Websphere Business Modeler 6.1 Tutorials

How to build the Quickstart Tutorial

2020-12-31T17:32:00.000-08:00

Quickstart Tutorial - How to build the Quickstart Tutorial

Introduction
The Completed Project Tree
The Completed Loan Application process (As Is)
How to build the QuickstartFinance Project
Related links

Introduction

This Quickstart tutorial is designed to introduce you to the basic elements, tools, functions, and capabilities available to you in IBM® WebSphere® Business Modeler and to show how you can quickly create realistic working models for your business processes.

The tutorial modules are designed to be completed using the Basic business modeling mode. By completing the full tutorial, you will give yourself a solid foundation of understanding and be ready to move on to the more advanced features and modeling capabilities of the product. The tutorial is arranged in a particular sequence that is commonly used when modeling processes, but you do not need to follow a strict order and complete every preceding exercise if you want to jump ahead and learn a particular task. For example, if you want to start putting activities into a process diagram right away without first creating resources and business items, you can skip the modules dealing with resources and business items. However, be aware that certain exercises will require that you complete one or more previous exercises.

If you would rather just read the exercises, or want to jump ahead without completing all of the preceding exercises, you can import the Quickstart Financesample project. This sample project is a companion to the tutorial, providing the process diagrams, resources, and other modeling elements that you would create if you completed each exercise in the tutorial. It can also be used as a starting point if you want to start adding new elements to your models.

When you feel comfortable with the basic tasks demonstrated in the Quickstart tutorial, you can begin to build more complex models with the assistance of the product's information center and the tutorials and samples available on the WebSphere Business Modeler library Web site.

The Completed Project Tree

Below is the completed QuickstartFinance Project Tree

(Click the image to enlarge)

The Completed Loan Application process (As Is)

Below is the completed QuickstartFinance Loan Application process (as is)

(Click the image to enlarge)

How to build the QuickstartFinance Project

Learning objectives

The WebSphere Business Modeler Quickstart tutorial provides you with step-by-step instructions, taking you through the basic tasks that you need to understand to begin modeling your own processes, resources, and organizations.

Importing the Quickstart Finance sample

If you would rather just read the tutorial exercises, if you want to jump ahead without completing all the of the preceding exercises, you can import the tutorial's sample project. The sample project contains all of the various modeling elements that you would create if you completed each tutorial exercise.

Tutorial scenario

The Quickstart tutorial included in WebSphere Business Modeler presents a simple business scenario which you will address by completing the exercises within each module.

Module 1: Creating resources
A resource is a person, piece of equipment, or material used to perform a task or a project. Each resource is a particular occurrence or example of a resource definition and can be saved in your project.

Module 2: Creating business items
Business items are any business documents, work products, or commodities that are used in business operations. You can model as a business item anything that is created, assembled, inspected, tested, modified, or worked upon. Business items undergo changes and are passed from one process step to the next.

Module 3: Creating process diagrams
A process diagram is a representation of the flow of a real-time business process, and is composed of the individual steps or activities that make up the process. It can include the conditions that dictate when those activities occur and the resources required for their performance or execution.

Module 4: Running simulations
Simulations enable organizations to observe how a process will perform in response to a certain set of circumstances or inputs to the process, just as it would in a real-life work environment.

How to run simulations

2020-01-18T17:57:00.000-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 4-Running simulations

Introduction
How to run simulations
Related links

Introduction

Simulations enable organizations to observe how a process will perform in response to a certain set of circumstances or inputs to the process, just as it would in a real-life work environment.

The ability to run simulations is a powerful tool in business analysis. When you run simulations using WebSphere® Business Modeler, you can determine the current efficiency of any of your company's existing processes. You can also vary the process input to provide multiple "what if" scenarios. You can adjust resources, current allocations, schedules, costs – any condition that might affect the results of one of your organization's processes. This capability can help you plan your business operations, anticipate bottlenecks, and prepare for any contingency.

In this module, you will run a simulation for the Quickstart Finance process diagram that you created in a previous module. First, you will simulate the process, becoming familiar with the steps and tools involved. Then you will adjust some of the inputs to the process and observe how adding different input to the entire process, or even to a single task within the process, can affect the outcome. Remember, as you work through this module to think about your own organization and the processes that you can simulate, and how you can run both current state and "what if" scenarios.

After completing this tutorial, you should be able to:

Create a simulation profile
Run a simulation
Develop simulation scenarios
Update simulation settings
Analyze your simulation results
Print reports based on your simulation results
Export your results to different file formats

How to run simulations

For this module, ensure that you have set your business modeling mode to Basic. Before completing this module, be sure that you have either completed the previous modules in this tutorial or installed the Quickstart Finance sample that is included with the product. (For instructions, see Importing the samples in the help documentation.) When you get to the exercises where you adjust the simulation inputs, you can follow the instructions exactly, or you can experiment by adding your own inputs to the simulation. The goal is to familiarize yourself with all aspects of simulations so that you can apply that knowledge when you are ready to simulate the processes of your own organization.

Setting simulation preferences
Simulation preferences define the default settings for a new simulation snapshot and its initial profile.
Creating a simulation snapshot
A simulation snapshot shows a process model and its inputs at a particular moment in time. It includes the current simulation defaults and a simulation profile. You must create a simulation snapshot before you can run a simulation.
Running a simulation
Running a simulation enables you to observe the results of a process according to a specific set of inputs.
Updating simulation settings
Simulation settings define the conditions and behaviors for a process or task during a simulation.
Running a revised simulation
Running a revised simulation enables you to observe any changes in the results of a process after you modify the simulation's attributes.
Analyzing simulation results
You can perform detailed analysis on the results of your simulations to extract information regarding scheduling, costs, output, and other statistics pertaining to your processes.

How to create process diagrams

2015-12-14T10:35:00.000-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 3-How to create process diagrams

How to create process diagrams

Introduction

A process diagram is a representation of the flow of a real-time business process, and is composed of the individual steps or activities that make up the process. It can include the conditions that dictate when those activities occur and the resources required for their performance or execution.

In this module, you will create a simple process diagram, learning how to add a variety of elements to represent the actual flow of your business process. You will also learn a common method of modeling and revising your process: first, you will create an as-is diagram, which will reflect the process as it currently exists at Quickstart Finance; next, you will update the process to produce a to-be diagram, which will show the future state of the process after you implement your revisions.

Quickstart Finance branches currently use a simple loan application process. When the loan application is received, it is reviewed by a loan officer, who either approves or rejects the loan. If the loan is approved, funds are distributed to the customer's account. If the loan is rejected, the application is cancelled and the customer is notified.

Quickstart Finance wants to generate more loans business without taking on significantly higher risk. You will revise the loan application process to approve with special terms some of the loans that were once rejected outright. (Note that the details of the special terms will not be discussed in the tutorial; rather, the focus is on how to revise your process by adding additional elements.) You will model both the current loan application process and the planned revisions in order to learn the effects that approving more loans will have on the company.

After completing this module, you will be able to:

Create and use a process catalog
Add a task to your process model
Add data labels to your diagram
Add a simple or multiple-choice decision to your process model
Add a merge to your process model
Add connections to your process model
Associate a business item with a connection
Add classifiers to your process model

How to create process diagrams

By default, each project contains a Processes diagram catalog called Processes.

Create a process diagram as shown below:

You can add the following elements under the Processes catalog.

Complete the following tasks to create process diagrams:

Creating a process diagram
To model a business process, you must create a process diagram in which you can specify your activities, connections, and business items.
Modeling a to-be process
A to-be process can help you understand the results of implementing a different business process. Analyzing the results of an alternative process can help you plan your business operations.
Creating classifiers
Classifiers enable you to categorize tasks and other process elements so that you can optimize your processes and easily recognize elements with a particular set of characteristics. You can use predefined classifiers or define your own classifiers and classifier values.
Switching the diagram layout
Swimlane layout enables you to display your process activities according to particular attributes, helping you to visually identify activities with certain characteristics. You can adjust those attributes by moving activities to different swimlane rows.

How to create business items

2015-12-10T15:42:00.000-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 2-How to create business items

How to create business items

How to create business items

Introduction

Business items are any business documents, work products, or commodities that are used in business operations. You can model as a business item anything that is created, assembled, inspected, tested, modified, or worked upon. Business items undergo changes and are passed from one process step to the next.

Business items are different from resources. While resources are the people, equipment, or material used to perform a task, business items are the entities that the resources perform work on. For example, a customer order is a business item, while the sales associate that acts on the customer order is a resource. The customer order will undergo changes as it is passed through an order handling process: the order is stamped with the date that it is received, notations are made to the order if a particular product is out of stock, and the order is stamped as completed when the products are shipped to the customer.

Quickstart Finance is in the business of lending money to customers who meet the company's standards of acceptable credit risk. When the company receives a loan application, it is sent to a loan officer for review. The loan officer assesses the credit risk, and then makes a decision to either lend the customer the requested funds or turn down the application.

In this module, you will create the business items that represent loan applications, disbursed funds, and e-mail notifications in theQuickstart Finance loan application process. After completing this module, you will be able to create the following elements:

Data catalogs
Business item templates
Business items
Business item instances
Attributes for templates, items, and instances

How to create business items

By default, each project contains a business items catalog called Business items.

Under the Business items catalog, create the following:

Loans (Data catalog)
Application (Business Item)
E-mail Notification (Business Item)
Funds (Business Item)
Application - Edward Shore ((Business Item instance)

You can add the following elements under the Business item catalog.

Complete the following tasks to create business items:

Creating a data catalog
A data catalog is a container where you can store your business item templates, business items, and business item instances.
Creating a business item template
Business item templates are categories used to model groups of business items that share common properties.
Creating a business item
Business items are those items that are passed from one activity to the next in business operations. You can model as a business item anything that is created, assembled, inspected, tested, modified, or worked upon.
Creating a business item instance
A business item instance is a specific occurrence or example of a business item. A business item instance can be used as sample data for business items within simulations.

How to create resources

2015-11-13T22:41:00.000-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 1-How to create resources

Introduction
How to create resources
Completed Resource Example
Related links

Introduction

A resource is a person, piece of equipment, or material used to perform a task or a project. Each resource is a particular occurrence or example of a resource definition and can be saved in your project.

In this module, you will learn how to create resources for Quickstart Finance. By defining the resources of the company, you can reuse them in any number of process models rather than having to re-create the same resources for each model. When you have created resources, you can assign them to particular tasks. (Note that you will assign resources to tasks in a subsequent module.)

Quickstart Finance has a head office and several branches. You need to define the resources that are involved in the company's loan application process, and learn techniques to add new resources to your resource catalog as efficiently as possible.

After completing this tutorial, you should be able to complete the following tasks:

Create resource catalogs
Create resource definitions
Add attributes to resource definitions
Create resources
Give values to resource attributes
Create costs and associate them with resources
Create roles and associate them with resources
Create timetables and associate them with resources

How to create resources

You can add the following resources:

Complete the following tasks to create resources:

Create a project
The project is the top-level container in your Project Tree, and holds your various catalogs, resources, business items, organizations, and other modeling elements.
Create a resource catalog
Resource catalogs are used to store your resource definitions and resources. By default, each project contains a resources catalog called Resources.
Create a resource definition
Resource definitions provide common attributes for similar or related resources in your process models.
Create a resource
Each of the resources used in a business to perform a process or task can be modeled and placed in the Project Tree for use in process diagrams.
Create a role
Roles define a set of capabilities that are necessary for performing tasks within your processes.
Add costs to a resource
A cost is the amount of money an organization must pay to use a resource in a task or process. Costs can be added to a particular resource in any process that you want to model.
Create a timetable
A timetable indicates when a particular resource is available or when a particular cost applies. It enables you to schedule a resource or determine when a cost will apply to specified tasks or processes.

Completed Resource Example

By default, each project contains a resources catalog called Resources.

