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What is SAP BPM?

SAP BPM, or SAP NWBPM, is the component of SAP Process Orchestration that models and runs processes with BPMN 2.0. In the cloud, SAP points to SAP Build Process Automation as the target, where the Decisions capability takes the place of SAP BRM rules.

Business Process Management (BPM) is the discipline of designing, running, monitoring and improving an organisation's processes. In the SAP world, SAP BPM usually means SAP NetWeaver BPM, SAP NWBPM for short: the process component of SAP Process Orchestration (SAP PO).

Where SAP NWBPM sits in SAP PO

SAP PO consists of three components: the integration engine AEX, the process component SAP NWBPM and the business rules component SAP BRM. SAP NWBPM and AEX are installed on the same system ID (SID) and talk to each other over the XI 3.0 protocol through a SOAP channel.

Processes are modelled with BPMN 2.0 in Process Composer, part of SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio (NWDS). Service interfaces and mappings from the ESR can be imported into Process Composer, so interfaces defined in SAP PI/PO are used directly in the process. The modelled process is deployed to AS Java.

Bringing an ESR interface into an SAP NWBPM process The WSDL is imported into the project with Process Composer in SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio (NWDS) and assigned to the process.
SAP NetWeaver Developer StudioProcess ComposerProject ExplorerProcess ModelingService InterfacesWSDL Filessrc/wsdl01Import WSDLIn Project Explorer, open ProcessModeling > Service Interfaces andchoose Import WSDL on the WSDLFiles folder.NWDS02Choose thesourceEnterprise Services Repository, aremote location or the file system, orthe Services Registry.Available WSDL Sources03Pick theinterfaceLog on to the ESR and select theservice interface. Interfaces whoseoperation mode is modelled asasynchronous "best effort" are notsupported in SAP NWBPM.Service interface04Into the projectThe interface lands in the ServiceInterfaces folder and the WSDL file insrc/wsdl.src/wsdl05Assign to theprocessThe interface becomes the trigger ofa message event or is assigned to anautomated activity.Event, automated activityAn interface imported from theESR becomes, after deployment,a service that accepts reliablemessaging (WS-RM) calls; aninterface imported from the filesystem does not accept them.SAP NetWeaver Developer StudioProcess ComposerProject ExplorerProcess ModelingService InterfacesWSDL Filessrc/wsdl01Import WSDLIn Project Explorer, open Process Modeling >Service Interfaces and choose Import WSDL onthe WSDL Files folder.NWDS02Choose the sourceEnterprise Services Repository, a remote locationor the file system, or the Services Registry.Available WSDL Sources03Pick the interfaceLog on to the ESR and select the service interface.Interfaces whose operation mode is modelled asasynchronous "best effort" are not supported inSAP NWBPM.Service interface04Into the projectThe interface lands in the Service Interfaces folderand the WSDL file in src/wsdl.src/wsdl05Assign to the processThe interface becomes the trigger of a messageevent or is assigned to an automated activity.Event, automated activityAn interface imported from the ESR becomes,after deployment, a service that acceptsreliable messaging (WS-RM) calls; aninterface imported from the file system doesnot accept them.

When SAP NWBPM is the right choice

Not every integration needs a process engine. A flow that takes one message, transforms it and passes it to another system stays in AEX. SAP NWBPM comes into play in these cases:

A typical approval process in SAP NWBPM The approval process is modelled with BPMN 2.0 in Process Composer, from the incoming request to the notification sent to the requester.
rejectionapproval01Request arrivesA request arrives as a message, for examplefrom AEX, and a process instance starts.Message start event02Approval taskThe task lands in the worklist of its potentialowners; one of them opens it and decides.Human activity03DecisionThe outcome is read from the process data;approval and rejection take separate paths.Exclusive choice04System callThe approved request is written to theback-end system through an interfaceimported from the ESR.Automated activity05Notification and endThe requester gets the result by e-mail andthe process closes with an end event.Notification, end eventOn the rejection path the system call is skipped and the requester gets a rejection notice. Potential owners of the task can be defined at lane level; where the process has to wait, anintermediate timer event is used.approvalrejection01Request arrivesA request arrives as a message, forexample from AEX, and a processinstance starts.Message start event02Approval taskThe task lands in the worklist of itspotential owners; one of them opens itand decides.Human activity03DecisionThe outcome is read from the processdata; approval and rejection takeseparate paths.Exclusive choice04System callThe approved request is written to theback-end system through an interfaceimported from the ESR.Automated activity05Notification andendThe requester gets the result bye-mail and the process closes with anend event.Notification, end eventOn the rejection path the system call is skipped andthe requester gets a rejection notice. Potential ownersof the task can be defined at lane level; where theprocess has to wait, an intermediate timer event isused.

