XI Integration Process Builder (BPM)

Integration processes are built using a graphical editor within the XI Integration Repository.

Skills needed

What skills are needed to implement XI and support it post go-live? To answer this, it's best to break the skills required down to the elements of implementation:

• Web Application Server (ex Basis) skills for the installation and base configuration & administration.
• Business systems and process knowledge. Knowledge of the SAP and non SAP applications. Also the technical integration capabilities of the various applications
• Developer skills to facilitate the building blocks of XI Integration Scenario development, briefly comprising Data Type definition (Source and Target), Message Mapping (Source to Target), Receiver Determination (which Target), Adapter application and target systems connectivity. Fundamentally, these categorise into EAI & Integration protocol skills, but in addition Java, ABAP, XML & XSLT skills are also useful for the mapping approach.

Therefore integration project capabilities need to be multi-faceted with the right mix of core system, business and technical skills. Of course, integration projects usually consist of a few people with a broad range of skills, and XI projects are no different. Build time for an integration scenario accounts for a relatively small chunk of the development time. As ever with integration projects, the majority of the time is spent working with users, anticipating unspoken requirements & scenarios, coordinating all parties involved in the integration scenario, and performing thorough testing.