Under the Resources catalog, the following are created:

Computers resource catalog
-Desktop Computer (resource definition)
-Desktop Computer No. 27 (resource)
Personnel resource catalog
- Team Lead (role)
- Kim Lee (resource)
- Day Shift (Timetable)

How to Model a to-be process

2009-01-27T15:51:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1 Contact us... Quickstart tutorial 3-How to model a to-be process

How to model a to-be process

Introduction

A to-be process can help you understand the results of implementing a different business process. Analyzing the results of an alternative process can help you plan your business operations. At this point, your process diagram reflects the current Quickstart Finance loan application process, detailing the two distinct outcomes resulting from a simple decision of whether or not to approve a customer's application for a loan. However, recalling the original reason for creating the model, you need to increase the number of loans approved, bearing in mind that you do not simply want to increase the number of bad loans on your books. The new process will approve loans with special terms for customers with less-than-ideal credit ratings. (Special terms might include the providing of collateral, a stricter repayment schedule, or any other requirements the bank wants to apply. You will not be required to define these terms for the purposes of this tutorial.) You originally added a simple decision to your diagram to approve or reject a loan. To be able to model a third type of result, approval with special terms, you need to replace the simple decision currently included in your diagram with a multiple-choice decision, and then adjust the other elements in your model accordingly. How to model a to-be process

Create a to-be process diagram as shown below:

Step 1

Make a copy of Loan Application (As Is) and rename it to Loan Application (To Be)

To make a copy of your as-is process that you can use as the starting point for your to-be process, complete the following steps:

In the Project Tree, right-click the Loan Application (As Is) process and select Copy.
Right-click the Processes process folder and select Paste.
Right-click the copy of the Loan Application (As Is) process and select Rename.
Type Loan Application (To Be) and press Enter on your keyboard.

You have now created a copy of your original process diagram that you can use to update your process.

How to create process diagrams

You can add the following elements under the Processes catalog.

Complete the following tasks to create a to-be process diagram:

Adding a multiple-choice decision A multiple-choice decision has one incoming branch and multiple outgoing branches. Each outgoing branch has an associated condition (that is, an expression that evaluates to either true or false). This condition determines which branch will be selected when you run or simulate a process.
Adding branches A branch enables control and data to flow through a distinct path between elements in a process model.
Adding a merge to the process diagram A merge in a process diagram recombines separate processing paths. A merge is used after a decision or fork.
Reconnecting process activities This exercise shows you how to reconnect the activities in your process diagram.

How to specify task attributes

2009-01-27T09:24:00.003-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1 Contact us... Quickstart tutorial 3-How to specify task attributes

How to specify task attributes
1. Introduction
2. How to specify task attributes

How to specify task attributes

Introduction

Task attributes are the characteristics of each of the tasks in your process. You can specify attributes such as costs, duration, revenue, and distribution for any or all of the tasks in your process.

When you create a process diagram, you can specify attributes for the process as a whole, or for any of the tasks that make up your process. These attributes will help you to perform accurate analysis on your process model, and enable you to quickly run meaningful simulations when your process model is complete. Note that when you simulate your process, you can override the attributes that you have set previously in your process model. For a detailed description of simulations, including information on setting preferences, see Simulating processes in the help documentation..

How to specify task attributes

The task of reviewing a loan application at Quickstart Finance takes a certain amount of time to complete. You need to specify the typical duration for the Review Loan Application task in your process model. The company also charges a service fee each time it disburses loan funds to a customer's account. You must also add this revenue to the Disburse Funds task. To specify these task attributes, complete the following steps:

Step 1 - Specify the duration of the Review Loan Application task

In the Loan Application process diagram, click the Review Loan Application task to select it.
In the Attributes view, click the Duration tab.
Expand the Processing time section by clicking its arrow. From the drop-down list, select Specific value.
In the value field for minutes, type 30. This value indicates that the average time to review the application form and check the customer's credit rating is 30 minutes.

Step 2 - Specify the revenue generated by the Disburse Funds task

In the Loan Application process diagram, click the Disburse Funds task to select it.
In the Attributes view, click the Cost and Revenue tab.
Expand the Revenue section of the Cost and Revenue tab. Note that you might have to scroll to view the Revenue section.
In the value field, type 9.95 and leave the currency as USD. These values indicate that for fund disbursement, Quickstart Finance charges the customer a service fee of $9.95. Note that when you enter a value, the type switches to Specific value automatically.

Step 3

Click File > Save to save the task attributes.

You have now added attributes to two separate tasks in the Loan Application (As Is) process diagram. By specifying task attributes, you can build an accurate, highly detailed model of your actual business process. This level of detail will assist you when you are ready to simulate and analyze your processes—you can run a simulation without having to add or revise any of the attributes that you specify in your process model, or you can run multiple simulations with revised attributes but keep your original process model intact.

Next, you will specify which of your resources will be associated with individual tasks.

How to associate a resource with a task

2009-01-27T09:24:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1 Contact us... Quickstart tutorial 3-How to associate a resource with a task

How to associate a resource with a task
1. Introduction
2. How to associate a resource with a task

How to associate a resource with a task

Introduction

You can assign resources or roles to individual tasks within your process diagram. Assigning a resource to a task enables you to capture in your diagram any costs and timetables already associated with that resource.

The tasks in your diagrams are often performed by resources that you have defined in your model. Rather than recalculating costs and availability for each task in your model, you can assign resources that you have already defined to individual tasks. Any cost, timetable, or other attribute that you have specified for that resource is automatically captured in the process diagram, enabling you to accurately model how much each task costs in employee wages, for example, or how long it will take a task to be completed based on the availability of a particular business machine. Previously in this tutorial, you created a resource to represent an employee of Quickstart Finance, Kim Lee. You added attributes to that resource, and then defined a role, costs, and timetable for that resource. You can now associate the Kim Lee resource, and by extension the attributes, role, costs and timetable that you defined for that resource, to any task in your process diagram.

How to associate a resource with a task

To associate the Kim Lee resource to a task in your Loan Application (As Is) process, complete the following steps:

Step 1

In the diagram, click the Review Loan Application task to select it.
In the Attributes view, click the Resources tab.
Expand the Individual resource requirements section and then click the Add button. Note that you might have to scroll to view the Individual resource requirements section.
Click the Individual resource field to select it, and then click the button in the field.

Step 2

In the tree, select the Kim Lee resource, and then click OK.

Step 3

Click the Time required field to select it, and then click the button in the field.
In the Minutes field, type 30.
Click OK. This value indicates that the resource is required for 30 minutes to complete the task. (Remember that you previously specified that the task takes 30 minutes to complete.)
Click File > Save.

How to connect elements in the process diagram

2009-01-27T09:23:00.005-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1 Contact us... Quickstart tutorial 3-How to connect elements in the process diagram

How to connect elements in the process diagram

Introduction Connections specify the chronological sequence of activities in a process. Each task, subprocess, decision, or other element passes control to the next task or element along a connection.

You have already identified the tasks and simple decision required to complete the loan application process at Quickstart Finance. You have shown the yes-or-no decision that must be resolved for every application, and provided appropriate tasks to handle either response. Now you need to connect the various elements in your diagram to accurately depict the current loan application process in your model.

Before you can begin connecting your process elements, you need to make a minor adjustment to your diagram. A start node is created by default when you create a process. A start node identifies the beginning of a process flow whenever it is not started by another process, and is usually used in the top-level process within the project.

Because the process that you are creating starts when it receives input—that is, a loan application—you will not need to use a start node, and you will delete it from your diagram. You will indicate the input to your process by connecting directly to the border of the diagram. You will also require a second terminate node in your diagram so that you can indicate that the process is finished for both possible decision flows.

Step 1

After completing these steps, the process diagram should look like the image on the right.

Delete the start node ().

In the process diagram, right-click the start node () and select Delete.
Add another terminate node ().
To add another terminate node () to the diagram, right-click anywhere in the diagram other than on one of the elements and select New > Terminate. A new terminate node is added to the diagram.
Connect Review Loan Application task to Approve Loan? decision

In the process diagram, hover the mouse inside the edge of the Review Loan Application task (or output branch) to display the connection pointer (). Drag/drop the pointer to the Approve Loan? decision (or input branch) and click again. Notice that there is now a connection between the task and decision, with the arrow indicating which direction data and control will flow.
Connect Approve Loan? Yes decision to Disburse Funds task.

In the process diagram, hover the mouse inside the top edge (Yes label) of the Approve Loan? decision to display the connection pointer (). Drag/drop the pointer to the Disburse Funds task and click again. Notice that there is now a connection between the decision and task, with the arrow indicating which direction data and control will flow.
Connect Approve Loan? No decision to Reject Application and Notify Customer task.

In the process diagram, hover the mouse inside the bottom edge (No label) of the Approve Loan? decision to display the connection pointer (). Drag/drop the pointer to the Reject Application and Notify Customer task and click again. Notice that there is now a connection between the decision and task, with the arrow indicating which direction data and control will flow.
Connect Disburse Funds and Reject Application and Notify Customer tasks to separate Terminate nodes

Use the same process as described earlier (i.e Hover the mouse etc...)

Connect the input to the process

Hover the mouse inside the left diagram border to display the connection pointer (). Drag/drop the pointer to the Review Loan Application task task and click again. Notice that there is now a connection

Connect the output of the process

Hover the mouse inside the edge of the Disburse Funds task to display the connection pointer (). Drag/drop the pointer to the diagram right border and click again.

Click File > Save..

Diagram Left border

How to associate a business item with a connection

2009-01-27T09:23:00.003-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1 Contact us... Quickstart tutorial 3-How to associate a business item with a connection

How to associate a business item with a connection

Introduction Associating a business item with a connection enables you to pass the business item between elements in your process flow.

Business items are any items that you use in business operations. You can model as a business item anything that is created, assembled, inspected, tested, or modified, such as documents, work products, or commodities. Business items undergo changes and are passed from one process step to the next.

A particular business item, the application itself, is passed along through the loan application process until a decision is made on whether to approve or reject the customer's request for a loan. If the loan is approved, a Funds business item is output from the Disburse Funds task. If the request for a loan is rejected, an E-mail Notification business item is output from the Reject Application and Notify Customer task. You need to associate these business items with the appropriate connections in your diagram to accurately represent the real-world business items in your process.

How to associate a business item with a connection

Step 1

Right-click a connection and select Associate Data...

Step 2

Click the Basic type or Complex type radio button as required.
For Basic type, click on the drop-down and select the type.
For Complex type, find the required the business item in the tree and click to select it (i.e Application)
Click OK.
The business item (i.e Application) is now displayed in the diagram next to the connection, indicating that this business item is passed between these two activities.

Step 3

Using the same method, associate the Application business item with the Review Loan Application task > Approve Loan? decision connection: The diagram automatically adds the Application business item to the Approve Loan? decision > Disburse Funds task connection and the Approve Loan? decision > Reject Application and Notify Customer task connection.
Using the same method, associate the Funds business item with the connection between the Disburse Funds task and the diagram's right border.
Again, using the same method, associate the E-mail Notification business item with the connection between the Reject Application and Notify Customer task and the terminate node.
Click File > Save to save the process.

How to add a simple decision to the process diagram

2009-01-27T09:23:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1 Contact us... Quickstart tutorial 3-How to add a simple decision to the process diagram

How to add a simple decision to the process diagram

Introduction

A simple decision has one incoming branch with one input and two outgoing branches with one output each. When the process is running, the process flow takes one outgoing branch if a certain condition is true, and the other branch if the same condition is false. The decision selects the outcome based on the incoming data.

In your loan application process, you either accept or reject each application. To accurately reflect your real-world policy, your process diagram must show exclusive choice. To achieve this "either/or" scenario, you must add a simple decision to the process.

How to add a simple decision to the process diagram

To add a simple decision to the process, ensure that the Loan Application (As Is) process is open in the Process editor, and then complete the following steps below:

Steps

In the palette, click the Simple Decision icon. You might have to open the Gateways drawer in the palette to see the Simple Decision icon.
Move your cursor to the right of the Review Loan Application task and click to add the decision to the process diagram.
Type the following name for the decision: Approve Loan?
If necessary, arrange the decision and tasks so that there is some space between them. Remember that you can resize elements, and to move the elements in the diagram, you simply click the element and drag it to the appropriate spot. Your diagram should look similar to the following image on the right column.

You have now ensured that your Loan Application (As Is) process can split the process flow and either accept or reject the application, just as in your actual company. Now you are ready to connect the elements in your process.

Note that the decision provides a Yes or No response to a question, in this case "Is this loan application approved?" By default, the two possible responses—Yes and No—are assigned an equivalent probability of 50%. For this tutorial, you will leave the probability for each possible response as 50%, but you can adjust those decision percentages if needed. For a detailed description of decisions and probabilities, see Decisions in the documentation.

Because there are only two approval options, approve or reject, the decision can now send data to the appropriate path in the flow. If the answer to the question is Yes, the data is sent to the Disburse Funds task. If the answer is No, the data is sent to the Reject Application and Notify Customer task.

