This plug-in extends WebSphere® Business Modeler's import capability to enable import of PowerPoint slides, focusing on converting PowerPoint process diagrams to WebSphere Business Modeler process definitions. A pre-defined set of mappings form the basis for transformation between the two formats. Built-in rules examine the slide elements to see if particular patterns exist, helping retain the intended semantics of the PowerPoint slide. The import dialog window visually enables you to select which slide to import and how you would like to map unknown shapes.

This package includes the WebSphere Business Modeler plug-in and sample slides.

How does it work?

After installing the WebSphere Business Modeler plug-in, you must invoke the product import capability. Select a PowerPoint file, then select the desired process diagram slide, and map any PowerPoint shapes that are not recognized by the plug-in. When you finish, a WebSphere Business Modeler process is created that reflects the PowerPoint slide's semantics. You can then further customize and refine the process using the WebSphere Business Modeler tool capabilities.

This original plug-in was developed by an IBM Extreme Blue student team in the summer of 2008. The mandate of the team was to explore different ways that formal business process management (BPM) tools could use BPM information that had been mocked up by business users. The students who participated in this project were Nathan Kwan, Ian Kennedy, and Bhavna Sehgal.

Luc Chamberland leads the plug-in project and manages customer enablement initiatives within the Business Process Management Development team. Mr. Chamberland leads a variety of BPM customer initiatives and brings customer feedback to the development teams. He is also the author of the Business Process Management Reviewer""s Guide. Mr. Chamberland can be reached through e-mail.

Further updates to the plug-in were made by Lorne Parsons, a technical team lead for WebSphere Business Modeler in the IBM Toronto Lab. His focus areas include reporting, XML import and export, and the Microsoft Excel import. Previously, Mr. Parsons was a technical team lead for WebSphere Integration Developer. He can be reached through e-mail.