IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Create processes in IBM Process Designer
Visualizing process data
Use the data visualization option in IBM Process Designer to create a visual representation of a selected BPD. The visualization is displayed in a new web browser window. It contains the web-based diagram view of the BPD. Select the required data variables or tag groups that you want to visualize on the left side in the browser window.
A process uses variables and business objects to contain the data that flows in and out of its activities. When you design a process in Process Designer, you can map the local variables and apply tag groups to elements of a process, and you can create a visual representation of this data for a selected business process definition (BPD). A tag group is a key-value pair that you can use to associate a service in a process. The procedure for defining tag groups is similar to the procedure for defining regular tags. However in a tag group, a group of similar and related values can be grouped together under a single key.
For example, the various stages in a software development lifecycle such as In development, Available, and Retired can be created under the group Lifecycle Stage.
Variables are represented by colored icons in the data visualization diagram. During the design of a process, input, output, and private variables in a process can be defined as input or output mappings for an activity. The icons for the input mappings are displayed on the left side of an activity in the visualization diagram and the output mappings are displayed on the right side. The activities in the selected BPD that have the same data variables are represented by icons that have the same color. When you click any colored icon, the labels for all icons of the same color slide out and the actual variable names are displayed. Up to three input and output icons are visible on either side for each activity,
If a variable is mapped as both input and output for an activity, it is displayed as both input and output icons in the data visualization diagram. However, under the selection area on the left side of the diagram, variables are listed according to their attribute definition (as Inputs, Outputs, or Private).
Tag groups are displayed as labels above the activities in the data visualization diagram. The tag groups are applied to services within a process. All the activities that are mapped to the tagged services are displayed with appropriate labels in the diagram. The activities in the selected BPD that use the same tag groups display same-color labels. Where an activity is mapped to more than one tag group, the labels that contain the tag group are stacked above each other in a tab. You can click the tab to display all the labels above an activity.
You can click a subprocess within a process in the data visualization diagram to visualize that subprocess. The parent process and all its subprocesses can be displayed according to breadcrumb selections at the top in the browser window.
If you redefine a process in Process Designer during visualization, the browser view does not detect those changes automatically.
You must refresh the browser to view the changes, or you can close the browser window and relaunch it.
- Visualize variables
Select and visualize the local input, output, or private variables used in a process.- Visualize tag groups
Select and visualize the tag groups defined for a process.- Keyboard shortcuts for data visualization
In the data visualization diagram in the web browser window, you can perform many of the available actions by using keyboard shortcuts.