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Technology/Architecture Primary Features/Design Principles Customizable Business Experts can innovate without the delay and high costs of traditional programming Modular Thin presentation supports multiple channels Abstract componentized design resists obsolescence Based on Standards Standard development tools/languages Standard infrastructure/administration Standard communication/formats Platform Neutral Avoids third-party lock-in Includes small footprint environments Open Published API and Database Simplifies integration Simplifies upgrades Simple Strong Keep it Simple approach Careful use of J2EE Let the platform handle the hard work 2
Technology/Architecture Logical Layers of Applications Foundation of pre-built Life Insurance components Common infrastructure and services User driven assembly of business processes Achieve many benefits of a full SOA now while positioning for the future 3
Physical Tiers Logical Layers of Application Presentation Thin Application/Model Ease UI development Encapsulate session state Cache API requests Process/API Orchestration Declarative Transactions Declarative Exposure Component Business Logic/Engines Decoupled and Replaecable Data Access Isolate Data from Logic 4
ALIP Architecture Logical ALIP Front End New Business Underwriting Customer Servicing Policy servicing Workflow and business process management Service Layer Collection/Disbursement ALIP Back End Accounting Commissioning Printing Interfaces Third party management Individual policy management Group policy management Claims processing Batch treatments Product Factory 3 rd Party Policy Administration Engine Reporting Organization Authorization Reinsurance Optional usage of ALIP calculation engine by 3 rd party system Common Calculation Engine Products Rules User defined Functions Other Common Functions Tables 5
ALIP Architecture Physical Web Server Static Content/Images/HTML Presentation J2EE Application Server Web Application (WAR) Other Components Other (JAR) Components (JAR) EJB Application (EJB-JAR) Product Component (JAR) Product Interface Business, Product, and Data Flow Product Calc Engine Product Rules Calculation Engine Database Server Data Access 6
Development Tools & Languages Languages Presentation Layer JSP JavaScript Application Logic Java Back End Components Java Cobol 2 Database SQL Development Tools Version Control Subversion ClearCase IDEs / Debugging Eclipse, RAD NetExpress IDE Build Maven, Ant TCL Quality Purify, JProbe, Junit, ACQT HP Quality Center FindBugs, PMD Data Modeling DataArchitect, ERWin 7
Supported Platforms Web Server IBM HTTP Server (bundled with WebSphere) Apache 2.0 IIS 5.0+ Application Server WebSphere 6.1 WebLogic 10.x Tomcat 6 (For laptop deployments of the front-end) Java JDK 1.5+ (the JDK bundled with the application Server.) Database Oracle 10g Oracle 11g DB2 9.x Enterprise Edition Derby (open source database for front-end on laptops) Messaging Middleware IBM MQ Series JCICS Cobol / Cobol Enterprise Integrated JMS server with application server. Apache ActiveMQ V4.1+ (For laptop deployments) Operating System AIX 5.3/6 Solaris 10 Windows 2003 Server, Windows XP Linux (Red Hat Linux Enterprise edition or SUSE) Ibm z/os 1.9 or higher (for Cobol layer) Commonly used Server Hardware Versions listed in italic bold are preferred IBM P5 series Sun Solaris T Series (java / UltraSparc2) Sun Solaris M series (non-java / Sparc64) Intel based servers Mainframe (for Cobol layer) ALIP was validated on zlinux/s390x using WebSphere 6.1, DB2 9.1 and SUSE Enterprise 10. Support is not yet available for this platform. 8
Rules Engine Architecture Business users design pages using the Page Builder Pages can invoke the Rules Engine for validations and follow up questions Rules Engine can invoke underlying Business API through XML payloads Pages can be grouped and tied together to form a workflow Workflow can leverage the Rules Engine to route to the user through different paths depending on the process or user s answers The entire orchestration layer uses XML, allowing the configurable process to front non-alip systems, such as an ESB or third-party policy administration system Rules can be auto-deployed as web service operations 9
Rules Management Overview Product Rules Key IGO enabler Configurable coverage definition Centralized features utilized across coverage base, Robust calculation support and transactional events Page Group Rules for Data Collection Data collection needs to support business processes Nuanced support for a variability of data capture workflows Create and maintain with ease Business Rules Configuration to drive process innovation Drive workflow and follow up automation Insight into business rule execution to transform processes Expose as web services to support ease of integration and enablement of rules centricity 10