How to export analysis results

2009-01-20T17:43:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1 Contact us... Quickstart tutorial 4-Running simulations

How to export analysis results

How to export analysis results

Introduction

You can export your dynamic analysis results to a separate file.

Professionals often need to share their analysis data with colleagues or clients. WebSphere® Business Modeler provides the capability to export your analysis results to PDF format.

To export the Loan Application analysis results to a PDF file, complete the following steps:

Step 1

Right-click in the Analysis View table where your dynamic analysis results are displayed, and then select Generate and Export Report. A wizard opens.
See Step 2 - How to print analysis report
See Step 3 - How to print analysis report

Step 2

In the Export Format drop-down list, select PDF File (.pdf).
In the Export Destination field, choose a location where you want to save the PDF file.
Select the Show preview dialog after export check box, and then click Finish. The analysis results are exported to a PDF file in the location that you chose. A print preview window opens and displays your report. You can either choose to print this report or close the preview window.

Step 3

You can now open your PDF file. The company information that you entered is included, along with details about the simulation and analysis data

How to print analysis results

2009-01-20T14:48:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1 Contact us... Quickstart tutorial 4-Running simulations

How to print analysis results

How to print analysis results

Introduction

You can print the results of any dynamic analysis displayed in the Analysis View.

After you have run dynamic analysis on your Loan Application (To Be) simulation results, you can send those results directly to your printer. The analysis report will include the data that you have generated, along with certain company information that you define. For a description of the various reports that you can generate and print, see Dynamic analysis reports in the help documentation.

To print your Loan Application (To Be) dynamic analysis report, complete the following steps:

Step 1

Right-click in the Dynamic Analysis view table where your dynamic analysis results are displayed, and then select Print.

A dialog box opens (see below).

Step 2

Because the Process Cases Summary report template is the only report available for your analysis results, it is selected by default.
Click OK. (Note that you may see a window asking if you want to load fonts for your reports. Because it is not necessary to load any special fonts for the purposes of this tutorial, click Cancel. See Installing fonts for the report designer in the help documentation for more information.) A window opens.

Step 3

You can enter customized information to appear on your printed report:

In the Parameter Fields list, select Company Name.
In the Parameter Value field, type the following value: Quickstart Finance
Return to the Parameter Fields list and select Company Address.
In the Parameter Value field, type the following value: 123 Main Street.
Return to the Parameter Fields list and select Company E-mail.
In the Parameter Value field, type the following value: myemail@qsproject.com.
Click OK.

A print preview window opens (see below)

Step 4

Click File > Print to print the report.

The report that you have printed contains not only the dynamic analysis data resulting from your simulation, but also your company name and address information, along with details about the simulation that produced the data. This information can help you keep track of the results of particular simulation snapshots and profiles. But what if you need to generate and export data to a different file format? In the next exercise, you will generate your data in a PDF file.

How to update task settings for simulations

2009-01-19T17:39:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 4-How to update task settings for simulations

Introduction
How to update task settings for simulations
Related links

Introduction

You can update settings for specific tasks within a process without affecting the rest of the tasks and elements within the simulation.

You have already learned how to update your simulation preferences, snapshot settings, and process settings. But you can also modify the input for the individual tasks and elements within a larger process. If you want to run "what if" scenarios on the costs or performance of just one or two tasks within the larger process, you can adjust those specific tasks' settings, and leave the rest of the process as is.

In the Loan Application (To Be) process, you will assign a different processing cost for the Review Loan Application task. Previously you set the processing cost of this task, along with the cost for all other activities in the process, by updating the preferences. You will now update the settings for this one task.

You could update an individual task's settings in the same manner as you updated the process settings in the last exercise; that is, by clicking the task in the diagram and then using the Attributes view to adjust your settings. However, there is a way to see and update your individual tasks' attributes in a convenient table format.

How to update task settings for simulations

To set a simulation attribute for a specific task, complete the following steps:

Steps

At the bottom of the simulation diagram, click the Simulation attributes tab. The simulation attributes table is displayed.
In the Name column, locate the row for the Review Loan Application task. Note that the cost for this task is US$1.50. This is the preference that you set earlier in this module.
Click the Processing Cost field in the Review Loan Application row. Change the value to 5 and then press Enter on your keyboard. Your simulation attributes table should now look like the one in the following image on the right.
Click File > Save to save your task settings.

By updating this specific task setting, you have indicated that the Review Loan Application task will cost US$5.00 to complete. All the other activities in the process will continue to cost $1.50 to complete, as per the simulation preference that you set earlier in the module.

At this point in the module, you have updated simulation preferences, snapshot settings, and process and task settings. You are now ready to run your simulation for the second time, and then analyze the results.

How to update process settings for simulations

2009-01-19T17:16:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 4-How to update process settings for simulations

Introduction
How to update process settings for simulations
Related links

Introduction

Process settings define conditions and behaviors for a process as a whole during a simulation run. You can update settings for a specific process simulation without overriding your preferences or snapshot settings.

You might update process settings if you want to run a simulation with specific input that you do not want to carry over to any other simulation. For the Loan Application (To Be) process, you will specify the number of loan applications that you are going to send through the process.

How to update process settings for simulations

To update your process settings, complete the following steps:

Ensure that the simulation that you created in the last exercise is open in the Simulation editor. If it is not open, double-click the simulation profile in the Project Tree.
In the Attributes view, click the Inputs tab. Important: You must be sure that no element (that is, task, decision, merge, or terminate node) is selected in the simulation diagram. If an element is selected, the settings displayed in the Attributes view will apply only to that element. To select the process as a whole, rather than a specific element, click anywhere in the diagram other than on an element.
In the Token creation settings table, click the row that displays the input. The token creation settings for the process are displayed.
In the Total number of tokens field, click Edit. A window opens.
In the Generate a specific number field, type 15. Click OK. This value indicates that you are going to send 15 loan applications through the process.
Your settings should now look like those in the following image:

The process setting that you have just updated will only apply to the current simulation profile. If you create a new simulation profile, it will inherit the preferences and snapshot settings that you updated earlier, but not the process setting—that is, 15 loan applications—that you changed for the current simulation.

You can also update settings for specific elements within the simulation without affecting the rest of the elements in the process. Next, you will update the settings for a specific Loan Application task.

How to create additional simulation profiles

2009-01-19T12:31:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 4-How to create additional simulation profiles

Introduction
How to create additional simulation profiles
Related links

Introduction

You can create additional simulation profiles within the same simulation snapshot. These additional simulation profiles will inherit any snapshot settings that you have updated, enabling you to simulate a process using different inputs without having to overwrite previous scenarios.

When you created the original simulation snapshot for the Loan Application (To Be) process, it included a simulation profile that inherited the default values that you defined in the Preferences window (by clicking Windows > Preferences). Now that you have modified those preferences in your simulation snapshot, any new simulation profile will inherit those new settings. (For more information, see Simulation profiles in the help documentation.)

How to create additional simulation profiles

To create additional simulation profile for the Loan Application (To Be) process, complete the following steps:

Step 1

In the Project Tree, right-click the Loan Application (To Be) Simulation snapshot and click New > Profile.
The new simulation profile appears in the Project Tree, and includes a timestamp indicating when it was created.

New Simulation profile

Step 2

The simulation diagram opens in the Simulation editor.
In the Attributes View, click the Inputs tab. Note that the Input, in this case the Application business item, is listed in the Token creation settings table. Tip: Remember that you can maximize a view or editor by double-clicking on the view's title bar or the editor's tab. Double-click again to restore it to its previous size.
In the table, click the Input row. The token creation settings for the Input are displayed. Note that the Time between bundles field displays 20 minutes. This is the setting that you updated in the last exercise. The new simulation profile has inherited the update, as shown in the following image on the right:

You have created a new simulation profile that has inherited both the original preferences and the snapshot settings that you have updated. The ability to create new simulation profiles means you can create and run any number of simulation scenarios without overwriting previous simulations. Multiple simulation profiles can make it easier for you to compare similar scenarios, or model completely different scenarios, without losing your earlier settings.

Now you can edit the process and task settings, and run the simulation, without changing any preferences that you may have set for other profiles.

How to update snapshot settings for simulations

2009-01-19T12:19:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 4-How to update snapshot settings for simulations

Introduction
How to update snapshot settings for simulations
Related links

Introduction

Simulation snapshot settings are contained in the provide default values for any new simulation profiles that you create within an existing simulation snapshot.

If you want to change the values for the simulation that you are running, you can change the simulation preferences and create a new simulation profile inside an existing snapshot. You do not have to change the simulation preferences. For example, in the Loan Application (To Be) simulation you ran in the previous exercise, the default time interval between tokens was 1 minute. The length of the time interval did not matter because you only sent a single token through the simulation. However, at Quickstart Finance, you receive an average of 3 loan applications per hour. To reflect this rate of application arrival in your simulations, you need change the interval so that one token, representing one application, arrives at the start of the process every 20 minutes.

How to update snapshot settings for simulations

To modify your snapshot settings, complete the following steps:

Step 1

In the Project Tree, expand the simulation snapshot folder that you created earlier in this module for the Loan Application (To Be) process, and double-click the Loan Application (To Be) Simulation Snapshot Settings entry. The Simulation Snapshot Settings editor opens.

Step 2

In the Simulation Snapshot Settings editor's navigation tree, click Token Creation. The token creation settings open in the editor.
In the Time between bundles field, click Edit. Note that a bundle is a collection of tokens. In this tutorial, each bundle contains only 1 token, a single loan application.
In the Minutes field, type 20 to specify that you want 20 minutes to elapse between the creation of each bundle.
Click OK. Your Simulation Snapshot Setting editor should now look like the one in the following image:

Step 3

In the editor's navigation tree, click Tasks. The task settings open.
Click the Cost and revenue tab. Note that the value in the Cost incurred every time a task runs field is 1.5. This is the value that you entered as a preference in an earlier exercise. The new simulation snapshot has taken the value from the snapshot settings.
Click File > Save to save your simulation snapshot settings.

Now that you have updated the settings for your simulation snapshot, you will need to create another simulation profile. The new simulation profile will inherit the settings that you have just modified.

Creating additional simulation profiles
You can create additional simulation profiles within the same simulation snapshot. These additional simulation profiles will inherit any snapshot settings that you have updated, enabling you to simulate a process using different inputs without having to overwrite previous scenarios.

How to set simulation preferences

2009-01-18T18:01:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 4-How to set simulation preferences

How to set simulation preferences

How to set simulation preferences

Introduction

Simulation settings/attributes control the behavior of your simulation runs so that your simulation snapshots and results can be useful reflections of real-world behavior.

When you run a simulation, you can define the variables that you want to measure and analyze. For example, you can specify what each task will cost, how much revenue those same tasks will generate, and how long (in virtual time) a particular process will run.

Simulation attributes can be set at multiple levels.

Simulation preferences
At the highest level of application are the simulation preferences. Values for these attributes are set through the preferences window, and are used as default values for new simulation snapshots and profiles.

Simulation preferences can be set at any time, and all simulation snapshots that you create after you update the preferences will inherit those preferences.
Simulation snapshot
At the next level of specificity are the simulation snapshot settings. The simulation snapshot settings present a subset of the attributes available in the preferences. The initial values for these attributes are taken from the preferences. However, you can override these values by editing the "snapshot defaults".

Simulation snapshot settings will override preferences. A simulation snapshot is a record of a modeling project at the single moment when the snapshot is created. When you create a simulation snapshot, simulation default values are created as part of the snapshot. When you update the default settings (located in the Defaults folder of the snapshot), all simulation profiles that you subsequently create will inherit those new attributes.
Simulation profile
More specific than the simulation snapshot settings are values inside a particular simulation profile. These settings, take their initial values from a combination of the simulation preferences and simulation snapshot settings. When you run a simulation or carry out an analysis on a simulation profile, it is the simulation profile settings that are used. Overriding the values of a specific profile affect the details of simulations you run against the profile, which will be reflected in any dynamic analyses you run against those results.

Process and task settings are specific to a single simulation profile, and will override both preferences and snapshot settings. You can update process and task settings of an individual simulation profile using the Attributes View.

How to set simulation preferences

For the Quickstart Finance Loan Application process, the default cost for each of the tasks is currently zero. You are going to update the simulation preferences to indicate that each task in the process costs US$1.50 to perform.

