The Metastorm BPM Connector for
SAP
In this article, we examine the pros and cons of this tool versus native Web
Services. We limit this evaluation to the Metastorm aspect of the product.
BACKGROUND
We recently had the opportunity to install, set up and configure the new
Metastorm BPM Connector for SAP for the Sydney based office of one of the
world's leading professional services firms whose SAP implementation is on a
global scale.
The Metastorm BPM Connector was developed in Slovakia by EPO Consulting,
a company whose core competence is the electronic support of business
processes (BPM, Workflow), SAP consulting and systems integration.
The Metastorm BPM Connector for SAP provides:-
-
MBPM access to the entire SAP functionality - providing extended application scope
for MBPM
-
Integration without programming via XML
-
Synchronous and asynchronous data exchange
INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION
The installation, set up and configuration was straightforward with most functions
working without additional complex configuration, programming or even
knowledge of SAP or SQL. Some work was required however to define pre-
requisite fields in Metastorm BPM; but no more so than would be required to
define any basic MBPM procedure. From the SAP perspective, all the hard work
and technical details are hidden from you with the product adhering to the
Metastorm approach of providing the maximum benefit for the least effort.
SETUP
The setup is very simple with very few details being required.
POINTS TO NOTE
The path must be left as the default if you wish to use the Integration Wizard to
build Connector Calls. This is due to the fact that the script is held on the Server
rather than stored within the procedure file itself. There is no reason we can see
not to incorporate the file into the given library and modify the Integration Wizard
add-in to reflect this. In this case, we see no reason why this cannot be installed
anywhere on the server, rather than the default directory and on Drive C: as
indicated in the documentation - however we would need to verify this.
CONFIGURATION
Again, there is very little required. We set up one B2B Integrator PS Folder, and
filled in the following:-
|
Field
|
Options
|
Value
|
|
Name
|
Anything
|
Test1
|
|
MBPM version
|
5 or 6
|
6
|
|
a protocol
|
HTTP, HTTPS, File, MSMQ
HTTP
|
|
|
Location
|
|
ausydux1.au.kworld.xxxxxxx.com:8007/EPOeWork/Invoke
|
|
Login id
|
|
Metastorm
|
|
Password
|
|
the relevant password
|
All of this apart from the name may be edited at a future time, or the Partnership
terminated.
USE
Using the Connector is very simple from the MBPM side. You need to create a
form in your process named "IOut***", and another named "IIn***" where *** is
anything you like. The replacement for *** in the "In" and "Out" forms must be
identical, and the name of the "Out" form must be used in the script call to the
Connector.
You must publish the supplied "eworkConnectorLib.elb" and add it to your
procedure. (This adds an integration Wizard item we will use to build the call to
the Connector). The next step is to enter the Partnership name you set up
previously, the "Out" form name, the SAP Service Name (please not also that the
sending and receiving name do not seem important; e.g. we left them as e-Work
and SAP). We left the ID empty and set the trace level to 3 (1, or even 0, is
recommended for production systems).
We added the required fields to the relevant forms:-
These forms are not usually seen by the user, and the relevant variables will be
shown on other forms as required.
The documentation states that you can include sub-tables (effectively 'fill' grids) as
well. To do this you will need some SQL skills. (Please note that we have not had
the opportunity to test this yet).
POINTS TO NOTE
The documentation states that you should assign the return from this call to
%Category, but we are uncertain if this is a requirement (we believe it used to
be). The IW item supplied forces the assignment to %Category, which is a
restriction which seems to be obsolete. The IW item does not allow you to select
the relevant form, and this must be typed in manually, however this can be easily
remedied by updating the supplied Collection.
USING THE PROCESS
Select the start action:-
Enter the Job Number:-
The result is displayed:-
If an error occurs, the error message is displayed in the SAPMessage memo
field:-
CALLING FROM SAP
To make a call from SAP, nothing more is required on the MBPM side than to
expose an Action as a Web Service. This is in itself very simple:-
You select the process, and if not a blank form, the Action, and a name for the
WSDL file, (where it will go) and the Web Server (host) name. You can then use
the WSDL file it created in the specified location from the SAP side of the
Connector as described in the Developer's Guide.
If using a blank form, please see:
http://metastorm.processmapping.com.au/tool/post/ework/vpost?id=1478406
CONCLUSION
Pros
- Easy to install, set up and use
- No technical expertise required
Cons
There are situations where the use of this product requires an
understanding of how it actually works in order to avoid potential errors.
For example variables are updated in the database directly, rather than
through Metastorm BPM itself which can lead to problems as you may
overwrite them immediately after the Connector call and before committing
an Action. Apparently this is being addressed in version 7 of the
Connector.
It all works perfectly well if used in the correct place (as is suggested in the
manual), which is possibly the most important attribute.
In general, this product will save a great deal of effort on the MBPM side, and
make the task of getting information from SAP a lot simpler than using the Web
Services approach.
It also supports complex Data Types (well, at least Recordsets), which native
Web Services in Metastorm BPM do not which in itself; although we have not
tested it, could be the decisive factor to adopt the Connector rather that attempt
to use native Web Services in our opinion.
Metastorm is the leading provider of business process management (BPM)
software for automating, managing and controlling business processes.
EPO Consulting is a Metastorm Alliance Partner providing solutions that allow
organizations to share data between applications in real time and automate core
business processes.
Process Mapping is an Australian company that has been providing Metastorm
BPM consultancy and software development for over six years, and has been
involved in many significant software projects primarily in Australia and the United
States.
1. Background
