BizTalk Workshop

Supporting the MSE Market through the Benefits of Business Process Management (BPM)!

Offering: Omicron’s "BizTalk Workshop" provides a unique combination of training, whiteboard design, a Proof of Concept application activity and longer range implementation planning. It is specifically designed to provide the technologist and business leaders within a Mid-Size Enterprise with hands-on practical education and experience with the power of BizTalk 2004 as a Business Process Management (BPM) platform.

Program Value Statement: Finally, Business Process Management (BPM) for the masses has arrived! Why should only the largest enterprises benefit from BPM? Today, Microsoft’s BizTalk 2004 makes it is possible for companies of all shapes and sizes to:

• Successfully automate repeatable businesses processes
• Automate decision-making processes
• Integrate business rules into processes empowering business users with the ability to make changes and see the processes in action
• Increase the transparency and traceability of conforming to business regulations and practices
• Rapidly increase the deployment of business applications
• Increase the speed of business system integration

BizTalk 2004 is the newest platform from Microsoft that will enable companies to implement solutions which realign and restructure overall business processes, enabling the automation of manual processes that interfere with an organization's ability to maximize efficiency and support continuous, sustainable improvements.

Consider the following possibilities:

• Capture data easily from mobile workforces
• Automate workflow to make processes repeatable and event-driven
• Centralize and control internal databases
• Bring the disparate business applications into one collection
• Automate HR functions and employee questions
• Put useful information at the fingertips of your staff

General Offering Description: The following is a general description of the "BizTalk Workshop" offering.

A. BizTalk 2004 Training Course

Omicron will conduct a three (3)-day Training Course for the Client Team. The course will be comprised of both lectures from slides and hands on labs. The course will include 12 Course Modules, which will be reviewed with Client prior to training to ensure that the proper focus is placed upon the correct set of content. The course material will include the following modules:

• Module 1: Introduction to BizTalk Server 2004 – introduces the core features Of BizTalk Server 2004 and how messaging and orchestration services work.
• Module 2: Creating and Configuring Schemas – shows you how to use the BizTalk Editor to create and manage XML Schemas.
• Module 3: Creating a Schema Map – shows you how to create maps and use factoids to perform mapping operations.
• Module 4: Configuring BizTalk Messaging – shows you how to use BizTalk Server to route and process messages.
• Module 5: Deploying and Testing a BizTalk Solution – shows you how to deploy the assemblies to BizTalk Server computers that will host the application.
• Module 6: Tracking BizTalk Message Activity – shows you how to use Health And Activity (HAT) Tracking to monitor and debug message activity.
• Module 7: Creating a BizTalk Orchestration – shows you how to use the BizTalk Orchestration Designer to define business processes
• Module 8: Creating Business Transactions – shows you how to create orchestrations that include transaction and exception handling capabilities.
• Module 9: Consuming and Publishing Web Services – shows you how to call a Web service from within an orchestration and how to publish an orchestration as a Web service.
• Module 10: Integrating Business Rules – shows you how to configure business rules and how to call the Business Rule Engine from within an orchestration.
• Module 11: Integrating Human Workflow Services – shows you how to integrate Human Workflow Services (HWS) within an organization.
• Module 12: Managing Business Processes – shows you how to configure and manage trading partner information and how to configure services and tools for information workers to monitor business activity.

The hands on labs will be conducted in Virtual PC Sessions. The Virtual PC session will include Windows 2003, SQL Server 2000, Visual Studio .NET and BizTalk Server 2004. The below diagram depicts the concept.

Omicron will provide all the training material for up to 5 people.

B. White Board Architecting with Client Group

Omicron will conduct 2 facilitated architecture sessions with Client. The goal of the meetings will be to:

• Understand Client’s Existing Infrastructure
• Identify Areas where a BizTalk Implementation will Provide Client with the Greatest Benefits
• White Board a representative High Level System’s Architecture which will include the integration of BizTalk into the Client System’s Environment

Upon completion of the two sessions, Omicron will develop a Straw-Man systems architecture for Client. The architecture is not intended to be a compressive and detailed listing of all the uses for BizTalk within Client; however, it is intended to be a representative architecture demonstrating how BizTalk will be integrated into the Client environment. This High-Level architecture will be documented in a Power Point Presentation. Omicron will then meet with Client to review the Architecture and outline a Proof of Concept which can be achieved in the allotted 7 billable resource days.

C. Creating Proof of Concept

Omicron will work with Client on creating a Proof of Concept. The scope of the Proof of Concept will be defined in the previous step of the project and will be time boxed into the allowable 7 days of billing. The Proof of Concept will be a joint effort between Omicron and Client with a goal of proving that BizTalk will provide the expected benefit to Client as well as enabling the Client team to gain experience with BizTalk in the most efficient manner possible.

D. Implementation Planning

Upon completion of the Proof of Concept, Omicron will work with Client to develop a phased implementation plan for implementing BizTalk in the Client environment. The implementation plan will identify the required phases, steps, time and resources for the BizTalk implementation should a broader use of BizTalk emerge through this exercise.