IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Authoring services in Integration Designer > Developing monitor models > What are monitor models?
Visual models
The visual model is the part of the monitor model that contains visualizations. Each visualization contains a reference to a Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) diagram that can be displayed in the Business Monitor dashboards. In addition, each visualization can include a set of actions describing how and when the diagram will be modified based on the values of metrics and KPIs.
Visualizations for each monitoring context and each KPI context consist of the following parts:
- A reference to an SVG file stored externally to the monitor model
- A group of named shape sets that provide a high-level mechanism for referencing sets of individual shapes in the SVG diagram
- Zero or more actions that define the visual transformation to perform on the SVG elements identified by the shape sets
Any SVG file can be used as a static diagram to be displayed in the Diagram view based on a monitoring context or KPI context. For the diagram to be updated dynamically at run time, you must declare a namespace definition in the SVG file and assign monitor model IDs to the shapes that will be associated with actions. For instructions, see "Preparing SVG diagrams."
If you exported a monitor model from WebSphere Business Modeler, each monitoring context is associated with an SVG representation of the process, loop, or subprocess diagram. Each KPI context is associated with an SVG representation of the process diagram.
Each SVG file is customized with shape sets for manipulation in the XML document. These shape sets form the link between the semantically rich graphics in the process diagram and the low-level shapes of the SVG. During export, the individual SVG elements that are created to represent single conceptual units in the process diagram (such as a task node with its labels) are collected into shape sets. Each shape set has a name and ID, which makes it simpler to refer to specific parts of the diagram when you are creating and customizing actions in the visual model.
For example, you could reference a shape set for a task in a visual model action that sets the outline color of the task's many shapes to blue. A set of predefined shape sets are created for each construct in the diagram, even though no actions are created that use many of these shape sets. You can create actions to customize the visualization associated with each monitoring context.
Each visualization can have a set of actions associated with it that are capable of affecting the diagram based on the actual values of metrics and KPIs at run time. If you exported a monitor model from WebSphere Business Modeler, any diagrams that contain a local subprocess or loop node are configured so that the shape representing the plus sign (+) on the node will link to the visualization associated with that node, allowing a dashboard user to click the diagram and drill down into process diagram elements.
To create a dynamic visualization, you can annotate the SVG file with ID values that are then referenced by actions in the visual model of the monitor model (MM) file.
For example, you could have an SVG map that dynamically shows locations in different colors, depending on the value of a KPI.
You can associate an SVG diagram with a monitoring context (to display graphics related to instance metrics) or a KPI context (to display graphics related to KPIs).
Related tasks:
Preparing SVG diagrams