FAQ - Häufig gestellte Fragen

Version: 0.5.0

General / Allgemein

What is VPB? / Was ist VPB?

EN: VPB (Visual Process Builder) is a visual process designer for administrative processes with support for PLC-like elements (COUNTER, CONDITION, STATE, etc.) and UDS3 polyglot persistence backend.

DE: VPB (Visual Process Builder) ist ein visueller Prozess-Designer für Verwaltungsprozesse mit Unterstützung für SPS-ähnliche Elemente (COUNTER, CONDITION, STATE, etc.) und UDS3 Polyglot Persistence Backend.

What is the current version? / Was ist die aktuelle Version?

Current Version: 0.5.0 (Alpha)

See [[Changelog]] for version history.

Is VPB production-ready? / Ist VPB produktionsreif?

EN: VPB v0.5.0 is in alpha status. Core features are implemented and tested, but the system is still under active development.

Recommended for:

✅ Development and testing
✅ Proof of concept
✅ Internal evaluation

Not recommended for:

❌ Production deployments (yet)
❌ Critical business processes

Installation / Installation

What are the system requirements? / Was sind die Systemanforderungen?

Minimum:

Python 3.8 or higher
4 GB RAM
2 GB disk space

Recommended:

Python 3.10+
8 GB RAM
10 GB disk space (with backends)

Operating Systems:

✅ Windows 10/11
✅ macOS 11+
✅ Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+, Fedora, etc.)

How do I install VPB? / Wie installiere ich VPB?

See [[Getting-Started]] for complete instructions.

Quick Install:

git clone https://github.com/makr-code/VCC-VPB.git
cd VCC-VPB
pip install -r requirements.txt
python vpb_app.py

Can I use VPB without Docker? / Kann ich VPB ohne Docker verwenden?

EN: Yes! VPB Designer works standalone without any backend.

Modes:

Standalone (no Docker needed)
- Local file storage (JSON)
- All GUI features
- Export functionality
With UDS3 Backend (Docker recommended)
- PostgreSQL, Neo4j, ChromaDB
- SAGA transactions
- Semantic search

Installation fails with "PyQt6 not found" / Installation schlägt fehl mit "PyQt6 not found"

Solution:

Linux:

sudo apt-get install python3-pyqt6
pip install PyQt6

macOS:

brew install pyqt@6
pip install PyQt6

Windows:

pip install --upgrade pip
pip install PyQt6

Usage / Verwendung

How do I create a new process? / Wie erstelle ich einen neuen Prozess?

Start VPB: python vpb_app.py
Menu: File → New or Ctrl+N
Add elements from palette (drag & drop)
Connect elements
Save: File → Save or Ctrl+S

See [[User-Guide]] for details.

What are SPS elements? / Was sind SPS-Elemente?

SPS = Speicherprogrammierbare Steuerung (Programmable Logic Controller / PLC)

Available Elements:

COUNTER - Counting events with limits
CONDITION - Conditional branching
ERROR_HANDLER - Error management
STATE - State machines
INTERLOCK - Safety locks

See [[SPS-Elements]] for detailed documentation.

How do I export a process? / Wie exportiere ich einen Prozess?

Supported Formats:

JSON (native)
XML
BPMN 2.0
PNG (image)
SVG (vector)
PDF (document)

Export:

Menu: File → Export → [Format]

See [[Export-Formats]] for details.

Can I search for processes semantically? / Kann ich semantisch nach Prozessen suchen?

EN: Yes, with UDS3 backend enabled!

Requirements:

ChromaDB backend running
Process indexed with embeddings

API:

GET /api/uds3/vpb/search?q=Baugenehmigung&top_k=5

See [[API-Reference]] for details.

Technical / Technisch

What databases does VPB use? / Welche Datenbanken verwendet VPB?

UDS3 Polyglot Persistence:

Backend	Purpose	Technology
PostgreSQL	Structured data	Relational DB
Neo4j	Process graphs	Graph DB
ChromaDB	Semantic search	Vector DB

See [[UDS3-Backend]] for architecture.

What is the SAGA pattern? / Was ist das SAGA-Pattern?

EN: SAGA is a pattern for distributed transactions across multiple databases.

How it works:

Begin transaction
Execute steps on each backend
If all succeed → Commit
If one fails → Rollback (compensation)

Example:

PostgreSQL ✅ → Neo4j ✅ → ChromaDB ❌
          ← Rollback ← Rollback

See [[UDS3-Backend#SAGA-Pattern]] for details.

Can I extend VPB with custom elements? / Kann ich VPB mit eigenen Elementen erweitern?

EN: Yes! VPB supports custom elements.

Steps:

Create element class (inherit from VPBElement)
Define properties
Add validation rules
Register in palette

See [[Extension-Development]] (coming soon) or [[Development-Guide]].

How do I access the API? / Wie greife ich auf die API zu?

Start API Server:

uvicorn api.uds3_vpb_fastapi:app --reload

Access:

Swagger UI: http://localhost:8000/api/docs
ReDoc: http://localhost:8000/api/redoc

See [[API-Reference]] for complete documentation.

