Abstract:
At least one model synchronization map table is built that facilitates navigation between elements of business objects of a business object model and corresponding elements of an extensible markup language (XML) schema definition-based (XSD-based) model. The XSD-based model includes at least one XML schema and is generated from the business object model. The business object model and the XSD-based model are displayed in a dual-view editor. The dual-view editor enables a user to toggle between and independently edit the business object model and the XSD-based model. In response to independent edits made to one of the XSD-based model and the business object model within the dual-view editor, the elements of the business object model are automatically synchronized with the corresponding elements of the XSD-based model using the at least one model synchronization map table.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     This invention relates to apparatus and methods for implementing a business process map editor for business analysts. 
     Modern business processes are often quite complex, which can make change difficult. Nevertheless, to maintain profitability and competiveness in today&#39;s marketplace, businesses need to be able to change quickly to take advantage of market opportunities, innovations, expansions, acquisitions, and partnerships with other businesses. To achieve such change, businesses need to have a comprehensive understanding of their internal business structures, including their internal business processes, rules, data, and transformations. This need for understanding is driving the growth of technologies such as business process modeling (BPM). 
     Business process modeling (BPM) generally refers to the activity of representing the processes of a business so that the processes can be analyzed and improved. BPM is typically performed by business analysts and managers who are seeking to improve process efficiency and quality. The process improvements identified by BPM may or may not require the involvement of information technology (IT), although this is often the impetus for modeling a business process. 
     To perform BPM within an organization, various tools have been developed. For example, the Websphere Business Modeler map editor provides a tool for business analysts to define transforms that map input data into output data. The Websphere Business Modeler map editor version 6.2 and older provides a simple map editor with very few functions. These functions are typically inadequate and limit business users from creating more complex mappings. 
     In view of the foregoing, what is needed is a BPM map editor that provides a richer set of functions for mapping input data into output data. Ideally, such a map editor would be able to leverage the functionality already present in IT-based mapping tools which allow more complex mappings to be defined. This would also minimize the duplication of effort associated with developing business-analyst-based tools and IT-based tools separately. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     The invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art and, in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available systems and methods. Accordingly, the invention has been developed to provide systems and methods for implementing feature-rich BPM map editors for business analysts. The features and advantages of the invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter. 
     Consistent with the foregoing, a method for implementing a map editor for business analysts is disclosed herein. In one embodiment, such a method includes receiving a business object model including at least one business object. The business object model is transformed into an XSD-based model including at least one XML schema. The XSD-based model is then fed into an XML mapping infrastructure for model map processing. After processing, the XSD-based model is transformed into a resulting business object model. The resulting business object model may then be displayed for use by a business analyst. 
     A corresponding computer program product and system are also disclosed and claimed herein. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In order that the advantages of the invention will be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a high-level block diagram showing one example of a computer system to implement an improved map editor in accordance with the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a high-level block diagram showing various components of a map editor in accordance with the invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing a transformation between a BOM business object and an XML schema; 
         FIG. 4  is pseudo code showing possible operation of a map table builder in accordance with the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a high-level block diagram showing the operation of the synchronization engine; 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram showing one embodiment of a dual-view editor displaying a business object model; and 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram showing one embodiment of a dual-view editor displaying an XSD-based model. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     It will be readily understood that the components of the present invention, as generally described and illustrated in the Figures herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the invention, as represented in the Figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as claimed, but is merely representative of certain examples of presently contemplated embodiments in accordance with the invention. The presently described embodiments will be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout. 
     As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present invention may be embodied as an apparatus, system, method, or computer program product. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a hardware embodiment, a software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.) configured to operate hardware, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “module” or “system.” Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer-usable storage medium embodied in any tangible medium of expression having computer-usable program code stored therein. 
