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Metastorm global conference has kicked off today. Details to come ….

Metastorm has released the anticipated SR1 update. The update is unique in a sense that it will allow the integration of 7 and 9 environments.

Quick notes on installtion:
- Oracle client 11.1.0.7 is the only version that will work against an 11g server. Becareful to upgrade in the following sequence:
1. Install 11.1.0.6.21 first ( this version contains oracle MTS)
2. Patch the previous installion with the 11.1.0.7.20 patchset.

More notes on upgrading to SR1 will follow…

The setup is, you have a form with a non-editable grid and fields to collect the data to be entered into the grid.

Grid Name: GridTest

Business Object: TestGrid

Button to Add Record: “Add” – Server side button with Code Activity

Code Activity:

System.Data.DataSet ds = TestGrid.Read();
System.Data.DataRow dr = ds.Tables[0].NewRow();

 dr["FIRST_COLUMN"] = “FIRST COLUMN DATA”;
 dr["SECOND_COLUMN"] = “SECOND COLUMN DATA”;
 ds.Tables[0].Rows.Add(dr);

//write changes to Business Object
TestGrid.Write(ds);
TestGrid.CurrentIndex = (TestGrid.Count-1);

This method will add a record to a non-editable grid and refresh the grid to reflect the change.

After looking through the source code (html) of a metastorm 9 form with a grid, it appears that Metastorm has purchased RadGrid component from Telerik.  I’ve looked around the API and it seems that they are using Ajax and JQuery. I am still investigating ways of making JQuery calls through client scripting. I’m not sure if Metastorm has included all of the available API of RadGrid or not, but it seems like interacting with the grids can be performed through this API.

Getting familiar with client-side API:http://www.telerik.com/help/aspnet-ajax/grdgettingfamiliarwithclientapi.html

Example of  Telerik RadGrid

Well actually the title should be “Roles Not being able to use the LDAP Business Object”. I have attempted the following:

• Build an LDAP business object
• Bind the data of that object to a role

I configured my LDAP business object and tried to access the data returned by the LDAP query in a dynamic role and I was surprised that I could not access the Business Object.

When building a dynamic role, Metastorm 9 has a function: SearchDirectory: This allows us to connect to LDAP using an existing LDAP connection to pull data back to a role.

My question is, since the Business Object does the data pullback from an LDAP server, why didn’t metastorm allow us to use that Business Object with the roles? Why must we re-query the LDAP server using SearchDirectory?

If there is anyone out there that has been able to bind the LDAP Business Object to a dynamic role, please let us know!

Metastorm has come a long way with the recent release of Metastorm 9. Although Metastorm 9 is powerful and very flexible, there are times when extra customization is in need. For this, Metastorm has an SDK (software development kit).

It seems that Metastorm will release their SDK for Metastorm 9 with SR1. This is tentative for Q1.

SDK will (hope) include:

1. Better integration with SharePoint: Let us face it, the sharepoint webparts released before were pretty much useless. They were nothing but links to the actual metastorm processes. We’d like to see the metastorm forms to exist within Metastorm.
2. .Net Controls: Metastorm 9 runs exclusively on a .NET platform yet provides tools to integrate processes with software running on a range of other environments. This allows us to easily build our own client interface for a Metastorm BPM system or embed Metastorm user services into an existing ASP .NET interface.
3. Itegration with Webservices.
4. The Enterprise Class Library (ECL) for .NET is ideally suited for organizations whose developers’ skill set are based on the Microsoft .NET framework. The ECL object model provides complete access to Metastorm BPM and will typically be used when building applications that interact with a Metastorm Process Engine.

We are eagerly waiting for the SDK!

Metastorm 9 ships with a tool to convert your existing Metastorm 7.x processes to Metastorm 9. The tool is simple enough to use, however, this doesn’t mean that your migration will be easy. Depending on how customized your process is, the code will most likely port over to Metastorm 9 format successfully.
As you may already know, Metastorm 9 does not use the old style of coding (Ex: %SelectSQL). Your existing code will get wrapped around an “Evaluate” function that will execute the code.

There will be a file created for each object in your solution. The files are bundled into a solution file. This is the way Visual Studio organizes projects. 

Some of the file extensions:
Project: .BPMproj
Form: .form
Process: .process
Role: .role
Connection: .connection
Business Object: .mbo

Here are screen shots:

Join the Metastorm BPM Gurus group @ LinkedIn!

This group is for those who concentrate their efforts in development with and for the Metastorm BPM product (formerly e-work). Primarily this group is intended to allow members to share their technical expertise, knowledge and resources.

Group Link:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=1351227

Business process management (BPM) tools are being used more and more by private companies and government agencies as a way to improve processes, increase efficiency and reduce cost. That being said, there are many options available for BPM tools. Surprisingly there are also open source tools out there that will most likely meet the needs of some businesses. What it comes down to is the needs of the business. Typically open source tools will not include technical support out of the box, however, the makers of these tools usually offer support with additional cost. So if you happen to have your own IT shop and qualified individuals with the skills to develop, test and troubleshoot issues with the tool than maybe an open source tool is the way to go.
Large enterprises and/or government agencies like the idea of IT support. They often choose enterprise BPM tools that cost money but also have the option of an IT support. So are there tools that can meet the needs of your business without bankrupting your business? Of course there are, and we have included several in this article.

Ensure the BPM Tool match your process needs
Before considering any criteria for choosing a BPM tool, you must fist make sure that the tool will meet your business and/or process needs. Companies and organizations often choose tools for one process and they cannot use it for any other process due to the nature of the product (software/hardware platform, etc). You need to make sure that your tools will satisfy the needs of your organization. You have to make sure that your IT infrastructure will be able to support the BPM tool(s). As your business expands, your BPM tool(s) need to be able to expand with your infrastructure.

The following are three open source BPM / Workflow solutions for you to evaluate before trying the proprietary ones.

Intalio
Intalio is an open source business process platform built around the standards-based Eclipse STP BPMN modeler and Apache ODE BPEL engine, both originally contributed by Intalio.
Intalio Enterprise provides all the components required for the design, deployment, and management of the most complex business processes.

ProcessMaker
ProcessMaker is an open source business process management (BPM) and workflow software designed for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs).
ProcessMaker is a user friendly solution to manage workflow effectively and efficiently .
Business users and process experts with no programming experience can design and run workflows, increase transparency, and radically reduce paperwork, automate processes across systems, including human resources, finance, and operations.
With ProcessMaker you can easily create workflow maps, design custom forms, extract data from external data sources and many more key features to optimize workflow management and business operations.

CuteFlow
Unlike Intalio and ProcessMaker, CuteFlow is a web based open source document circulation and workflow system.
Users are able to define “documents” which are send step by step to every station/user in a list. Imagine the scenario where a particular document is being sent to various parties for review and approval before it’s classified as a final document for submission purposes.
Cuteflow helps to automate the document circulation process within your office internal environment.
All operations like starting a workflow, tracking, workflow-definition or status observation can be done within a comfortable and easy to use webinterface.

Metastorm is offering a 3 day upgrade class for those individuals who are interested in upgrading their skills from Metastorm v7.x to Metastorm v9.

You can download the class syllabus.

Click here for more details!