8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

1/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy:A Guided Tour to the Application of BPM

White Paper | March 2009

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

2/55

2

Contents

Abstract .......................................................................................3

Introduction ..................................................................................3

Understanding Business Process Management ..........................................6

What Is a Business Process? .................................................................... 6

What Is the Lifecycle of a Business Process? ................................................7

What Is a Model?.................................................................................8

What Is Business Process Modeling? ......................................................8

What Is Business Process Management? .................................................... 13

How Are Business Processes Executed with and without BPM? ......................... 16

How Does BPM Change the Function of IT? ................................................ 19

How Is Performance Management Related to BPM? ...................................... 20

How Is a Process Centric Approach Changing the Structure of Modern Companies?. 21

The Business Case for Adopting Business Processes Management................. 23

What Is the Ultimate Vision for a Process-Centric Company?........................... 23

What Is the Business Value of BPM?......................................................... 26

How Does BPM Help Run an Extended Business Network? ............................... 29

How Do Companies Adopt BPM? ............................................................. 29

Applying the Technology of Business Process Management........................ 33

What Is the Purpose of BPM Technology? .................................................. 33

How Does BPM Technology Expand the Scope of IT? ..................................... 35

What Categories of BPM Technology Exist? ................................................ 39

What Is BPM Technology for Process Description?........................................ 43

What Is the Value Provided by Descriptive BPM Technology?........................... 45

What Is BPM Technology for Process Automation?........................................ 46

What Is the Value of BPM Technology for Process Automation? ........................ 50

What Functionality and Components Constitute a Fully Formed BPM Suite? ......... 52

What Enabling Standards and Technology Support BPM Technology?.................. 54

Moving Forward ............................................................................ 55

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

3/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

3

Abstract

Thispaperprovidesasurveyofthepracticesandtechnologyrelatedtobusiness

processmanagement(BPM).Basicconceptsareexplained,thetransformational

effectontheenterpriseisexamined,andthevaluethatBPMcancreateisanalyzed.

Thepaperthenpresentsasurveyofthevastarrayoftechnologythatisrelatedto

BPMandsortsouthowandwhensuchtechnologyisused.

Introduction

Asthemodernenterprisegrowsincomplexityandscope,managershavestruggled

tokeeppace.Thevaluecreatingprocessesinsidecompaniesaremorecomplex.

Moreandmoreactivitieshappenoutsidecompaniesinextendedbusinessnetworks.

Demandsforincreasedcomplianceandbetterfinancialreturnsseemonlyto

increase.Thepaceofchangeisfasterthanever.Businessprocessmanagementincreasinglyisseenasawaytomastertheswellingcomplexityofthemoderncorporationsandcoordinatetheworkofthousandsof

peoplethroughafocusonwelldefinedprocesses.Leadingcompanieshaveshownthatapplyingbusinessprocessmanagement(BPM)intherightwaycanfulfillthe

promiseofITtoautomatebusinessprocessesanddirectlysupportstrategy.

WhatisrarelydescribedindiscussionsofBPMistheendtoendpicture.How

exactlydoestheactofusingtheboxes,lines,anddiamondstodescribeprocesses

ultimatelyleadtothegoalofrunningabetterbusiness?Whatarethestepsfrom

starttofinishtoreachthisgoal?Whatvaluedoesanincreasedfocusonbusiness

processesbring?Howwillanorganizationchangeinthewakeofthisfocus?HowdoesBPMtransformthetraditionalsolutiondevelopmentlifecycle?Whatroledoes

technologyplay?HowdoesBPMincorporateERPandtheexistingenterprise

applicationlandscape?Howhasthenextgenerationofsolutions,thesocalledthird

generation,beenconstructedusingmodeling,businessrules,andSOAtofulfillthepromiseofBPM?

ThispaperaimstobringreaderstoamorecompleteunderstandingofwhatBPMmeans,howitworksatmanydifferentlevels,andhowtogetstarted.Theauthors

intendtodemonstratethatbusinessprocessmanagementissimplygood

managementthatemphasizesthecentralroleofthebusinessprocess.Business

processmanagementisthedisciplineofthinkingfirstabouthowtooptimallyrun

yourbusinessthroughdefinedprocesses,andthenfindingawaytotakeadvantage

ofthelatestdevelopmentsintechnologytoextendautomationtoachievemore

effectivenessandefficiency.

Thethreequestionsexecutivesatalllevelsshouldaskthemselvesare:

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

4/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

4

Arewerunningourbusinesswithaprocesscentricmanagementviewpoint? Arewedefiningandautomatingourprocesseswithtoolsbuiltforthat

purpose?

Arewemigratingourapplications,infrastructure,tools,andprogrammanagementprocessestocreateathirdgenerationbusinessprocess

platformtosupportadoptionofBPM?

Thispaperarguesthatcompanieswillbenefitfromaprocesscentricapproachthatissupportedbyintelligentuseofbusinessprocessmanagementtechnology.In

makingthiscase,thepaperwillstartfromscratchandexplainthebasicsofboth

businessprocessmodeling,businessprocessmanagement,andaprocesscentricapproach.Thepaperwillthenmoveontoadetaileddiscussionofbusinessprocess

managementrelatedtechnology.

Theargumentwillunfoldinthefollowingsections,eachofwhichanswerskey

questions:

UnderstandingBusinessProcessManagement.Providesbasicdescriptionsfortermsthatareoftenusedandseldomclearlyexplained.Relatedareasto

businessprocessmanagementsuchasperformancemanagementand

organizationalstructurewillalsobeexplored.Thefollowingquestionsareansweredinthissection:

Whatisabusinessprocess? Whatisthelifecycleofabusinessprocess? Whatisamodel? Whatisbusinessprocessmodeling? Whatisbusinessprocessmanagement? HowarebusinessprocessesexecutedwithoutBPM? HowdoesBPMchangethefunctionofIT? Howisperformancemanagementrelatedtobusinessprocess

management?

Howisaprocesscentricapproachchangingthestructureofmoderncompanies?

TheBusinessCaseforAdoptingBusinessProcessManagement.Reviewsthe

argumentsinfavorofadoptingbusinessprocessmanagement.Thissection

presentsthelongtermvisionforbusinessprocessmanagement,themore

immediatebusinessvalue,andexplorestheeffectonbusinessnetworksandtheITfunction.Thesimultaneoustopdownandbottomuppropagationofbusiness

processmanagementisalsodescribed.Thefollowingquestionsareanswered:

Whatistheultimatevisionforaprocesscentriccompany? WhatisthebusinessvalueofBPM?

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

5/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

5

HowdoesBPMhelprunanextendedbusinessnetwork? HowdocompaniesadoptBPM? WhatskillsarerequiredtosupportBPM?

ApplyingtheTechnologyofBusinessProcessManagement.Presentsa

taxonomyofbusinessprocessmodelsthatcanbeusedtoquicklycategorizeand

understandtheappropriateuseofthegrowingcollectionofbusinessprocess

managementrelatedtechnology.Theroleofenterpriseapplicationsandserviceorientedarchitecture(SOA)isexplainedalongwithexamplesofhowto

usevariouscategoriesofBPMtechnology.Itanswersthefollowingquestions:

WhatisthepurposeofBPMtechnology? HowdoesBPMtechnologyexpandthescopeofIT? WhatcategoriesofBPMtechnologyexist? WhatisdescriptiveBPMtechnologyandwhatisitsvalue? WhatisBPMtechnologyforprocessautomationandwhatisitsvalue? WhatfunctionalityandcomponentsconstituteafullyformedBPM

suite?

WhatenablingstandardsandtechnologysupportBPMtechnology?Peoplewhoarenewtobusinessprocessmanagementorwhoareseekingtorefreshtheirknowledgeshouldreadthepaperstraightthrough.Cognoscentishouldstartat

thesectionApplyingtheTechnologyofBusinessProcessManagement,whichbreaksnewgroundandprovidesahelpfulwaytoorganizethinkingwhenselecting

technology.

Thispaperisintendedtosparkacontinuingdiscussionofbusinessprocess

management,whichwillhenceforthbereferredtoasBPMinthepaper.Tojointhis

discussion,pleasegotooneofthefollowingonlinecommunities:

JointheSAPBPXCommunityathttps://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/bpx GetmoreinformationaboutSAPNetWeaverBPMat

http://www.sap.com/platform/netweaver/components/sapnetweaverbpm/index.epx

GotoAccentureBusinessProcessManagementServicesathttp://www.accenture.com/bpm

ForinformationonsystemsintegrationandtechnologyfromAccenturegotohttp://www.accenture.com/Global/Technology

http://www.accenture.com/Global/Technologyhttp://www.accenture.com/bpmhttp://www.sap.com/platform/netweaver/components/sapnetweaverbpm/index.epx

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

6/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

6

Understanding Business Process Management

Thetermsprocess,businessprocess,modeling,businessprocessmodeling,and

businessprocessmanagementareseeminglyselfexplanatoryenoughthattheyareusedmostofthetimewithoutanexplicitdefinition.Unfortunately,noteveryone

meansthesamethingwhentheyusetheseterms.InthissectionofthepaperweclearthedecksofthebasicconceptsofBPMaswellasexplainsomelinksbetween

BPMandadjacentareasofconcern.

Thefollowingdefinitionsattempttostayawayfromacademiccomplexityandgetto

theheartofthematter.

What Is a Business Process?

