Sparx Systems Forum

Enterprise Architect => General Board => Topic started by: Shegit Brahm on June 08, 2016, 07:19:25 pm

Title: Exporting BPMN model into XPDL result in "empty" file (EA 12.1) (target: HP ALM)
Post by: Shegit Brahm on June 08, 2016, 07:19:25 pm

I have similar problems like these ones:
- http://sparxsystems.com/forums/smf/index.php/topic,23145.msg192681.html (http://sparxsystems.com/forums/smf/index.php/topic,23145.msg192681.html)
- http://sparxsystems.com/forums/smf/index.php/topic,26723.msg207736.html (http://sparxsystems.com/forums/smf/index.php/topic,26723.msg207736.html)

Here feature has been requested, but I don't see valid fulfilment so far.
- http://sparxsystems.com/forums/smf/index.php/topic,28678.msg214620.html (http://sparxsystems.com/forums/smf/index.php/topic,28678.msg214620.html)

As I can say:
current EA 12.1 exports still conflicts with (almost) current HP ALM 12.2

My core question:
EA mistake or HP error?

Whenever I create a sample BPMN in EA and export the model, all I get is
- export as BPMN 2.0 XML

Code: [Select]

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252"?>
<bpmn:definitions xmlns:bpmn="http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/20100524/MODEL" id="EAPK_E444FEBD_8B92_4fe2_87B3_83154728E814" targetNamespace="www.sparxsystems.com.au/bpmn20" xmlns:ssbp="www.sparxsystems.com.au/bpmn20" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:di="http://www.omg.org/spec/DD/20100524/DI" xmlns:dc="http://www.omg.org/spec/DD/20100524/DC" xmlns:bpmndi="http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/20100524/DI" exporter="Enterprise Architect" exporterVersion="12.1.1224"></bpmn:definitions>
- export as XPDL 2.2

Code: [Select]

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252"?>
<Package xmlns="http://www.wfmc.org/2010/XPDL3.0alpha" Id="EAPK_E444FEBD_8B92_4fe2_87B3_83154728E814">
<PackageHeader>
<XPDLVersion>2.2</XPDLVersion>
<Vendor>SparxSystems</Vendor>
<Created>2016-06-08 09:56:55</Created>
</PackageHeader>
<TypeDeclarations/>
</Package>

I could export the package with the diagram only and got a bigger export file, but it failed with any of file names .xml, .xmi, xpdl.

I can't upload attachment here directly, can I?

Thanks,
Shegit

Title: Re: Exporting BPMN model into XPDL result in "empty" file (EA 12.1)
Post by: Geert Bellekens on June 08, 2016, 08:44:21 pm

We were able to export our business processes from EA to HP ALM using XPDL.
I remember writing a script to export each process individually, and I think the guys at the HP ALM side had to do some manipulation on the file as well before it imported properly.

Geert

Title: Re: Exporting BPMN model into XPDL result in "empty" file (EA 12.1) (target: HP ALM)
Post by: Shegit Brahm on June 09, 2016, 05:59:19 pm

Hi Geert,

thanks for sharing your experience.
If I understand you correct: until I do same things, I will ever fail?

Do you still have notes about changes in your files and changes in HP ALM and are you able/ allowed to share them?

If not, I know at least, I'm stuck here.

Thanks,
Shegit

Title: Re: Exporting BPMN model into XPDL result in "empty" file (EA 12.1) (target: HP ALM)
Post by: Geert Bellekens on June 12, 2016, 04:10:48 pm

I'll check next week with the ALM guy what he did.
My script only exported each process individually, something you could do also manually, but that would be a lot of boring work.
It's the part on the ALM side which might be interesting.
Basically he took an example that did work, and made sure the EA file looked enough like the example to get processed by HP ALM.

Geert

Title: Re: Exporting BPMN model into XPDL result in "empty" file (EA 12.1) (target: HP ALM)
Post by: Shegit Brahm on June 17, 2016, 07:30:13 pm

Thanks for your look-up.

I try a step in between:
The bizagi modeller http://www.bizagi.com/en/products/bpm-suite/modeler (http://www.bizagi.com/en/products/bpm-suite/modeler) creates BPM models that are accepted by HP ALM without any postprocessing.
Idea is now to export EA into XPDL, import it into Bizagi and export it again in XPDL for import into HP ALM.