To view and set simulation preferences, complete the following steps:

On the menu bar, click Window > Preferences. The Preferences window opens.
In the navigation tree, expand Business Modeling and then expand the Simulation folder to view the various simulation preferences. You can set preferences for the following categories: Database Connection, General, Labels, Tasks, Token Creation, and Visual Attributes. For the purposes of this tutorial, you will only update the Task preferences, but you can open and examine each category to become familiar with the different preferences that you can set at this level.
In the navigation tree, click Tasks. The Task pane opens.
Click the Cost and revenue tab. The Cost and revenue fields are displayed, as in the following image:
Update the cost of performing each task in your simulations:
1. In the Cost incurred every time a task runs field, click Edit. A window opens.
2. Click the Specific value radio button, then type the following value: 1.50
3. Click OK. The window closes.
4. Leave the currency as the default USD. You have now specified that every task completed in your simulation will cost U.S. $1.50. (Note that you can also restore the default attribute values by clicking Restore Defaults in the Preferences window.)
Click OK. The Preferences window closes.

You have now set the simulation preferences that each new simulation snapshot will inherit. Later in this module, you will see how the change that you have made in this exercise, increasing the cost of each task to U.S. $1.50 from zero, will affect the outcome of your simulations. Remember, you can update these preferences at any time, and any simulation snapshots or profiles that you subsequently create will inherit those updated preferences.

Now you can prepare to run a simulation by creating a simulation snapshot.

Simulation preferences settings

You can update the following simulation preferences settings:

Setting the database connection preferences
Derby is provided as the default database to store simulation results, but you can also set the preferences to use a locally installed copy of IBM® DB2 Universal Database™ Express Edition if you require higher performance during simulation and analysis.
Specifying general simulation preferences
General simulation preferences define conditions and behaviors for a process as a whole during a simulation. Attributes that you set in the simulation preferences provide default values for simulation snapshots, and their initial profiles.
Setting the simulation profile label preferences
Set the simulation labelling preferences to create a set of default display behaviors for new simulation profiles. These preferences dictate whether labels are initially displayed in simulation profiles, and specify the content that is displayed in each label. For example, you can choose to display the associated data for repositories, and the organizations and locations for tasks.
Choosing the label display behavior for new simulation profiles
You can choose one of two sets of label preferences to use when you create new simulation profiles. You can either choose to reuse the labelling preferences that you defined for display of the process models as you edit them, or you can use your own specific simulation diagram label preferences. You can change the preferences that you are using as your default in the Simulation preferences window.
Setting diagram display preferences
WebSphere Business Modeler allows you to display your simulation profile diagrams using enhanced graphics, or basic graphics.
Setting task simulation preferences (General tasks , Cost and Revenue task )
Task simulation attributes define conditions and behaviors for individual activities within a process during a simulation. Use the task simulation preferences to define default values for these attributes so that they are applied to all new simulation snapshots that you create.
Specifying token creation preferences
You can specify preferences for token creation settings to apply to the inputs of all new simulation snapshots you create.
Setting layout preferences
You can specify the amount of space that the Auto-Layout option will leave between nodes in the process diagram and the simulation diagram.

Use WebSphere Business Modeler team support and publishing functi

2009-01-13T19:43:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

IBM Certification Test 992.2 - Modeling

Use WebSphere Business Modeler team support and publishing functionality to work in a collaborative environment

Understand business process management concepts

2009-01-04T19:53:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

IBM Certification Test 992.1 - Industry and Tooling

Understand business process management concepts

Related links	Business Process Management: Modeling through Monitoring Using WebSphere V6.0.2 Products WebSphere Business Modeler certification exam 992 prep, Part 1: Manage business processes
Source Prepare for the IBM Certification Test 992, IBM WebSphere Business Modeler Advanced V6.1, Business Analysis and Design. This tutorial series covers information about the business process management industry and tool usage. We'll review general business process management concepts and modeling methodologies. In addition, you'll learn how IBM WebSphere Business Modeler relates to the SOA life cycle. Finally, you'll explore critical success factors for business process modeling.	Every business is unique and requires custom management policies. Defining the business objectives, and how to execute them, is critical. Another important aspect of business management is managing change, because a company's policies evolve over time. Effective business process management is a disciplined practice that includes the following: Modeling processes Enabling workflow Defining business measures Monitoring performance results Ideally, you want to automate the management process as much as possible. It's also desirable to generalize the language so the process can be modified without affecting the underlying IT implementation. Business process management is the logical marriage between workflow and application integration. It abstracts the process flow from the application or IT implementation level to processes within the business context. The WebSphere Business Process Management Suite can help you with all aspects of the process definition life cycle to model, integrate, connect, monitor, and manage business processes in an enterprise environment. For more information on the WebSphere Business Process Management product family, refer to the IBM WebSphere Business Process Management Information Center and the developerWorks WebSphere Business Process Management zone.
What is a business process?	If you search the Web for a definition of business process, you find many definitions. All these definitions contain certain common elements: A business process is triggered by a business event. A business process has an input and creates an output that is of value to the organization, its stake holders, or its customers. A business process is composed of related structural activities. Material and/or information flows between the process activities. A business process can be part of a larger process and can include or depend on other business processes. A business process can be viewed as the workflow for a use case. A business process usually depends upon several business functions for support, for example, IT, personnel, and accommodation.
What is business process management?	Business process management (BPM) leads to business innovation and optimization by implementing business strategy through modeling, developing, deploying, and managing business processes throughout their entire life cycle. BPM acts as an enabler for the businesses in defining and implementing strategic business goals and then measuring and managing company's financial and operational performance against these goals. The power of optimal results from the BPM life cycle activities is derived from the integrated set of the robust technology infrastructure and tools. Business process management provides a convergence of technology that removes business and IT constraints through integration and enhanced technology to help streamline business transformation. These capabilities provide tight integration of operational and analytical environments, business and IT environments, and strategy with daily operations. Business process management combines business processes, information, and IT resources, aligning your organization's core assets-people, information, technology, and processes-to create a single integrated view, with real-time intelligence, of both its business measurements and IT system performance. This integration of resources allows your organization to obtain business information faster, respond more quickly to market trends and competitive threats, and improve operational efficiencies and business results-all attributes of an on demand enterprise.
Benefits of BPM	BPM allows for an enterprise to be flexible and responsive to the ever changing on-demand business through the optimization and automation of the business processes to: Identify and eliminate redundancies and bottlenecks Reduce risk by gaining an understanding of process impacts prior to operationalizing Decouple business integration logic from its underlying implementation code Increase portability and decrease maintenance cost by being based on industry standards Automate process implementation, eliminate manual deployment tasks Immediately execute new business rules and processes Visualize actual process performance against key performance indicators Pinpoint future process improvements The robust business process management solution will provide powerful tools for the business and IT side of the business to meet their challenges: The business executive needs: Revenue growth with cost containment Responsiveness to business conditions and ability to pursue new market opportunities Improving internal skills, capabilities and leadership as the first step toward growth The challenges for the IT executive are: Aligning IT and business goals to grow revenue and contain costs Building responsiveness and agility into the organization through IT Enabling people and teams to be more effective through IT

How to create a resource catalog

2009-01-02T15:35:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 1-How to create a resource catalog

Introduction

By default, each project contains a resources catalog called Resources.

A resource catalog is a container that holds resource definition templates, resource definitions, resources, roles and timetables.

Resource catalogs are displayed in the Project Tree view. A resource catalog performs the function of a folder, allowing you to group a related set of resource definitions, resources, roles, and timetables that you create to represent the resources of an organization.

How to create a resource catalog

Add the following resource catalogs:

Computers
Personnel

Step 1

In the Project Tree, right-click Resources catalog and select New > Resource Catalog

Step 2

Enter the name of new resource catalog (i.e Personnel).
Click Finish
Repeat steps 1/2 to create another resource catalog (i.e Computers)

Step 3

Two resource catalogs were added to Resources catalog:

Computers
Personnel

How to create a data catalog

2009-01-01T12:22:00.005-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 2-How to create a data catalog

How to create a data catalog

How to create a data catalog

Introduction

A data catalog is a container where you can store your business item templates, business items, and business item instances.

You can set up your data catalogs in any way that makes sense for your organization or business. A large company might choose to create several data catalogs to store business items that are used in different departments. Alternatively, you could choose to group your business items according to a corresponding process. For Quickstart Finance, you will create a single data catalog to hold the business items relating to the loans process.

How to create a data catalog

Add a data catalog called Loans.

Step 1

In the Project Tree, right-click the Business Items folder and select New > Data Catalog.

Step 2

Enter name of new data catalog (i.e Loans).
Click Finish

Step 3

The Loans data catalog is created in the Project Tree, as in the image on the right.

How to create a business item template

2009-01-01T12:22:00.003-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 2-How to create a business item template

How to create a business item template

How to create a business item template

Introduction

Business item templates are categories used to model groups of business items that share common properties.

A business or organization can have many different business items in its processes. A larger organization might have hundreds or even thousands of business items that it needs to account for in its process models. Many of these business items might share common characteristics or attributes, as well as contain attributes that are unique. A business item template enables you to create a set of attributes once, and then apply those attributes to as many business items as you require. At Quickstart Finance, all documents created for business purposes contain certain common characteristics. Rather than add those characteristics to each type of document, you will use a business item template.

How to create a business item template

Add a business item template called Business Document.

Before you begin

Note: Templates are not shown in the Project Tree by default. To make templates visible, you must first clear the definition template filter:

click the Project tree filters button on the toolbar at the top of the Project Tree, and
clear the Definition templates check box.
Click OK.

To create a business item template, complete the following steps below:

Step 1

In the Project Tree, right-click the Loans data catalog and select New > Business Item Template

Step 2

In the Name of new business item template field, type Business Document.
In the Description of new business item template field, type Attributes for all documents used in the loan application process.
Click Finish.

Step 3

The new business item template is listed in the Project Tree and opens in the definition editor.

Now that you have created a business item template for your business documents, you can add the attributes that will be common to each of the documents.

Adding attributes to a business item template
Attributes are the characteristics of a business item template that are inherited by any business item that you create with that template.

How to add attributes to a business item template

2009-01-01T12:22:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

How to add attributes to a business item template

Creating a business item template

Introduction

Business item templates are categories used to model groups of business items that share common properties.

Step 1

Double-click the Business Document template in the Project Tree to open the definition editor.
Click the Attributes tab
Click Add at the bottom of the attributes table to add a new attribute.
Click the Name field and type Document Number.
Click the Type field and click the icon to select a type:
1. Click the Basic type radio button.
2. From the menu, select Integer. An Integer type can contain only numbers. If you wanted your document numbers to contain both letters and numbers, you would choose Text as the attribute type.
3. Click OK. You will receive a message warning that values for this attribute in instances of the template will be affected if you change the type. Click OK.
Click Add at the bottom of the attributes table to add a new attribute.
Click the Name field and type Date and Time Created.
Click the Type field and click the icon to select a type:
1. Click the Basic type radio button.
2. From the menu, select DateTime. The DateTime type requires a date and time value, indicating the date and time when the business document is created.
3. Click OK.
When you have finished entering attributes, click File > Save to save the Business Document business item template.

You have now created a reusable business item template that should look like the one in the following image on the right.

How to create a business item

2009-01-01T12:21:00.005-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 2-How to create a business item

How to create a business item

How to create a business item

Introduction

Business items are those items that are passed from one activity to the next in business operations. You can model as a business item anything that is created, assembled, inspected, tested, modified, or worked upon.

In WebSphere® Business Modeler, a business item can be thought of as a category, whereas a business item instance is a single occurrence of that category. For example, you can define an Invoice business item. "Invoice" is a category, and Invoice #7524 is an occurrence of that category, or an instance of that business item.

For Quickstart Finance, you need to define business items to represent applications for loans, e-mail notifications of loan refusals, and funds to be distributed upon loan approval.

How to create a business item

To create your business items, complete the following steps:

Application (Customer application for loan)
E-Mail Notification (Notification of loan refusal)
Funds (Loan funds disbursed to customer)

Step 1

In the Project Tree, right-click the Loans data catalog and select New > Business Item.

Step 2

In the Name of new business item field, type Application.
In the Description of new business itemfield, type Customer application for loan.
Click Finish. The Application business item is created in the Project Tree.

Step 3

The Application business item is created in the Project Tree.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 to create the remaining business items:

E-Mail Notification (Notification of loan refusal)
Funds (Loan funds disbursed to customer)

How to add attributes to a business item

2009-01-01T12:21:00.003-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 2-How to add attributes to a business item

How to add attributes to a business item
1. Introduction
2. How to add attributes to a business item

How to add attributes to a business item

Introduction

Attributes define the characteristics of your business items.

