Time to complete: 7 minutes
Objective: In this step, you use the BAM tools to create a progress dimension.
Purpose: You use a progress dimension to define a hierarchy of time as it relates to a process. The progress dimension aggregates data about activities still in process.
For example, you might use a progress dimension to find out, at a given time, how many purchase orders the purchase order process has received, but has not yet fulfilled. In this case, you would create a stage for the process between the Received milestone and the Fulfilled milestone.
Within the progress dimension you organize the milestones and stages in relation to the first milestone you define. Progress dimension milestones are sequential: the first step is completed before the next step is started. Progress dimension stages can be completed in tandem.
The following table describes the milestones and stages in the OrderProgress progress dimension.
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Milestone
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Description
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| Received | The process begins as soon as a purchase order arrives. |
| Verifying | Verifying is a transient stage. Each purchase order appears in Verifying immediately after it is received. |
| Approved | Approved is a peer of Verifying and Denied. At any given time, a purchase order is in exactly one of the three stages. |
| Fulfilling | Fulfilling is a transient stage. When a purchase order is approved, it immediately appears in the Fulfilling stage. |
| Delivered | Fulfilling and Delivered are peers because all approved purchase orders are either in the Fulfilling stage or already delivered. |
| Denied | Verifying, Approved, and Denied are peers because a purchase order is always in exactly one of those stages. Note that you must create the transient Verifying stage first. |
Prerequisites
Procedures
To create the progress dimension
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On the New BAM View: Aggregation Dimensions and Measures page, click New Dimension.
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In the New Dimension dialog box, do the following:
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Use this
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To do this
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| Dimension name | Type OrderProgress |
| Dimension type | From the drop-down list, select Progress Dimension .gif) Note |
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As soon as you select Progress Dimension, the Progress milestones and stages list, New Milestone button, and New Stage button appear. |
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Click New Milestone.
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In the New Progress Milestone dialog box, do the following:
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Use this
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To do this
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| Progress milestone | Type Received. |
| Business milestone | From the drop-down list, select Received. |
The following figure shows the New Progress Milestone dialog box.
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Click OK.
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Use the following information to create the remaining milestones and stages:
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Select
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Click
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Progress milestone
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Business milestone
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| Received | New Stage | Verifying | Received |
| Verifying | New Milestone | Approved | Approved |
| Approved | New Stage | Fulfilling | Approved |
| Fulfilling | New Milestone | Delivered | Delivered |
| Approved | New Milestone | Denied | Denied |
The following figure shows the New Dimension dialog box with the OrderProgress progress dimension.
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Click OK to save the new progress dimension and return to the New BAM View: Aggregation Dimensions and Measures page.
| Note |
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The next step starts on the New BAM View: Aggregation Dimensions and Measures page. Unlike the other BizTalk Server 2006 tutorials, we expect you to complete all of the steps in Tutorial 5: Business Activity Monitoring without stopping. |
What did I just do?
In this step, you used the BAM tools to create a progress dimension.
Next Steps
You use the BAM tools to create the measures that determine the average time it takes to fulfill orders and to verify orders, and the number of orders verified and fulfilled in the same time period in Step 8: Create the Measures.
See Also