> ### 6.15 Glossary

> Active - Refers to the functional state of processes and activities. An active process is one that contains active activities. An active activity is awaiting a human response.

> Activity - The description of a task, logical step, or work to be performed in a process. An activity that has been assigned and waits to be addressed by one of the assignees is a work item.

> Activity List - The list of activities that is displayed in the Organizer. The list may be filtered so that all activities are displayed, just your activities are displayed, uncompleted activities are displayed, completed activities are displayed, etc. The list of active activities is also known as a worklist in WfMC terminology.

> Activity Node - A graphical representation of an activity.

> Activity Time - the time it takes to perform a particular activity. It is used by Interstage BPM Analytics to determine the time spent on activities. The activity time must be properly recorded, so it can be entered into the Analytics database. Interstage BPM Analytics can then take it into account.

> Actor - The person who performs an activity.

> Agents - components that asynchronously access systems external to Interstage BPM

> AND Node - A process flow control node, which forces activities to be synchronized. It is denoted by an x-shaped symbol.

> API (application programming interface) - The functions and variables that programmers may use in their own customized applications to access the workflow engine.

> Arrow - The connector between activities.

> Assignee - The person(s) assigned to perform an activity.

> Attachment - A document file generated by any application, which has been associated with a process.

> Attributes - objects or data associated with an Interstage BPM process. Attributes are defined in the process definition. They can be standard attributes like name, description, creation date, etc. or user-defined attributes (UDAs) like name, address, city, etc. The UDAs are the process data.

> BPM Console - The user interface that allows a user to start new processes, access and respond to work items, and edit or view process definitions and process instances.

> BPR (business process reengineering) - The field of study which concentrates on how work may be redefined in terms of processes.

> Conditional Node - A process flow control node, that directs the process flow along one of two (or more) paths, depending on a specified criterion; denoted by a diamond-shaped symbol.

> Current Activity - An activity that awaits a response from its assignee(s).

> Current Vote Count - applies only to the Voting Activity Node. It is the number of votes a particular choice has received so far. name of function: currentVoteCount

> Data Item - A user-defined attribute (UDA) of a process that may be used on a form.

> BPM Console - The user interface that allows a user to create plan process definitions, instantiate processes, and access and respond to work items.

> Directory Services (DS) - repository for all the network's authentication and configuration data. Provides access to services, file servers, databases, and other applications. User and application access to the repository is controlled. The DS adapter is the communication link between the DS and Interstage BPM. Document Management System - a system used to store and manage attachments, forms, and process definitions

> Document Management System (DMS) - the system integrated with Interstage BPM which is used to store attachments, forms, and process definitions. The DMS adapter is the communication link between the DMS and Interstage BPM.

> E-mail Notification - an e-mail message sent to work item assignees notifying them that they have been assigned a work item. The notification message includes a hyperlink that when clicked, starts the BPM Console, so that the assignee can log directly in to the work item.

> E-mail Work Item - The user interface, which allows a user to respond to work items.

> Exit Node - A node which identifies the end of a process; a process may have more than one Exit Node.

> Form - A field-based document which may be associated with an activity, process instance, or process definition; forms must be created using Interstage BPM, but their appearance can be modified using any HTML editing tool.

> Groups - Sets of individuals who typically share common characteristics; groups are defined in the Directory Service.

> Groupware - A type of software, which facilitates collaboration.

> Interstage BPM - Fujitsu Computer Systems Corporation's Java Based Workflow Management System. It creates and manages workflows with an easy to use graphical representation in its BPM Console. This Client represents process definitions, process instances, and work items in this graphical format that allows you to process activities and manipulate processes with the click of a mouse and no coding required. It has a powerful workflow engine and a modeling component access to which is gained through its Model API.

> Initiator - The person who begins a new process, as specified in the Process Properties dialog.

> Modal Dialog Box - a dialog box which when displayed will not allow the user to interact with the rest of the application until the dialog box is closed. Dialog boxes that allow the user to continue interacting with the application are called "modeless".

> Naming Service - a service that allows clients to find objects based on names.

> New Process - The user interface, which allows a user to start new processes.

> Node - A graphical representation of a component of a process. Types of nodes include activity, AND, OR, conditional, and Exit Node.

