in Oracle BPM.
End User Interface
Before deciding to create your own Struts based UI, examine the capabilities of the OOTB Oracle BPM Workspace. Others on this forum will disagree with this, but rebuilding the functionality of the Oracle BPM Workspace will take quite a bit of time and will require an in-depth knowledge of PAPI (Oracle BPM's API into the runtime Engine) knowledge.
End user interface screens and complex end user interaction with a variety of screens can be built inside the Oracle BPM toolset's WYSIWYG editor. The forms use the attributes of the objects described in the previous paragraph. There's a common misconception that you cannot have both client side and server side components invoked from the UI. This is simply not the case. You can use both client side and server side components to do cross field validation or provide lists for valid values.
If you'd been are a JSP shop you'd have had the flexibility to instead create your forms using the Oracle BPM tag library instead of the forms editor provided.
Since you're a Struts shop, your presentations will be exposed as "External" using Interactive activity Screenflows.
The forms you build are automatically presented in the OOTB Workspace.
Runtime
End users interact with the processes at runtime using an OOTB Workspace. End users are given various roles. When they log into the Workspace, the end users only see the work item instances that are in the roles that they have been assigned. There is an Engine that stores the work item instance information as it flows through the processes at runtime. The Engine is like a traffic cop, ensuring that the right work item instance goes to the right person in the right activity at the right time.
Hope this helps,
Dan