Aprocesstomostpeopleisadescriptionofawayofdoingthingsortheway

somethinghappens.Aprocessisatransformationinwhichinputsareconvertedtooutputs.Inbusiness,aprocessisawaytoachieveaspecificobjectivethatisrelated

tocreatingvaluefortheendcustomer,asshowninFigure1.

Figure1.TheBasicStructureofaProcess

Businessprocessesoperateinthecontextofconstraints,regulations,anddefined

rolesandrelationships.Everydayexamplesoftasklevelbusinessprocessesinclude

registeringtovote,buyingabookfromawebsite,orchangingyouraddress.Activitylevelprocessesmightincludepreparingyourtaxesorapplyingfora

mortgage.Processlevelprocesseshavemanysteps,forexample,buyingahouseor

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

7/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

7

selectingandenrollinginauniversity.Thehighestlevelprocessesareongoing,

complexactivitiessuchasmarketingasmallbusinessorbuildingashoppingcenter.

Sometimesthevaluecreatedbyaprocessiseasytosee.Othertimesaprocessindirectlycreatesvaluebyperformingataskrelatedtoaccounting,administration,

andothermanagementfunctions.Therearemanymoreornatedefinitionsof

businessprocesses,buttheyallcomedowntothissimplelevel.

Thechallengethenbecomestodescribehowtheinputsaretransformedintooutputs.Hereiswherethingsstarttogetmorecomplicated.

What Is the Lifecycle of a Business Process?

Businessprocessesemergefromexperience.Asacompanydoesitswork,patterns

emerge.Eventually,thestepstodoingsomethingreliably,thecompletesetof

informationneeded,andtheroleseveryoneshouldplaybecomeclear.Whenallofthisisunderstood,itispossibletodescribeanddocumenttheprocessinoneof

manydifferentforms.Then,byexecutingtheprocessandkeepingtrackofthe

performanceandtheresults,itispossibletounderstandwaysofimprovingthe

process.Thesestepsarecapturedinthefollowingdiagramthatshowsthegeneral

lifecycleofabusinessprocess.

Figure2.TheBusinessProcessLifecycle

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

8/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

8

ThecyclestartswiththeAnalyzestep,inwhichtheneworexistingprocessesare

studiedsothattherequirementsfortheprocessareunderstood.Thenextstepis

Design,inwhichtheprocessisdefinedindetail,followedbyImplement,inwhich

theprocessissupportedorautomatedtothegreatestextentpossible.Inthesesteps,

theprocesscomesoffthedrawingboardandcomestolife,firstasabusiness

processmodelandthenassomeformoftechnologythatassistswith

implementation.Finally,theprocessisrunandmonitoredand,ifthereisroomfor

improvement,thecyclestartsalloveragain.Itisnotuncommonforprocess

simulationstobeemployedintheDesignandImplementstepstoimprovethe

understandingofhowaprocesswillworkinproduction.Thiscyclerepresentsacommonsenseapproachtoviewingprocessesandyoumaywanttokeepitinmind

asweproceedthroughthisdiscussion.

What Is a Model?

Amodelisadescriptionofsomething,arepresentationofreality.1Oftenmodelssummarizecomplexactivityinasimplifiedform.Butmodelscanjustaseasily

captureandrepresentcomplexprocesses.Thepointofmodelsiscommunication

toportraytheessenceofsomething,toconveyanimprovedunderstanding.Models

canbeexpressedeitherintermsofmetricsandequationsorintermsofstepby

stepinstructions.BothtypesofmodelsarerelevanttoBPM.

Forexample,thefinancialreportsofacompanyrepresentamodelofthecompanys

financialperformance.Allofthecapitalandotherresourcesaretheinputsandthe

incomeproducedisoneofthekeyoutputs.

Modelsthatdescribeaprocesscantakemanyforms.MostofthetimeintheworldofBPMavisualrepresentationofaprocessiswhatisreferredtoasthemodel.Itisnotuncommontohavelengthierformsofdescriptionsofeachstepofavisualmodel

providedinlongerdocumentsthatcontainanarrativedescription.

What Is Business Process Modeling?

Businessprocessmodelingistheartofdescribinghowworkgetsdoneina

companyattheappropriateleveltoachievethedesiredcommunication.Thetypical

goalsofbusinessprocessmodelingaretocaptureaprocesssothatitcanbebetter

understoodandimprovedortodescribeaprocessindetailandassociateitwith

technologysothatitcanbeautomated.

1Inhisbook,HighPerformanceThroughProcessExcellence (Springer2009),MathiasKirchmer

comparesbusinessprocessmodelsandthewaytheyrepresentrealitytopopartpaintings,which

representandcapturerealityinadifferentway.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

9/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

9

Abusinessprocessmodelingeneralissimplyadescriptionofabusinessprocess.

Visualbusinessmodelsaredescriptionsofthestepsthattakeplaceduringaprocess

andarefrequentlyrepresentedinflowchartssuchastheoneshowninFigure3,

althoughotherformsofmodelssuchasnumericalequationsorstepbystep

proceduresarealsosometimesused.

Figure3.ABusinessProcess

Mostmodernbusinessprocessmodels,liketheoneabove,areexpressedinbusiness

processmodelingnotation(BPMN),avisuallanguageusingrectanglesforstepsina

process,linesshowingtheflowofactivity,circlesforstartandendpoints,diamonds

fordecisionpointsandbranches,andvariousformsofannotations(seeFigure4).

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

10/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

10

Sometimestheactivitiesofaprocessareseparatedintocolumnsorrowscalled

swimlanesthatgroupstepsthathavesomethingincommon.

Figure4.BPMNElements2

BPMNisdesignedtoallowprocessestobedescribedinasummarized,abstractway

thatcanbeunderstoodbybusinesspeople.BPMNalsoisrichenoughtodescribeprocessesatthelevelofdetailneededtoallowtechnologiststousemodelsto

automateprocesseswithtechnology.Inatypicaluseofbusinessprocessmodeling,

highlevelmodelssummarizebusinessprocessesandthencascadedownwardinincreasinglevelsofdetail.Themostdetailedmodelshaveenoughexpressivepower

todescribeapplications,thatis,tolinkeachprocesssteptoauserinterfaceorweb

servicethathelpssupportthestepbyprovidinginformationorthemeanstotake

action.(ApplyingtheTechnologyofBusinessProcessManagementlaterinthis

papergoesintogreaterdetail.)Becausethesamemodelinglanguageisusedatall

levels,themodelscanstayconnected.Whenproblemsareidentifiedatlowerlevels

2ThisgraphicisadaptedfromTheProcessofBusinessProcessModelingUsingBPMN ,Alexander

Grosskoph,GeroDecker,andMathiasWeske(MeghanKifferPress,2009)

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

11/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

11

ofdetail,theanalysisoftheproblemcanthencascadeupwarduntiltheissueis

resolvedattheappropriatelevel.

Mostmodelshaveoneoftwopurposes:theycanbedescriptiveorexecutable.Adescriptivemodeliscreatedtodocumentthestructureofsomeexistingprocessor

thedesirednewwayofdoingthings.Descriptivemodelscanbeusedfortraining

andeducationandaspartofchangemanagementprogramsandsystemsdesign.

Simulationsusedtobetterunderstandtheflowofdataandworkthroughaprocessarealsoprimarilydescriptive,eventhoughtheyallowaprocesstocometolifeina

limitedway.

Executablemodelsaremodelsintendedtobetranslatedintosomeformof

automatedsolutionthathelpscarryoutaprocess.Executablemodelsare

descriptive,buttheyalsoincorporatecomponentssuchasuserinterfaces,services,

businessrules,andotheraspectsthatareinvolvedinconnectingaprocesstothe

outsideworld.MuchofBPMtechnologyinvolvesusingexecutablemodelsaswayfor

businesspeopleandITstafftodescribethewaytheywantabusinessprocessto

worksothatasolutiontosupportthatprocesscanbegeneratedfromthemodel.

Process Summary Levels

Onemajorchallengetounderstanding

businessprocessmodelingisthatitisusedatmanydifferentlevelsofdetailfor

manydifferentpurposes.Whenlookingatabusinessprocess,firstitisvitalto

askyourselfwhatlevelofdetailisbeingexpressed.Whilethereisnocanonicaldefinitionofthelevelsofbusinessprocessmodeling,thelevelsusuallyproceedfrom

highlevel(lowgranularity)tospecific(highgranularity).

Forexample,businessprocessmodelingmaybeusedtodescribethehighlevel

structureofahugecompany.Theboxesinthiscasemayrepresentwholedepartments,likeR&D,manufacturing,orsupplychain.Suchmodelingisoften

performedbyenterprisearchitects,peoplewhodesigntheprocessesand

technologyofacompanyatabroadlevel.Inthispaper,wesaythatsuchmodels

haveenterprisefocusandtheycorrespondtoprocesssummarylevel1,asshown

inFigure5.Level1modelingdescribesthehighestlevelbusinessscenarios.Thesemodelsencompassbroadcollectionsofprocessesthatdescribethemajorfunctions

oftheenterprise,suchasmarketing,demandmanagement,orproductdesign.Thislevelofmodelingisusuallydescriptive.

