An Analytic Engine component that runs algorithms on business, system, and process data.

An Optimize core function that handles the following tasks:

Application programming interface.

A webMethods program such as Integration Server running on a system component in your environment.

A container object with connection data. Previously called an object.

Business Activity Monitoring. BAM allows you to analyze real-time information about the performance of your business, including the volume of business activity and its responsiveness, serious errors that may have occurred, and other KPIs. Using this actionable data, you can eliminate problems and take advantage of business opportunities.

See externally-executed process.

A rule. The term base rule is used to distinguish a rule from a rule instance.

Business Process Execution Language.

Business Process Management.

See webMethods-executed process.

The run-time component of webMethods Broker (deprecated) with which publishers and subscribers interact. It performs the communication-related work of receiving client requests, dispatching requests to the requested resource, and returning responses to clients.

Data that make up a business process, such as revenue and order number.

A KPI created by a user to monitor business process data. For example, users can create business KPIs to monitor Revenue by Customer. A business KPI differs from an intrinsic KPI, which is created by Optimize.

A series of interrelated business tasks that are performed in a specific order, using an associated set of business rules; and by multiple systems, people, and partners. Examples of business processes within a corporation might include the following procedures:

You can monitor two types of processes from My webMethods: a webMethods-executed process or an externally-executed process.

The ability to define, implement, manage, analyze, and optimize business processes, which includes interactions between systems within your own corporation (e.g., applications and information stores), people in your corporation, and external business partners.

A listing of business process components with branches and nodes that are displayed on the Analytics Overview page in Optimize.

A set of Optimize analysis functions that present business data as images. Business Visualization provides users with actionable data by highlighting patterns and trends in business processes and key performance indicators (KPIs).

One of the following five methods for data aggregation: sum, average, count, last value, min, max, and state.

Common Database Configuration. Platform containing the webMethods database components.

Central Configuration System. See Central Configurator.

A webMethods tool that provides a graphical user interface for configuration, enabling you to configure your installation in a central location without manually editing configuration files.

A KPI that performs a mathematical operation (add, subtract, multiply, or divide) on two other KPIs. For example, if individual KPIs monitor a product's operating costs and revenue, a composite KPI can monitor the product's profit by subtracting the operating cost KPI from the revenue KPI.

A set of steps that comprise a subprocess within a business process. Subprocess containers can be nested one within another.

A transition that moves data directly from one step to another through the execution of an automated business process.

An error that originates in an external system. Examples of custom errors include application failure and database failure when the application or database is external to the system. A custom error can occur at either the process or step level.

The process of combining individual data values into summarized data values. To measure the revenue in dollars generated by the order management process, a Total Order Revenue KPI might sum the dollar amounts of orders received during a ten-minute data collection interval.

A time interval during which Optimize collects data for a KPI.

A grouping of database objects deployed as a single or set of database SQL scripts. It is the lowest-level grouping of a set of scripts. A database component is defined by a database component definition file.

An XML file that defines all the information related to a specific database component. Each database component has one and only one XML file.

A collection of pre-established connections to a database. A database connection pool avoids the overhead involved in making a new database connection every time an application or server requires access to the database.

Data collection agent.

Database Component Configurator. A Java program used to install database components found in the Common Database Configuration (CDC) platform by executing SQL commands over a JDBC connection. This includes creation, removal, and migration of database components. This program replaces the Database Component Installer (DCI).

Database Component Installer. This program has been replaced by the DCC (Database Component Configurator).

A failure to meet a business rule (that is, a rule violation).

A user-defined name applied to all instances of a rule. If a derived name is specified in the Rule Information settings for the rule, all instance names will be derived from this name. Use variables in the derived name definition to keep all instances of the rule from having the same name.

A destination step relates to wait-time standardized error types. For a complete description, see wait-time standardized error type.

A category, or a way to analyze business data or system data by slicing the data into smaller components. Organizations define their own dimensions. Typical examples of dimensions are customer, region and sales person, product and manufacturer, and Broker Server and Broker.

See hierarchy.

A collection of instructions used by the Infrastructure Data Collector to discover assets.

The displayed aggregation interval used on KPI Instance graphs. Data is aggregated to the display interval to accommodate larger time frames on the graph.

