Skelta BPM.NET 2006 overview Features highlight:
- 100% web-based
- 100% embeddable
- AJAX based Process designer
- Extensive Reporting & Business Activity Monitoring features
- Support of Queues Management
- Channels Infrastructure
- BPMN Compliant
- Intuitive user work list for easy task management
- Multilevel organization and resource level calendars
- XML Variable User Interface to reduce development time
- Integrates with InfoPath & WinForms
- API’s exposed to the lowest level to customize any of the server controls
Skelta BPM.NET 2006, a new release that features a revamped AJAX based process modeler / designer with a Visio look and feel, extensive BAM capabilities, closer integration with Microsoft Office and many new usability features. With this release, Skelta advancing towards BPMN compliance with support for several BPMN 1.0 standards. Skelta BPM.NET 2006 also has changes at the framework level to facilitate migration to Aquila, Skelta's forthcoming release on the Microsoft Windows Workflow Foundation framework.
New BPM-compliant terminology Some terms in Skelta Workflows have been changed to align better with BPM industry standards.
Terminology Changes
1. Skelta Actions “Activities”.
2. Activities displayed in the web worklist “Work Items”.
3. Resources participating in workflow processes “Actors”.
4. Resource Actions displayed in process designer “Human Activities”.
New terms
1. Participants: To denote members of a queue.
2. Roles: To denote the role played by actors.
Visually-rich Modeler / Process Designer Skelta BPM.NET 2006 has a brand new process designer developed using cutting edge AJAX
technology. Packed with exciting, new usability features and increased functionality, this next
generation designer provides a rich, more satisfying user experience. It is backward compatible
with process definitions in Skelta Workflow.NET 2004. Advancing towards full BPMN
compliance, this version has features that are partially compliant with BPMN 1.0.
Usability Features
- Visio like interface for ease of use
- AJAX based process modeler / designer
- Rich design experience on a browser
- Complete drag and drop functionality
- Supports import of Visio diagrams via IT-Pearls
- BPMN stencil for Visio
- Complete cross-browser compatibility
- Group selection and free movement on design mosaic
- Resize actions and zoom in or out of complete process definition
- Auto layout
|  | Functionality Enhancements - Wizard for configuring Activities (earlier known as Actions)
- Built in wizards to define values for properties of various actions
- Framework to allow users to develop Wizards (configurable text with elements that can map to the respective properties)
- Partial compliance with BPMN 1.0
- Support for Swim Lanes & Pools
- Complete drag and drop functionality
- Intelligent link feature for establishing dynamic link between actions
- Add/modify captions by double clicking the action
- Custom captions can be set to the links
|  | Queues This powerful new feature allows you to assign tasks to a 'queue' that consists of a pool of
resources with shared characteristics. The ‘queue’ feature offers maximum flexibility in setup,
task allocation and management to achieve optimum utilization of resources.
Features
- Supports push-pull patterns
- Assign users and roles to queues as participants
- Define access rights for each participant. Users can view assigned tasks, pick up the next available task and return a task to the queue.
- Set queue-level escalations
- Automatic, manual and combination methods for task allocation
- Automated allocation through round robin, random or least used methods
- Activity List with a tab for each queue in which the user is a participant
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Channels and forms for task delivery Skelta now allows you to define multiple modes for delivery of tasks ('channels'). Channels
can be defined for different media types, technology and protocols such as email, web,
Windows forms, IM, SMS, and voice. This allows workflow participants to access tasks
from practically anywhere. In tandem with channels and channel types, the new ‘Form’
feature allows you to design user interfaces to enable user response for that channel.
Features
- New interface IChannelProvider to define custom channels
- Ability to define custom channels and forms for multiple modes of task delivery such as email, web, SMS, PDA, IM, Windows Forms with emails and work lists as default channels
- Allow users to specify their preferred channel. For example, a user who is traveling can choose to receive tasks only through email
- New interface IFormProvider to create and employ user interfaces for different channel types
- Intelligent communication between channels to detect redundant responses
|  | Role Provider Integration Role Providers have been introduced in Skelta BPM.NET 2006. A Role Provider is used to
extract information related to the role played by users in the context of a project or process.
It is similar to the Resource Handler used to extract user information. The role information is
very useful in assigning tasks to all resources performing a role. Role information is important
for configuring queues.
Skelta BPM.NET 2006 works with three Role Providers:
- The default Skelta Role Provider, which is a database Role Provider and is similar to
the database Resource Handler - The SQL Role Provider, which is part of SQL 2005
- The LDAP Role Provider, which extracts role information from LDAP user directories
New Calendar Options Skelta BPM.NET 2006 now makes it easier to define custom calendars. With the new
Calendar user interface, you can quickly create a hierarchy of calendars with any number
of top-level calendars. Skelta's calendar features greatly facilitate collaboration between
users across time zones, geographical locations, regions, departments and functions.
Features
- Define a hierarchy of calendar up to any level deep
- Quickly create new calendars by making changes to an existing calendar
- Define work hours for each day of a week
- Define work hours for specific dates
|  | Extensive BAM features BAM is now an integral part of Skelta BPM.NET 2006. New BAM features offer more power
and real-time decision making capabilities to workflow administrators.
Exhaustive set of reports on various business processes hosted on
the workflow engine
- Instant insight into how IT events at workflow engine level will affect progress of high-level business transactions
- Permit real-time business-level decisions in response to system events
- Automate real-time notification of violation or pending violation of business-level policies.
- Statistics on business process performance
- Advanced analysis features
- Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
- In-built BAM analyzer
|  | User Interface Enhancements Skelta BPM.NET 2006 has many user interface enhancements for a more seamless user experience.
- More intuitive user interfaces
- Elaborate context sensitive help
- Support for ASP.NET 2.0 themes and templates
- Easily customizable and localizable
- Suggestive messaging
- Fully embeddable workflow engine- scalable, extendable, rich user interface
- 100% web-based interface written in C# and SOAP for platform independence
- Universal connectivity to databases
- Native clustering and active- active load balancing
- 2-way e-mail and 2-way SMS
- Completely customizable user interfaces
- End-user customization of workflows
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