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Interfaces |
Traditional BI (Business Intelligence) software focuses on current and historical data. The integration of SIMPROCESS assists your
organization in taking the next step by predicting the future - using the data you already have. On demand simulation brings a new dimension
of business performance measurements to traditional BAM, BPM and decision support solutions. The performance metrics are easily integrated
into executive dashboards for concise communication of key business metrics.
SIMPROCESS and Ensemble combine to offer real time and future performance measurements for CEOs and senior managers. SIMPROCESS extends the
BAM and BI capabilities of Ensemble to link the salient metrics to specific process activities. The inclusion of the simulation will allow
managers to not only see where their process are at today, but to predict future performance based on environmental or process changes.
SIMPROCESS uses the real time business performance detected by Ensemble and simulates business processes into the future to provide
predictions of whether the business will remain in control or not.
Ultimus BPM Suite - SIMPROCESS supports export to Ultimus business process management software. The interface provides the ability to move
quickly from validated business processing reengineering models to an initial Ultimus process design. Customers benefit from quicker
implementation of the automated solution which brings a faster implementation and reduced risk.
OptQuest automatically runs your SIMPROCESS model varying the values for the model parameters searching for optimum results within the
specified limits. OptQuest Engine uses metaheuristic, mathematical optimization and neural network components to guide the search for best
solutions to decision and planning problems of all types.
WorkPoint Business Process Management Suite (by ACI Worldwide) - SIMPROCESS exports to Workpoint business process management software
utilizing practical simulation technology to manage today's rapidly changing business environment. Before the interface, reengineering
business processes required data to be developed in a business modeling tool and then recreated in an automated process management system
like WorkPoint. Now SIMPROCESS data may be exported directly to WorkPoint for an initial workflow process design and clients no longer
incur the time and cost of manually inputting the SIMPROCESS data.
Rational Rose Extensibility Interface (REI) - SIMPROCESS supports a tightly integrated connection to Rational Rose through the Java Jacob
OLE/COM interface library. This interface allows seamless integration with Rational Use Cases and Object/Class models with SIMPROCESS to
extend the process model to a systems model.
ExpertFitTM Distribution Fitting Software
Automatically and accurately determines the best probability distribution for your data set in seconds. Distribution selection algorithm is
based on 24 years of research and on experimentation with 35,000 data sets.
Model FitTM
SIMPROCESS now includes the ability to automatically read data sources and fit distributions using Model Fit.
Interfaces
Standards - Currently Supported
- UML/XMI - SIMPROCESS currently provides export capability to UML Activity Diagram models.
- XML/XPDL Process Definition Language - SIMPROCESS currently supports import and export of XPDL.
- Dot Diagrams - Export creates a workflow file using the Dot language that presents a "flat" (non-hierarchical) view of the model.
A Dot compatible graph viewer is required to display.
- SOAP - Simple Object Access Protocol - SIMPROCESS currently support web services interaction through SOAP
calls. This provides the capability for SIMPROCESS to interact with any web services that supports SOAP. It is also the mechanism in which SIMPROCESS
can be invoked by other applications through a SIMPROCESS Dispatcher.
- JDBC and ODBC - Java (and Open) Database Connectivity - SIMPROCESS supports connectivity to any relational database via JDBC or connections.
- Java RMI - Java Remote Method Invocation - SIMPROCESS supports calling (or being called by) a Java RMI.
- C4ISR/DoDAF - SIMPROCESS supports the Operational Architecture Views OV-5 (a hierarchical activity model)
and parts of OV-6. It is fully integrated with Rational Rose to support the remainder OVs. When coupled with Rose they support all of the DODAF products.
It starts with the requirements for OV-5 and goes far beyond them to add simulation and optimization functionality that are not specified in the static
DODAF products.
- Zachman - Management in every enterprise is under heavy pressure to improve performance and among the biggest challenges facing management are those of quality, timeliness and change. These are the conditions forcing businesses to confront their enterprise architecture, which is the cornerstone for leveraging technology innovations to fulfill the expectations of a viable and dynamic enterprise.
- OGAF - TOGAF provides the framework for the development of business architecture from the IT architecture
perspective. Coupled with Rational Rose, SIMPROCESS can make the transition between business requirements to system specifications smoother and ensure all
requirements are captured correctly.
- Six Sigma - Integrating process mapping, object oriented simulation, and activity-based costing into a single tool, SIMPROCESS meets the most demanding needs for a Six Sigma implementation and its concerned maintenance.
Pending
- BPMI - Business Process Management Initiative (BPMI.org or
bmi.omg.org) - Business Process Modeling Notation.
- BPEL - Business Process Execution Language
SIMPROCESS Interface Capabilities
SIMPROCESS allows for communication outside itself in a variety of ways.