Businessprocessmodelingmayalsobeusedtodescribethedetailsofabusiness

process.Thiscanbeatahighlevel,suchasdescribingallofthestepsoftheorderto

cashprocess,orataverydetailedlevel,suchasdescribingallofthestepsneededto

When looking at a businessprocess, first it is vital to askyourself what level of detail isbeing expressed.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

12/55

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

13/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

13

Figure5.BusinessProcessSummaryLevelsImprovetheVisualExplanation

Theselevelsaresomewhatarbitrary,andtherearemanygrayareasbetweenthem.Eachlevelmayincludecascadinglevelsofdetail.Buttheselevelsareusefulwhen

describingthemodelingthattakesplacewhilecreatingbusinessprocessmodels.

Thewaythatbusinessprocessmodelingseparatesareasofconcernisespeciallyusefulwhenmanaginglargescaleprocessdesignactivitiesbecausetheworkload

canbecleanlyallocatedacrossagroupofspecificsubjectmatterexperts.

What Is Business Process Management?

Withaclearunderstandingofbusinessprocessmodelinginmind,itisstraightforwardtounderstandBPM,whichisessentiallythepracticeofmanaginga

companybyfocusingondefiningbusinessprocesses,describingthemindetail,monitoringthemwithappropriatemetrics,andthenusingtheimproved

understandingtooptimizetheperformanceofthebusiness.

Noticethat,intheory,notechnologyisrequired.BPMkeepsthefocusonthe

businessprocessasthecentralconceptaroundwhichallothermanagement

thinkingandactivitytakesplace.Inpractice,however,keepingtrackofallofthose

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

14/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

14

processdescriptions,automatingprocesseswhereappropriate,instrumenting

processesandtrackingmetrics,usingmodelstogeneratesolutions,andmakingthe

mostofexistingenterpriseapplicationsallrequiretechnologyofvarioustypes.

The Evolution of BPM

ThemodernideaofBPMhasitsrootsinthescientificmanagementtheoriesof

FredrickWinslowTaylor.Ithasevolved3throughtechniquesforsystematicimprovementofprocessessuchastotalqualitymanagement,leanmanufacturing

andsixsigma,andwasmostrecentlypromotedunderthebannerofbusinessprocessreengineering.

Whilemostofthesemethodshavebeensuccessfulinthecontextinwhichtheywere

applied,itisworthlookingatbusinessprocessreengineeringinabitmoredepth

becauseitsometimesisreferredtoinanegativeway.Businessprocess

reengineering,whichcametoprominenceinthe1990s,was,inessence,anattemptatapplyingBPMinaworldpopulatedwithrigidtechnology.Reengineeringtook

holdinanerainwhichtheUnitedStateswasundersiegefromforeigncompetition,

especiallyfromJapan,andcompanieswerelookingforwaystoimprovetheir

performance.Businessprocessreengineeringworkedbrilliantlywhenthechanges

demandedofITweremodestandcouldbeperformedquickly.Mostoftheexamples

citedinbooksonreengineeringareofthisnature.ButwhenmoderateormajorchangestoITwererequired,reengineeringgenerallydidnotproducegreatresults.

ItisimportanttorecognizehowfarIThascomesincetheearly1990s,thebeginningofthesecondgenerationofintegratedenterpriseapplications.ERPandother

enterpriseapplicationshavebeenwidelyimplemented,providingafoundationofstandardizedprocessautomation.EventuallyERPandtherestoftheseapplications

(suchasCRM,SCM,HCM,andPLM)wereintegrated,providingthehighestlevelof

fulfillmentofthesecondgenerationparadigm.

Thestirringsofthethirdgenerationofenterpriseapplicationsbeganintheearly2000s.TheInternethasbeenbuiltoutprovidingubiquitous,standardized

connectivity.Manydifferenttypesofwebservicesareavailableforreuse,resulting

inanexplosioninsocalledmashupapplications.Enterpriseapplicationsarenow

muchmoremanageableandconfigurable.Theseapplicationsgainflexibilityby

participatinginprocessautomationthroughwebservices,whichisnowcalledSOA.Visualprogrammingandapplicationcompositiontoolsusingmodelshavegone

throughseveralgenerationsandarenowstartingtoallowbothbusinesspeopleand

3Chapter2,TheEvolutionofProcessManagement,inBusinessProcessManagement:TheSAP

RoadmapbyJimHagemannSnabe,AnnRosenberg,CharlesMller,andMarkScavillo(SAPPress,

2009),hasausefulsummaryofthehistoryofBPM.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

15/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

15

ITstafftobuildsolutions.Standardsformodelingofprocesses,theirexecution,and

theirimplementation,havegonethroughseveralgenerationsandarenowmature.

Theinfrastructureformonitoringprocessesandmanagingperformanceand

compliancehasbeencreated.Sixsigmaandotherqualitymanagementprocesses

arenowwellunderstood.Theparadigmshiftforthethirdgenerationisfromthe

notionofanintegratedsetofapplicationstothevisionofaplatformtosupportthe

creationandrecombinationofmodularbusinessprocesses.Suchaplatformbrings

togethertheabilitytodesign,implement,monitor,analyze,andimprovebusiness

processeswithoutregardfortheunderlyingtechnicalorapplicationconstraints.

Givenallofthistechnology,thelessonslearned,andtheurgencythatresultsfromincreasingbusinesscomplexityandcompetition,BPMhasachanceofsucceeding

wherebusinessprocessreengineeringfailed.

An Example of BPM in ActionAmergeroftwocompanieswithoverlappingproductportfoliosprovidesatypical

exampleofthevalueofBPMtechnology.Imaginethatthetwocompanieshave

differentITinfrastructurethattheydonotplanonconsolidatingintheshortterm.

Butevenso,thecompaniesdecidetheywantacommonfacetotheconsumer

throughwebsites,callcenters,andotherchannelsforordertaking.Thisisaperfect

scenarioforapplyingBPMtechnology.

Thefirststepistodesigntheidealordertocashprocessinwhichalltheactivities

required,fromordertakingtofulfillmentandthroughcollectingmoney,aredescribedinabusinessprocessmodel.Eachstepinthemodelmustincorporate

componentssuchasuserinterfacestopresentaunifiedproductcatalogorcollectthedataabouttheorder.Existingservicesthatcommunicatewiththeapplications

willbereusedandmissingserviceswillhavetobedefinedandimplemented.

Thecallcenterandsalesstaffwilluseanapplicationforordertakingandfulfillment

thatwillbegeneratedfromthebusinessmodel.Oneofthestepsinthismodelisabusinessrulescomponentthatlooksattheproductsincludedineachorder.The

rulescomponentanalyzestheordertodeterminethecorrectcompanyandspecific

factorytowhichtheordershouldbesentusingallavailabledata,includingproduct,

sizeoforder,geographyofcustomer,andsoon.Basedontherecommendation

providedbythebusinessrules,thespecificpartsoftheorderaresentviamessagestothecompaniesthatmaketheproducts.Anothersetofbusinessrulesisusedto

determinethecorrectwebservicestousetoobtainstatusinformation.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

16/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

16

Figure6.UnifiedOrder-to-CashProcessforTwoDistinctCompanies

Inthisway,BPMtechnologyallowsthebusinessprocesstobethedrivingforcein

determininghowbusinessgetsdone.TheunderlyingcomplexityoftheIT

infrastructureisconcealedanddoesnothavetobetheconcernofthoserunningthe

business.

How Are Business Processes Executed with and without BPM?SometimesitsoundsasifproponentsofBPM

aresuggestingthateveryactivityofa

corporationshouldbedescribedorautomated

usingformalbusinessprocessmodels.Even

themostenthusiasticproponentsdonot

suggestthatadoptionofBPMgothisfar.

Rather,thetargetsforBPMaretheprocesses

thataremostimportanttocreatingvalue,thosethatwillyieldtremendousbenefitsif

optimized,thosethatmostneedtorapidly

changeandevolvetokeeppacewithcompetitivemarkets.

ButtotrulyunderstandwhatBPMisgoodfor,

Sometimes it sounds as ifproponents of BPM aresuggesting that every activityof a corporation should bedescribed or automated using

formal business processmodels. Even the mostenthusiastic proponents do notsuggest that adoption of BPM

go this far.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

17/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

17

itisvitalthatwealsounderstandtheotherwaysthatworkgetsdone,boththose

processesarelessstructuredandthosethataremorestructured.Figure7shows

thetypesofprocessesandtechnologiesoneithersideofBPM.

Figure7.ProcessandTechnologyTypes

Mostoftheworkdoneinacompanyhappensthroughunstructuredcollaboration

andcommunicationbasedonthesimplemechanismsofemail,spreadsheets,

documents,presentations,andrealtimecommunicationthroughphones,IM,and

textmessaging.Doprocessestakeplacewhenweusesuchtools?Mostwould

answeryes.Tasksarebeingperformed,sometimescalledtacitinteractions ,that

haveastartingpointandaresult,butworkdoesnotproceedinapredictable,stepbystepmanner.Recruitingisagoodexampleofsuchaprocess.Itstartswithajob

descriptionandendswithahire,butexactlyhowalltheinterviews,evaluations,and

meetingswillgoisnotclearattheoutset.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

18/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

18

BPMdoesnotinvadethisspaceforthemostpart,although,bypayingattentionto

thepatternsofcommunicationandcommonformsofdocuments,itispossibleto

identifyprocessesthatcouldbenefitfromsupportwithBPM.

