BPMN Workflow Modelling

With the latest Update of Imixs-Workflow the Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN) can be used in various ways to describe business processes executable on the Imixs-Workflow engine. Imixs-BPMN is a flexible and open source modelling tool based on the Eclipse BPMN modelling framework. The modelling tool provides a very flexible approach to describe business process models and workflows within the BPMN 2.0 standard. One of the great advantages of Imixs-BPMN is the flowing transition between business and technical models. In difference to pure technical modelling tools a BPMN workflow model can be combined with more formale elements without technical restrictions.

bpmn_startevent_example

The BPMN Parser included in Imixs-Workflow analyses and interprets the various aspects of this form of modeling. As a result a business workflow can be described in various ways corresponding to the individual requirements of the business.

Read more about Imxis-BPMN on the project site.

Imixs-BPMN 1.0.0 finally released

With the latest version of Imixs-BPMN the Imixs GmbH provides now a free BPMN modeling tool for modeling workflows according to the BPMN 2.0 standard.

bpmn-screen_001
Imixs BPMN

 

Using the BPMN 2.0 standard, business processes can be documented even faster and more clearly. BPMN provides an easy notation also to discuss complex business processes together with all participants involved in the process.

With Imixs-BPMN these processes can now be executed directly in a professional workflow management solution. Complex business processes and changing business models can be managed with Imixs-BPMN in a flexible and transparent way.

With the combination of Imixs-BPMN and the open source solution Imixs-Workflow, all types of workflows can be easily modeled and executed in a robust and scalable workflow management software. Also existing BPMN models can be enhanced with the capabilities of a wokflow management solution. Imixs-BPMN extends the Eclipse BPMN2 Modeling Framework which provides a powerful modelling solution based on the Eclipse platform.

The Imixs Software Solutions GmbH located in Munich has specialized in the development of professional business process management solutions and supports companies implementing their custom business processes. Due to the consistent focus on open source, Imixs-Workflow provides a clear cost advantage. No license or update costs incurred in the use of this solution. With its service concept, the Imixs GmbH offers a transparent business model which combines the advantages of a modern software platform with a professional consulting concept.

Read more about Imixs-BPMN at: http://www.imixs.org/modeler/

Imixs announces new BPMN 2.0 Modeling tool!

The Imixs-Workflow project has started a new modelling tool which will be 100% compatible with the BPMN 2.0 standard. The new modeler tool will be based on the Eclipse BPMN2 Modelling Framework and extends the BPMN 2.0 standard with the aspects of a human based workflow model executable on the Imixs-Workflow Engine.

Imixs-BPMN will be open source and takes the full advantage of all the capabilities of the BPMN standard and complements them with the features of a powerful workflow engine.

You can follow the project on GitHub.

Imixs-Workflow 3.2.0 finally released!

The latest version of Imixs-Workflow 3.2.0 is now finally released. The new release of the Open Source Workflow Engine includes several improvements and also bugfixes.

Ajax File Upload

With the new implementation of the Imixs-Workflow FileUpload we provide a new Upload widget based on JQuery. With this new component we support drag and drop and a new preview mode for attachments.

DataController – BlobWorkitems 

The JSF DataController bean was improved by managing BlobWorkitems. The save method was removed and transferred into the Backend Service EJB layer. This improves the backend services in complex transnational UI scenarios.

ViewController – WorklistController

The View and Workflist Controller beans were improved and simplified in usage. Extending these components is now much more easy and comfortable for developers.

MailPlugin

The MailPlugin was improved by server new convenience methods which makes it easier to extend the behavior of this Plugin for custom workflow applications. Also the MailPlugin now supports usage in different application server environments like GlassFish ore WildFly /JBoss.

TinyMCE

The TinyMCE Editor component – provided by the Imixs-Workflow Web-Tools – now supports a custom css concept which allows to customize the layout of this component is several way.

Find more on GitHub.

The new release 3.2.0 will also be the common base release for the next release of the Imixs-Office-Workflow Project.

Version 3.1.7 of Imixs Workflow released

We finally released the new version 3.1.7 of Imixs WorkflowThe new release includes a lot of improvements and some minor bug fixes. New features included in the new version are:

  • Workflow REST API support for JPQL Expressions
  • Improved REST API for POST methods
  • A new Test Suite to simulate workflows from the REST client
  • Support of country specific date format in wokflow history and E-Mail notifications
  • New functionality for performance analyse of the EntityService
  • A new CRUD operation for saving workitems in isolated transactions

The new version is available on GitHub.

Read more about Imixs Workflow on http://www.imixs.org

How to test business logic

Testing the business logic of an enterprise application is mostly a little be tricky. In different to simple UI tests which can be performed with typical test-frameworks like HtmlUnit or Selenium, testing the business logic from the view of multiple test users can get very complicated very quickly. For example, if you test several steps in a comprehensive workflow for different users, you need to test if these users are allowed to perform specific tasks in the workflow. In such a scenario you need a group of test users to verify the different situations of access levels and you need to login and logout these users several times during your test case.

