Usage of XML in Workflow Management Systems (WMS)
Introduction
XML
can be extensively used in WMS. WMS
architecture is designed to take advantage of XML and typically contains the
following layers
- Client/UI Layer
- Rules Engine
- Workflow Engine
- Business Logic Layer
- Database Layer
XML
is used end-to-end in all the layers of WMS.
XML usage in WMS components
Some
of the typical areas where XML is used in WMS include
WMS Definition- WMS process definition details
- Process rules/Business logic
- Third party software interaction definitions and data exchange definitions
Data interchange between layers
- Data exchange between UI layer and Business logic layer
- Data exchange between various components of the workflow engine
End user
application
Once
the Business analyst specifies the process and defines the rules of business, WMS
automatically generates the client application for the end user. This
minimizes/eliminates the requirement for custom development of application for
each business process flow.
This
generation of application and administration of application to the end user is
possible through extensive usage of XML. WMS handles multiple business process
flows and multiple versions of the same business process. This was made
possible only through usage of XML for handling business logic data and
transaction data.
The
application is designed in such a manner to be dynamic enough to metamorphosis
itself to handle different business processes that were defined in WMS.
Interaction with
other Software systems
In
the total enterprise scenario, we understand that disparate systems need to
co-exist in an organization. For these systems to co-exist and provide comprehensive
benefits to the organization, they all need to interact and exchange data
between them. XML being a universal format facilitates this. WMS comes with a
Handoff tool that provides easy mapping of Business process related transaction
data to be exchanged with other applications using XML. Users can use the
intuitive user interface for mapping the data available in WMS with data
definitions of other systems. The data exchange can happen through Message
Queues and WEB APIs.
No
matter what the underneath DB is used in WMS to store transaction data, a
custom built component converts the transaction data into Hierarchical XML data
for processing by the WMS engine.
XML Related
technologies used in WMS
Some
of the XML related technologies used in WMS include XHTML, XML DOM, XSL, DTD,
SOAP.
Realized benefits
in WMS by using XML
The
following are some of the realized benefits
- Interchange of data between external applications and WMS with respect to business process definition, Business logic and transaction data
- Usage of XML schema has facilitated in generation of well-defined end user application automatically. Literally, there will be nil time in developing the end user application once the business analyst and UI designer has defined the business process and UI aesthetics.
- Performance of the entire system.
- Openness of the system was made possible through XML usage.
