Twan van den Broek

It took some time to get the movie recorded and uploaded to the internet. Finally my demo scenario of the last two posts is visible available in a tutorial movie on BPM/BRM. I hope it will help you explore things in the new SAP NetWeaver BPM world, despite the fuzziness of the movie. I have added it to the SDN blog, Easy process implementation with SAP NetWeaver BPM / the BRM sequel .

Pff, thanks to Arti from SAP Product Management BRM I found out that my BRM troubles were caused by my download release of SAP NetWeaver CE 7.1. I was using: Build id: 200809132152, downloaded in October 2008. After a fresh download and a complete re-install of CE, I am now using Build id: 200811082206. Installation of both CE and the IDE is still nog plug and play. But fortunately a very well written manual is delivered with the download: Install&Configure_CE_Preview71EHP1-Dec2008.pdf. When you experience an error during the CE installation, just click 'Retry' somewhere around step 20. And do that again when the same error pops up. That did the trick during my installation. I started the installation at 11:06 and it was finished at 12:42, including starting up the CE environment. A new record , 1,5 hour! The new installation resolved my BRM issues and you can read more about this in my SDN blog: Easy process implementation with SAP NetWeaver BPM / the BRM sequel .

During SAP TechEd08 I really got enthusiastic on SAP NetWeaver BPM , formerly known as Galaxy and in 2008 again branded as Galaxy. Especially the integration of the Business Rules engine made me want to try this at home. Personally I feel that BRM is not optional within BPM, it is not a feature, it belongs to the total concept of process orchestration. Without it, BPM is not complete. So I built a BPM demo for the TopForce Learning Day. A recap of this demo can be found in my SDN blog Easy process implementation with SAP NetWeaver BPM . A simple process but effective enough to show the power of the concept. I updated this process to implement BRM: Now I want to implement a business rule with BRM. But unfortunately I can’t get this to work. What I want to do is extend the process with a mapping step in which the rule get called. Within this rule the expense amount gets checked: Under €25 the expense gets validated automatically and above that the manager needs to approve or reject. In ...

This years SAP TechEd was held in Berlin, the ICC . Nice complex, originally build in the late fifties. A challenging experience if you look at the logistics of the event. The building’s nickname was Starship Enterprise (however if you look at the scale model, the building resembled the Battlestar Galactica more). Anyway all the floors and staircases fed the feeling that the building’s basis was a very interesting architecture but was never meant to host an event like the TechEd where attendees switch from location to location all the time. Not once I walked in one line to the location where the session was held. Fortunately I was never late and I didn’t miss a session as well. Catering was very well organized, especially the possibility to grab a prefab sandwich in between sessions. Saves you a lot of time compared to standing in line for the buffet. Community day I started off with the BPX community day . A change to meet with the SDN/BPX soul mates. The sessions prepared me for ...

Some time ago I wrote: Composite Applications: Hype or Real ? Conclusion was - of course - REAL. During the SAP TechEd in Berlin there were 12 out of 309 sessions about Composites . And as we all know, at TechEd we learn what is/will be real. So again, composites are real ;-) Despite these signals, reality is that sometimes it is hard to explain to customers what Composites are and why they want to implement them. "Mashups, composites, Web2.0 is something for the internet not for my enterprise environment." Let me help you with this blog about two real life composites that we have developed for a utility customer. Real life as these applications are live since early 2008 and in use by the end customers and the call center of this company. Read more on my SDN blog on Real Life Composites .

Interview within the BPX community clubhouse: Now guess who is interviewed at 0:07 sec :-) See the TopForce Purple Squad: TechEd2008 was great!!

First night event was the DemoJam , yesterday evening. Ronald and Peter participated with SAP Enterprise Portal meets Web 2.0. It was all about this trophy: Peter was the manager who wanted a Web2.0 Workplace and Ronald realized that with Open Source and the SAP EP. 3:41 Minutes left - heading in the right direction. See the relief on their faces, what a big smile :-D The result: 2nd place , right after a submission from SAP. GREAT result for Peter and Ronald, I am very proud on you guys!