With the new release of Imixs Workflow the open source project provides now a powerful test framework which can be easily used in a JUnit Test. The Framework makes use of the Imixs REST API and simplifies the way to test complex workflow scenarios. To build your test case can setup a new WorkflowTestSuite and register a list of users which will be affected from the test case:

@Before
 public void setup() {
 testSuite = WorkflowTestSuite.getInstance();
 testSuite.setHost("http://localhost:8080/minutes-rest/");
 testSuite.joinParty("admin", "password");
 testSuite.joinParty("anna", "password");
 testSuite.joinParty("ronny", "password");
 testSuite.joinParty("eddy", "password");
 testSuite.joinParty("Anonymous", null);
 }

With this setup you can now easily test different scenarios and also create a new process instance or process specific workflow steps.

The following example shows how to test if a user currently has more than one task in his task list:

@Test
 public void worklistTest() throws Exception {
   Assert.assertNotNull(testSuite.getClient("anna"));
   List<ItemCollection> result = testSuite.getWorklist("anna");
   Assert.assertTrue(result.size() > 1);
}

Also the creation and the processing of a single workitem can be performed easily:

@Test
 public void processWorkitemTest() throws Exception {
   ItemCollection workitem=new ItemCollection();
    workitem.replaceItemValue("type", "profile");
    workitem.replaceItemValue("$ModelVersion", "1.0.1"); 
    workitem.replaceItemValue("$processid", 200);
    workitem.replaceItemValue("$activityid", 10);
    workitem.replaceItemValue("txtName","some test");
    workitem=testSuite.processWorkitem(workitem, "anna");
    Assert.assertNotNull(workitem);
    String uid= workitem.getItemValueString("$UniqueID");
    WorkflowTestSuite.log(Level.INFO,"UID=" +uid);
    Assert.assertFalse(uid.isEmpty());
 }

The important aspect of the WorkflowTestSuite is, that each test will be performed through the REST API of the Imxis Workflow Engine. So the test framework guaranties that during a test case the user will be authenticated against the back-end and the specific access level of each users joining the test case can be tested. This simplifies the way to test complex workflows and will improve your enterprise software development.

The Imixs WorkflowTestSuite is part of the upcoming release 3.1.7 of Imxis Workflow. Read more details here.

New Workflow Engine 3.1.6 released

Today we released our latest version 3.1.6 of the Imixs workflow engine. Imixs Workflow is a java framework for a human and adaptive process management. These kinds of software frameworks are typically used for business applications with flexible interactive user interfaces. Examples of these are approval workflows or  workflows in project management software.

The Imixs Workflow Engine is based on the Java Enterprise Specification JEE and provides a transactional and scalable BPM engine with an easy to use modelling tool.

The new release includes different improvements and bug fixes. A major change included in this release is the new project structure. The project is based on Maven and all submodules ‘core’, ‘engine’, ‘web-tools’ and ‘rest-api’ are now managed in a maven multi-module structure. This simplifies the integration and will lead to more and shorter release cycles. According to the new release the Imixs Workflow project has been migrated from Oracles Java.net platform to GitHub. This is an important step towards a more simplified access for developers and IT companies.

Read more on http://www.imixs.org

Imixs migrates to GitHub

We have now started the migration of the Imixs Workflow sources from Subversion to Git. In the past all sources of the Imixs Workflow Project were available on java.net. But now we started the migration to GitHub. This will make it easier for the community to join the project.

In addition we also plan to reorganize the Maven Project structure from a single project structure to a multi-module structure. The reasons for this step are a new deployment plan for the maven artifacts. With the multi-module structure we can simultaneity release all parts of Imixs Workflow. This was also made in the past. But with the new structure we can simplify the maven release process.

Join us on GitHub!

Imixs Workflow 3.1.4 Released

With the latest version of the Open Source Workflow Engine Imixs Workflow the project published a stable and scalable framework for the Java Enterprise architecture. The new release includes several bug fixes and provides new features and functionality.
With the new Business-Rule Plug-in it is now possible to add custom business rules into a workflow model. Business rules can extend the capabilities of a business process in various kinds. Imixs Workflow allows to write a business rule in any script language – like JavaScript Groovy Scala, JRuby, or Clojure.

In addition, the new version of Imixs Workflow is now offering a new calendar based version of the Imixs Workflow Scheduler. With this module, workflows can be triggered time-controlled. A new configuration interface allows to provide timer events in a calendar based format. This method is already known from the chron-jobs of Linux and provides a more flexible way to control event based business processes.
Addition to various minor improvements the exception handling has been extended and adapted. This now allows to implement business processes faster and adapt business logic more flexible way.
Read more on http://www.imixs.org

RELEASE 3.1.2 NOW AVAILABLE

Today we deployed the next release 3.1.2. This release includes bug fixes concerning the follow-up issue from the WorkflowKernel. In addition the WorkflowKernel now supports also a new feature to unregister plug-ins. The ItemCollection supports additional type-save getter methods and provides additional type check methods. This makes the ItemCollection more flexible to use when converting property types.

See the change log for more details: Imixs Change Log