How SAP NWBPM is monitored

In SAP PO the SAP NWBPM monitors are in SAP NetWeaver Administrator, on the Processes and Tasks tab under Operations. The Manage Processes screen shows a process instance's flow, history and context, and links to the related tasks. Tasks are managed on a separate screen and can be assigned to their actual owners.

Monitoring a process instance in NWA In the Manage Processes application of SAP NetWeaver Administrator, a process instance is found, inspected and, if needed, suspended or cancelled.
SAP NetWeaver AdministratorNWA/nwa/bpm-processes01Operations›Processes and Tasks›Manage ProcessesShowAdvanced02ErrorFailedHistoryContext Data03ActionsSuspendResumeCancel04Archive0501Manage ProcessesOperations > Processes and Tasks > Manage Processes; directaddress /nwa/bpm-processes.02Filter the listRunning processes, or error and failed processes; the advancedsearch adds process definition, start time and user.03Inspect the instanceDetails, process definition and flow, history and context data; anerror log for a failed instance.04ActSuspend, resume or cancel from the Actions menu. Cancellingalso cancels the instance's tasks.05ArchiveCompleted and cancelled instances are archived.An exception from the process server puts the instance in Failed status; one that comes from the process model puts it in Error. Tasks are managed in a separate application, Manage Tasks.SAP NetWeaver AdministratorNWA/nwa/bpm-processes01Operations›Processes and TasksManage ProcessesShowAdvanced02ErrorFailedHistoryContext Data03ActionsSuspendResumeCancel04Archive0501Manage ProcessesOperations > Processes and Tasks > ManageProcesses; direct address /nwa/bpm-processes.02Filter the listRunning processes, or error and failedprocesses; the advanced search adds processdefinition, start time and user.03Inspect the instanceDetails, process definition and flow, history andcontext data; an error log for a failed instance.04ActSuspend, resume or cancel from the Actionsmenu. Cancelling also cancels the instance'stasks.05ArchiveCompleted and cancelled instances arearchived.An exception from the process server puts the instancein Failed status; one that comes from the processmodel puts it in Error. Tasks are managed in a separateapplication, Manage Tasks.

Maintenance schedule and the cloud counterpart

As part of SAP PO, SAP NWBPM follows the same schedule: mainstream maintenance for SAP NetWeaver 7.5 ends at the end of 2027 and the extended maintenance option at the end of 2030.

According to a 2023 SAP Community post by SAP, the natural cloud target for companies using SAP NetWeaver BPM and BRM is SAP Build Process Automation. The counterpart of SAP BRM rules there is the Decisions capability. System-centric orchestration without human steps can also be built in SAP Integration Suite. Screens built with Web Dynpro and Visual Composer are redeveloped with SAPUI5, SAP Build Apps or SAP Fiori elements. SAP Build Process Automation runs on SAP BTP.

How we work on SAP NWBPM projects

  1. Capturing the current flow

    How does the process run today, which systems and people are involved, and where does it wait?

  2. Modelling with BPMN 2.0

    Steps, events, human tasks and rules are separated from one another.

  3. Development and testing

    Interfaces are taken from the ESR; error and timeout paths are tested too.

  4. Monitoring and improvement

    Waiting process instances and task durations are tracked and bottlenecks removed.

We describe our services on the SAP PO side on our SAP PI/PO consulting page.

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