Service Providers (BPM)

The business process world is, most of the time, a set of linked services, or repeatable business tasks, that can be accessed when needed over a network, as though they were all installed on your local desktop.

To invoke an external web service, you need the WSDL from the service because it describes the port, service name, operations, and messages that the process needs to communicate with the service. Web service descriptions are modeled in PowerDesigner using service providers, interfaces (see Service Interfaces (BPM)), and operations (see Operations (BPM)).

A service provider is an object that contains a set of service interfaces. For example a "Travel Agent" service provider may contain the following service interfaces: "TravelAgentToAirline" and "TravelAgentToTraveler".

A service provider can be created in the following diagrams with any orchestration languages:

Choreography Diagram – the service provider allows you to implement processes with the service operations contained by its service interfaces (see Example: Using the Execute Operation Implementation Type). You can import a WSDL to recover web service description objects or create them manually. You can also import an OOM component or a database web service as a service provider and export service providers (see Importing and Exporting Service Providers From/to Another Model). The service provider has no graphical symbol in this diagram.

In the following example, the Process Corporate Order process can be implemented by the operations available in the Implemented by list. These are owned by the OrderPT service interface in the orderProcess service provider:
Process Service Diagram – service providers are displayed with the interfaces and operations they contain, and can be linked with traceability links. These links are for documentation purposes only (see Building Process Service Diagrams).

The following example shows three service providers with their interfaces and operations. The Process order service provider is dependent on the Order Shipment service provider:

When you copy a service provider, you also copy its associated service interfaces. Shortcuts for service providers are not permitted.

Creating a Service Provider
You can create a service provider from the Browser or from the Model, Language or Tools menu.
Service Provider Properties
To view or edit a service provider's properties, double-click its Browser or list entry. The property sheet tabs and fields listed here are those available by default, before any customization of the interface by you or an administrator.
Importing a Service Provider from a WSDL File
If you have a WSDL file or if you find a WSDL published in a UDDI server, you can import the WSDL to create an abstract definition of a web service using service description objects (service providers, service interfaces, and operations).
Browsing for a WSDL File on a UDDI Server
You can browse for a WSDL on a UDDI server. You need to have Internet Explorer 5 or higher to use the Browse UDDI feature.
Importing and Exporting Service Providers From/to Another Model
PowerDesigner lets you define the links between the abstract definition of service interfaces and operations in the BPM and their concrete implementation, either in OOM components, or in PDM database web services.

Parent topic: Building Business Process Diagrams