IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Create processes in IBM Process Designer > Modeling processes > Building services
Service types
Learn about the types of services available in IBM BPM and when to use each type.
The type of service that you choose to create depends upon the requirements of the activity.
For example, If an activity requires integration with an external system, such as a database, you can create an Integration service. If an activity requires that call center personnel enter data about customer requests, you can create a Human service with a Coach.
The following table describes the types of services available in IBM BPM:
Types of services available in IBM BPM Service type Description See... Decision service Use a Decision service when you want a condition to determine the implementation invoked. For example, when a certain condition evaluates to true, IBM BPM implements the JavaScript expression that you provide. Decision services cannot include Java or Web Service integrations directly. You can call a Decision service from any other type of service and a Decision service can call other nested services.
Building a Decision service Human service Use a Human service when you want to create an interactive service. A Human service is the only type of service that can contain Coaches and postpones. Human services generate tasks in IBM Process Portal. A Human service is the only type of service that can call other nested Human services.
The Postpone Task saves the current execution context of a Human service and closes any associated open Coaches. When the task is opened from IBM Process Portal., execution starts at the exit port of the Modify Task control. To learn more about Postpone Task element see Postpone Task. To learn more about Modify Task element see: Modify Task.
Building a Human service Ajax service Use an Ajax service when you want to include a control in a Coach to implement dynamic data selection such as automatically populating drop-down lists and automatically completing edit boxes. An Ajax service can pull data dynamically from a connected data source, such as a database. You cannot call an Ajax service from other types of services, but an Ajax service can call other nested services. Building an Ajax service Integration service Use an Integration service when you want to integrate with an external system. An Integration service is the only type of service that can contain a Java or Web Service integration. You can call an Integration service from any other type of service and an Integration service can call other nested services.
Building an Integration service Advanced Integration service Use an Advanced Integration service when you want to integrate with a service created in Integration Designer. Building an Advanced Integration service IBM Case Manager Integration service Use an IBM Case Manager Integration service when you want to integrate with an IBM Case Manager server Integrating with IBM Case Manager General System service Use a General System service when you need to coordinate other nested services or you need to manipulate variable data. For example, if you need to implement data transformations or generate HTML for a coach, you can use a General System service. General System services cannot include Java or Web Service integrations directly.
You can call a General System service from any other type of service and a General System service can call other nested services.
Building a General System service
Related information:
Examples of building services with Heritage Coaches