Peter and Ronald can be followed live at SDN TV . DemoJam will start at 19:00. SAP EP meets Web 2.0. Replay of the DemoJam available on SDN. Their session starts around 0:24.

Quick update now, only the picture. Story later or check my microblog at Twitter . More pictures on Flickr .

Words are unnecessarily, have a look at my agenda: Well, there seems to be a small gap in the agenda of this years TechEd on Wednesday between 12:00 and 14:30. But no worries - it will be busy anyway ;-) Tuesday is a difficult day, I added only the sessions that I really want to attend - but unfortunately there are a lot of parallel sessions. At 11:00 four sessions start that are all interesting. What to choose: COMP278, Service Composition with ES Repository and Composite Application Framework UP109, : SAP NetWeaver Mobile 7.1 – A Powerful Architecture and What You Can Do With It BPM100, Business Process Management with SAP NetWeaver CE: Overview and Outlook IM200, Joint Roadmap SAP NetWeaver BI and Business Objects Today I downloaded all sessions that I am interested in (71 out of 309) and tomorrow I have plenty of time on my trip to Berlin to study this material. Another big plus of traveling by train .

Wow, I have my first publication in SAP NetWeaver Magazine : The Next Wave of Mashups: Real-World Lessons of Building a Portal with Composite Applications and Enterprise SOA. Like mashups, composite applications bring together Web-based functionality in new ways. Follow one company’s implementation effort using composite applications in a portal environment. This process offers some insight into how these innovative applications can drive more responsive processes and improve online services for employees and customers. The article describes our work at Luminus and is based on an earlier posting: Real Life Composites . It is the result of a first draft (hmm well it was my final 1.0 version ;-) that I have sent to SAP NetWeaver Magazine last April. After some questioning and editing you can now read the result, both on the web and in the real magazine. Never done before, but is sure feels nice when the hard copy arrives on your doormat. That happened last week and now even my mom wants...

With only 13 days to go I need to finalize my TechEd schedule soon. But so many sessions to choose from, 309 in total and only 3 days to plan them in. I know it is a kind of luxury problem, it must be the same feeling as my kids have in the toy shop ;-) Remind me building a business case to attend TechEd USA next year. Then I have 5 days to plan sessions ;-) Past two years I focused on Composite Applications and the Visual Composer . This year it is time for the next level, the next big thing in SAP land: Business Process Management . I am signing up (reserving a seat) for: BPM160, Building Your Own Composite Business Processes From Scratch With SAP NetWeaver BPM BPM262, How to Use Business Rules With Business Process Management And I will get in line for COMP278, Service Composition with ES Repository and Composite Application Framework BPM260, The ABC's of Modeling and Using Business Rules in SAP NetWeaver CE IM264, Embedded SAP NetWeaver BI with SAP NetWeaver Visual Composer 7...

This week I had the change to ‘play’ with the Visual Composer again. Goal was to show a KPI dashboard on top of a BI query. With a gauge and a color (red or green) the status of the KPI had to be clear in one view. Besides that it had to be possible to change the ‘norm’ line online and to add comment on base of the results. It was quite fun to build. Challenges ? Only a few: Find out what BI query on our Discovery Server returned results that could be presented: Trial and error. Coloring the status bar: found in TechEd 2006 session CD151. Slider with the Norm and plotting this line in the graph: Also in CD151. Here is the result: Next to my playing around, two colleagues (Pieter and Xavier) created almost the same demo in Xcelsius . Their result: The customer was impressed by the Business Objects demo. They are interested and currently investigating project possibilities. Great news for the other team! Unfortunately not for me with my Visual Composer. But hey, I already have enough ...

