Overview

OpenBP is an open-source workflow and process engine including a sophisticated graphical process modeling tool.
Though OpenBP can be easily integrated into any J2SE or J2EE application, it is designed for high-performance and offers a variety of features often not seen in commercial products.
The graphical modeler offers customizable presentation modes, i. e. UML activity diagrams or flowcharts.

OpenBP allows for structuring software around a graphically modeled business process that is understandable to both business process specialists as well as developers.
The sequence of processing steps is defined by the process, the details are encapsulated by the process elements, which refer to reusable blocks of Java code (handlers or hooks) or built-in functionality such as transaction control.
At runtime, the process model is executed (interpreted) by the OpenBP engine, which in turn calls the user Java code to perform business functions.
A running process can be stopped and persisted to a database at particular points, thus adding interruptability to the Java language.

OpenBP was donated to the public by the workflow and security technology consulting company skynamics AG and is based on skynamics' revologic technology.
OpenBP is used in a variety of projects, among them the currently largest German IT project, the German health card.

Fields of Use

• Process control
  Execution of a graphically defined business process, adding process suspension features to the Java language.
• Workflow processing
  Coordinates workflows between individuals and systems.
• Page flow control
  Can be used to control page flows in dialog (Web, Swing, SWT) applications.
• Process modeling
  Using a customizable generator mechanism, the graphical modeler can be used to generate any kind of code or process model (apart from OpenBP models).
  This allows for using the modeling environment as graphical front-end for other (e. g. more specialized than OpenBP) workflow dialects.

Modeling Tool Screenshots

   

Why OpenBP?

Flexibility

• Easily embeddable in any J2SE or J2EE application (requires J2SE 1.4 and Spring 2.0).
• Customizable on different levels through custom code connectors and general hooks.
• Supports Hibernate and Cayenne O/R mappers for workflow and workflow object persistence.
• Integrated scripting support using the Bean Shell Java interpreter.
• Process definitions can be stored in XML files (convenient for development), databases (available to all machines of a cluster and good for ad-hoc workflows) or Jar archives (for easy deployment of standard workflows).
• Configurable logging framework.

Scalbility & Performance

• In-memory process model, single table model access
  Most workflow and BPM engines like e. g. JBoss JBPM distribute their process models across a set of relational database tables due to simplicity reasons and to use the relational principle to guarantee the integrity of the process model. This often results in joins across a dozend or more tables, providing very poor performance when loading process models or retrieving information from workflow task tables.
  OpenBP keeps the process model in XML form in a single table and caches it in memory. The model integrity is ensured by the save and load mechanisms, which convert the XML to an in-memory process model.
• Unlimited process duration
  Some workflow engines use the chain-of-command-pattern to determine the flow of control within the process. For processes having a long duration (i. e. many processing steps due to loops or such), this may result in a Java stack overflow.
  In OpenBP, each Java action may set the next node to execute instead of calling the next action itself. The framework will take care of the rest, thus preventing deep stacks.
• Native data types
  OpenBP is designed for high-speed process execution. It is not one of the rather slow enterprise application integration products. So the parameters passed into OpenBP processes and between the Java actions of the process can be arbitrary Java objects and do not need to be XML data (though it can be, of course).

Tool Support

• Highly sophisticated graphical modeling tool.
• Customizable presentation, e. g. UML activity diagrams or flowcharts.
• Intelligent graphical process diagram layout using self-adopting splines.
• Comfortable editing include pan, zoom, drag/dop, copy/paste etc.
• Code generator for Java actions.
• Hot model update
  The modeling environment can be connected to a running instance of the OpenBP engine using RMI. When changing the model, the engine will be notified and will reload the model automatically. This provides an iterative and dynamic round-trip development w/o having to redeploy or restart the application to test the model.
• Commercial plug-ins to the modeler are available from skynamics AG (e. g. documentation generator, model navigator, automated quality assurance for process models).

License & Support

• OpenBP is licensed under the Apache License, probably the most industry-friendly open source license (much friendlier than GPL/LGPL).
• Commercial support is available from skynamics.