Rules Management Product Rules Data driven product engine to roll products out to market in fast/efficient manner Key IGO enabler Includes Coverage definition Centralized features Robust calculation support Transactional events Product structure and composition rules Tariffs definition Calculations Rules Underwriting Rules Test and simulation environments support the validation phase before the execution environment 11
Rules Management Page Development The Page Management Interface supports the creation of Pages, Questions, Answers, Conditions, Reflexive Questions, Formatting, etc. Pages Specify page name and description (description displayed at run time) Attach rules to be run when entering or leaving the page Pages can be inserted between other pages or added to end of list Questions Robust and flexible interface for configuring questions Many types of answer controls supported (Text boxes, Drop down list boxes, Radio buttons, as well as pre-defined controls) Numerous properties to be set based on purpose and type of question 12
Rules Management Business Rules Customization is supported across: Data collection needs to support business processes Various design templates and features to leverage Variability of data capture workflows to support any nuances Create and maintain configurable business processes Business rules to drive process innovation Business edits that leverage product engine Drive workflow automation, follow up automation Enable data mining of business rule to transform decision-making processes Expose as web services to support ease of integration and enablement of rules centricity 13
Rules Management Workflow Development Workflows that control all business processes in the system can also be configured Defines the workflow for a given business process. Examples include: Application entry Financial transactions entry Underwriting execution Claims management Workflow services drive the front end flow according product type and channel Routing based on product and business object state User Authorizations to perform specific process tasks based on profiling structure 14
Rules Management Promotion, Version Control, and Migration Promotion tool migrates configuration between ALIP systems Treat configuration the same as code Uses Web Services to communicate with multiple ALIP systems Simple directory based repository by default Configuration artifacts stored as XML Designed for simple integration with existing third party source control. 15
Rules Management Replicating in Multiple Environments Stable Trunk version for ongoing development Feature branches used for enhancements Deployed and tested in isolation before merging to trunk Trunk state is tagged during releases Fixes are made against release version If applicable, fixes are merged back to Trunk for the next version Both code and configuration can be patched or promoted respectively 16
Change Management Process One Enhancement SVN Branch 1 Change request, Assigned to developer (Specification or Defect) Branch from Trunk Developer / Configurator makes changes QA tests on branch site & peer code review Once approved, Merge to Trunk Is change request large enough to require a branch? One Enhancement SVN Branch 2 N Branch from Trunk Developer / Configurator makes changes QA tests on branch site & peer code review Once approved, Merge to Trunk Enhancement Enters Queue to be merged back to trunk Changes made directly on Trunk Day 1 Merge Enhancements Code Freeze Day 2 Merge Enhancements Code Freeze Day 3 Acceptance Testing Bug Fixing Day 4 Acceptance Testing Bug Fixing Day 5 Acceptance Testing Bug Fixing Developer gets latest code Developer / Configurator makes changes Changes are signed into trunk as single changeset Regression on Previous cycle snapshot, enter bugs for correction Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10 Merge SIP SIP Acceptance SIP Acceptance Acceptance Snapshot for Enhancements Testing Testing Testing Regression Test Code Freeze Bug Fixing Bug Fixing Bug Fixing Code Freeze Performance Test on Previous cycle snapshot, enter bugs for correction Change requests large enough to require a separate branch may take a few days or weeks. Each enhancement has its own timeline for completion independent of trunk development lifecycle. All changes for an enhancement, including data configuration are signed in as a single changeset. Change requests small enough not to require a separate branch are typically bug fixes or minor enhancements. Example: change format on a data element on a page. 17