A grouping of webMethods product components that share common configuration settings. A default Optimize environment contains the following logical servers:

You can use Central Configurator to set up and configure an environment.

An Analytic Engine component that receives business data and system data from the Web Service Data Collectors and other webMethods products. The Analytic Engine writes this data to the database in a format that business intelligence software can use to generate reports.

The knowledge of what each attribute in an event (definition 1) means. An event map associates business data, such as dimensions, with a particular business process.

A rule that evaluates data as it is collected rather than waiting until the end of a KPI data collection interval. An event rule takes dimensions into account, tracks its state of compliance, and persists in the database. In general, event rules evaluate data in situations that require immediate response. For example, an event rule might track whether an application has unexpectedly shut down.

A business process that is modeled and monitored using webMethods-provided tools; however, the process is executed by an external application. Compare to webMethods-executed process.

No longer applicable. Global data was deprecated in Optimize version 7.1.2.

In Optimize, an ordered ranking of dimensions. A hierarchy provides additional ways to slice data into smaller components. For example, a sales hierarchy might consist of the two dimensions of region and salesperson. As another example, a queue-length hierarchy might consist of the two dimensions of Broker Server and Broker.

A set of system components (Integration Server, Broker, SNMP agents).

A BAM component that monitors the system and operational data associated with webMethods run-time components, such as Integration Servers, Broker Servers, Brokers, and adapters, and reports the status of these components on Optimize for Infrastructure or other external tools.

See webMethods Integration Server.

A KPI created by Optimize to monitor business process or system data. For example, Optimize creates KPIs to monitor Instance Count by Process, Cycle Time by Process, and Process Error Count.

Key performance indicator. A measurement of a business activity that is important to the success of an organization. KPIs monitor metrics, quantitative business and system data, such as revenue, volume of orders, queue length, and cycle time. KPIs help answer questions such as, “How many orders over $10,000 are stuck in this process?” A KPI defines a way to aggregate event (definition 1) data.

The characteristics of a KPI, as distinct from a KPI instance.

A measurement of one slice of business data or system data. A Total Order Revenue KPI, which is not sliced by dimensions, has one KPI instance. A Revenue by Customer KPI, which slices revenue by the customer dimension, has multiple KPI instances. With a Revenue by Customer KPI, each KPI instance measures revenue for an individual customer. A Revenue by Region and Sales Person KPI, which slices revenue by a sales hierarchy with two dimensions (region and sales person), has multiple KPI instances. For the Revenue by Region and Sales Person KPI, each KPI instance measures revenue for an individual sales person within a specific region.

A rule that evaluates data over one or more KPI data collection intervals. For example, a Gross Margin Percent Severely Below Normal rule might specify that the gross margin percentage must not go more than one sigma below the average Gross Margin KPI value for three consecutive Gross Margin KPI collection intervals. A KPI rule takes dimensions into account, tracks its state of compliance, and persists in the database.

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. An Internet protocol for accessing information directories containing names, phone numbers, addresses, etc. It allows client programs to query LDAP directory servers about entries using their attributes.

A representation of a webMethods product component. Each logical server contains subcomponents that can be configured using the Central Configurator tool. During the environment configuration process, each logical server is mapped to one or more physical servers.

A Web application that integrates content from multiple sources into a seamless user experience.

A metric with a set of attributes including a unit of measure and a calculation type.

A transition that sends a message from one step to another. For example, a message flow might send a message from a step in an internal business process to a step in an external business process.

A visual overview diagram of an entire business process. Business process models are created in Software AG Designer or other external tools.

See webMethods Monitor.

The total number of monitors and the current queue size of the Analytic Engine. A large queue size might indicate that the Analytic Engine is attempting to process too much data.

A system component monitored by Infrastructure Data Collector.

An interface to Optimize that provides a standardized means for loading monitor, process, and metadata into Optimize's Analytic Engine within the webMethods product suite.

A Web-based monitoring and administration user interface for managing all products in a webMethods integration environment. When you log in to My webMethods, you are logging in to all webMethods products that are incorporated into My webMethods.