In a previous exercise, you created a business item template (Business Document). You will now apply that template to two of your business items so that they will inherit the attributes that you previously defined. By using the template, you do not need to re-enter the items' common attributes repeatedly.

At Quickstart Finance, each of your documents share some common attributes, as well as having their own unique information. You can use the Business Document template to add common characteristics to your Application and E-mail Notification business items, and then add any unique attributes that you require.

How to add attributes to a business item

To add attributes to your business items, complete the following steps below:

Step 1

In the Project Tree, double-click the Application business item to open it in the definition editor.
Click the Attributes tab
Apply the Business Document template. This is the business item template that you created earlier in the module.
To apply the template, click Browse at the top of the editor. The Select Parent Template window opens.

Step 2

Select Existing template.
Expand the Quickstart Finance tree until you see the Business Document template. Select the template and click OK.
Notice that when you apply the Business Document template, the Business item attributes table is populated with the attributes that you defined in the template.

Step 3

Notice that when you apply the Business Document template, the Business item attributes table is populated with the attributes that you defined in the template.

Step 4

Click Add at the bottom of the attributes table. A new attribute appears in the list.
Click the attribute Name field and type Amount Requested.
Click the Type field and click the button to select a type:
Click the Basic type radio button.
From the menu, select Integer.
Click OK.
Using the same method as you used to add the Amount Requested attribute, add the following attributes with corresponding types (Name/Type):
-Customer Name/Text

-Has Current Loan/Boolean
Save your work

Step 5

If it is not already open, double-click the E-mail Notification business item to open it in the definition editor.
Apply the Business Document template in the same way you did for the Application business item.
Using the same method as you used to add attributes to the Application business item, add a Customer Name attribute with the type as Text.
Click File > Save to save the E-Mail Notification business item.

Step 6

If it is not already open, double-click the Funds business item to open it in the definition editor.
Using the same method as you used to add attributes to the previous two business items, add a Loan Amount attribute with the type as Integer. You do not need to use the Business Document template because funds are not documents.
Click File > Save to save the Funds business item.

How to create a business item instance

2009-01-01T12:21:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 2-How to create a business item instance

How to create a business item instance

How to create a business item instance

Introduction

A business item instance is a specific occurrence or example of a business item. A business item instance can be used as sample data for business items within simulations.

When you create an instance of one of your business items, that instance will inherit all of the attributes that you defined for the business item. You then have the option of adding attribute values for that specific instance.

At Quickstart Finance, both business and personal loans are available. In this exercise, you will create a business item instance to represent the loan application of a long-time banking customer, Edward Shore.

How to create a business item instance

To create a business item instance, complete the following steps below:

Step 1

In the Project Tree, right-click the Loans data catalog and select New > Business Item Instance.

Step 2

In the Associated business item menu, select Application. By making this selection, you are indicating that you are creating an instance of the Application business item.
In the Name of new business item instance field, type Application - Edward Shore.
In the Description of new business item instance field, type Application for a personal loan from Mr. Edward Shore.
Click Finish.

Step 3

The new business item instance (i.e Application - Edward Shore) is created in the Project Tree and opens in the definition editor, similar to the following image on the right column.

The new Application - Edward Shore business item instance contains the attributes that you defined for the Application business item (which in turn contained the attributes that you defined in the Business Document business item template). To complete your business item instance, you will provide values for each of the instance attributes.

The new Application - Edward Shore business item instance contains the attributes that you defined for the Application business item (which in turn contained the attributes that you defined in the Business Document business item template). To complete your business item instance, you will provide values for each of the instance attributes.

Adding attribute values
Attribute values define the characteristics of specific business item instances.

How to add attributes to a business item instance

2009-01-01T12:20:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 2-How to add attributes to a business item instance

How to add attributes to a business item instance
1. Introduction
2. How to add attributes to a business item instance

How to add attributes to a business item instance

Introduction

Attribute values define the characteristics of specific business item instances.

Each instance of a business item can contain specific values for the attributes that you have already defined. These values enable you to work on and make decisions about the individual instance. For example, a specific employee might fill out a Benefit Claim form for a company's Human Resources department. That specific form is a business item instance. Based on the business item Benefit Claim Form, you could create a business item instance called Michael Smith's Claim Form. That form would have all the attributes that you defined, and would contain specific values pertaining only to Michael Smith.

How to add attributes to a business item instance

You have already created the Application - Edward Shore business item instance, and the instance contains the attributes that you have defined. Now you need to give values to those attributes. To add attribute values, complete the following steps below.

Step 1

If it is not already open, double-click the Application - Edward Shore business item instance to open it.
Click the Attributes tab
In the Business Item Attributes table, click the First Value field for the Document Number attribute. (Note that depending on your screen size and settings, you might have to scroll horizontally to see this column.)
Type the following value: 10726. This is the document identification number. When you created the Business Document business item template, you designated the Document Number attribute type as Integer, so this value can only contain numbers.
In the Date and Time Created row, click the First Value field. Click the button to open the DateTime calendar and select a date.
Using the same method that you used to add the first two attribute values, add the following values for the remaining attributes:

Name First Value

Amount Requested 8000

Customer Name Edward Albert Shore

Has Current Loan False
When you have finished adding the attributes, click File > Save to save the business item instance.

Name	First Value
Amount Requested	8000
Customer Name	Edward Albert Shore
Has Current Loan	False

How to create a timetable

2008-12-30T17:23:00.003-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 1-How to create a timetable

How to create a timetable
How to add timetable attributes
How to associate a timetable with a resource

How to create a timetable

Introduction

A timetable indicates when a particular resource is available or when a particular cost applies. It enables you to schedule a resource or determine when a cost will apply to specified tasks or processes.

In most businesses, employees are available for a certain period of the day. For example, the majority of the staff at an accounting office might work the day shift from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Similarly, costs will often apply only for a certain time period; depending on its location, the accounting office's heating costs might only have to be paid out from October to April. For more information, see Timetables in the information center.

How to create a timetable

Step 1

In the Project Tree, right-click the Personnel resource catalog and select New > Timetable. A wizard opens.

Step 2

Type the following name for the timetable: Day Shift
Type the following description for the timetable: Shift for regularly scheduled daytime employees.
Click Finish. The Day Shift timetable opens in the Timetable editor.

Step 3

The new timetable is displayed in the Project Tree similar to the following image on the right.

Now that you have created a new timetable for your office's day shift, you can add the attributes that will uniquely define the timetable.

How to add timetable attributes

Introduction

Timetable attributes define the timetable, indicating such parameters as the date the timetable begins and the number of times it should be repeated.

You can determine how long you want your timetable to apply, whether for a few days or weeks, or for an unlimited time. Timetable attributes enable you to define the length of the time period, how often it repeats (for example, daily or weekly), and how long it will continue to repeat.

You can also set recurring time intervals for your timetable. The Recurring time intervals list is used to define a particular period of time within the timetable. For example, if you run a manufacturing plant 24 hours a day, your electricity costs might be higher during peak hours; you can define these segments in your timetable and then use the timetable to schedule power-intensive tasks at less expensive times.

How to add timetable attributes

Step 1

In the Project tree, double-click the Day Shift timetable to display the Timetable editor.
Click the Recurring time intervals tab at the bottom of the Timetable editor.
In the Number of times to repeat field, leave the Forever check box selected. You will keep the same hours for your day shift for the foreseeable future, so there is no need to impose a limit to the number of times the schedule will repeat.
In the Repetition period fields, you specify the length of the repetition cycle. For example, if your timetable repeats every week, with recurring time intervals encompassing the weekdays, you would specify 7 days to indicate that the timetable repeats every 7 days. Because, in this exercise the timetable repeats every day, you will specify 1 Day in the Repetition period fields.
Next to the Beginning on field, click the Select time button. A calendar opens.
In the Time zone field, select GMT -5.
In the calendar, select today's date and specify the time as 12:00:00 A.M. Click OK.
In the Recurring Time Intervals pane, ensure that Time interval is highlighted.
In the Selected interval details pane, click the Select duration button and specify 8 Hours. This is the number of hours in the day shift at Quickstart Finance.
In the Start time calendar, select today's date and set the start time to 9:00 A.M. Your Day Shift timetable now starts at 9:00 a.m. each day and lasts for 8 hours. The Attributes view displays the time intervals in a graph. Your timetable should now look like the one in the following image:

How to associate a timetable with a resource

Introduction

By associating a timetable with a resource, you can indicate the time period when that resource is available to be used in tasks and processes.

How to associate a timetable with a resource

Step 1

Double-click a resource (i.e Kim Lee resource) in the Project Tree. The resource opens in the Process editor.
At the bottom of the Process editor, click the Availability tab.
In the Availability pane, click Add. A window opens.
In the Select Timetable window, select the Day Shift timetable from the tree. Click OK. The Day Shift timetable is added to the Kim Lee resource's availability list, as in the following image:

Step 2

In the Select Timetable window, select the Day Shift timetable from the tree. Click OK.

Step 3

The Day Shift timetable is added to the resource (i.e Kim Lee) resource's availability list, as in the following image on the right column.

Related links

Creating a timetable

Timetables

Adding attributes to a timetable

How to create a resource

2008-12-30T17:23:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 1-How to create a resource

How to create a resource
How to add resource attributes

How to create a resource

Introduction

How to create a resource

Add the following resources:

Computers
Desktop Computer No. 27
Personnel
Kim Lee

Step 1 - Personnel

In the Project Tree, right-click the Personnel resource catalog and click New > Resource. A wizard opens.

Step 2 - Personnel

For the resource type, select the Individual radio button.
From the Associated resource definition drop-down list (Predefined elements project), select Staff.
In the Name of new resource field, type Kim Lee.

Remember that the name you enter must be unique within the Personnel resource catalog. If you had another Kim Lee on your staff, you would have to differentiate the two in some way (for example, by adding a middle initial to the second Kim Lee).
In the Description of new resource field, type Loan department personnel.
Click Finish.

Step 3 - Personnel

The new Kim Lee resource opens in the Definition editor. Note that the Definition editor shows the Costs tab by default. If you want to view the attributes that the resource has inherited from the resource definition (Staff), click the Attributes tab at the bottom of the Definition editor.

Step 4 - Desktop Computer

In the Project Tree, right-click the Desktop Computer resource definition that you created earlier in the tutorial and select New > Resource.

A wizard opens.

Step 5 - Desktop Computer

Notice that the resource type (Individual) and associated resource definition (Desktop Computer) values are filled based on the Desktop Computer resource definition.

In the Name of new resource field, type Desktop Computer No. 27.
In the Description of new resource field, type Loan department computer.
Click Finish. The Desktop Computer No. 27 resource opens in the Definition editor. To view the attributes that the resource has inherited from the Desktop Computer resource definition, click the Attributes tab at the bottom of the Definition editor.

Step 6 - Desktop Computer

The new Desktop Computer No. 27 resource opens in the Definition editor. Note that the Definition editor shows the Costs tab by default. If you want to view the attributes that the resource has inherited from the resource definition (Desktop Computer), click the Attributes tab at the bottom of the Definition editor.

How to add resource attributes

Introduction

Attribute values provide the unique characteristics of a specific resource.

All of the resources that are used at any company are uniquely identifiable and have characteristics that differentiate them from other resources, even ones that are very similar. For example, each loan officer has a first and last name, home address, and employee number. Similarly, each desktop computer has an identifying number and workspace location.

The combination of attributes for a particular resource serves as a unique identifier for that resource.

How to add resource attributes

Enter the specified attribute values for the following resources:

Desktop Computer No. 27
Kim Lee

The following steps below describe in detail how this is done.

Step 1 - Desktop Computer No. 27

Double-click the resource (i.e Desktop Computer No. 27) to display the Definition editor
Click the Attributes tab at the bottom of the Definition editor.
For the first attribute, ID Number, click the First Value field. (Note that depending on your screen size and settings, you might have to scroll horizontally to see this column.)
Type the following identification number: 1027. Remember that because you designated this attribute's type as Integer in the resource definition, you can only enter numbers.
Press the Enter key to add the value to your resource.
In the WorkStation attribute row, click the First Value field.
Type the following location number: LD705. This is the work station in your loan office where Desktop Computer No. 27, with the ID number 1027, is located.