Whatissometimesmisunderstoodindiscussionsabouthowtoautomatebusiness

processesistheextenttowhichunstructured,manualtechniquesdominatethe

activityinabusiness.InBusinessProcessManagement:TheSAPRoadmap,Jim

HagemannSnabe,AnnRosenberg,CharlesMller,andMarkScavillosuggestthatonlyabout20percentofalltheprocessesusedtorunabusinesscanbeautomated.

EnterpriseapplicationssuchasERPprovidestandardizedimplementationsofthe

commonprocessesofmodernbusinessesanddomostoftheworkforthe

approximately20percentofprocessesthatcanbeautomated.Atthedawnofthe

enterprisesoftwareindustry,itbecameclearthateachcompanyshouldnotinvest

increatingitsowncustomapplicationforaccounting,finance,controlling,

budgeting,invoiceprocessing,andsoon.Enterprisesoftwarevendorscreated

softwareapplicationsthatimplementedstandardprocessesthroughconfigurable

abstractions.Theseapplicationsbecamerapidlyadoptedstartingintheearly1990s

withthearrivalofthefirstcomprehensiveERPpackages.Asuccessionofother

applicationsfollowed,includingCRM,SCM,PLM,andothers.Todaywehaveacomprehensivefoundationfortrackingandautomatingthetransactionalactivities

inherentinlargecompanies.

Enterpriseapplicationshavebecomethesystemsofrecordandmanyofthenon

automatedactivitiesusedatathatisstoredinthem.Enterpriseapplicationsalso

haveunitsoffunctionality,suchastakingorders,creatinginvoicesandpurchase

orders,makingpayments,andsettingupvendorrelationships,thatmaybetheendresultofanonautomatedprocesssuchasmakingasale.

BPMfillsthespacebetweenthewideopen,unstructuredworldofcollaborationand

theprecisetransactionprocessingofenterpriseapplications.Ithasbecomewidely

realizedthatimportantenterpriseprocessesroutinelycrosstheboundariesof

enterpriseapplications.Processeslikeordertocashorprocuretopaymayinvolve

severalenterpriseapplicationssuchastakingordersinCRM,ERPcreatinginvoices

andpurchaseorders,andmanagingproductionandfulfillmentinSCM.

BPM,especiallyincombinationwithservicesthatcanmovedatainandoutof

enterpriseapplicationsandotherinformationsourcesprovidesawaytoexplicitly

define,manage,andautomateprocessesthatspanenterpriseapplications.BPMalsoallowsprocessesthatbringinpeopleandsystemsfromoutsidethecompanytobe

defined.Inthisway,BPMsupportsprocessesthattakeplaceacrossanextended

businessnetwork.

ThepersonalityofprocessescurrentlyautomatedbyBPMareasfollows:

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

19/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

19

Theyaremorestructuredthantheloosecollaborationbasedonemailandothersuchmechanisms

Theyaremoreflexiblethanthetransactionalprocessesinenterpriseapplications

Theyarewiderinscopethanprocessesinenterpriseapplications,crossingbothapplicationandcompanyboundaries

Theirflowisexplicitlydefined,managed,andautomatedItisimportanttopointoutthatthescopeoftheprocessescurrentlyautomatableby

BPMislimitedbythegranularityofthewebservicesthatareavailable.Astime

passes,notonlywillhighlevelwebservicesbeexposed,butlowerlevelservicesaswell.Anenterpriseapplicationwillbeanerectorsetwithpartsthatcanmakeother

partsthatcanmakeotherparts.Insuchaworld,BPMcanbeusedformuchmorethanthehighlevelorchestrationdescribedearlier,butalsoformorestructured

automation.Inaddition,itislikelythattheboundariesbetweenunstructuredcollaborativeprocessesandBPMorchestrationwillalsoblur.Inotherwordswhatis

nowadivisionbetweenunstructuredprocesses,BPMstyleprocesses,andhighly

structuredprocesseswillbecomeacontinuumandBPMwillexpandinitsabilityto

expresstheflowofworkfrombeginningtoend.Therestofthisdocumentprovides

amoredetailedexplanationofhowBPMworksinitscurrentform.

How Does BPM Change the Function of IT?

BeforetheadventofBPM,thetaskofIThadtwomissions:providingtoolsto

supportunstructuredcollaborationandimplementingandconfiguringstructuredenterpriseapplications.Bothcasesempowerusers.Collaborativetoolsprovidethe

powertocommunicate,collaborate,andcreateandsharedocuments,spreadsheets,andpresentations.Enterpriseapplicationsrecordtransactions,analyzethestateof

theenterprise,andparticipateinstructuredandwelldefinedbusinessprocesses

thatareimplementedinthoseapplications.

BPMprovidesanewsortofempowermentandchangestheroleofITtosome

extent.BPMallowsbusinessusersthepeoplewhoarethemastersofspreadsheets

andpresentations,whoreallymakethemostuseofthetechnologytheyhaveto

startplayingamajorroleinthediscovery,definition,andautomationofbusiness

processes.

AsweshallseeinmoredetailinthesectionsonBPMtechnology,oneofthekey

waysthatBPMchangesacompanyisbyempoweringbusinessusers.IfBPMtechnologyisprovidedintandemwithanITandapplicationinfrastructuretosupportSOA,itisincreasinglypossibleforbusinessstafftodesigntheirown

processesandplayamuchmoreactiveandhelpfulroleingeneratingnewsolutionstosupportthem.ItshouldalsobenotedthatITstaffusingBPMtechnologyareable

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

20/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

20

toincreasetheirproductivitywhenbuildingsolutions.Regardlessofwhousesthe

technology,businessprocessmodelsarenotonlydescriptionsofhowacompany

doesitsworkbuttheycanbethesourceforcreatingsolutions.Inotherwords,the

businessprocessmodelsaresemanticmodelsofabusiness.AsProfessorEricvon

Hippelsresearchonuserdriveninnovation4shows,whenpeoplearegiventoolsto

solvetheirownproblems,afloodofinnovationusuallyfollows.

InthecaseofBPM,whatusuallyhappensissomethinglikethis:

BusinessusersrealizethattheycandefineprocessesandplayamuchmoreactiveroleincreatingsolutionstoautomatethemwithBPMtechnology

TheystartrecognizingprocessesthathavebeenexecutedininformalwaysanduseBPMtechnologytostarttoautomatethem

Intheautomationprocess,informationisretrievedandstoredinenterpriseapplicationsthroughwebservices

Incaseswheretheneededwebservicesdonotexist,ITcreatesthemtoprovidetheneededinformationandfunctionalitytosupporttheprocess

Astimepasses,moreandmoresupportingBPMinfrastructureisinplace,businessusersbecomemoreadeptatdesigningprocessesandsomestart

buildingsolutionsforthemselves,andITmakessureeveryonehasthetoolstheyneed.

InacompanythatisatahighlevelofBPMmaturity,therelationshipbetweenbusinessandITchanges.AssumingtherightBPMtechnologyandwebservicesare

available,businessuserscandomoreforthemselvesandITbecomesinvolvedonan

exceptionbasis.InsteadofaskingITtosolvetheirproblemsdirectly,usersbringIT

intotheprocesswhensomethingismissing.

ThistransformationoftheroleofITdoesnothappenquicklyatmostcompanies

becausetheadoptionofBPMtechnologyandtheemergenceofafullportfolioof

servicestakeplacegradually.Intheshortterm,BPMmeansthatthealignment

betweenbusinessandITdramaticallyimproves.Inthelongerterm,itshouldalways

berememberedthatoneoftheresultsofBPMistheempowermentofaneven

broaderrangeofuserstoinnovateandsolvetheirownproblems.

How Is Performance Management Related to BPM?

ThemodernpracticeofperformancemanagementworkshandinhandwithBPMby

applyingmeasurementsatvariouspointsinprocesses.

4EricvonHippelisaProfessorandHeadoftheInnovationandEntrepreneurshipGroupattheMIT

SloanSchoolofManagement.Hisbooksonuserdriveninnovationcanbedownloadedfromhishome

page:http://web.mit.edu/evhippel/www/.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

21/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

21

Inthepast,performancemanagementhasfocusedonmeasuringresults,mostlyat

theendoftheprocessandusuallyinfinancialterms.Whenperformance

managementisappliedinanorganizationthatisadoptingBPMseveralthings

change:

Measurementstakeplaceatkeycontrolpointsatthebeginning,middle,andendoftheprocess

Operationalmeasuresthatindicatethepaceandqualityofprocessesbecomemoreprominent.Theseoperationalmeasurestracknonfinancialinputsand

outputstoprocesses,allowingmoredetailedanalysis

Metricsbecomebetteralignedwithbusinessobjectivesbecausetheymeasurequantitiesthatcanbeconnectedtospecificvaluecreating

processes Becausetheinputsandoutputsofprocessesarebeingmeasured,itbecomes

possibletomakebusinessprocessmodelspredictivetools.Inputssuchaspipelinecoveragemaybeeventuallyrelatedtothenumberofsalesclosed.

Thismeansthatadropinpipelinecoveragecouldbeanimportantwarning

sign

Thegranularityofmeasurementincreases,providingnotonlymetricsattheaggregatelevelattheendofaprocess,butalsofiguresthatbreakdown

metricsbyproduct,geography,department,customer,supplier,andsoon

Whenaprocessistoocomplexandadhoctobedefinedbyabusinessprocessmodel,thenumericalmodeloftheinputsandoutputsprovidesa

waytotrackandmonitorperformanceoftheprocess

ByapplyingperformancemanagementtoBPM,itbecomespossibletoidentify

problemsmuchearlierintheoperationalcyclewhilethereisstilltimetodosomethingaboutit.Inaddition,astherelationshipsbetweentheinputsandoutputs

ofeachprocessarebetterunderstood,themodelsbecomemorepredictive,making

itpossibletocreatebetterforecastsofbusinessactivity.