Integration / Integration

What is Covina? / Was ist Covina?

Covina = Compliance + Organization + Intelligence + Analysis

Purpose:
Central system for process and organizational modeling with gap detection and process mining.

Integration:

VPB exports processes to Covina
Covina performs gap detection
Results fed back to VPB

See [[System-Integration#Covina]] for details.

What is VERITAS? / Was ist VERITAS?

VERITAS = Verification + Integrity + Tracking + Audit + Security

Purpose:
Compliance engine and governance framework

Features:

License validation
Module protection
Audit logging
Access control

See [[System-Integration#VERITAS]] for details.

What is UDS3? / Was ist UDS3?

UDS3 = Unified Data Services 3

Purpose:
Polyglot persistence layer with SAGA pattern for distributed transactions

Backends:

PostgreSQL (relational)
Neo4j (graph)
ChromaDB (vector)

See [[UDS3-Backend]] for complete documentation.

Can VPB integrate with my existing systems? / Kann VPB in meine bestehenden Systeme integriert werden?

EN: Yes, through multiple integration points:

REST API - Standard HTTP/JSON API
Export Formats - JSON, XML, BPMN
Database - Direct PostgreSQL/Neo4j access
Covina - Process ingestion API

See [[System-Integration]] and [[API-Reference]].

Troubleshooting / Fehlerbehebung

VPB won't start / VPB startet nicht

Check:

Python version: python --version (≥ 3.8)
Dependencies: pip install -r requirements.txt
Permissions: Can you write to current directory?

Debug:

python vpb_app.py --debug

See [[Troubleshooting]] for more solutions.

Database connection failed / Datenbankverbindung fehlgeschlagen

Check Docker:

docker-compose ps
docker-compose logs postgres
docker-compose logs neo4j
docker-compose logs chromadb

Restart:

docker-compose restart

Check Health:

GET /api/uds3/vpb/health

API returns 500 error / API gibt 500-Fehler zurück

Common Causes:

Backend database not running
SAGA transaction failed
Invalid input data

Check Transaction:

GET /api/uds3/saga/transactions/{transaction_id}

Check Logs:

uvicorn api.uds3_vpb_fastapi:app --log-level debug

Process won't validate / Prozess validiert nicht

Common Issues:

Missing connections
Invalid property values
Dead-end elements
Circular dependencies

Run Validation:

Process → Validate (F5)

Check Errors:

Red indicators on elements
Error messages in status bar
Validation panel (if open)

Development / Entwicklung

How can I contribute? / Wie kann ich beitragen?

See [[Contributing]] for complete guidelines.

Quick Start:

Fork repository
Create feature branch
Make changes
Write tests
Submit PR

Where can I report bugs? / Wo kann ich Fehler melden?

GitHub Issues: https://github.com/makr-code/VCC-VPB/issues

Include:

VPB version
Operating system
Steps to reproduce
Error messages
Screenshots (if applicable)

How do I run tests? / Wie führe ich Tests aus?

# All tests
pytest

# With coverage
pytest --cov=vpb

# Specific test
pytest tests/test_element.py -v

See [[Development-Guide#Testing]] for details.

What code style should I follow? / Welchen Code-Stil soll ich befolgen?

Python:

PEP 8
Type hints
Docstrings
Max line length: 120

Tools:

flake8 vpb/ --max-line-length=120
black vpb/
mypy vpb/

See [[Development-Guide]] for complete guidelines.

Performance / Leistung

VPB is slow / VPB ist langsam

Optimization Tips:

Enable caching (config)
Reduce canvas elements
Use batch operations
Close unnecessary panels

Check Performance:

Task Manager / Activity Monitor
Backend response times
Log analysis

Semantic search is slow / Semantische Suche ist langsam

Causes:

Large number of indexed processes
First query (model loading)
Network latency (remote ChromaDB)

Solutions:

Use local ChromaDB
Increase ChromaDB resources
Reduce top_k parameter

Licensing / Lizenzierung

What license does VPB use? / Welche Lizenz verwendet VPB?

Check: LICENSE file in repository

VERITAS Protected Modules:

Some modules protected by VERITAS Tech GmbH
See module headers for details

Can I use VPB commercially? / Kann ich VPB kommerziell nutzen?

Check: LICENSE file for terms

For protected modules:

Contact: VERITAS Tech GmbH

Support / Unterstützung

Where can I get help? / Wo bekomme ich Hilfe?

Resources:

[[Home]] - Start here
[[User-Guide]] - Complete manual
[[Troubleshooting]] - Common issues
GitHub Issues - Bug reports
GitHub Discussions - Community (coming soon)

How do I request a feature? / Wie fordere ich ein Feature an?

Check [[Roadmap]] (planned features)
Search existing issues
Create new issue: "Feature Request"
Describe use case
Wait for feedback

Is there commercial support available? / Gibt es kommerziellen Support?

Contact:

Repository owner: makr-code
VERITAS Tech GmbH (for protected modules)

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