Step 2 - Kim Lee

Double-click the resource (i.e Kim Lee) to display the Definition editor
Click the Attributes tab at the bottom of the Definition editor.
For the first attribute, profile, click the First Value field and type the following value: Loans - Level 1.
For the employeeID attribute, click the First Value field and type the following value: loan1005.
For the lastName attribute, click the First Value field and type the following value: Lee.
For the firstName attribute, double-click the First Value field and type the following value: Kim.
Continue entering attribute values for as many of the remaining attributes as you want.

Creating resources

How to analyze simulation results

2008-12-27T20:07:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 4-How to analyze simulation results

Introduction
How to analyze simulation results
Next Steps
Related links

Introduction

You can perform detailed analysis on the results of your simulations to extract information regarding scheduling, costs, output, and other statistics pertaining to your processes.

A simulation yields a wealth of data, but without detailed analysis, that data is limited in its usefulness. To get the most from your simulation data, you need to perform dynamic analysis on your results.

Dynamic analysis lets you extract targeted information based on the results of your process simulations. You can perform four types of dynamic analysis with WebSphere® Business Modeler:

Aggregated
Determines information about activities and resources used in all process instances generated during a simulation. For example, you can determine the average cost of each task in the Loan Application (To Be) process by running the Activity Cost aggregated analysis.

Process Cases
Shows statistics produced by all process cases in a simulation. For example, the Process Duration will show the average elapsed duration for each of the three different possible outcomes in the Loan Application (To Be) process.
Process Instances
Performs a summary analysis to show process results for elements within a particular instance of a process that is created during a simulation run. For example, the Process Instance Summary analysis provides cost and duration data for each of the 15 loan applications that you simulated.
Process Comparison
Compares the weighted average analysis results for two simulated processes that use the same input parameters. For example, if you adjusted Kim Lee's hourly wage and then re-ran the Loan Application (To Be) process, you could use the Processes Resources Cost Comparison to compare the resource costs between two separate simulation runs.

For a full description of the types of analysis you can perform on your simulation results, see Dynamic analysis in the help documentation.

In this exercise, you will perform a Process Cases Summary analysis, which will provide details on each of the three possible paths that your process can take. It is common practice to run a general summary analysis first so you can get an overview of how your process is performing. You can then run a more detailed analysis on any aspect of the process for which you want to gain more information.

The Process Cases Summary analysis will show you whether your Loan Application (To Be) process is resulting in more loan applications being approved. You can also observe other details for both the process as a whole and for individual tasks, such as average total cost and average elapsed duration.

How to analyze simulation results

To perform the Process Cases Summary analysis, complete the following steps:

Step 1

In the Project Tree, expand the simulation profile folder of the simulation that you just ran. The folder now contains the result of your simulation with the date and timestamp showing when the simulation was run.
Right-click the simulation result and click Dynamic Analysis > Process Cases Analysis > Process Cases Summary.

Step 2

In the Process Cases Summary window, ensure that the All process instances radio button is selected and then click Finish.

If you see a warning message that preprocessing is required, click Yes.

Step 3

The Dynamic Analysis view opens and displays data for each of the 3 possible cases in your Loan Application (To Be) process.
In the Dynamic Analysis view, expand the node for each case and examine the results of the dynamic analysis that you have just performed. Note that when you select a case or any row of data within a case, that case is highlighted in the simulation diagram. Each case in your process is listed and shows data for the tasks and other elements within the case. Tip: Remember that you can maximize a view or editor by double-clicking on the view's title bar or the editor's tab. Double-click again to restore it to its previous size. It will be easier for you to view the analysis results if you maximize the Dynamic Analysis view.

The Process Cases Summary results indicate that the majority of applications are now being approved. Check the Number of Instances and Distribution columns to see the number and percentage of loan applications following each path in your process.

You should also notice that the Review Loan Application task has a higher average cost than the other tasks in the process. Remember that you updated this task's cost to $5.00. Note also that the Review Loan Application task shows a value in the Average Allocated Resource Cost column. This task has an allocated resource, Kim Lee, associated with it. The Kim Lee resource has its own associated cost, and that cost is included in the costs of any task that needs to utilize the Kim Lee resource.

Now that you have generated dynamic analysis results, you can print those results in report form.

Next Steps

Printing analysis results
You can print the results of any dynamic analysis displayed in the Analysis View.

Exporting analysis results
You can export your dynamic analysis results to a separate file.

How to run a revised simulation

2008-12-27T11:57:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 4-Running simulations

How to run a revised simulation

How to run a revised simulation

Introduction

Running a revised simulation enables you to observe any changes in the results of a process after you modify the simulation's attributes.

Before you run the revised simulation, take a moment to review what you have completed so far. Earlier in this module, you set a preference in the business modeling Preferences window when you updated the cost of each task to $1.50. You then created a simulation snapshot and ran a simulation based on those global preferences. Next, you modified a snapshot setting by specifying the time interval between token bundles as 20 minutes. You then created a new simulation profile, which inherited both of those updates. Next, you modified a process setting by changing the number of tokens to 15, and a task setting by updating the cost of the Review Loan Application task to $5.00. Now you are ready to run the revised simulation based on that same simulation profile that you created, and this revised simulation will incorporate all of the revised preferences and attributes.

To run the revised simulation of the Loan Application (To Be) process, complete the following steps:

Steps

Ensure that the simulation profile that you created and revised is open in the Simulation editor. If it is not open, double-click the simulation profile in the Project Tree.
At the top of the Attributes View, click the Simulation Control Panel tab. The Simulation Control Panel opens.
On the Control Panel toolbar, click the Run icon. The simulation starts and runs until completion, based on the attributes that you have provided. Watch the animation shown in the Simulation editor as the data and control pass from one activity to another through the process flow. The number at the top of the task indicates how many tokens are waiting to be processed.
You can control the simulation by clicking the various icons in the Simulation Control Panel toolbar.
1. To pause the simulation, click the Pause icon.
2. To stop the simulation, click the Stop icon.
3. To run the simulation in steps, click the Step icon. Note: You will not need to run simulations in steps in this tutorial. For more information on steps, see the topic on running simulations in the help documentation.
When the simulation is complete, the animation stops and the results of the simulation are displayed in the Control Panel, as in the following image:
In the Simulation Control Panel, click the Processes tab. A row of data is displayed for each of the tokens passed through the process. Data for the entire process is displayed, including start and end times, total revenue, total cost, and total profit.
In the Simulation Control Panel, click the Tasks tab. Data for each task in the process is displayed, including cumulative task revenue, cost, and profit.
In the Simulation Control Panel, click the Connections tab. The total number of tokens transferred between each process element is displayed.

From the statistics displayed in the Simulation Control Panel, you will able to see the results of the updates that you completed in the previous exercises of this tutorial. In the Processes tab, note that 15 tokens were passed through the process, and that the process start times for each token are 20 minutes apart. If you click the Tasks tab and expand each of the process results, you will see that the Review Loan Application task costs more to execute than the other tasks in the process as a result of both the update that you made to the task simulation attribute and that fact that there is a resource associated with the task.

The results of the simulation that are displayed in the Simulation Control Panel provide key information about the process and its component tasks. However, WebSphere® Business Modeler provides an even more powerful tool for analyzing the results of your simulation. In the next exercise, you will perform dynamic analysis to obtain a detailed breakdown of statistics resulting from your simulation.

How to update simulation settings

2008-12-24T21:53:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 4-How to update simulation settings

Introduction
Related links

Introduction

Simulation settings define the conditions and behaviors for a process or task during a simulation.

You can update the settings for a simulation in a number of ways. You have already set the simulation preferences, which provided the default values when you created your simulation snapshot. (Remember that you modified the simulation preferences by clicking Window > Preferences and then selecting Business Modeling > Simulation.) You can update those default values within the snapshot, so that any new simulation profiles that you create will inherit those updates. Those updated settings take precedence over the initial simulation preferences.

Within each simulation profile, you can also update the settings for the process that you are simulating, or for individual tasks within that process.

These low-level settings will only be applied to the current simulation profile, and will not be carried over to any new simulation profiles that you create.

Updating snapshot settings for simulations
Simulation snapshot settings are contained in the provided default values for any new simulation profiles that you create within an existing simulation snapshot.
Updating process settings for simulations
Process settings define conditions and behaviors for a process as a whole during a simulation run. You can update settings for a specific process simulation without overriding your preferences or snapshot settings.
Updating task settings for simulations
You can update settings for specific tasks within a process without affecting the rest of the tasks and elements within the simulation.

How to run a simulation

2008-12-24T21:34:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 4-How to run a simulation

Introduction
How to run a simulation
Related links

Introduction

Running a simulation enables you to observe the results of a process according to a specific set of inputs.

When you created your simulation snapshot, a new simulation profile was created for Quickstart Finance Loan Application (To Be) process. You can now run a simulation based on that profile. The simulation profile for this simulation was produced when you created the simulation snapshot. Therefore it will take its initial settings from the simulation preferences that you updated in a previous exercise.

The Loan Application (To Be) process determines whether a customer's loan request will be approved. Each application is passed into a particular path, depending on the approval decision. Regardless of which path is taken, a certain number of tasks will be performed for each application.

When you run a simulation, items called tokens arrive at the input of the process and move along the process connections, into and out of the activities that makes up the process. By default, the minimum number of tokens that are required for a single successful run of the process are set to arrive during simulation. In the case of this simulation, a single token is scheduled to arrive. You will change the number of tokens arriving for the simulation in a later exercise, but for now, you will run the simulation with a single token.

How to run a simulation

To run a simulation of the Loan Application (To Be ) process, complete the following steps:

Step 1

Ensure that the Loan Application (To Be) simulation profile is open in the simulation editor. If it is not open, double-click the simulation profile in the Project Tree to open it.

Step 2

At the top of the Attributes View, click the Simulation Control Panel tab. The Simulation Control Panel opens.
On the Simulation Control Panel toolbar, click the Run icon. The simulation starts and runs until completion, based on the default attributes. Note the simulation animation shown in the Simulation editor as the data and control passes from one activity to another through the process flow.
You can control the simulation by clicking the various icons in the Control Panel toolbar.
1. To pause the simulation, click the Pause icon.
2. To stop the simulation, click the Stop icon.
3. To run the simulation in steps, click the Step icon. Note: You will not need to run simulations in steps in this tutorial. For more information simulation controls, including running your simulation in steps, see Simulation controls in the help documentation.

When the simulation is complete, the animation stops and the results of the simulation are displayed in the Simulation Control Panel, as in the following image on the right:

Data is displayed about the process as a whole, as well as the individual tasks and connections in the process. Click the Processes, Tasks, and Connections tabs to view the data generated in this simulation.

Later in this module, you will learn how to perform detailed analysis on your simulation results. First, you will learn how to set the attributes for specific simulations and their component tasks.

How to create a simulation snapshot

2008-12-24T12:46:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 4-How to create a simulation snapshot

Introduction
Simulation snapshots
Simulation profiles
How to create a simulation snapshot
Related links

Introduction

A simulation snapshot shows a process model and its inputs at a particular moment in time. It includes the current simulation defaults and a simulation profile. You must create a simulation snapshot before you can run a simulation.

When you create a model of a process, you include the tasks that must be performed and show the direction that data and control will flow within that process. You can also set various dependencies for your processes, such as timetables and resource availability. A simulation snapshot captures the process as it currently stands, including all of the current default values and input data for the included tasks and other elements.

Simulation snapshots

When you simulate a process, the tool adds a simulation snapshot in the Project Tree view as a child element of the process. A simulation snapshot is a record of the complete process model at the moment when you simulated the process. This record contains a copy of all the elements of your project that the process uses, such as business items, resources, and global tasks. You might want to create multiple simulation snapshots for the same process after making changes to the project or to the process itself so that you can compare the effect of these changes.

When a simulation snapshot is created, the tool also creates the following elements:

Simulation Snapshot Settings
Simulation Profile

The defaults folder contains the simulation snapshot settings. When you create a new simulation profile for a simulation snapshot, the values specified in the simulation snapshot settings are used for the simulation attributes of the process and activities within the process. The initial values of the simulation snapshot settings are inherited from the simulation preferences (which you can access under the Windows > Preferences menu).

A simulation snapshot consists of a copy of the business process model and a set of snapshot settings, which act as defaults for the simulation attributes of the simulation profiles inside the snapshot.

After a simulation snapshot is created, the copy of the process model it contains is no longer affected by changes to the original model. If you want a simulation profile that reflects changes to the process model, you need to make a new simulation snapshot.