     Any combination of one or more computer-usable or computer-readable storage medium(s) may be utilized to store the computer program product. The computer-usable or computer-readable storage medium may be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable storage medium may include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM), an optical storage device, or a magnetic storage device. In the context of this document, a computer-usable or computer-readable storage medium may be any medium that can contain, store, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     Computer program code for carrying out operations of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object-oriented programming language such as Java™, Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. Computer program code for implementing the invention may also be written in a low-level programming language such as assembly language. 
     The present invention may be described below with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus, systems, and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, may be implemented by computer program instructions or code. The computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , one example of a computer system  100  is illustrated. The computer system  100  is presented to show one example of an environment where an improved map editor in accordance with the invention may be implemented. The computer system  100  is presented only by way of example and is not intended to be limiting. Indeed, the map editor disclosed herein may be implemented on a wide variety of different computer systems in addition to the computer system  100  shown. The map editor disclosed herein may also potentially be distributed across multiple computer systems  100 . 
     The computer system  100  includes at least one processor  102  and may include more than one processor. The processor  102  includes one or more registers  104  storing data describing the state of the processor and facilitating execution of software systems. The registers  104  may be internal to the processor  102  or may be stored in a memory  106 . The memory  106  stores operational and executable data that is operated upon by the processor  102 . The memory  106  may be accessed by the processor  102  by means of a memory controller  108 . The memory  106  may include volatile memory (e.g., RAM) as well as non-volatile memory (e.g., ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, hard disks, flash memory, etc.). 
     The processor  102  may be coupled to additional devices supporting execution of software and interaction with users. For example, the processor  102  may be coupled to one or more input devices  110 , such as a mouse, keyboard, touch screen, microphone, or the like. The processor  102  may also be coupled to one or more output devices such as a display device  112 , speaker, or the like. The processor  102  may communicate with one or more other computer systems by means of a network  114 , such as a LAN, WAN, or the Internet. Communication over the network  114  may be facilitated by a network adapter  116 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a high-level block diagram showing one example of a system  200  for implementing a map editor is illustrated. As previously mentioned, some business-analyst tools, such as Websphere Business Modeler map editor version 6.2 and older, provide simple map editors with very few functions. These functions are typically inadequate and limit business users from creating more complex mappings. On the other hand, various IT-based tools, such as the XML map editor from Websphere Integration Developer, are complex tools that provide a much richer set of functions for mapping input data into output data. The XML map editor from Websphere Integration Developer in particular includes an underlying XML mapping infrastructure that enables developers to extend and reuse functionalities for mapping. 
     The systems and methods disclosed herein use an XML mapping infrastructure, such as that used in Websphere Integration Developer or another XML mapping product, to produce a map editor suitable for business analysts. This provides several potential advantages: First, the map editor may inherit a much richer set of functions provided by the XML mapping infrastructure. This in turn enables more complex mappings to be defined. Second, using the same underlying XML mapping infrastructure to implement both a business-analyst tool and an IT-based tool may avoid duplication and reduce production costs for both tools. 
     The problems associated with using an XML mapping infrastructure to implement a map editor for business analysts, which are solved by the present disclosure, include: First, the XML mapping infrastructure presents input and output data in an undesirable format. In particular, the XML mapping infrastructure is an IT-based tool that presents data in the form of XML schemas (XSDs). These XML schemas may be inappropriate for business-oriented users as they may contain unfamiliar terminology and formatting. To overcome this problem, a processor is provided to convert XML schemas into a format that is more appropriate for business analysts. The details of this processor will be described in more detail hereafter. Second, the XML mapping infrastructure only accepts inputs and outputs described in terms of XML schemas. A business-analyst tool, on the other hand, needs to operate on business objects, such as those conforming to the Business Object Model (BOM model)—an IBM proprietary format. To utilize the XML mapping infrastructure, these business objects are converted into XML schemas. Although converting artifacts from one form to another can create undesirable performance impacts, various mechanisms may be employed to minimize these impacts. These mechanisms will be discussed in more detail hereafter. 