The core set of components and services required to host the Web interface for webMethods products including Optimize. Formerly known as Portal.

See webMethods Optimize.

A BAM component that enables you to access the resource information collected by Infrastructure Data Collector. You use Optimize for Infrastructure to monitor the status of individual managed objects as well as the overall status of your system.

A BAM component that monitors business processes, in addition to managed objects and system status, by tracking KPIs that relate to operational factors such as margin, revenue, customer satisfaction, and inventory levels. Optimize for Process enables you to use Six Sigma on your business processes. Optimize for Process measures the number of defects in a process and helps you systematically determine how to eliminate them. Optimize for Process includes Business Visualization tools that provide at-a-glance mashups of Optimize monitoring information.

A principle that states that the majority of defects (80 percent) are caused by a few (20 percent) vital components.

Data available only within a given process, rather than retrieved from or sent to external sources. Specifically, pipeline data is all information (documents and other data types) that is available to any given step because that data was introduced upstream in the process.

Interchangeable user interface components that are managed and displayed in a Web portal. Portlets produce fragments of markup code that are aggregated into a portal page. Typically a portal page is displayed as a collection of non-overlapping portlet windows, where each portlet window displays a portlet. Hence, a portlet (or collection of portlets) resembles a Web-based application that is hosted in a portal.

An Optimize function that helps users analyze information about the performance of business processes and rules.

An error that originates within a business process and applies to the process as a whole. Examples of process errors include processes that timed out before they completed successfully as well as processes that completed with errors.

An event that specifies what should happen when an external process encounters a particular situation. For example, if a process contains a manual review step and the system determines that the data it receives in that step is corrupt, a process event might cause Optimize to stop analyzing the process.

An execution of a business process. In an order process, each order that goes through the steps in the process is a process instance.

An Analytic Engine component that receives business process data from the Web Service Data Collectors and other webMethods products, and tracks the state of executing processes. As a process executes, the Process Tracker takes measurements about the process instance and its steps, such as wait time and cycle time. This information can be used to track performance of a business process or to alert you when certain conditions exist, such as performance degradation or a failure in process execution.

A separate subprocesses that displays as a step within its parent process but is not part its workflow.

The number of minutes between alerts. If you want alerts specified for a rule to be repeated, specify this interval in the Attributes settings for the rule.

A condition or set of conditions you apply to a process or to a type of data. You can create a rule to notify you when a process or resource becomes problematic and requires user attention. You can also create a rule to notify you when a business opportunity exists. Optimize supports the following two types of rules: KPI rules, event rules, and threshold rules.

The number of consecutive intervals for which a rule must evaluate to true before Optimize will consider the rule to be violated. For example, if you are writing a rule to detect when a queue length is trending toward being too large, you might specify that Optimize should not consider the rule violated unless the queue length trends upward for five intervals.

A logical expression contained in a rule. A simple expression tests a single condition; a complex expression tests two or more conditions. Optimize evaluates the expression to determine whether it is true or false. If the expression evaluates to true, Optimize generates a rule violation.

A filter that identifies specific processes, dimensions, or system objects that a rule should monitor.

An occurrence of a rule. For example, a rule specifies that revenue by region requires attention when the revenue drops below $10,000 over a 12-hour period. One instance of that rule occurs during the process of monitoring revenue for a specific region at each 12-hour period.

A rule instance that meets the conditions specified by a rule. Under these conditions, a business process or system resource requires user attention, either because a problem has occurred or because an opportunity exists.

An Analytic Engine component that compares the data it receives from the Analytic Engine to rules that detect when a process or resource requires user attention.

A user-defined text field associated with a rule. If text is entered into this field, that text appears with the rule in the rule list, and any alerts generated for that rule can be configured to display the severity text.

A disciplined methodology for improving business process performance by eliminating defects.

Service Level Agreement. An agreement between two parties on the level of service to be provided.

Simple Network Management Protocol. A protocol for monitoring and controlling network devices. It has nearly universal use in TCP/IP networks.

A user-configured SNMP message sent to a defined SNMP manager upon a rule violation.

A component of Infrastructure Data Collector specifically configured to collect operational data from defined SNMP Agents.

Simple Object Access Protocol.