How Is a Process-Centric Approach Changing Modern Companies?

CompaniesthathaveaggressivelyadoptedBPMhavefoundthattheymustchange

theircorporateorganizationtoaccommodatethefocusonprocessatalllevels.

BeforeBPM,mostcompanieswereorganizedaroundfunctionalsilos.AsBPM

increasesthefocusonendtoendprocesses,thesiloedformoforganization

becomeslessrelevanttocorporateactivityandtheneedfornewsortsofresponsibilitiesarise.

Gradually,itbecomesclearerthatthefocusofmanagementaccountabilityand

performanceshouldbeontheendtoendprocesssotheleadershipchangesfocus.InsteadofestablishingVPsoforganizationalsilos,theVPsarenowinchargeof

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

22/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

22

processes.Certainkeysupportingprocessesareusedoverandoverinendtoend

processes.Theownersofthesesupportingprocessesareinchargeofmakingsure

thattheirprocessesoperateproperly.Inthisway,theattentionofexecutives

becomescompletelyfocusedonprocessoptimizationandturfbattlesare

minimized.

AparallelchangehappensinIT.Theinfrastructureisfocusedoncreatingthe

servicesandotherelementsthatsupportprocesses.Enterpriseapplicationsarestillsupportedbuttheemphasisbecomesexposingthefunctionalityofthose

applicationsthroughservices.ServicescanthenbeusedascomponentsbyBPM

technology.Increasingly,departmentsdesigntheirownprocessesandthenseekoutITtobuildthecomponentsandservicesneededtosupportthoseprocesses.

Asanorganizationgrowsinprocessmaturity,modelingandmanagementof

businessprocessesbecomemoreprominentinthelifeofbusinessusersand

executivesonadaytodaybasis.Thereisaneedforspecialistsinprocessmodeling

andservicerepositoriesaswellasaneedfortechnologyskillstobuildcomponents.

***

WithamorecompleteunderstandingofthebasicsofBPM,wecandiscusshowBPM

createsvalue.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

23/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

23

The Business Case for Adopting Business ProcessManagement

FewindividualsorcorporationsapproachBPMasacasualactivity.Mostofthetime,

executivesadoptBPMasanewwayofmanagingtheircompaniesforoneofthree

reasons:theexecutiveteamhasbecomepassionateabouttheidea,adepartmentor

businessunithasshowntremendousresultsusingBPMinafocusedway,oran

emergingcrisisthathasmadeitclearthatthecomplexityofthemanagementtasks

cannotbehandledinanyotherway.

AdoptingaprogramofBPMmeansbecomingaprocessfocusedenterprise,whichis

notsomethingthatcanhappeninamonthorevenayear.Thatsaid,BPMisbothashorttermandalongtermendeavor.Shorttermprojectscanbubbleupfromthe

departmentallevel,havehighimpact,andpayforthemselvesquitequickly.ButBPM

asanenterprisewidepracticeisfundamentallyalongtermculturalchangethatmustbeunderstoodwidelyinacompanyasanewwayofthinking,nomatterwhat

methodsandtoolsareused.

Asaprocessorientedmindsettakesholdinacompany,thestrategyofthecompany

ismorepreciselytranslatedfromthehighestlevelintothedesignofprocessesand

themetricsthattrackthem.Newwaysofdesigningprocessesandbuilding

solutionsarrive.Theorganizationbecomesfocusedonprocessesthatflowthrough

thecompanyandthebusinessnetwork.Everyonestartstounderstandhisorher

rolenotjustasanisolatedcoginamachine,butaspartofamuchlargerprocessof

creatingvalueforcustomers.Peopleperformingeachrolecanseehowwhatthey

doissupportedbywhatcomesbeforethemandaffectswhatcomesafterthem.Successthen,inaprogramofBPM,iscontingentnotonlyonadoptingnew

technology,newformsoforganization,andnewwaysofthinking,butalso,inalarge

part,oncraftingaclearvisionofwhatBPMmeanstoyourcompanyandhowitwill

createvalue.ThissectionexploreswaystocommunicatethevalueofBPMandsome

ofthestrongerargumentsthatpeoplemakeinfavorofaprocesscentricapproachtomanagement.

What Is the Ultimate Vision for a Process-Centric Company?

Expandingthepracticeofbusinessprocessmanagementismostvaluablewhen

pursuednotasatacticalmatterbutasaculturalandphilosophicalchange.BPMmakesprocessthecentralfocusnottheorganizationalunit,nottheindividual,and

nottheproductorthemetrics.

Processisnotthefocusforitsownsakeasamatterofstyleorfashion.Processisthefocusbecauseitisthemosteffectivewaytoexpresswhateveryoneinan

organizationshouldbedoinginawaythatconnectsthehighestlevelstrategytothe

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

24/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

24

actionsofeachindividual.Welldefinedprocessesthatarecommunicatedwidelyin

anorganizationrequirelessmanagement.Individualdecisionmakingtakesplacein

thecontextofwhatiscomingbeforeandwhatwillhappenafterward.Thepowerof

BPMNtodepictprocessesatvaryinglevelsofdetailallowseachlayerof

managementtomodelandmanageprocessesatanappropriatelevel.

Shedding the Application-Focused Perspective

Inmostcompanies,thestartingpointfortransformationtoBPMisadepartmentally

organized,applicationfocusedperspectiveonmanagingtheenterprise.Sincethearrivalofsuitesofenterpriseapplicationsthatautomatedstandardprocessesin

highlyconfigurableways,thefocusofmanagementhasbeenonusingthese

applicationseffectively.Inmanyways,theapplicationsreinforcedthesiloed

structureofthecompany.TheCFOandCOOgotERP,theVPofSalesgotCRM,theVP

ofSupplyChaingotSCM,andtheVPofManufacturinggotPLM.Butshortlyaftertheemergenceoftheseseparateapplications,theneedforendtoendprocess

integrationandoptimizationquicklybecameevident.Figure8summarizesthe

changeinmindset.

Figure8.FromApplication-FocusedtoProcess-FocusedMindset

BeforetheBPMmindsettakeshold,muchoftheactivityofacompanyisfocusedonmakingupfortheweaknessesintheapplicationorientedperspectivebyusingsuch

techniquesasbusinessintelligencetoconsolidatedataorperformancemetricsasasortofpoormansmodelofwhatisgoingonintheenterprise.Unstructured

collaborationisusedtofillalotoftheholesinwhatenterpriseapplicationsdonot

dowell.

Inaprocessorientedenterprise,processbecomesthefocusand,throughwebservices,applicationsbecomesubordinatetoprocesses.Theroleofapplications

becomesprovidinginformationandsupportingfunctionsforendtoendprocessesthataredefinedusingBPM.Afocusonmetricsisreplacedbyamorecomprehensive

approachtoperformancemanagementthattracksprocessesatamoregranular

level.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

25/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

25

The Stages of Transformation to Process-Orientation

ThetransitiontoacomprehensiveBPMperspectivehasseveralstages.Ineach

stage,newcapabilitiesandtechniquesimproveperformanceandpreparethecompanyforhigherlevelsofperformanceandprocessmaturity.Thistransitionand

thestagesofmaturityhavebeendefinedinmanywaysbymanyobserversand

analysts.Oneoftheclearestwaystounderstandthetransformationistousethe

stagesdefinedinFigure9,whicharebasedontheCapabilityMaturityModel,

originallydevelopedatCarnegieMellonsSoftwareEngineeringInstitutefor

softwaredevelopment.CMMIhasfoundwideapplicationinmanyvenues.

Figure9.TransformationtoProcess-Orientation

MostcompaniesstarttheirjourneytoBPMatprocessmaturitylevel1.Processesarenotdefinedseparatelyfromthefunctionalityofapplications.Thetermculture

ofheroesisusedatthisleveltodescribethefactthatpeopleareattemptingtodo

theirbest.Atlevel1,mostcompaniesfocusongainingnewapplicationfunctionality.

Atprocessmaturitylevel2,processesstarttobedefinedatthedepartmentalor

workgrouplevel.Thegoalistogaincontrolandunderstandingofwhatisbeing

donethroughdocumentedprocesses.ThebenefitsincludereducedITcosts(as

unneededfunctionalityisshed)aswellasfastertimetomarketandotherformsof

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

26/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

26

acceleration.ItisnotunusualforacompanytodiscoverthebenefitsofBPMwhen

oneormoredepartmentsdemonstratethebenefits.

Atprocessmaturitylevel3,theprocessdefinitiontakesplaceattheleveloftheenterprise.Endtoendprocessesthatspandepartmentsandreachinandoutofkey

suppliersaremappedandanalyzed.Theresultingawarenessusuallyhighlights

changesthatcanimproveefficiency.Furtheroptimizationscanbemademuchfaster

startingfromawelldefinedfoundation.Theabilitytochangeprocessespavesthewaytoamoreresponsivebusinessthatcanbetterkeeppacewithmarketdynamics.