       FIG. 2  shows one embodiment of a system  200  for implementing a map editor in accordance with the invention. As shown, a map editor  204  interfaces with an XML mapping infrastructure  202  and a BO-XSD processor  210  to convert artifacts from one form to another. In operation, when an input or output business object is added to a business process model, the XML mapping infrastructure  202  delegates the task to the map editor  204  to locate and load the corresponding XML schema (XSD) for that input or output. Given the business object (BO)  206 , the map editor  204  requests a corresponding XML schema  208  from the BO-XSD processor  210 . The XML schema  208  is then returned back to the XML mapping infrastructure  202  for further map model processing. For presentation, the XML mapping infrastructure  202  again requests data from the map editor  204  for displaying labels and icons that are appropriate for a business analyst. More specifically, given an XML schema  208 , the map editor  204  retrieves the corresponding business object  206  from the processor  210 . The map editor  204  then returns the appropriate data back to the XML mapping infrastructure  202  for display. 
     In selected embodiments, the BO-XSD processor  210  includes four main components: a BO-XSD transformer  212 , a BO-XSD map table builder  214 , a global registry  216 , and a synchronization engine  218 . The BO-XSD transformer  212  is configured to transform business objects  206  into XML schemas  208  and vice versa.  FIG. 3  shows one example of a transformation between a business object  206  and an XML schema  208 . As shown, the business object  206  may include elements  300  that are easy to read and understand for typical business analysts, who may not have a background in programming or information technology. The XML schema  208 , on the other hand, may be tailored to the programmer or IT professional. For example the schema name (i.e., Customersemailaddress) and element names  302  (i.e., “Customersname,” “Customersage,” etc.) are not as readable and the business analyst may be unfamiliar with data types such as “string.” The BO-XSD transformer  212  processes the result of the transformation by identifying and mapping each generated element in the schema to each corresponding element in the business object. The result is then cached and passed on to the BO-XSD map table builder  214 . 
     Using the cached information received from the BO-XSD transformer  212 , the BO-XSD map table builder  214  recursively builds map tables that enable navigation between elements in the business object and corresponding elements in the XML schema.  FIG. 4  shows one embodiment of an algorithm (written in pseudocode) for building such a map table. In general, the algorithm walks through each element in a business object (referred to as a “business item” in the pseudocode) and finds the corresponding element in the XML schema generated by the BO-XSD transformer  212 . The algorithm stores the relationship between the elements in a mapping table. The algorithm continues this process for each element in the business object until all corresponding relationships are found. Among other benefits, this mapping allows a user to easily toggle between a business object model and a corresponding XSD-based model, as will be explained in more detail in association with  FIGS. 6 and 7 . 
     The map tables produced by the map table builder  214  may be stored in a global registry  216 , acting as a cache, maintained by the BO-XSD processor  210 . When the processor  210  receives a request from the map editor  204  for an XML schema  208  associated with a business object, the processor  210  may initially check the global registry  216  for an existing XML schema  208 . If the desired XML schema  208  is found, the processor  210  will return the XML schema  208  instead of invoking the BO-XSD transformer  212  to build a new one. This improves the performance of the map editor  204  and reduces the need to convert artifacts from one form to another. 
     In selected embodiments, the XML schemas stored in the global registry  216  are accessible by multiple map editors  204 , each of which may include different maps referencing the same business object. In such embodiments, the processor  210  may keep track of which editors  204  are currently referencing the same business object and thus the same XML schema in the global registry  216 . If no editor  204  references a particular XML schema in the global registry  216 , the processor  210  may deregister the XML schema (e.g., delete the XML schema) to free up memory. In other embodiments, the processor  210  retains the XML schema in the global registry  216  for a specified amount of time after it is no longer referenced by any editor  204 , or the processor  210  waits for specific instructions to deregister the XML schema. 