> Number Of Assignees - applies only to the Voting Activity Node. It is original number of assignees for that activity instance. Calculated by role resolution. Does not change during the voting process. name of function: numberOfAssignees

> Number of Votes Polled - applies only to the Voting Activity Node. It is number of assignees that have voted so far. name of function: numVotesPolled

> Object Request Broker - provides the mechanism for transparently communicating client requests to target object implementations

> Open Activity - See "Current Activity".

> OR Node - A process flow control node, which continues process flow as soon as it is reached. It is denoted by a plus-shaped symbol.

> Owner - see Process Owner.

> Pane - section of a dialog box or window frame that displays when you click the tab that corresponds to the pane. For example, a process definition list displays when you click the Process Definition tab in the Organizer Pane.

> Participants - The persons involved in a process.

> Plan - see Process Definition

> Process - A sequence of steps, which accomplishes a desired goal when completed. (Workflow Management Coalition term - Process Instance)

> Process Definition - The representation of a business process in a form that supports automated manipulation, such as modeling, or enactment by Interstage BPM. The process definition consists of a network of activities and their relationships, criteria to indicate the start and end of the process, and information about the individual activities, such as participants and data, etc. (Workflow Management Coalition term - Process Definition).

> Process Definition Owner - the person who created (or last edited) the process definition

> Process History - The history of a process; this includes date and time that events took place and by whom the event was initiated.

> Process Initiator - See initiator

> Process Owner - By default, the owner of a process is the owner of the process definition from which the process was created. This property can be changed by specifying an owner name in the process definition, or by using the setProcessOwner script or JavaActions at run time. With the default Server settings, the process owner, an accepted assignee, or an administrator can edit a running process. In Security Mode (SecuritySwitch=true), only the process owner can edit the process.

> Process Participant - See "participants".

> Process Template - A process definition that is used as a pattern or template for another process definition.

> Process Template Library - A set of pre-built process templates provided by Interstage BPM that demonstrate much of the Interstage BPM functionality.

> Reports - detailed display of Interstage BPM-related data. There are two different types of reports used by Interstage BPM. There is the type of report associated with the BPM Console, and then there is the type of report created for use with Interstage BPM Analytics.

> Role - The name of a person or group (for example, the Manager Role). Each task (activity) in a process is assigned to a Role for completion. Roles are equivalent to groups, as defined in the Directory Service.

> Rules - methods used to determine choices on activities for which the Rules are defined

> Start Node - A node which identifies the start of a process; every process has one-and only one-Start Node.

> Target Area - a frame in the BPM Console's Design Tool that displays either process instances or process definitions in a graphical view. If you click the Edit or View button of a process, that process is displayed. If you click the Edit or View button of a process definition, that process definition is displayed. Using the Design Tool, you can view or modify process instance/process definition characteristics.

> Task - An activity in a process; it typically requires a human decision to be made.

> Template - See Process Template.

> Threshold - applies only to the Voting Activity Node. It is the criteria for the voting rule to be satisfied, so the voting activity can be completed. It is the number specified in the voting rule. The threshold can be specified as a majority, a percentage, or a specific number of "votes" e.g.: more than half of the total, 50%, or 4 votes. name of function: threshold

> Thumbnail - A miniature graphical representation of a process.

> To-Do List - The same as Activity List.

> User Profile - configuration information that you may set for yourself. This includes information such as whether you wish to receive e-mail notifications, your e-mail address, and your default directory

> User-Defined Attribute - See "Data Item".

> Voter Pool Size - applies only to the Voting Activity Node. It is the number of assignees minus assignees who declined minus assignees. Includes the assignees that have not voted yet. This number is used as a denominator when calculating a percentage or majority. name of function: voterPoolSize

> Voting - a feature of Voting activity nodes that allows several assignees to act on an activity in collaboration with one another.

> Voting Completion - applies only to the Voting Activity Node. It is the close of voting. name of function: votingCompletion

> Voting Rules - the special rules used on a Voting Activity Node to determine the outcome of the vote.

> Winning Choice - applies only to the Voting Activity Node. It is the point in the process immediately after the Voting Activity node where process execution continues. This choice is decided by the votes of the voting activity participants. name of function: winningChoice

> Work Item - Any activity that waits to be addressed.

> Workflow - The sequence of activities within a business process.

> Workflow Management System - The combination of components required to perform workflow management. This includes software (tools, data bases, development environment) and hardware (client and server platforms).

> Workflow Server - The component of the workflow management system installed on the Server. The server is the workflow engine, which provides the run-time environment for a process.

> Index

> Unless otherwise indicated, entries pertaining to the user interface apply to the BPM Console only.

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