Core Process Framework for Disparate Application Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems face challenges in seamlessly integrating disparate applications, such as channel applications and off-the-shelf business process management (BPM) services, due to compatibility issues with APIs, message languages, and message formats, leading to the need for frequent revisions when switching BPM services or providers.
Innovation Solution
A core process framework that provides a process management type-agnostic and third-party entity-agnostic approach, using a headless BPM and middleware integration patterns to create an open architecture, allowing channel applications to perform generic BPM engine-related operations through an integration gateway, translating service calls, and managing authentication, data routing, and error processing transparently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If channel applications are configured to be compatible with specific off-the-shelf process management services, then integration compatibility is improved, but adaptability to different BPM services or providers deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
An integration gateway is introduced as an intermediary component between channel applications and BPM services. The gateway translates service calls from channel applications into BPM service-specific protocols and handles authentication, authorization, and message formatting. This mediator layer allows channel applications to interact with different BPM service providers without requiring reconfiguration, as the gateway absorbs the variability in service interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The integration gateway is designed with universal functionality to support multiple BPM service providers through a single interface. It implements a standardized set of operations (start process, get variables, set variables, terminate process) that work across different BPM platforms. The gateway maintains a configuration database that stores provider-specific connection details, allowing it to adapt to different BPM services without code changes.
2Ease of operation
If channel applications directly interface with BPM services, then operation simplicity is improved, but device complexity increases due to multiple integration configurations
Solution Approach 1:
The integration gateway extracts and centralizes all complex integration logic from channel applications. It handles authentication with BPM services, message format translation, error handling, and provider-specific configurations in a single dedicated component. Channel applications only need to make simple standardized service calls to the gateway, while the gateway manages the complexity of interfacing with different BPM service providers.
3Adaptability or versatility
If channel applications are revised to accommodate new BPM services, then compatibility with new services is improved, but loss of time increases due to revision requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The integration gateway is pre-configured with support for multiple BPM service providers and their respective protocols. When a new BPM service is introduced, the gateway can be configured to work with it without requiring changes to existing channel applications. The preliminary setup of the gateway with multiple provider capabilities eliminates the need for time-consuming application revisions when switching BPM services.
Data Source
AI summary
A system, method and the like for seamlessly integrating disparate applications, such as channel applications and off-the-shelf business process management services/applications through use of a core process framework that provides a vendor/third-party entity-agnostic approach to application integration. The core process framework provides various fundamental processes that are shared amongst applications that are in communication with the framework. The core process framework leverages a headless business process management and middleware integration patterns that serve to create an open architecture with reduced dependency on the third-party entity/vendor providing the business process management service. In this regard, the core process framework of the present invention provides a service platform that clients (i.e., channel applications) can make service requests/calls to, via an integration gateway or the like, to perform multiple different generic business process management engine-related operations.