There is just the tiny problem, that these EA files often throw errors while importing into Bizagi like "does support only XPDL 2.1 & 2.2". If I can figure out a stable way to use this toolchain, I will explain it here.

Shegit

Title: Re: Exporting BPMN model into XPDL result in "empty" file (EA 12.1) (target: HP ALM)
Post by: Eve on June 21, 2016, 02:06:31 pm

What does your model look like? The files that EA has generated suggest to me that EA believes there is no BPMN content in the selected package.

Try creating a new package, create a single BPMN 2 diagram and create a single activity (from the BPMN2.0 toolbox) on that diagram. What is generated then?

Title: Re: Exporting BPMN model into XPDL result in "empty" file (EA 12.1) (target: HP ALM)
Post by: Shegit Brahm on June 22, 2016, 06:01:44 pm

Hi Simon,

thanks for your suggestions.
I have several files to try:

First, like you said - simple an plain. This is generated by EA if I open a new project and say "BPMN 2.0 Collaboration Model"
eap file bmpmsimple.eap (http://www.file-upload.net/download-11699115/bmpmsimple.eap.html)
export entire model bpmnsimple.xml (http://www.file-upload.net/download-11699114/bpmnsimple.xml.html)
export as bpm XML bpmnsimple.xml.xml (http://www.file-upload.net/download-11699113/bpmnsimple.xml.xml.html)
export as XDPL, just shorten file ending manually bpmnsimple.xpdl.xml (http://www.file-upload.net/download-11699116/bpmnsimple.xpdl.xml.html)

Second, a self made with some more elements, not really complex at all.
export as bpm xml bmxbpmn5.xml (http://www.file-upload.net/download-11699086/bmxbpmn5.xml.html)
export as XPDL bmxbpmn5.xpdl (http://www.file-upload.net/download-11699085/bmxbpmn5.xpdl.html)

Import as BPM-XML just fails due to no XPDL.
Import from XPDL into ALM fails due to "no model"

Title: Re: Exporting BPMN model into XPDL result in "empty" file (EA 12.1) (target: HP ALM)
Post by: Geert Bellekens on June 22, 2016, 06:12:22 pm

I think you need to make sure you have BPMN Business Process element and underneath that a diagram with the lanes/pools and activities.
And make sure you have one process per package.

Geert

Title: Re: Exporting BPMN model into XPDL result in "empty" file (EA 12.1) (target: HP ALM)
Post by: Shegit Brahm on June 24, 2016, 07:08:25 pm

With essential hint from Geert to export package by package I got solution workaround:

Exported file needs editing from

Code: [Select]

<Package xmlns="http://www.wfmc.org/[b]2010/XPDL3.0alpha[/b]" to

Code: [Select]

<Package xmlns="http://www.wfmc.org[b]/2009/XPDL2.2[/b]"
One of the reasons might be that the header states

Code: [Select]

<PackageHeader>
<XPDLVersion>2.2</XPDLVersion>
<Vendor>SparxSystems</Vendor>
<Created>2016-06-24 10:41:23</Created>
</PackageHeader> - the other, that ALM imports only 2.1 and 2.2

Clean project generated by EA: S-Project.eap (http://www.file-upload.net/download-11705665/S-Project.eap.html)
(includes all BPMN2.0 models as simple example)
Export settings have been "XPDL 2.2".

useless export of entire Model: S-Project-Model.xpdl (http://www.file-upload.net/download-11705669/S-Project-Model.xpdl.html)
ALM finds nothing: S-Project-BProcess.xpdl (http://www.file-upload.net/download-11705663/S-Project-BProcess.xpdl.html)
ALM finds no project but Process: S-Project-BProcessEdit.xpdl (http://www.file-upload.net/download-11705664/S-Project-BProcessEdit.xpdl.html)
ALM finds nothing: S-Project-Collaboration.xpdl (http://www.file-upload.net/download-11705666/S-Project-Collaboration.xpdl.html)
ALM finds no project but Collaboration:  S-Project-CollaborationEdit.xpdl (http://www.file-upload.net/download-11705667/S-Project-CollaborationEdit.xpdl.html)

With your help, I mastered EA to "convince" ALM, it is just far away from expected.