Database operations via JDBC
SIMPROCESS can read from or write to any database that supports ODBC if an appropriate Java JDBC driver is available for it. Java includes a built-in driver
called the JDBC-ODBC Bridge, which enables its use with Microsoft Access and some other databases. This is how SIMPROCESS interacts with the Access database
that is installed on Windows platforms. Additional testing has been done with MySQL, a popular Relational DBMS available for a variety of operating systems.
A sample properties file for using MySQL with SIMPROCESS is included with the installed product.
As described in Chapter 13 of the SIMPROCESS User Manual, a free Java driver is available for MySQL and was tested with SIMPROCESS on both currently supported platforms and a MySQL database on Linux, Mac OS X and Windows (clearly demonstrating the ability to take advantage other operating systems on which SIMPROCESS is not currently available). There are numerous Java drivers available, both free and commercial, which will facilitate JDBC interaction with databases and perhaps even some other applications.
Reading and writing Microsoft Excel compatible spreadsheet files - With the SIMPROCESS Expression Language, it's possible to both read and write files that are fully compatible with Microsoft Excel 2002. This capability in SIMPROCESS uses a portion of the capability provided by the freely available Jakarta POI project.
External interaction via Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI)
SIMPROCESS supports, via an add-on license, what are collectively referred to as "remote capabilities." Most of the features enabled by this add-on use
Java's RMI technology, which allows an object to be looked up via the RMI server's naming facility and then to optionally pass parameters to a method to
be invoked on the object. Some of the SIMPROCESS features enabled via this add-on include
- Use of an external "plot server," so that SIMPROCESS plots may be remotely displayed. In having plots hosted on another system, the workload of the
system on which SIMPROCESS is running can be reduced. Or the plots can simply be displayed on another Java enabled system that's more conducive to
viewing by interested parties, whether or not SIMPROCESS is available for that system.
- Enables the RemoteCall method in SIMPROCESS expressions. This method, described in more detail in Appendix F of the SIMPROCESS User Manual, allows
invocation of methods on remote Java objects via RMI. Sample Java source code is included with SIMPROCESS that shows a tiny fraction of what could
be done via RemoteCall.
- Enables the use of the ExternalCall expression statement. Though not really "remote," this method allows for calling methods on Java objects
provided by SIMPROCESS users. These Java classes can be added by placing compiled Java class files in the SIMPROCESS "ext" directory, or by placing
Java Archive (JAR) files into the extensions directory (jre/lib/ext) of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed with SIMPROCESS on all
currently supported platforms. Virtually anything can be added to a model in this way.
SIMPROCESS recently expanded the types of data that can be returned to a calling model to include instances of Java's Object class, so that a model Attribute of type Object can contain a reference to the external Java object.
- Enables the use of the External Schedule in the Generate Activity. When an External Schedule is present a Generate will wait for an outside agent to signal it to release Entities into a model. This could include a person manually triggering such release or an application. Because triggering of the External Schedule is done via RMI it can be done from any Java enabled system.
Communicating with Web Services via SOAPCall
With the addition of the new SOAPCall statement to its Expression Language, SIMPROCESS includes limited support for SOAP, the Simple Object Access Protocol.
SOAPCall allows an available Web Service to be invoked if it is RPC/encoded and returns a string value.
Enterprise support: communication with Web Services
SIMPROCESS has a proven track record in its role as a modeling and simulation tool. More and more often, however, it's useful to be able to call on
simulation capabilities and use the results to make automated business decisions. SIMPROCESS can now provide that capability through the DispatcherService,
a Web Service that can be deployed in a Web Container (an application supporting the Java servlet specification) or an Application Server and the SIMPROCESS Dispatcher.
In order to use the Dispatcher and related features an alternate install set is offered by the installer called "SIMPROCESS and Dispatcher." This is not the default set and must be specifically selected. It provides all the components needed to use SIMPROCESS as a regular desktop application, but it also includes new components which allow use of the Dispatcher to invoke SIMPROCESS as a service. The Dispatcher is licensed separately from the SIMPROCESS desktop application. The key components are
- The Dispatcher program (it will have the.exe extension on Windows systems) that controls the operation of one or more instances of
SIMPROCESS when requests are received via the DispatcherService.
- The dispatcher directory contains all of the other components needed to run SIMPROCESS as a service (including the DispatcherService
deployment files). Its precise contents will vary according to the platform on which installation occurs.
- The DispatcherService is included among the components in the new dispatcher directory. It is the gateway through which a client application obtains
SIMPROCESS services. A Web Container or Application Server will be required in order to deploy and use the DispatcherService. A client application
must be available that knows how to communicate with the DispatcherService and a Dispatcher must be able to advertise that its services are
available to a DispatcherService.
The DispatcherService must know where to look for the list of service providers. And finally, a Dispatcher must be able to obtain licenses when services are requested.
Transfer activities to "Go Remote"
The "Transfer Activity" allows an Entity to go directly between two points in a model without the need to traverse the entire hierarchical structure. The
addition of support for remote Transfer activities offers a new means of interoperability between SIMPROCESS and other applications.