     In selected embodiments, the generated XML schemas and mapping information are used not only by the map editor  204 , but also by a simulation framework (not shown). The simulation framework may use the mapping information from the BO-XSD map table builder  214  to populate data in XML documents generated from the XML schemas. To perform a simulation, a simulation global registry (not shown) containing the populated XML documents may be created. In certain embodiments, the simulation global registry is cleaned up after the simulation is performed. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , as mentioned above, the BO-XSD processor  210  may also include a synchronization engine  218  to keep business objects and corresponding XML schemas synchronized. When modeling a business process in the map editor  204 , a business object may be modified at any time. The synchronization engine  218  ensures that the XML schemas in the global registry  216  are up-to-date and in sync with the corresponding business objects. In selected embodiments, the XML schemas are updated incrementally to improve performance. Such incremental updates may only update the parts of the XML schema that are affected by changes to a business object, as opposed to regenerating the XML schema in its entirety. In other embodiments, an XML schema is regenerated in its entirety each time any part of a corresponding business object changes, or if enough of the corresponding business object has changed to warrant a complete regeneration. 
     In selected embodiments, the synchronization engine  218  is registered as an adapter of a business object model. This will enable the synchronization engine  218  to be notified whenever a business object in the business object model changes (as indicated by the arrow  400 ). Upon detecting such a change, the synchronization engine  218  may determine whether a full or incremental update is needed for the corresponding XML schema. The synchronization engine  218  may then invoke the BO-XSD transformer  212  to make the change to the corresponding XML schema (as indicated by the arrow  402 ) and update the global registry  216  to reflect the change (as indicated by the arrow  404 ). The synchronization engine  218  may also notify the map editor  204  of the change (as indicated by the arrow  406 ) so that the editor  204  can refresh the presentation of the business object and other parts of the business model that may have changed. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , in selected embodiments, the operation of the BO-XSD processor  210  enables the creation of a dual-view editor  600 . This dual-view editor  600  may enable a user to toggle between a view of the business object model and the XSD-based model.  FIG. 6  shows one example of the dual-view editor  600  displaying a business object model. This view would be appropriate for non-technical business users.  FIG. 7  shows one example of the dual-view editor  600  displaying an XSD-based model associated with the business object model. This view would be appropriate for technical personnel, such as IT professionals or advanced users. A button  602  may be provided in either view to allow a user to toggle between the different views. 
     In selected embodiments, the dual-view editor  600  allows editing of either the business object model or the XSD-based model in their respective views. When changes are made to the business object model, the BO-XSD processor  210  makes corresponding changes to the XSD-based model. Similarly, when changes are made to the XSD-based model, the BO-XSD processor  210  makes corresponding changes to the business object model. In this way, the BO-XSD processor  210  keeps the two models synchronized. 
     To view the business object model in the map editor  204 , the map editor  204  may retrieve the corresponding business object for each XML schema in the model from the BO-XSD processor  210 . Using the returned business objects, the map editor  204  may then display the data and labels that are appropriate for business users. To view the XML schema model in the map editor  204 , the editor  204  is effectively turned into an XML map editor  204 . In such a case, the editor  204  delegates the displaying task back to XML mapping infrastructure  202 . 
     The blocks illustrated in  FIGS. 1, 2, and 5  may be implemented in the form of one or more modules. Such modules may be implemented in hardware, software or firmware executable on hardware, or a combination thereof. The modules are presented only by way of example and are not intended to be limiting. Indeed, alternative embodiments may include more or fewer modules than those illustrated. It should also be recognized that, in some embodiments, the functionality of some modules may be broken into multiple modules or, conversely, the functionality of several modules may be combined into a single module or fewer modules. It should also be recognized that the modules are not necessarily implemented in the locations where they are illustrated. For example, some functionality shown in the BO-XSD processor  210  may be implemented in other locations or as stand-alone modules. Thus, the location of the modules is presented only by way of example and is not intended to be limiting. 
     The flowcharts and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer-usable media according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowcharts or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. Some blocks may be deleted or other blocks may be added depending on the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.