Great news, not only do we have three sessions on this years SAP TechEd , we also have one Demo Jam Session . Peter Mayringer and Ronald Kleijn will perform live on stage a demo on “SAP EP meets web 2.0, floating iViews”, one of the technologies behind the HPP. This will happen Tuesday evening October 14th and will be broadcasted live via SDN TV. I will keep you posted on the URL to watch Peter and Ronald live on stage. What is the Demo Jam? As said, live on stage with an audience formed by all TechEd participants. About 8 demo’s are to be given, each no longer than 6 minutes. Golden rule: NO PowerPoint, only LIVE demo’s . After each presentation the audience makes a lot of noise and the presentation that receives the most … is the winner. Make sure that you support Ronald and Peter, they can use it. During the summer, SAP customers, partners, and employees submitted proposals to demo their new, electrifying technologies or applications at Demo Jam. SAP TechEd is the place where the f...

On July 7th the Call For Proposals started for SAP's TechEd in Berlin, a major opportunity for us Technonerds to host a session on the TechEd. Tell me, who doesn’t want to host a session on the SAP Tech Event of the year, the SAP TechEd. So with 9 colleagues we prepared 7 sessions and sent them to SAP. High Performance Portal: An Open Source Portal/CMS on SAP NetWeaver, Peter Mayringer and Ronald Kleijn Putting SAP at your fingertips – Integrating SAP with the iPhone, Leo van Hengel and Frodo Jansen Composites in the real world, Twan van den Broek Is your organization really ready for E/SOA? Niels Doeleman Composition of SAP and GIS, Peter Mayringer Ensuring traceability with Principal Propagation in PI / BPM, André Stuy How to use the power of BAM, Paul van Os Different than last year there was no voting round on SDN but a selection committee studied all proposals and picked out 15 sessions. 10 SDN related and 5 BPX related session for the TechEd in Berlin. Guess what … WE GO...

As announced in a previous posting , I am now finally finished with editing, back from 45 minutes to 6 minutes. On YouTube you can have a video impression on our Learning Day , hope you enjoy it. At least I did while editing ;-)

In addition to my SDN article: Composite Applications: Hype or Real , this time a real life story of our work at Luminus . The challenge Create flexible and easy to adjust applications that re-use SAP CRM, SAP ISU and custom Java functionality. As very often in our IT world, these applications had to be delivered quickly in order to be used by the customers and partners of Luminus. What we did We implemented the SAP Enterprise Portal for the external website http://www.luminus.be/ . Customers can access this site to get up to date information on Luminus products and services. Web content management is handled with a third-party solution: easyWCM from BTEXX . In the registered part of the portal (customers only section) several applications are provided: MyConsumption: To enter meter readings and monitor your consumption BudgetMonitor: To monitor and adjust your budget billing amount CalculationTools: To calculate your optimal product on base of your consumption Partners (In- and O...

Currently on the frontpage of SDN , the developer challenge . Initially an SAP internal event but now, as Mark Finnern describes, open to customers and partners. The three focus topics for 2008: Green IT Social Computing Mobilizing SAP Especially this last topic is very interesting: A platform for users to create iPhone applications by pulling data from SAP systems. An innovation that TopForce has realized last month with the PeopleFinder application . Unfortunately the event is only open for: coders from SAP customer and partner companies in North America And until now we are not (yet) located in North America :-( By the way, you can find a demo movie on the PeopleFinder application on YouTube.

Last Friday it was our TopForce Learning Day “Towards Professional Excellence”. Again a good one, especially the innovation hour with demo’s on: the High Performance Portal, by Ronald and Peter the iPhone PeopleFinder application, by Frodo and Leo the e-HRM solution for a Dutch customer, by Ingrid This time I decided to capture the day on my camcorder in order to catch the energy and fun that we experience on such a day. Good idea … but it leaves me now with 45 minutes of film and I want to reduce that to a maximum movie length of 5 minutes. When can I find the time to do that… Fortunately André made some (148 ;-) pictures on Flickr . Do not give me too much credits, I am just installing the webcam for the iPhone demo ;-)