Atprocessmaturitylevel4,performancemanagemententersthepictureand

processesareinstrumentednotonlytomeasuretheirresults,butalsotomeasure

theinputs.Bytrackingtherelationshipsbetweeninputsandoutputsofvarious

processes,analysiscanbecomemorepredictive.Theincreaseinrealtime

transparency,especiallyofinformationthatidentifiesrisksandproblemsearlyon,

allowsproblemstobeidentifiedintimetofindsolutions.Strategicgoalscanbe

expressedintheformofdetailedmetricsforprocessesatahighlevelofgranularity.

Atprocessmaturitylevel5,acompanycanbuildonthefoundationofthefirstfour

levelstoengageincontinuousimprovementandbusinessoptimization.ITisnow

morefocusedonservicingtheprocessesoftheorganizationratherthanmaintainingapplications.Theincreasedtransparencyandunderstandingofthebigpictureofthe

enterpriseimprovesdecisionmaking.

Maturitymodelslikethisonecanbeaidstoassessingacompanyscurrentstateand

planningthesortsofactivitiesthatwillbemostbeneficialtoprogress.Paying

attentiontostepsthatmoveacompanygraduallyforwardpreventsattemptsto

movetoofastandoverreach.

TheendstateofBPMisaworldinwhichacompanystartstothinkofeverythingin

termsofprocesses.Thisdoesnotmeanthateverythingisautomatedorthat

everythingislockeddownandrigid.Itdoesmean,however,thatthestartingpoints,

endingpoints,inputs,outputs,andgoalsarealldefinedandscrutinizedsothateachandeverypersonknowstheroleheorsheplaysandtheresultsthatareexpected.

What Is the Business Value of BPM?

ThebusinessvalueofBPMflowsdirectlyfromthefactthatthebusinessprocessis

frontandcenterineveryonesthinkingatalltimes.Focusingonabusinessprocess

modelhelpsovercomethetendencytogetlostinthedetailsoftechnologyimplementation.

BPMdoesnothavetobeandshouldnotbeimplementedineveryprocessto

providemaximumvalue.Enterpriseapplicationsdoafinejobofautomatingmany

stableprocesses.Collaborativetechnologywillalwaysbeneededtohandlethe

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

27/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

27

unexpected.BPMshineswhenitisappliedtoprocessesthathaveastructureand

thatarecrucialtocreatingvalue.

Ifwelookattheautomatableprocessesinanenterprise(which,asmentionedearlier,compriseabout20percentofallprocesses),theygenerallyfallintotwo

groups.About80percentoftheautomatableprocessesarestandardactivitiesthat

donotprovidecompetitiveadvantage.TechnologyvisionaryGeoffreyMooreinhis

bookLivingontheFaultLine(CollinsBusiness,2002)callssuchactivitiesexamplesofcontextprocesses5becausetheyarenecessarybutdonotdifferentiateabusiness.

Typicallysuchprocesses,whicharecommontomanybusinesses,areimplemented

inenterpriseapplications.

Theremaining20percentofautomatableactivitiesareuniquetotheoperationsofa

company.Moorecallsthesekindsofprocessescoreactivitiesbecausethey

representthesourceoftheuniquevaluecreatedbyacompany.Frequently,these

uniqueprocessesarekeytowinninginthemarketplace.Itisthroughunderstanding

andautomatingthissetofprocessesthatcompaniescanseparatethemselvesfrom

thecompetition.

ThevisionofBPMisnotworthpursuingforitsownsake.Ateverylevelofadoption,

BPMmustearnitskeepbyprovidingtangiblebusinessbenefits.Whilethesebenefitswillvaryinmagnitude,enoughisknownaboutBPMnowthatvarious

patternshaveemergedandwecanconfidentlypredictthatcompanieswillexperiencesomeofthefollowingbenefits.

Increasedtransparency.Managementknowswhateveryoneisdoingandhow

theyshouldbedoingit.Asmoreandmoremetricsareappliedtoprocesses,thereal

timeoperationsofabusinessbecomeclear.

Increasedtraceability.Itispossibletofindoutwhathappenedandwhatisgoing

tohappenwithrespecttooperationalprocesses.Thiscanbeahugehelpinauditing

oranalyzingproblemsaswellasmakingitmucheasiertosatisfymanycompliance

requirements.

Improvedresponsivenessandflexibility.Inaprocessorientedcompany,change

canbeeffectedmorerapidlyandpreciselybecausetheasisstateisdocumented

andunderstood.Thedesignofthetobestatestartsfromaclearfoundation.In

addition,welldefinedbusinessprocessesmakesimulationofcurrentandproposed

processdesignsmucheasiersothatproblemscanbediscoveredearlier.

5ItisimportanttopointoutthatMoorescategoriesofcoreandcontextapplytobothautomatedand

nonautomatedprocesses.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

28/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

28

Continuousbusinessoptimization.AsBPMimplementationmaturesata

company,everythingneededtounderstandperformancefallsintoplace.Whennew

challengesarise,insteadofjustlookingtocutcosts,amoresophisticatedviewof

performanceimprovementispossible.Thekeyvaluecreatingprocessescanbe

moreeasilyidentifiedandoptimizationandinnovationeffortscanbefocusedwhere

theyarelikelytohavethemostimpact.

Improvedstrategicalignment.Becausemoreandmoreofacompanysactivityisdefined,consciouslydesigned,andpreciselymeasured,itispossibletomake

adjustmentstoprovideexplicittargetsforpeopleatalllevels.Processcanbe

redesignedifneeded,butmorelikely,performancetargetscantranslatestrategyfromhighleveldirectivestoindividualgoals.

ImprovedbusinessandITalignment.Becausebusinessprocessmodeling

providesalanguagethatcanbeusedtoexpressbusinessprocessesatalllevelsina

waythatisunderstandablebybothbusinessandITstaff,theconnectionbetween

whatmustbedoneandthetechnologythatwilldoitbecomesstronger.Difficulties

inimplementationbubbleupandaresolvedwiththeappropriateinputfromboth

businessandITbyharmonizingtheidealbusinessprocessdesignwithwhatis

possibletoimplement.

Acceleratedidentificationofrisk.Asbusinessprocessmodelsbecomemore

predictiveandkeyrelationshipsbetweeninputsandoutputsareidentified,potentialproblemscanbespottedintimetoaddressthemorplanremediation.

Improvedabilitytoperformacquisitionsordivestbusinesses.ABPM

perspectiveprovidesaclearerunderstandingofoperationsandintegrationpoints

withnewacquisitionsandaclearapproachandroadmapforintegration.Thesame

istruewhendivestingoperations.WithmatureBPM,departmentsanddivisionscan

behivedoutcleanly.Thesortofbusinessprocessoutsourcing(BPO)thatGeoffrey

Moorerecommendsforcontextactivitiesbecomeseasiertoachieveandmanage.

Clearviewofcoreandcontextprocesses.OnceBPMhasincreasedunderstandingofhowabusinesscreatesvalue,itiseasiertodivideprocessesintothosethatare

coretoacompanysmissionandthosethatsupportthecontext.Manycompanies

choosetooutsourcecontextualactivitiestoimprovetheirfocusandreturnon

capital.BPMmakesiteasiertofindandoutsourcecontextualprocesses.

Improvedmanagementofoutsourcedrelationships.AmatureapproachtoBPM

makesiteasiertoclearlydefineprocessestooutsource.Theinputs,themeasuresof

qualityofaprocess,themetricsusedtomonitortheprocessinprogress,andthe

outputsaredefinedforkeyprocessesasapartofimplementingBPM.Whenit

comestimetooutsourceaprocess,mostoftheknowledgeneededtodefinethe

process,negotiateSLAs,andhanditoffisalreadyinplace.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

29/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

29

Makethemostofstandardenterprisesoftwareapplications.BPMusesSOAto

bringthedataandfunctionalityofstandardenterprisesoftwaretoprocesses

throughouttheenterprise.Thisamplifiesthevalueoftheinvestmentinthese

applications.

Ofcourse,allofthesebenefitsdonotappearallatonce.Theymustbediligently

pursued.ButbecauseBPMprovidesapersistentfoundation,gainsarenoteasily

lost.

How Does BPM Help Run an Extended Business Network?

AsacompanybecomesadeptatmanagingitsownoperationsthroughBPMtechniques,itisalsopossibletoapplythemtoextendedbusinessnetworksand

ecosystems.CompaniesthatareorchestratorsofecosystemscanenforceBPMmethodsonbusinessnetworksandaskthatprocessesandmetricsbedefinedand

usedtomanagerelationships.CompaniesthatareparticipantscanuseBPMtechniquestobeoptimalpartnersandincreasetheirshareofbusiness.

Thedisciplineofcreatingaformaldefinitionofkeybusinessprocessesresultsinthe

abilitytodrawaclearlinebetweenpartsoftheprocessthatshouldbecarriedout

insideacompanyandthosethatshouldbecarriedoutbypartners.Themodelmakesiteasytoidentifyspecifichandoffpointsandtheinformationthatmustbe

conveyedasthecontroloftheprocessistransferredtoapartner.Thepointsofreturnaredefinedjustasclearlyasthestepsintheprocessthatarebeingexecuted

remotely.

