The resources created during the design stage are stored in a file system within the local client workspace. Each analyst’s workspace contains only the project information that she or he is creating on a specific client workstation. If a software version control system is used, it provides a mechanism to safely persist and version design-time resources. The resources that are generated include message definitions, mapping definitions, rules definitions, external service interaction definitions, and process definitions. This information describes the end-to-end business process that the runtime engine uses to process runtime data.
The resources and activities that comprise the business process detail the sequential flow of a business process. At required points in the process, endpoints identify the type of external services or databases that interact with the business process. These endpoints define the method by which data passes into and out of the runtime engine to other parties in the process. Endpoints in the process may require interaction with another system or database.
The sequential flow specifies the order of activities within the process. At runtime, additional information is required to identify the precise flow of data to its designated point in the process. At runtime, the engine must know how to appropriately route the information to a business process and what information is needed by the process. During design time, you must identify context information that associates points in the process so that the proper data is sent, correlation keys related to the expected inbound data, and other resource properties that provide additional data handling instructions.
After the design of the business process and all objects within it are validated and fully tested by the designer, the process is packaged and made available for configuration and deployment to the runtime machine.