System Development - Two Week Lifecycle The lifecycle above represents the main development trunk of the system. Each enhancement has an independent lifecycle. During any development cycle, the development manager may elect to not merge code and skip a cycle to focus on making corrections to trunk. The performance test is planned to be executed once every other cycle. Merges are not scheduled during the final two week development cycle before a system release. 18
Process Benefits Process significantly reduces wasted labor by concurrent changes adversely impacting each other on a daily development basis. Enhancements large enough requiring a branch are isolated from trunk activity, insulate both the developer and the rest of the development team. Process is flexible enough to allow development to be nimble, to allow direct change vs. queued change as directed by the development manager. Change process using Subversion allows isolation of distinct changesets to be rolled back or ported to other ALIP versions. Development cycle allows queuing of merging disruptive large enhancements to trunk at discretion of the development manager. Allows development manager to control trunk stability. Regression testing before and after makes it easy to identify defects introduced by the enhancement. 19
User Experience 20
Internationalization Features Single installation supports multiple languages Unicode/UTF-8 Same web pages for all languages Locale tied to each request Date, Currency formats, Collation Jurisdictions, Addresses Tax Calculations Maintenance by Translators (non programming) Batch operations by region 21
Scalability and Failover Clustering Stateless design Serializable web session Supports seamless fail-over Best Practices No single point of failure Large-grain interfaces Transfer object design pattern Always rely on pooling 22
Security Architecture Authentication Single Sign On (SSO) Container-based authentication (JAAS) Turnkey Custom Authorization Access Control Lists (ACL) Group-based authorization Security level accessible by rules Insurance-aware permissions Non-repudiation Auditing Version control for rules and questionnaires Encryption Transport/Wire (SSL, SFTP) Password hashing Data encryption 23
Integration Web Services and Integration Mechanisms User interface integration Mashups Imaging systems Message Based Accept XML, transform and communicate Adapters for standard formats like ACORD Flexible transports Web Services Enabled API Full API exposed as WS-I compliant services Expose User Created Rules as Services Application/Programming Level Swap out or extend internal components Many technical options Open relational database Provided tools to simplify extracts and reports 24
Integration Open Relational Database 20+ Logical Schemas Map to Components Design Conventions Normalized Master/Detail Named Values for Dynamic Sequential Keys Isolated Customizations Default Data Lookup Tables Initial Data Initial Users/Groups Sample Rules 25
Integration Rules as Web Services 26
Integration Example: ALIP Documentation Wiki 27
Integration From the Traditional to the Modern Approach Traditional Approach ALIP acts as a hub and handles data transformation internally Transformations are too complex to do in configuration, requiring code ALIP must handle multiple transport types (SOAP, JMS, Custom) Some transports like SOAP endpoints are too complex to handle without generating code so they are custom. Modern Approach ALIP communicates with an ESB using its own canonical data formats Custom code no longer needed since transformation and communication is externalized to the ESB ALIP needs only a small number of generic transports (SOAP, JMS) ESB Tools can handle transformations without code. 28
Integration ALIP SOA / ESB Strategy Scenario: ALIP is a front end to several existing back end systems Leverage process-driven design to delegate service requests WebSphere ESB Hosts mediation layer and transformations leveraging ALIP schema. Allow the customer to manage the integration layer Reduce complexity and customization within ALIP Use third party transformation tools (WebSphere Transformation Extender) Customer chose ACORD as a standard format within the ESB ALIP/ACORD mappings maintained as part of base 29
Future SOA Related Enhancements Continued Path Continued direction to enable our customers to leverage third-party SOA infrastructure and tools Expose ALIP data and functionality to encourage the creation of composite and situational business applications outside of ALIP Leverage dynamic rules as a flexible way to implement services Example Joint demonstration with IBM using WebSphere Process server Leverage standard BPEL to design an Agent Approval process. Seamless mix of ALIP services in a larger process flow. Shared J2EE platform advantages (transactions, Java/SCA service bindings) Augment and embellish with other services without modifications to ALIP (Email notification). 30