A source step relates to wait-time standardized error types.

Structured Query Language. A database query language that interfaces with relational databases.

User-defined process error tracked by Optimize. Standardized errors use built-in error conditions that can be configured in the Add Standardized Error page error builder.

The time range for historical average KPI values.

The basic unit of work in a business process. A step can represent an automated process, a manual step performed by a person, or a visual aid that identifies a task that an external organization performs.

See wait-time standardized error type.

An error that applies to a step within a business process. Examples of step errors include duplicate step processing, step timeouts, and steps executed out of sequence.

See wait-time standardized error type.

A rule that when violated does not return to compliance until the rule is manually resolved. You can make a rule sticky to signal a serious violation that requires user attention to remedy the situation. For example, if you create a rule to detect that a Broker Server is offline, defining the rule as sticky causes the alert to occur once and the rule to remain in violation until the server is restarted and the rule is resolved.

A process within another business process. The steps within a subprocess are often grouped within a container. The subprocess is treated like a step within the process that contains it.

A transition that shows the relative volume of process instances traveling down a path in a business process. The number of dots in the swarm line indicates the relative volume moving along the transition.

A set of associated steps within a pool.

Any item of information technology (IT) infrastructure equipment in your environment that can be monitored.

Data about equipment or applications, such as queue length and whether a managed component is online or offline.

Built-in error that is automatically associated with a process by Process Tracker.

A KPI created by a user to monitor system data. For example, users can create system KPIs to monitor Integration Server Total Memory. A system KPI differs from an intrinsic KPI, which is created by Optimize.

A listing of system components with branches and nodes that is displayed on the Analytics Overview page in Optimize.

A rule that evaluates data as it is collected (for example, queue size greater than 1000 or order amount less than $500). A threshold rule does not take dimensions into account, does not track its state of compliance, and does not persist in the database. A threshold rule is like a trigger that produces an alert.

The flow of data and control from one step to another in a business process. The two basic types of transitions are control flow and message flow.

(In an event map) An attribute that you do not want to measure but would like to store in the database to use in a rule expression or to associate with a fact that arrives with the same event.

In Optimize, one of 16 different types of diagnoses (above normal, below normal, staying in upward trend, staying in downward trend, etc.) on all KPI instances over the KPI's data collection interval. You can use this information to watch for trends in performance and to help determine ways to improve business processes and system components that continue to perform outside their normal range.

Wait-time error types are intended for configuring errors related to the time that elapses leading to the start of a specified step in a process instance (the destination step). Wait-time error types are always applied to the destination step. The two available wait-time error types are Step Relative Wait Time and Step Absolute Wait Time. A Step Relative Wait Time error type relates to the time that elapses between the completion of one step in a process instance (the source step) and the start of a subsequent, specified step in that same process instance (the destination step). A Step Absolute Wait Time error type relates to the time that elapses between the beginning of a process instance and the start of a specified step in that process instance.

Self-contained applications that exchange data over the Web or another network and are based on open standards such as SOAP, TCP/IP, HTTP, Java, and XML.

Also referred to as WSDC. An interface to Optimize through which client programs can send any of the following information:

An Analytic Engine component that sends the results of the analysis to the My webMethods Server. The My webMethods user interface presents the results, along with icons that indicate that a rule violation has occurred or that Optimize has diagnosed a trend.

The deprecated “message backbone” product in a webMethods integration environment. Broker (deprecated) facilitates asynchronous, message-based communication using the publish-and-subscribe model.

The central run-time product in a webMethods integration environment. Integration Server provides an environment for the orderly, efficient, and secure execution of business processes and services.

An administrative tool used to examine instances of running or completed business processes, services, integrations, and documents. Monitor allows you to view data about business processes, services, and documents that other webMethods products have previously logged.

The Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) product in a webMethods integration environment. Optimize facilitates real-time insight into key business process and system resource activities, and provides actionable information that enables business users to make informed decisions, quickly address problems, and enhance business operations through continuous process improvement.

A business process that is modeled, executed, and monitored using webMethods-provided tools. Compare to externally-executed process.

See Web Service Data Collector.

Extensible Markup Language. A flexible markup language for structuring, storing, and sending information.