How Do Companies Adopt BPM?OncethecompletevisionofBPMisunderstood,manypeoplearedauntedbecausetheyincorrectlythinkthatBPMmeanschangingeverythingrightaway.Indeed,

changinghowanyorganizationthinksinacomprehensivefashionandthen

supportingthatnewculturewithtechnologyandmethodsisnotsomethingthat

happensovernight.Buttheonlywaytransformationtoaprocessoriented

enterprisewillhappenisthroughconsistenteffortfromthetopdownandthe

bottomup.Toavoidbecomingtoodiscouraged,itisvitaltorecognizethemany

smallervictoriesthatoccurthroughbothkindsofincrementaleffort.

Ontheotherhand,itisalsovitalthatthelongjourneybeunderwayexplicitlyin

ordertomakeprogressoveraspanofyears.Chartingthiscoursefallsunderthe

rubricofgovernanceandprogrammanagement.Thesecondpartofthissection

summarizesaprogramofgovernancethatwasspecificallydesignedfortheadoptionofBPM.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

30/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

30

The Top-Down and Bottom-Up Shape of Incremental Progress

Top-downvictoriesoccurwhenmanagementsetsoutanewstandardor

encouragesanewtechniqueandthecompanyadoptsandbenefitsfromit.Thevalueofthisapproachisthattheentireorganizationisexposedtoanideaortechnique.

Newwaysofthinkingandworkinggetattentionbecauseseniorexecutivespromote

them.Theseideascouldbeassimpleascreatingexplicitprocessmapsforeach

department,oridentifyingmetricsthathelpdeterminetheefficiencyofthemost

importantprocesses.Topdownvictoriesarenotuniformvictories.Usuallysome

partsoftheorganizationadoptsuggestionsmorecompletelythanothers.The

suggestedstepsarealmostalwaysincrementalandbitesized,butincommunicating

aboutsimplesuggestions,managementreinforcesthebroadervisionofthejourney

towardBPMadoption.Eachbitesizedportionofprogressmakesfurtherchange

easier.

Bottom-upvictoriesoccurwhenadepartmentshowsthewaybyimplementing

BPMrelatedtechniques,orwhentheITdepartmentoffersservicesandBPM

technologyforusebyearlyadopterstoimprovetheirpractice.Bottomupprojects

areincrementalandmayoccurasanactivity,suchasimplementinganewfeatureor

rollingoutanewversionofaserviceenabledenterpriseapplicationistransformed

intoaBPMproject.Thebenefitsofcreatingapplicationsbasedonwelldefined

processescanbringvalueonasmallscaleaswellasonalargeone.Thisisespecially

trueasroutineupgradestoenterprisesoftwaretendtocomewithneeded

functionality.BottomupvictoriesfrequentlyspringfromtheenthusiasmofIT

staffersandbusinessuserswhoseethebenefitsofBPMandseektotakeadvantage

ofthemrightaway.

BPM Governance and Long Term Adoption

BPMgovernanceprovidestheframeworktoensuretheefficiencyandeffectiveness

ofallBPMrelatedactivities.Thisincludesaspectssuchasdefiningcommonterms,

establishingprocessesforstrategyformulation,planning,training,andchangemanagement,providingtoolingandinfrastructure,andlearningfromexperienceto

achievecontinuousimprovement.AnylongtermprogramofBPMendsupbeingaccomplishedthroughaseriesoftopdownandbottomupvictoriesthatprovide

significantbenefitsasthecultureofacompanygraduallychanges.Butthekeyto

achievinghigherandhigherlevelsofperformanceistobringordertothe

incrementalprojects.Thesmallervictoriesalongthewaymustadduptoalarger,coordinatedtransformationthateveryoneisawareof.InBusinessProcess

Management:TheSAPRoadmap,theauthorsdefineamethodforBPMgovernance

basedonfourstages.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

31/55

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

32/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

32

Figure10.TheStagesofBPMGovernance6

What Skills Are Required to Adopt BPM?

TheskillsrequiredtoadoptBPMdependonthescopeofwhatisbeing

accomplished.Forsomebottomupprojects,itmaybepossibletomakegoodprogresswithalimitedknowledgeofbusinessprocessmodelingandthe

componentsneededforautomation.Foralongerterm,companywideprogramofadoption,awiderangeofskillsareneededinthefollowingareas:

Endtoendprocessdefinition Industryspecificprocessknowledge Processdesignandimplementationusingathirdgenerationbusinesssuite BPMtechnology BPMmethodology BPMgovernance BusinesstoITcommunicationskills Collaborationskills

Aplanforacquiringandimprovingsuchskillsispartofthelargerprocessof

adoptionandisusuallydevelopedduringtheBPMgovernanceprocess.

6ThisgraphicisadaptedfromBusinessProcessManagement:TheSAPRoadmap ,JimHagemann

Snabe,AnnRosenberg,CharlesMller,andMarkScavillo(SAPPress,2008)

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

33/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

33

Applying the Technology of Business ProcessManagement

WhileaclearunderstandingofthegeneraltheoryofhowBPMhelpsmanage

complexity,advancesalignmentwithcorporatestrategy,empowersstafftoactin

intelligentways,andimprovesefficiencyandflexibilityofoperationsinacompany

isvitaltosuccess,allroadstoBPMmusteventuallyemploytechnology.Oneofthe

mostdauntingchallengesforexecutives,technologists,andstaffinvolvedinany

programofBPMadoptionisunderstandingjustwhatthetechnologypresentedto

themdoes.

WhenfacedwithanewtechnologyintheBPMspace,itcanbedifficulttounderstandwhatitis,howitworks,andhowitisrelatedtotheworkofdescribing

andautomatingthemanyfacetsandlevelsofprocesses.Toeffectivelyuse

technology,wemustunderstandthegoalsofthetechnology.Whatisitsscope?HowdoesitfitintothelargerprogramofBPMadoption?Whoistheintendeduser?How

willithelp?Unfortunately,intheworldofBPM,somanytechnologiesoperateatdifferentlevelsandcombinemanyfunctionsthatitcanbeveryhardtodetermine

justwhatatechnologydoesandwhoitisfor.

ThissectionpresentsanewwayofcategorizingBPMtechnologyaccordingtothe

purpose,scope,andlevelofdetailofthebusinessprocessmodelingemployed.Using

thisframework,itispossibletounderstandquicklywhatanyBPMrelated

technologydoes,whichremovesamajorobstacletoprogress.

What Is the Purpose of BPM Technology?ThepurposeofBPMtechnologyistoautomate,manage,andimproveproductivity

forthetasksinvolvedinthedescriptionandautomationofbusinessprocesses.

ThroughBPMtechnology,companiescanmanagetheirbusinessprocessesexplicitly,usingtoolsbuiltforthetask.

ThemainchallengeofunderstandingBPMtechnologycomesfromthefactthatitcanbeappliedinawidevarietyofwaysatmanydifferentstagesofBPMadoption,

duringwhichtheperspectivecanrangefromencompassingtheentireenterpriseto

asingletask.

ThefirstpurposeofBPMtechnologyistohelpdescribethestructureof

businessprocesses.AlmostallBPMtechnologystartsbyaskingthepersonusingittocreateabusinessprocessmodel.Sometimesthismodelitselfistheendresult.

BPMtechnologyallowsthemodeltobeannotated,collapsedorexpanded,shared,

andsoon.BPMtechnologyempowerscollaborationthatcentersonthecreation,discussion,improvement,andevolutionofabusinessprocessmodel.Itisimportant

topointoutthattheprocessesdescribedhavemayhavebeenorwillsoonbe

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

34/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

34

analyzed,simulated,orperhapsevenimplementedandmonitoredalreadyviaa

BPMsuite(BPMS)orsomesupportingtechnologysothattheyhavethebestchance

ofbeingtheoptimaldesign.

ThesecondpurposeofBPMtechnologyistoputabusinessprocessmodeltouseinautomatingorsupportingexecutionofthebusinessprocessdescribed.

BPMsuitesareintegratedcollectionsoftechnologyusedtocreateabusiness

processapplicationusingthebusinessprocessmodelastheprimarydescription(seeWhatisaBusinessProcessApplication?foradefinition).Sometimesthe

softwareapplicationcreatedinteractswithusersandothertimesitisalong

running,backendprocess.Eachstepofthemodelcouldbeassociatedwithoneormoreuserinterfacescreensorwebservices.Theflowofcontroloftheapplicationis

definedbytheflowofthebusinessprocessmodel.Tochangeabusinessprocessapplication,youmustchangesomeaspectofthemodel.

ThethirdpurposeofBPMtechnologyistoprovidesomesupportingfunctions

forthefirsttwopurposes.Awidevarietyofcomponentrycanbeusedwhen

describingorautomatingbusinessprocesses,includingthefollowing:

Processrepositories.Collectionsofstandardchunksofprocessesthatarereused

Businessrules.Collectionsofrulesthatprovidesomesortofusefuldecisionmakingorprocessinglogic

Webservicerepositories.Collectionsofdescriptionsofwebservicesorenterpriseservices,servicesdesignedtosupportabusinessprocess,that

What is a Business Process Application?

One of the purposes of a Business Process Management Suite (BPMS) is to allowa business process model to guide the creation of software that automates orsupports execution of the business process described. To do this, steps in themodel must be associated with specific technology components so thatsoftware can be created automatically. When a business process model is usedin this way it is called an executable model. In this paper we call this type of

software created from executable models business process applications, todistinguish them from enterprise applications and other software created viatraditional methods. Business process applications are systems of processesapplied to a business situation with the help of various forms of automation andassisted collaboration.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

35/55

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

36/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

36

enterpriseapplicationsliftthehoodofthoseapplicationsand,ineffect,provide

directgatewayssothatinformationcanflowbackandforthbetweenother

applicationsthatusetheservicesandtheenterpriseapplicationsthatprovidethe

services.Inaddition,servicesallowvariousfunctionsoftheenterpriseapplications

tobeinvoked.

