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Business Components & Workflows
Business components are generic building blocks that are combined into specific business applications supporting standard or custom business processes related to the defined business entities. Business process automation is handled via a number of workflow services allowing for conditional, attended or unattended and context sensitive execution of business rules.
- Object classes and metadata for parameter driven services
Different object classes defines the standard functions, each instans defines the metadata used as argument for the published services for each class. Each instans can be named and stored in the internal repository. This enables reuse across all component containers of the instanses to allow for infinte variation in business logic based on standard building blocks. For example the service; EmailMerge(...) is published to enbale mail merge of HTML emails. To do this an instans of the object is created wherein the relevant arguments are specified. The instans can thereafter be opened and work as argument for the service that merge Business Entities with document content to perform the business function to create individualized HTML emails.
- Dialog Manager Application Programming Interface (DMAPI)
An event driven API is published for all standard services (for example e-mail management, file management, import etc), which enables custom programming. Tight integration of Sybase PowerBuilder Enterprise makes it possible to embed business specific funtionality written in PowerScript. This enables transparent inclusion of external Web Services, COM components, DLLs or database access allowing incorporation into business processes equal to native compoments.
- Workflow Management
Multiple components can be combined into a Container Component to define workflows. It can be activated based on events such as for example interaction with Ui elements like bottoms, when a field is updated or as part of a pre-scheduled batch jobs. A batch job can wait for a given flie to appear in a folder in order to aktivate a workflow associated with data import. All workflow aktivities can be conditional and advances in the workflow can be directed by background calculations and notifications and alerts can be sent proactively to relevant users based on for example application events combined with user profile attibutes.
Business Entities
Dialog Manager Framework is designed with standard business entities that defines an advanced model for business relationships. The model includes corporate, company, branch, employee and private person including all relevante combined relationships. All business entities are extensible and new fields can be added and existing revised. Also, naming conversions are adaptable to individual applications.
- Center and Extension Entity
Standard Entities are refered to as Center Entities because they are fundamental for all relations in the framework. To all Center Enterties linked relationships to Extension Entities can be defined. These are designed with custom content and relations to one or more Center Entites. An Extension Entity could for example be supplemental product information linked to a customer record. Extension Entities are linked selectively and data driven to the Center Entities to which a relation is defined. Further, Extension Entities may be linked 1-to-1 as well as 1-to-many relations. This means that a Center Entity defining a person record can have one or many associated Extension Entities and the relationships can be defined and changed based on data context and business rules.
- Promotion of Extension Entity to Center Entity
A unique mechanism is the ability to promote an Extension Entity to Center Entity and making the creation of new Extension Entities possible to the promoted Entity. For example, if a Extension Entity describing a car is promoted new Extension Entities can be created describing “Service record”, “Owner history” or “Financing”.
- Relation Tabels for Entities
The selective association of Extension Entities makes it possible to display relations in tables. From a table it is possible to navigate through the relations. For example a promoted Extension Entity for a car may display a table listing all service visits with the ability to drill down into the information pertaining to the individual service visit.
- Multi-relationel QBE Search
All entities are exposed to the Query By Example (QBE) search system that among other enables advanced list management and automated queries across relationship hierarchies. For example, a QBE may begin by finding all cars, which have had a particular type of service visit and subsequently cross that list with owners living in a certain postcode.
- Data Audit Trail
Complete audit trail is maintained when entities are updated and before and after data values, user name, time stamp and more is store each time an entity is updated. Further audit trails can be enabled for updates to business relevant information. Audit trials are maintained at the database level and register updates both from user updates as well as automated system updates for example from external component services or direct SQL updates. This means that for example for an entity describing revenue triggers can be set to alert if revenue declines by 5% over a 6 month rolling time period and through a Report Component Service notification to the responsible Area Sales Manager is dispatched.
- Service Interfaces
All standard functionalities are published as Web Services making Dialog Manager Framework a transparent participant in enterprise workflow and other legacy enterprise applications. Services are configured through service calls which in turn are parameters stored as Meta data in the database based Meta data repository.
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