Each simulation snapshot contains an initial simulation profile. The simulation profile contains a copy of the process model as it existed when you created the simulation snapshot. You can make changes to the settings in this simulation profile, and you can create additional simulation profiles within the same simulation snapshot. Typically, you would create multiple simulation profiles for a simulation snapshot when you are experimenting with changes to the simulation profile settings to determine the effect on the process results.

The following image shows a process that has two simulation snapshots, where each snapshot has a single simulation profile, which in turn contains a single simulation result.

Simulation profiles

A simulation profile is a copy of a process model augmented with simulation attributes that you use to run the simulation. Each simulation profile that you create for a simulation snapshot is based on the process model as it existed when the simulation snapshot was created.

You can customize a simulation profile by setting the simulation profile settings for the process and for the activities it contains. The simulation profile includes settings, such as token creation settings, that apply only to the simulation profile behavior during simulation and not to the underlying process model. However, it also includes copies of settings, such as cost, revenue, duration, and resource requirements, that you can specify in the process model but can override in the simulation profile.

You do not need to set values for every possible simulation profile setting. At a minimum, you need to specify values the token creation settings for the inputs of one or more input criteria to the process. The decision whether or not to edit a particular setting depends on the business need to extract information that relates to that setting. For example, if your goal is to identify inefficiencies in resource deployments, you need to specify the durations of resource or role requirements for each activity in a process, and you should also define the pool of resources that is available to the process. If your goal is to better understand how the process incurs cost or generates revenue, you need to specify the costs and revenues associated with each activity in the process, and you should specify durations for resource and role requirements that incur costs. The analyses that you plan to perform will dictate which attributes you need to set in order to obtain useful information.

The initial values for the attributes of the simulation profile and its activities are copied from the process model or, if values are not specified on the process model, from the simulation snapshot settings.

You can create multiple simulation profiles for a single simulation snapshot, where each simulation profile has different customized settings. After you run simulations on these simulation profiles, you can perform comparative analyses of the simulation results. By doing this you can compare the results of your process in different business conditions, such as when the volume of inputs increases, when resource availability changes, or when costs and revenues change. It is recommended that you generate only one set of results for each simulation profile. Otherwise, if you run the simulation to generate one set of results, and then change the simulation profile and generate a second set of results, you will be unable to refer back to the simulation profile as it existed when you ran the simulation the first time.

You can add breakpoints and interrupts to a simulation profile to cause a process to pause in the middle of a simulation run. A breakpoint associated with an activity pauses the simulation run when that activity is activated by an incoming token. An interrupt pauses the simulation run when a specified condition occurs. You can set interrupts for individual activities in the process, or for the process as a whole.

If you change the original process model, these changes are not reflected in any existing simulation profiles, or in any new simulation profiles that you create in existing simulation snapshots. If you want your simulation profile to reflect changes to the process model, you need to make a new simulation snapshot.

How to create a simulation snapshot

To create a simulation snapshot for the Loan Application (To Be) process, complete the following steps:

Step 1

In the Project Tree, locate the Loan Application (To Be) process.
Right-click the Loan Application (To Be) process and select Simulate.

Step 2

In the Add Elements to the Simulation Snapshot window, select any optional elements that you would like to include in the snapshot. All of the elements that are required for the snapshot are included by default. You might want to include optional elements in the snapshot if, for example, you want to run a simulation using a different resource than what is currently referenced in the process.
Click OK.

Step 3

If the Show check paths confirmation dialog preference is set to Yes, then the Check Path for Stop Nodes window opens and asks if you want to check the model for paths without stop nodes.
Click No. (If you followed the instructions in the tutorial, all paths in the process are correctly terminated with stop nodes.)

Step 4

A new simulation snapshot appears in the Project Tree and a Loan Application (To Be) simulation profile opens in the Simulation editor (in the top right pane in the 4-pane layout).

The simulation snapshot is displayed in the Project Tree with a timestamp indicating the time that it was created, similar to the following image (right column).

The simulation snapshot contains the following:

Loan Application (To Be) Defaults folder, which holds the simulation's default settings, and a
Simulation profile. The simulation profile folder name includes the name of the process that you are simulating, in this case Loan Application (To Be), and a timestamp.

Now that you have created a simulation snapshot, you can run a simulation.

How to switch the diagram layout

2008-12-22T19:53:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 3-How to switch the diagram layout

How to switch the diagram layout

Completed classifiers

Introduction

Swimlane layout enables you to display your process activities according to particular attributes, helping you to visually identify activities with certain characteristics. You can adjust those attributes by moving activities to different swimlane rows.

The swimlane layout displays the elements in your diagram according to categories that you specify, as opposed to the free-form layout, which allows you to place elements anywhere on the editor surface. After you have created a number of elements in your diagram, it can become difficult to recall particular attributes of those elements without selecting each element individually and examining its attributes. By switching to the swimlane layout, you can quickly display your activities according to certain characteristics, such as resource definition, role, or location.

How to switch the diagram layout

When you first created the Loan Application process diagram, you selected free-form layout as the default layout. To switch to swimlane layout, complete the following steps:

Step 1

Ensure that no activity in the diagram is selected by clicking the background of the diagram. Right-click in the diagram to open the pop-up menu and select Switch to Swimlane Layout by > Classifier.

Step 2

In the Select Classifier window, select Service Fee. This is the classifier that you created earlier.
Click OK.

Step 3

The diagram layout switches to swimlane, with the classifier values shown in a column on the right side of the diagram, and the diagram tasks distributed among the rows according to their assigned classifier value, similar to the following image:

You can now quickly see which tasks in your loan application process generate a fee, and which do not. While your Loan Application (To Be) process diagram contains only a few tasks, picture a process that contains ten, or even twenty tasks. The swimlane layout can help you quickly categorize and identify the shared characteristics of any number of activities.

Now that you have switched to the swimlane layout, in the next exercise you will edit the attributes of one of the process activities simply by moving it to a different swimlane row.

How to create classifiers

2008-12-21T18:53:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 3-How to create classifiers

How to create classifiers

Introduction

Classifiers enable you to categorize tasks and other process elements so that you can optimize your processes and easily recognize elements with a particular set of characteristics. You can use predefined classifiers or define your own classifiers and classifier values.

Within a process diagram, it is convenient to be able to quickly view the elements that have certain characteristics. For example, you might want to see which tasks in your existing process are dedicated to quality control, or quickly identify all the tasks that add no real business value to your process. Classifiers enable you to categorize elements that share a common characteristic and then assign a color to that characteristic.

In the loan application process diagram, one of the tasks—Disburse Funds—generates a service fee. In this exercise, you will add a classifier and classifier values to your model so that you can quickly identify which tasks in the process generate service fees.

To add a classifier to your process model, complete the following steps:

Step 1

In the Project Tree, right-click the Classifiers catalog and select New > Classifier. A wizard opens.

Step 2

In the Name of new classifier field, type Service Fee.
Type the following description: Activity that generates a service fee for the company.
Click Finish to create the new classifier.

Now that you have created the Service Fee classifier, you need to assign classifier values that will enable you to identify the tasks that generate a fee and those that do not generate any fees.

Creating classifier values
Classifier values enable you to classify and categorize your process elements.
Associating classifier values with tasks
By specifying classifier values for your process elements, you can quickly identify activities within your diagram that share the same set of characteristics.
Color-coding the diagram by classifiers
Color-coding enables you to quickly see the process tasks that have been assigned a certain classification value.

How to assign cost

2008-11-27T17:57:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 1-How to assign cost to a resource

Introduction
How to assign cost to a resource
Related links

Introduction

A cost is the amount of money an organization must pay to use a resource in a task or process. Costs can be added to a particular resource in any process that you want to model.

Cost is often a primary "need to know" factor in a business model. Knowing what a particular process or resource costs, and what it might cost under different circumstances, is a key goal of business analysts.

How to assign cost to a resource

Step 1

In the Project Tree double-click a resource (i.e Kim Lee resource). The resource opens in the Resource editor.
Click the Costs tab at the bottom of the Resource editor.
Click the Add button at the bottom of the Costs table. The Create cost window opens.

Step 2

Click the Cost per time unit radio button and then click OK. A cost is added to the cost table.

Step 3

Click the Value field and type 17.50.
Because you pay the resource (i.e Kim Lee) in U.S. dollars, leave the Currency field as is. If you wanted to indicate payment in a different currency, you would click in the Currency field and use the menu to find the appropriate currency.
In the Cost Details section, leave the default as 1 hour. By selecting 1 hour, you have indicated that you pay the resource (i.e Kim Lee) US$17.50 per hour. Your cost page for the resource3 (i.e Kim Lee resource) should now look like the one in the following image (right column).

How to create a role

2008-11-27T09:42:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 1-How to create a role

How to create a role
How to assign a role to a resource
Related links

How to create a role

Introduction

Roles define a set of capabilities that are necessary for performing tasks within your processes.

Businesses typically define roles to specify the capabilities that the resources responsible for certain tasks must have. For example, a Translator role might require a resource to be fluent in at least two languages; if a particular employee resource is fluent in English and French, that resource could be assigned the role of Translator. For Quickstart Finance, one employee acts as the lead for the team of loan officers. You will need to create that role so that you can assign it to one of your existing resources who meets the role requirements.

How to create a role

Add the following role:

Personnel
Team Lead

Step 1

In the Project Tree, right-click the Personnel resource catalog and click New > Role. A wizard opens.

Step 2

Ensure that the Personnel resource catalog is highlighted in the navigation tree of the New Role wizard.
In the Name of new role field, type the following name: Team Lead.
Leave the role color as the default. You will learn more about classifying elements by color when you create your process diagrams later in the tutorial. (For more information, see Adding colors in the help documentation.)
In the Description of new role field, type the following description: Leads loan team: prioritizes work, responds to questions, and provides guidance.
Click Finish. The Team Lead role opens in the Definition editor.

Step 3

Double-click the Team Lead role to display the Definition editor.
In the Qualifications pane, click the Add button. The Add Qualification window opens. The Qualification enables you to define a characteristic of a role. For example, if you require your team lead to have a certain amount of experience in the Loan Department, you can use Years of Experience as a qualification.

Step 4

Type the following name for the qualification: Years of Loan Experience.
Click OK.
The new qualification is added to the Qualification list.

Step 5

Click the Years of Loan Experience qualification that you have just added in order to select it.
From the Qualification Value Type drop-down listbox, select Integer. By selecting Integer, you are indicating that this value will be a number; for example "2", for two years of loan experience.
Click File > Save to save the Team Lead role

How to assign a role to a resource

Introduction

A role defines a set of capabilities or characteristics that a resource must possess.

How to assign a role to a resource

Enter the specified attribute values for the following resources:

Desktop Computer No. 27
Kim Lee

The following steps below describe in detail how this is done.

Step 1

In the Project Tree, double-click a resource (i.e Kim Lee resource). The resource opens in the Resource editor.
Click the Roles tab at the bottom of the Resource editor.
In the Roles pane, click the Add button. The Select Role Requirement window opens.

Step 2

In the Select Role Requirement window, select the Team Lead role and click OK. The Team Lead role is added to the Roles list for the resource (i.e Kim Lee resource).

Step 3

In the Qualification list, ensure that Years of Loan Experience is selected. In the Qualification value field, type 3. This value indicates the number of years of loan experience that the resource (i.i Kim Lee) has. The Roles page for the resource (i.e Kim Lee) should now look like the one in the following image on the right column.

How to add elements

2008-11-24T17:35:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

How to add elements

Related links

Project Tree view buttons and icons

Adding elements example

When you create a project, default elements (catalogs) are setup.

To add additional elements, do the following:

Right-click on the element (i.e Resources)
Select New > item??? (i.e Resource Catalog).

Elements that can be added

These are the elements that you can add. For example, if you right-click on Quickstart Finance, you can add the elements specified under the Project column.

Project Tree	Project	Business items

Processes	Resources	Organizations

Classifiers	Reports	Queries

Business services	Business service objects

Predefined elements

2008-11-18T21:47:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 1-Predefined modeling elements

Introduction
Predefined modeling elements
Predefined Reports
Predefined queries
Predefined resources /Organizations/Classifiers

Introduction

WebSphere Business Modeler provides some predefined elements that help you get started building your models. These predefined elements include reports and queries, resource definitions, organization definitions, business measure templates, and classifiers.

Predefined elements reside in a separate project: Predefined elements (WebSphere Business Modeler). This project is added to your workspace when you first start up the product. These elements cannot be modified or renamed, but they can be used as the basis for model elements in your own models.

