TieFlow Process Editor

1. TieFlow Process Editor CAPSTONE TEAM # 2 CSCI 6838 -01 Spring 2009 03/04/2009

2. Shardul Kale. Email: kales4686@uhcl.edu Major: Computer Science Role: Programmer/ Tester/Documentation • Pratik Zirpe. Email: zirpep6580@uhcl.edu Major: Computer Science. Role:Programmer/Reseacher/Tester Team Information • Vishal Jadhav. Email: Jadhav66766@uhcl.edu Major: Computer Science Role: Team Leader/ Webmaster/Programmer • Doyle Rodrigues. Email: rodriguesd6360@uhcl.edu Major: Computer Science. Role: Documentation/ Researcher/Programmer

3. Mentor Scott Hetherington TietronixSoftware, Inc. Email scott.hetherington@tietronix.com Instructor and mentor • Instructor Dr. Alfredo Perez-Davila Associate Professor Computer Science and Computer Information Systems. Email perezd@uhcl.edu

4. Agenda • Overview of the Company • Introduction • Background • Problem Definition • Requirements • Resources • Time Based Simulation • Design Flowchart • Deficiencies and Solutions • Work Done • Work to be Done

5. Overview of the Company • Tietronix Software, Inc. was founded in 1999 by Victor W. Tang, Michel E. Izygon and Stuart S. Engelhardt. • Tietronix is a full-service provider of custom software applications and advanced technology solutions. • Tietronix’s mission: • First to develop reliable software and technology solutions that solve customers’ problems on time and on budget. • secondly, to apply technologies developed for NASA to commercial markets.

6. Introduction • What is Workflow? • A workflow is a automation of business process within which information, tasks or jobs are passed from one entity to another. • Some Examples • Credit Card application processing. • Product design and development.

7. Existing Application • TieFlow Workflow Toolkit • TieFlow Workflow Toolkit is a web based electronic workflow system. • Used to automate manual form based process. • Major Function • Create, display, modify process definition in XML. • Workflow engine uses XML process definitions to load database tables to execute peocess. • Current uses • NASA's Flight Director's Office uses the same for its Flight Rules Change Request (FRCR) Process to electronically submit and review changes to the flight rules used during missions.

8. Problem Definition • Removal of current deficiencies present in Tieflow process Editor. • Problems related to reading and writing process definition XML files. • Errors in editor user interface design. • Failure of removing certain elements defined in process definition. • Features to be added • Ability to reuse the same process as a sub-process multiple times. • Provide functionality to create copies of processes in the editor. • Refine and improve simulation wizard.

9. Requirements • The editor shall use the Xalan/Xerces XML parsers. • The project shall introduce no third party dependencies. • The editor does not handle the read and load of the Workflow User element. • The editor does not handle the read and load of the ActivitiesInstancies Assignees element.

10. Requirements Cont.. • The editor shall be able to read, load and save the creator tag properly. • The editor shall use the id values that are already defined. • The editor shall be able to support the concept of Dynamic repeat • The Editor shall be able to remove the email address that it stores to send a notification. • The editor currently shows the properties panel of the parent element when the roles notification element is selected. The property panel should be blank.

11. Requirements Cont.. • The editor shall allow the creation of transitions between sub-processes. • The Editor shall allow the user to create a copy of the entire process. • The copied process shall have a name as a new process would have. • All elements of the process shall be copied. • All elements shall have new unique “id” attribute values.

12. Requirements Cont.. • The Editor shall provide a summary view of the resources assignments, start conditions, etc • The summary view shall be displayed whether defining or loading a simulation. • The save simulation shall be moved to the summary view screen. • The Time based simulation shall be a wizard type flow of dialogs. • Each page shall have back and next button • The wizard shall have no pop-ups except for browsing a file.

13. Requirements Cont.. • The Editor shall support a process if it has unequal AND joins and AND splits. • The Assign resources dialog shall be redesigned to support the following properties. • Shall allow assignments previously made to be removed. • Shall allow the users to easily see current resources.

14. Resources • Hardware • Software • J2SE 1.5 • Eclipse 3.4.1

15. Time Based Simulation • What is Time-Based simulation ? • Problems with the GUI of current application • Haphazard dialogbox structure • No modifications to resource assignments to roles • Display of resource assignments is not easily comprehensible • Can not show all the starting conditions for a simulation before report

16. Editor ScreenShot

18. Approach to solution

19. Load or Define Simulation Choose option load Get the simulation(xml) A define Load or Define Resource Get Resource load define Define resource and assign them to roles Assignments can be changed Schedule Choose startup B D Recurrent C

20. C Get starting specifications back cancel option To D Summary View back save option Saved as xml To A Final Report end

21. B load Choose simulation Load xml and setup conditions define Define simulation and schedule requirements back option back cancel option Summary View Change goto A option Report end

22. Deficiencies.. • TieFlow Editor allows the user to right-click on the Email Address element and select Remove, but the element is not removed. • Also TieFlow Editor allows the user to right-click on the ActivityInstanceAssignees element and select Remove, but the element is not removed.

23. Solution # 1 • The removeFromParent() is the method that is called to initiate the removal process. • The problem with the Activity Instance Assignee and Email address element was that they or any of their inherited classes did not have a overridden method for removeFromParent(). • Element Activity Instance Assignee is inherited from ElementActivityInstance which didn’t have any overridden method for removefromParent ().

24. Solution #1 Cont.. • So we have added a new overridden method for removeFromParent () in the ElementActivity Instance class. The definition is same as in the workflowuseratribute.java • Now when the removeFromParent() function is called it executes the newly written method and the element is now getting removed.

25. Solution # 2 • In the Email Address Problem it was inherited from the default base class for package elements i.e. DefaultPackageElement. • We have now made email address to extend WorkFlowUserAttribute instead of Default Package Element. • Therefore on the removeFromParent function call the function in the WorkFlowUserAttribute is being called and not base class method and hence email address element is now getting removed.

26. Work Done.. • We have fixed the Activity Instance Assignee and Email Address Bug present in the editor. • We have also finished with design of the simulation wizard to be developed. • We have completed the Software Requirements Specification Document for the project. • We have devised a project plan to decide who and when will be working on the bugs.

27. Work Done Cont.. • We have spend more time in understanding the editor • Understanding and analyzing the relationships existing between various source files and classes • Developing a strategy and plan to encounter and cope with the bugs. • Deciding on the Best Integration Development Environment for the usage of editor. • We generated Javadocs for the Editor using Eclipse. .

28. Work to be done • We have to fix deficiencies in the editor related to XML Reading/Writing. • We also need to fix few of the problems in the user interface. • We need to design refined and easy to use simulation wizard for the time-based simulation in editor.

29. THANK YOU!! ' ANY QUESTIONS??