A-2 Administration and Security Glossary

Transcription

1 Appendix A Glossary This glossary defines some of the Process Commander terms system and background processing, authentication and authorization, process management, organization structure, and user interface configuration terms.

2 A-2 Administration and Security Glossary A abstract class access group access role activity agent application rule assignment authentication authorization A class that supports the definition of classes. An instance cannot be created for an abstract class. Abstract class names end with a hyphen (-). Compare with concrete class. Coordinates a user s access rights. Access groups are assigned to operator IDs. They specify the application and which parts of that application a user has access to. Assigned to individual users through access groups to modify user access to applications. A Java program, compiled and executed at runtime that performs a specific action in memory or against a database. Process Commander includes a standard set of activities for routers, assignments, and utilities. Analogous to a method in Java or a function in C. A background process, executing at set intervals or times as an internal thread on the server. Agents periodically monitor conditions and perform processing as necessary. Process Commander includes three standard agents. Defines a group of RuleSets that make up an application and orders the RuleSets according to their dependencies on each other. You assign application rules to access groups. An object that records the temporary condition of an unresolved work object. The condition requires a user or an external system to act on a work object for it to progress through the flow. At runtime assignments appear on worklists and workbasket lists. The process of determining the identity of a new user or requestor of services. Log-in is an authentication process. Authentication can be performed internally by Process Commander, externally (for example, by an LDAP server), or by a custom authentication activity. The process of determining the access rights of a user after authentication. Authorization involves access roles and access groups, and is always performed by Process Commander.

3 Administration and Security Glossary A-3 B BLOB (Binary Large OBject) BPM BRE See storage stream. Acronym for Business Process Management. Acronym for Business Rule Engine. C class class group Clipboard concrete class connector correspondence The definition for a type of object, or instance, in a Process Commander application. Class rules are instances of Rule-Obj-Class. They are similar to Java classes. A set of similar classes mapped to one database table, making database queries more efficient. Most commonly used to group subclasses of the Work- base class, and to define work pools for applications. A structured server memory object specific to each connected user, organized into named pages. Each page represents an individual or aggregated object, and consists of a set of tag-data pairs. Do not confuse with the operating system clipboard. A class that can have instances. Compare with abstract class. A programmatic component that defines and implements an interface between Process Commander, acting as a client, and an external system, acting as a server. Implemented through connector rules. Defines templates, such as preconfigured form letters, that can draw on the values of properties in the database to produce specific pieces of correspondence. A rule of type Rule-Obj-Corr.

4 A-4 Administration and Security Glossary D data object dependency network directed inheritance division F flow flow action G gadget guest A saved instance of a Process Commander class that inherits from the Data- base class. For example, access groups are data objects. A set of rules that share properties. Type of classification that enables a class to inherit characteristics directly from a specified class, which can be anywhere in the hierarchy. Analogous to Java subclassing. Compare with pattern inheritance. The middle level of the standard three-level Process Commander hierarchy. The organizational structure affects security, management reports and statistics, and the applications visible to users in that organization when they log in. Stored as instances of the Data-Admin- OrgDivision class. See also organization and organization unit. A rule containing steps that represent a business process. Flows specify how work objects are initiated and proceed through the process to completion. Flows can make decisions, execute activities, and perform assignments. A rule that implements a choice for users as an interim or final disposition of an assignment they are processing. See section. An unauthenticated user. See authentication.

5 Administration and Security Glossary A-5 I inheritance instance K keys Defining one class as based, with possible changes and additions, on another class. Process Commander supports both pattern inheritance (based on class names) and directed inheritance. A durable, potentially permanent, representation of a concrete class, stored as a row or record in the PegaRULES database. A page in the clipboard corresponds to an instance. An instance consists of property values, some of which form a unique key to the instance. Every rule instance and data instance defined through a form has one to three key parts. For a data instance, the keys in combination uniquely identify the instance within a class. For a rule, the keys uniquely identify the instance within a RuleSet, version, circumstance, and other qualifiers L layout listener lookup list M method, activity model model user The arrangement of items on a portal for a specific type of user. A background Java thread that monitors a TCP/IP port, a mailbox, a message queue, or a directory for arriving messages or files. See SmartPrompt. A primitive, atomic operation that can be performed by one step of an activity (of type Rule-Obj-Activity) or a parse structured rule (of type Rule-Parse-Structured). Do not confuse with a Java method. Defines initial values for properties of a specific class. A rule of type Rule-Obj-Model. Analogous to a Java constructor. An operator ID (Data-Admin-Operator-ID) used as a template for users who are authenticated externally.

6 A-6 Administration and Security Glossary N navigation panel node O operator organization organization unit P page pattern inheritance prconfig.xml file The left side of a portal. See also workspace. A server system on which Process Commander is running. In a multiple node Process Commander system, all nodes must have the same version of Process Commander installed, have the same system name, and share the same PegaRULES database. A Process Commander user. An instance of Data-Admin-Operator-ID. The top level of the standard three-level Process Commander hierarchy. The organizational structure affects security, management reports, and statistics, and the applications visible to users in that organization when they log in. Stored as instances of the Data-Admin- Organization class. See also division and organization unit. The bottom level of the standard three-level Process Commander hierarchy. The organizational structure affects security, management reports and statistics, and the applications visible to users in that organization when they log in. Stored as instances of the Data-Admin- OrgUnit class. See also division and organization. A clipboard page is a representation in memory of the properties (stored as name-value pairs) of an individual or aggregated object. The class inherits characteristics from its parent class; the default for inheritance. The name of the parent class is a prefix portion of the name of the class. Compare with directed inheritance. Each Process Commander instance (node) has a configuration file named prconfig.xml that holds the configuration settings for an installation. The file is loaded on startup and is used by the startup process to determine information about the system. For example, the location of the PegaRULES database, which database driver to use to connect to it, and so on.