Predefined modeling elements

Overview

Details

Predefined Reports

WebSphere® Business Modeler provides a variety of predefined reports that you can use to obtain, view, and share information from your models.

Predefined Documentation reports

Predefined Dynamic analysis reports

Predefined history report / static analysis report

Predefined queries

Use the predefined queries to extract and view information about the elements of your models. For example, you can view the details about all of the business items that you have defined in your project.

Predefined resources /Organizations/Classifiers

Start creating resources for a project based on the predefined resource definitions. Person and Staff represent individual resources that can be classified as primary work participants in an activity. The other predefined resources represent bulk resources that are secondary work aids in an activity. Use the predefined classifiers to categorize you tasks and process elements. Predefined classifiers have values that correspond to characteristics you may want to see at a glance, such as quality control, value added, and workflow.

How to create a project

2008-11-16T13:29:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial -How to create a project

Introduction
How to create a project
Start Process Modeling wizard method
Pop-up menu method
Related links

Introduction

A project is the top-level container in your Project Tree, and holds your various catalogs, resources, business items, organizations, and other modeling elements.

Before you can begin creating your resources and building your process model, you must first set up your project. You can choose how you want to organize your project, and the Project Tree will display the project structure that you impose. In a large company, you might want to set up a different project for the various divisions or departments that make up the company organization (remembering that you can only reuse resources and global elements that are in the same project).

You can create your project using either of the following methods:

Start Process Modeling wizard method
Pop-up menu method

Both methods will be described in detail. (See Using the Start Process Modeling wizard in the Getting started documentation for more details).

How to create a project

Start WBModeler

Start WBModeler
Enter the Workspace location
Click OK
The Welcome window is displayed (see below)

Close Welcome screen

Close the Welcome screen by clicking on X.
The Start Process Modeling window is displayed (see below).

Select method to use

Select which method to use:

Start Process Modeling wizard method
When you use the wizard, the tool sets up default catalogs in addition to the Predefined elements.
Pop-up menu method
When you use the pop-up menu method, only the Predefined elements is set up by the tooling.

Start Process Modeling wizard method

Step 1

Enter Project name (i.e Quickstart Finance)
Enter Process catalog name (i.e Processes)
Enter Business process name (Loan Application (As Is))
Click Next

Step 2

Enter Data catalog name (i.e Business items)
Check Create business item as required
Enter Business item name as required (i.e Application)
Click Next

Step 3

Select a look for your diagrams (BPMN style or Original style)
Select a layout (Swimlane layout or free-form layout)
Click Finish

Step 4

A new project is created and default catalogs have been setup. You can add additional catalogs as required.

Notice that Predefined modeling elements are also setup for you.

Pop-up menu method

Step 1

If you decide not to use the Start Process Modeling wizard, Business Modeler will only setup the Predefined modeling elements . You have to create the project yourself.

To create the project, right-click in the Project Tree and select New > Business Modeling Project.

Step 2

Enter a new project name (i.e Quickstart Finance
Enter a process catalog name or leave the default
Clear the Create process checkbox.
Click Next.

Step 3

Select a look for your diagrams (BPMN style or Original style)
Select a layout (Swimlane layout or free-form layout)
Click Finish

Step 4

The new Quickstart Finance project is created and displayed in the Project Tree. Your project should look like the one in the following image.

How to create a resource

2008-11-14T21:22:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1 Contact us...

How to create a resource

Related links

Creating a resource

Resources

Creating resources

Introduction

Objective

Add the following resources:

Computers
Desktop Computer No. 27
Personnel
Kim Lee

Before	After

Step 1 - Personnel

In the Project Tree, right-click the Personnel resource catalog and click New > Resource. A wizard opens.

Step 2 - Personnel

For the resource type, select the Individual radio button.
From the Associated resource definition drop-down list (Predefined elements project), select Staff.
In the Name of new resource field, type Kim Lee.

Remember that the name you enter must be unique within the Personnel resource catalog. If you had another Kim Lee on your staff, you would have to differentiate the two in some way (for example, by adding a middle initial to the second Kim Lee).
In the Description of new resource field, type Loan department personnel.
Click Finish.

Step 3 - Personnel

The new Kim Lee resource opens in the Resource editor. Note that the Resource editor shows the Costs tab by default. If you want to view the attributes that the resource has inherited from the resource definition (Staff), click the Attributes tab at the bottom of the Resource editor.

Step 1 - Desktop Computer

In the Project Tree, right-click the Desktop Computer resource definition that you created earlier in the tutorial and select New > Resource.

A wizard opens.

Step 2 - Desktop Computer

Notice that the resource type (Individual) and associated resource definition (Desktop Computer) values are filled based on the Desktop Computer resource definition.

In the Name of new resource field, type Desktop Computer No. 27.
In the Description of new resource field, type Loan department computer.
Click Finish. The Desktop Computer No. 27 resource opens in the Resource editor. To view the attributes that the resource has inherited from the Desktop Computer resource definition, click the Attributes tab at the bottom of the Resource editor.

Step 3 - Desktop Computer

The new Desktop Computer No. 27 resource opens in the Resource editor. Note that the Resource editor shows the Costs tab by default. If you want to view the attributes that the resource has inherited from the resource definition (Desktop Computer), click the Attributes tab at the bottom of the Resource editor.

How to add resource attributes

Related links

Adding attribute values to a resource

Introduction

Attribute values provide the unique characteristics of a specific resource.

The combination of attributes for a particular resource serves as a unique identifier for that resource.

Objective

Enter the specified attribute values for the following resources:

Desktop Computer No. 27
Kim Lee

The following steps below describe in detail how this is done.

Desktop Computer No. 27	Kim Lee

Step 1 - Desktop Computer No. 27

Double-click the resource (i.e Desktop Computer No. 27) to display the Resource editor

Click the Attributes tab at the bottom of the Resource editor.

For the first attribute, ID Number, click the First Value field. (Note that depending on your screen size and settings, you might have to scroll horizontally to see this column.)

Type the following identification number: 1027. Remember that because you designated this attribute's type as Integer in the resource definition, you can only enter numbers.

Press the Enter key to add the value to your resource.

In the WorkStation attribute row, click the First Value field.

Type the following location number: LD705. This is the work station in your loan office where Desktop Computer No. 27, with the ID number 1027, is located.

Step 2 - Kim Lee

Double-click the resource (i.e Kim Lee) to display the Resource editor

Click the Attributes tab at the bottom of the Resource editor.

For the first attribute, profile, click the First Value field and type the following value: Loans - Level 1.

For the employeeID attribute, click the First Value field and type the following value: loan1005.

For the lastName attribute, click the First Value field and type the following value: Lee.

For the firstName attribute, double-click the First Value field and type the following value: Kim.

Continue entering attribute values for as many of the remaining attributes as you want.

How to create a resource definition

2008-11-12T20:57:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

Quickstart tutorial 1-How to create a resource definition

How to create a resource definition
How to add attributes to a resource definition
Related links

How to create a resource definition

Introduction

Resource definitions provide common attributes for similar or related resources in your process models.

A resource definition is a set of similar characteristics shared by resources of the same type. For example, a Vehicle resource definition could be used to create resources such as Delivery Truck and Executive Auto.

Step 1

In the Project Tree, right-click Computers and select New > Resource Definition ()

Step 2

Select Resource type (i.e individual)
A computer is an individual resource type, as opposed to a bulk resource type such as power or water.
Enter Name of new resource definition (i.e Desktop Computer)
Assign color (leave the default selection)
Enter Description of new resource definition (i.e Computers used by Loan Department employees)
Click Finish. ()

Step 3

The Desktop Computer resource definition is added ()

How to add attributes to a resource definition

Introduction

Resource definition attributes are the characteristics that are common to all of the resources that you create using that definition.

Any number of resources can be created using a single resource definition, and each individual resource will share a common set of attributes that were defined in the resource definition.

For example, a Company Vehicle resource definition might have attributes such as Licence Number and Vehicle Type. Any resource created using the Company Vehicle resource definition, such as Delivery Truck No. 3 or Vice-President's Leased Auto, would inherit those same attributes.

The resource definition provides the basic set of characteristics for your resources so that you only have to create those attributes once, instead of creating them for every resource.

How to add attributes to a resource definition

Add the following attributes to the Deskstop Computer resource definition. ( )

ID Number (Integer)
WorkStation (Text)

The following steps below describe in detail how this is done.

Step 1 - Display definition editor

Double-click a resource definition (i.e Desktop Computer) to display the
Definition editor ()
In the Definition editor, click the Add button.

Step 2 - Change attribute name and type

Change the default attribute name and type as required.

To change the default attribute name, click on the Attribute and enter the required name (i.e ID Number) ()
To change the type, click on Text and then click on the Browse icon (). The Type Selection window appears (see below).

Step 3 - Set the type

Change the default attribute type as required ()

Select either Basic or Complex type
For the Basic type, click on the drop-down list and select a basic type (i.e Integer)

Step 4 - Confirm Operation

Click OK to confirm operation ()

Step 5 - Attribute defined

An attribute for the resource is defined ().

To define additional attributes, repeat Steps 1 to 4.

How to create a resource catalog

2008-11-09T21:18:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

How to create a resource catalog

Related links	Resource catalogs Resources Creating a resource catalog
Introduction	Resources represent the people, equipment, or material used to perform a project or a task. Examples of resources are Computer and Employee. A resource catalog is a container that holds resource definition templates, resource definitions, resources, roles and timetables. Resource catalogs are displayed in the Project Tree view. A resource catalog performs the function of a folder, allowing you to group a related set of resource definitions, resources, roles, and timetables that you create to represent the resources of an organization. Resource catalogs are used to store your resource definitions and resources. By default, each project contains a resources catalog called Resources.
Step 1 In the Project Tree, right-click Resources and select New > Resource Catalog Note that you can also add the following to Resources: Role Resource Definition Resource Timetable
Step 2 Enter name of new resource catalog (i.e Personnel). Click Finish Create another resource catalog (i.e Computers)
Step 3 Two resource catalogs were added to Resources: Computers Personnel

How to import a project

2008-11-07T09:02:00.001-08:00

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

How to import a project

Related links	Using import and export to share projects
Start WBModeler Start WBModeler Enter the Workspace location Click OK The Welcome window is displayed (see below)
Close Welcome screen Close the Welcome screen by clicking on X. The Start Process Modeling window is displayed (see below).
Close Start Process Modeling Window Since you are importing an existing project, you don't need to create a new one. Click Cancel.
No name project is created A no name project with pre-defined elements is created. You can now import a project.
No name project is created Right-click in the Project Tree pane and select Import.
Select type Select Websphere Business Modeler project (.mar, .zip). Click Next.
Browse for folder Click Browse
Select folder Select folder (i.e samples) Click OK.
Select Project Select project (i.e QuickstartFinance.mar) Click Finish
Project imported The project (i.e QuickstartFinance.mar) has been imported. The project and all its resources are setup.

Websphere Business Modeler 6.1 Tutorials

How to build the Quickstart Tutorial

Introduction

The Completed Project Tree

The Completed Loan Application process (As Is)

How to build the QuickstartFinance Project

Related links

How to run simulations

Introduction

How to run simulations

Related links

How to create process diagrams

Introduction

How to create process diagrams

How to create business items

Introduction

How to create business items

Related links

How to create resources

Introduction

How to create resources

Completed Resource Example

Related links

How to Model a to-be process

How to specify task attributes

Introduction

How to specify task attributes

How to associate a resource with a task

Introduction

How to associate a resource with a task

How to connect elements in the process diagram

How to associate a business item with a connection

How to add a simple decision to the process diagram

How to export analysis results

How to export analysis results

Introduction

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Related links

How to print analysis results

How to print analysis results

Introduction

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Related links

How to update task settings for simulations

Introduction

How to update task settings for simulations

Related links

How to update process settings for simulations

Introduction

How to update process settings for simulations

Related links

How to create additional simulation profiles

Introduction

How to create additional simulation profiles

Related links

How to update snapshot settings for simulations

Introduction

How to update snapshot settings for simulations

Related links

How to set simulation preferences

How to set simulation preferences

Introduction

How to set simulation preferences

Simulation preferences settings

Related links

Use WebSphere Business Modeler team support and publishing functi

Related links

Understand business process management concepts

Understand business process management concepts

What is a business process?

What is business process management?

Benefits of BPM

How to create a resource catalog

Introduction

How to create a resource catalog