How to read the Stardust Online Documentation

A Brief Introduction to the Stardust Documentation

We have organized this documentation into several handbooks on specific topics. We have divided it into 5 logical parts

Administrator Handbook
Business Process Modeler Handbook
Developers Handbook
End User Handbook
Examples

Since this is a user's manual, and not a reference manual, we recommend that you read the relevant parts straight through. We also suggest that no matter where you begin be sure to read the entire documentation (or at least the relevant handbooks) at least once. The documentation contains theory as well as lots of examples that will help you in the initial stages. Finally, the best way to learn about almost any computer program is to start using it. Most people find that reading a book without using the program isn't beneficial. We hope that this document will be useful to users of widely different backgrounds�from users with no previous experience in Business Process Management to experienced BPM developers.

Depending on your own background and requirement, certain chapters may be more or less important to you. The following can be considered a recommended reading for various types of users:

Where to go from here

If you are a Business Process Modeler

If you are a Business Process Modeler, you play a vital role in the initial phase of the Business Process Management. In this phase, you analyze and define business processes in terms of activity flow, data flow, business policies & rules, performers and performance. Your task is to analyze the current environment and any processes that are in place and create end-to-end scenarios for the required processes. You also need to determine the optimal new processes and investigate how existing processes can be enhanced to resolve open issues. You need not be a technical person, but you must have a good knowledge of the existing business processes. Stardust provides you with a rich set of graphical tools and perspectives to create an initial model or the analytical model. You need to co-ordinate with SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) and Business teams (like Marketing team, Product team and Corporate team) since usually they are the people who define the business processes. You view the Business process from analytical or conceptual view, rather than Implementation or physical view. You are a bridge between the Business people and IT people (Developers). Although you create the initial high-level process model, it doesn't map directly to an executable process model.

Refer to following guide for more details:
Stardust Documentation > Business Process Modeler Guide

If you are a Developer

If you are a developer, your task is more involved than an business process modeler. You need to understand the high-level process model created by the business process modeler and build an executable process model. You look at the business process from a different angle - you think about implementation, exception handling, service bindings and WSDLs. You also have to think about system boundaries, execution and messages or business objects. You view the Business process from Implementation or physical view, rather than analytical or conceptual view. Stardust provides you with a different set of tools and perspectives to achieve this goal.

If you are an Administrator

If you are an administrator, your main task is to successfully deploy and monitor the executable process model. You need to configure the runtime environment and manage the installations, users and groups. You also create and upgrade the audit trail database schema, start and stop daemons, deploy the model versions and ensure the smooth operation of the entire system. In some cases, you need to fine-tune the Stardust Process Engine for Concurrency and Performance. Security is another issue that demands your attention. Stardust offers you several tools for these tasks - including command line tools, Audit Trail Archive and the powerful Stardust Administration Perspective.

Refer to following guides for more details:
Stardust Documentation > Developer Handbooks > Operation Guide
Stardust Documentation > Developer Handbooks > Stardust Schema Documentation

If you are a New User

If you are a new user of Stardust, then probably someone has already installed and configured the Stardust Process Engine for you. You are ready to create a new workspace for you, and start with a new model or run an already existing model. We recommend that you read the tutorial and following guides before you attempt to create or deploy a model.

Refer to following guides for more details:
Stardust Documentation > Business Process Modeler Guide
Stardust Documentation > Installation Guide
Stardust Documentation > Developer Handbooks > Tutorials
Stardust Documentation > Developer Handbooks > The Modeling Guide
Stardust Documentation > End User Handbooks
Stardust Documentation > Developer Handbooks > Examples

Once you familiarize yourself with basics, you can refer to other documents as well.

If you want to try out an Actual Example

If you want to try out an example, please refer to Stardust Documentation > Developer Handbooks > Examples. We have created different examples for your reference.

If you have a Problem

We have created a detailed troubleshooting guide with common problems and solutions. If you have a problem, the following sections will help you to identify and rectify the problem. Troubleshooting

Brief Summary of each Handbook

Administrator Handbooks

The Administrator Handbooks is a set of three guides - Installation Guide, Operation guide and Stardust Schema. The installation guide contains the Stardust Engine Installation procedure, and the Operation guide contains Administrative Concepts and other tools. It also briefs about tuning, security, logging and Audit Trail Model.

Business Process Modeler Handbooks

The Business Process Modeler Handbooks contains a Modeling Guide, which covers some basic concepts in Workflow management.

Developers Handbooks

The Developers Handbooks is a collection of several guides, including Installation procedure, Modeling and Operation guides, Programming guide, Simulation features and Rapid application development. It also contains a tutorial for the new users of Stardust, and a How to section. Developers Handbooks is probably the most advanced (and somewhat difficult) guide in the entire Stardust documentation. Time and again, you need to refer to this guide for reference. This set also contains Troubleshooting guide and Glossary at end.

How to do Common Tasks

How to read the Stardust Online Documentation

A Brief Introduction to the Stardust Documentation

Where to go from here

If you are a Business Process Modeler

If you are a Developer

If you are an Administrator

If you are a New User

If you want to try out an Actual Example

If you have a Problem

Brief Summary of each Handbook

Administrator Handbooks

Business Process Modeler Handbooks

Developers Handbooks

How to do Common Tasks

Install Stardust Process Engine and other Components

Work with Administration Perspective

Fine-tune the Stardust Process Engine

Model Processes with the Stardust Process Workbench

Import Models from other Formats

Simulate a Process without actually Deploying it

Use Command Line Tools for Administration

Use Workflow Functionality in my Own Applications

Deploy and Configure a Stardust Runtime Environment

Business Analysis and Reporting Component

Run Stardust in a Spring-managed Environment

Use Rapid Application Development Features of Stardust

Deploy on JBoss Application Server with Oracle Database