7 Administration and Security Glossary A-7 PegaRULES database PegaRULES engine portal prerequisite RuleSet primary key privilege process flow production level property PRServlet PRSOAPServlet pulse, system The database used by your Process Commander system. The name most commonly used for the PegaRULES Process Commander business rules engine. The appearance of the Process Commander user interface is based on several factors that are coordinated by portal rules. Portal rules specify skins, gadgets, menus, and toolbars, all of which provide the HTML or XML that renders Process Commander interface. A RuleSet that provides rules upon which another RuleSet depends. A database record element that uniquely identifies the record in the database. An access control element associated with a class and an access role. A rule of type Rule-Access-Privilege. Privileges offer finer tuning of access control than do access roles. To have access to a privilege, a user must have at least one of the access roles that grant access to the privilege in an access role list. The association between access roles and privileges is established in object access rules (Rule-Access-Role- Obj). See flow. A value from 1 to 5 that represents the purpose of the Process Commander system environment, from experimental to production. Data; the attributes of an instance. Property values are stored within a page in the clipboard. Properties can contain scalar values, other pages, subscripted arrays of other properties, or named properties in a group. Analogous to a Java variable. The main Process Commander servlet. PRServlet provides the Process Commander user interface, the browser-based interface to the Process Commander engine. The Process Commander servlet that listens for SOAP requests. A message periodically sent to the nodes of a Process Commander system to synchronize individual node rule caches. It is implemented through an agent activity in the PegaRULES agent.

8 A-8 Administration and Security Glossary R requestor rule rules assembly rule cache rule form rule resolution rule resolution cache RuleSet Java objects that represent individual users or external systems that connect to Process Commander. Requestor data instances define the types of requestors that can access Process Commander and determine the applications, access roles, and starting activities executed when the requestor connects. A piece of business logic that defines how a business decision is made or how a business process is carried out; an instance of a class that derives from the class Rule-. Rules are constructed using rule forms, stored in XML format in a PegaRULES database, and converted to Java at runtime. The process of generating Java classes during runtime and caching them for later use. An internal cache of compiled rules where the Java classes compiled during rules assembly reside. The rule cache is specific to a given user. Also called the instance cache. An HTML-based form used in Process Commander to create and modify a rule. The algorithm Process Commander uses to determine the best or most appropriate rule version to apply in a particular situation. An internal cache that maintains sufficient information regarding rules and their versions to determine the applicable rule to be compiled during rules assembly. Specific to a given user. A group of related object classes, workflows, and business rules. Process Commander includes four foundation RuleSets.

9 Administration and Security Glossary A-9 S schema section service service level SmartPrompt standard access controls standard privilege storage stream System Management application Defines the table and column structure of a database. Tables and views in the relational database schema become visible through instances of Data-Admin-DB-Table. Also called a gadget, this is a rectangular area on a screen containing a control that a user can interact with. For example, the worklist area of the user s portal is implemented through a gadget.sections are instances of the Data-Gadget class. A programmatic component that defines and implements an interface between an external application, acting as a client, and a Process Commander system, acting as a server. Implemented through an appropriate service rule. See also connector. Also called a service-level agreement, or SLA for short, a rule that defines goals and deadlines that indicate the expected or targeted turnaround time for an assignment or time to resolve a work object. A text box, available on many forms, that makes a dynamic selection list available for fast user data entry. A blue triangle in the lower right corner identifies SmartPrompt text boxes. Privileges provided with Process Commander that use methods to act on a rule or instance. A set of privileges defined for the Work- class to control flow processing. Properties defined in user application subclasses, or properties in Workor Assign- subclasses that do not appear as exposed columns in the database, are stored as storage streams in the pzpvstream column. The data type of this column in blob. Process Commander is instrumented with JMX mbeans that provide information about the way the system is running. The System Management application is a separate Web application that provides an interface to the Process Commander mbeans.

10 A-10 Administration and Security Glossary T timeout U user utility W workbasket workflow work group worklist work object work party work pool work space Authentication timeout is the period of time a requestor can remain inactive before the user it represents must provide user credentials again. Set in access groups. Requestor timeout is the period of time a requestor can remain inactive before it is destroyed. Set in the prconfig.xml file. Someone who uses Process Commander. Information about a user is stored in an operator ID (Data-Admin-Operator-ID). An activity that updates a work object but requires neither user interaction nor input. Contains a group of work objects awaiting processing. See also worklist. See flow. Identifies a manager, contacts, and workbasket for a specified group. A group of assignments for one user. See also workbasket. The representation of an individual task that needs to be done. Work objects are collected in workbaskets. A person, organization, or other actor who can be the recipient of or other correspondence about a work object. A class group containing the work objects for an application. The right side of the Process Commander user interface.