Rapid Prototyping - Xyna-Factory/xyna GitHub Wiki

Figure 1: Workflow with Prototype Services and Prototype Data Types Figure 2: Convert Prototype Services into Workflow Figure 3: Convert Prototype Data Type into concrete Data Type

Rapid Prototyping describes the modeling of a Workflow using Prototype Data Types and Prototype Services (cf. fig. 1).

A Workflow’s purpose is defined by its Process Steps' Labels, their Documentation and their composition. The Rapid Prototyping features allow for experts to orchestrate processes quickly and without further preparations while the implementation of Prototype Services and the concretization of Prototype Data Types can be assigned to someone else at a later time. Thus Rapid Prototyping is specifically suited to design new processes because no commitment on the concrete realization has to be made.

Please note: Of course, Rapid Prototyping can be combined with existing XMOM Objects. But as long as there are Prototypes in the Workflow, it is not deployable and thus not executable.

Imagine the requirement for a new process that provisions a subscriber. Simplifying a bit for a moment, this process consists of the following two steps:

• Generation of configuration for a given subscriber
• Activation of the generated configuration

Since the required Services and Data Types don't exist, it is a good idea to start using Rapid Prototyping. To do so, proceed as follows:

• Name the Workflow with a functional and user-friendly label, e.g. "Create Subscriber"
• Use the icon representing the Prototype Service in the icon bar and drag it into the modeling area. Once part of the Workflow, the new Prototype Service has to be given a meaningful Label. In the regarded example, the Services Generate Subscriber Configurations and Activate Configuration are created.
• Drag the Data Type symbol into the Input or Output Parameter area of a Prototype Service to add Input and Output Parameters and also set their labels.
• Save the Workflow . Remark that the Workflow can merely be saved and cannot be deployed, as it is not executable because of Prototype Services or Prototype Data Types.
• The next step is to convert all Prototypes into concrete objects to make the Workflow executable (see Convert Prototype Data Type and Convert Prototype Service).
• If there are no Prototypes left inside of the Workflow (and no other issues occurred), deploy the Workflow .

• How to convert a Prototype Data Type into a concrete Data Type
• How to convert a Prototype Service into a concrete Service
• How to convert a Prototype Service into a Mapping