SOAovercomesmanyoftherestrictionsthathaveheldbackcompanieswhohave

soughttoextendtheautomationofbusinessprocesses.Servicesprovideaccesstoanydata,onanydevice,inanyformat,fromanylocation,throughanyvisualization,

atanytime.Theaccessthatservicesprovideexpandsthescopeofinformation

availableandthepotentialfordevelopingdeeperinsights.Servicesalsoincreaseefficiencybyallowingreuseofstandardsoftwarecomponents,makingintegration

easierandprovidingasmoothpathtoadvancedfunctionalityastheunderlyingsystemsareupgradedandimproved.Butmostofall,servicesprovideflexibilityit

ispossibletocreatenewprogramsthatcanautomatethat20percentofdifferentiatingactivitiesorprovideotherbenefitssuchasincreasingtheefficiency

ofoperationalprocessesorimprovingintegrationwithpartners.

SOA and BPM

Nowwehavearrivedbackatthetopicofourpaper,BPM.Itispossibletoput

servicestoworkinmanyways.YoucanwriteprogramsinlanguageslikeABAP,Java,C#,orRuby.Youcaninvokeservicesfromvariousprogrammingframeworks

thatareintendedtobeusedbyexperts.OryoucanuseBPMtechnologytodesignprocessesandthenuseinformationandfunctionalityfromservices.Formost

companiesentertainingadoptingtheBPMapproach,theprocessesdefinedwilluse

servicesthatcomefromenterpriseapplicationstogainaccesstodataandfunctionality,althoughimportantservicesformapping,ecommerce,andlogistics

andotherfunctionswillbeavailabletoalargevarietyofprovidersontheInternet.

BPMtechnologyplaysacrucialroleinmakingthemostofSOA.ThroughBPM

technology,itispossibletoacceleratecreationofnewsolutions,whichcansupport

innovationindifferentiatingprocesses,extendingexistingapplicationprocesses,or

extendingintegrationinthebusinessnetwork.WithoutBPMtechnology,SOA

becomesaprogramofsoftwaredevelopmentthatcanonlybeperformedbyhighly

technicalstaffwhomusttakedirectionaboutwhattodofrombusinesspeople.Whilethisstructurehasworkedwellinthepast,ithasthreemajorproblems:

ThecapacityoftechnicalstaffwhoknowhowtowriteprogramsinJava,C#,andABAPbecomesabottlenecktodevelopment

Theprocessoftranslatingrequirementsforsolutionsfrombusinessstafftotechnologystaffisdifficultanderrorprone

Theprocessofdevelopingsolutionsinthismannerisslow

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

37/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

37

MostBPMtechnologyisdesignedtobeusablenotonlybytechnologistsbutalsoby

businessstaff.BPMtechnologyisusedtocreatesolutionsthroughmodeling,either

usingmodelsthatareexecutableorthosethatcanbetranslatedsomehowinto

workingsolutions.Ingeneral,modelingiseasierandfasterthancodinginlanguages

likeABAP,Java,andC#,so,nomatterwhousesBPMtechnology,solutioncreation

accelerates.Becausebusinessstaffcannowbeaddedtotechnologystaffandplaya

moreactiverole,thepoolofthosewhocancreatesolutionsisexpanded,decreasing

thedevelopmentbottleneck.Thecommonlanguageofmodelingincreases

alignment.Overtime,itispossiblethatdirectcreationofsolutionsbybusinessstaff

canreducetheneedtotranslaterequirementsfromthemindsofbusinessstaffintosomedocumentusedbyITtocreatethesolution.Muchofthepopularityof

techniqueslikemashupsflowsfromthissortofdoityourselfefficiency.

Inotherwords,BPMandSOAaretightlylinked.WhileitispossibletouseSOA

withoutBPM,todosomeansthatyouendupslowingdowndevelopment.UsingBPMwithoutSOAmeansmodelingprocessesandautomatingsolutionsthatarenot

connectedtoeitherexistingtransactionalsystemsofrecordortopowerful

functionalitythatcanbeofferedovertheInternet.Figure11showshowhigher

levelbusinessprocessmodelscascadeintomoredetailedmodelsthatthencanbe

associatedwithtechnologycomponentsderivedfromenterpriseapplicationsand

othersources.

Figure11.BusinessProcessModelsandAssociatedTechnologyComponents

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

38/55

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

39/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

39

What Categories of BPM Technology Exist?

Withthebasiclandscapeexplained,itisnowpossibletocreateasimple

categorizationthatwillmakeiteasytocategorizeandunderstandBPMtechnology.Thegoalofdefiningandexplainingthesecategoriesistoreduceconfusionand

speedunderstanding.Ifwearesuccessful,then,byusingthecategoriesasaguide,anyonewillbeabletoaskafewquestionsandgetanswersthatwillmakeclearthe

purposeofanyBPMtechnologybeingevaluated.Formanyformsoftechnology,thisisasimpletask.IntheworldofBPM,boththepurposeandfunctionalityof

technologyofferingsoverlapinvexingways.

MostBPMtechnologystartsbyallowingthepersonusingittodescribeabusiness

processmodel.Asweknowfromourpreviousanalysis,thisbusinessprocessmodel

maydescribehowthedepartmentsofacompanyinteractoritcoulddescribehowa

teamcreatesapurchaseorder.Itisnotuncommonfordifferenttechnologytobe

usedfordifferentscopesofmodeling.

Oncethatbusinessmodelhasbeencreated,itcanbeusedfortheautomatic

assemblyorcreationofapplicationsthatcanhelpexecutebusinessprocesses.

ItisthedistinctionbetweenthesetwowaysofusingBPMtechnologythatdefinethe

twomaincategories:

Technologyforbusinessprocessdescriptionisusedtoexpressthestructureofbusinessprocesses

Technologyforbusinessprocessautomationallowsbusinessprocessapplicationstobegeneratedbasedonadescriptionoftheprocess

WhileseparatingBPMtechnologyintothesetwocategoriesisagoodstart,therearefourotherdimensionscanhelpclarifythepurposeofaparticulartechnology.

Models: The Key to Understanding

Theresearchperformedforthispaperrevealedthatbyfocusingonthepurpose,levelofdetail,andtypeoforchestrationofamodelusesinaBPMtechnology,we

caneasilycategorizewhatthattechnologyisusedfor.Thisapproachstillworks

whenaBPMtechnologysolutioncontainsacomplexcollectionoftechnologythatis

intendedtomeetavarietyofneeds.

Herearethedefinitionsofthetermsthatarefundamentaltothetechnology.The

firsttwodimensionswerecoveredearlierinWhatisBusinessProcessModeling?

Purpose.Bypurposeofamodel,wemeanthetypeofknowledgebeingcaptured

andthewaythemodelisintendedtobeused.Twocategoriesdescribethepurpose

ofmostmodels:

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

40/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

40

Descriptivemodels,whichareusedtodescribethepurposeandnatureofprocessesasawayofcommunicatingideasbetweenpeople

Executablemodels,whichareusedtodescribeprocessesandtoautomaticallyassemblesolutions

Descriptivemodelsarenotnecessarilyexecutable.Allexecutablemodelsare

descriptive,althoughsomeformsofexecutablemodelsarefocusedmoreon

capturingdetailratherthanonsimplifyingcommunication.

Leveloffocus.Theleveloffocusofamodel,explainedearlier,indicateswhatkind

ofactivityandobjectsaredescribedinthemodel.Thefocusofmodelingvaries

widelyinBPMrelatedtechnologyandfallsintothefollowingcategories:

Modelswithenterprisefocusareusedbyenterprisearchitectstomodelacompanyshighlevelstructure.Theentitiesinanenterprisemodelmay

includelargescaleconceptssuchaspayrollprocessing,financing,recruiting,ormoredetailedstructuressuchastheorganizationalchartforadepartment

Modelswithprocessfocusarefocusedonthetasksorprocessstepsthatmustbecarriedouttoperformsomebusinessactivity

Modelswithtaskfocusarethosethatarefocusedondescribingthestructure,logicalflow,andalgorithmsandarerelatedtospecifictasks

Orchestration.Thethirddimensionconcernsthetypeoforchestrationdescribed

bythemodelinquestion.Businessprocessmodels,especiallywhentheyare

executable,tendtodescribetheorchestrationofavarietyofcomponentsatvarious

levelsofabusinessprocessapplication.Itispossiblethataparticulartechnology

mayperformorchestrationatmorethanonelevel.Bykeepingtheselevelsinmind,

itispossibletoavoidconfusionaboutwhataparticulartechnologydoes.Figure12

showsthetypesoforchestrationthatmostBPMtechnologyeffects.

Presentationflowsinvolveinteractionbetweentheuserandthevarioususerinterfacecomponentsandtherestoftheapplicationcomponent.

Orchestrationofservicesinthemiddlewarelayerofanapplicationinvolvesthesortofcoordinationthattakesplacewhenaprocesscoordinates

theactivityofacollectionofwebservices.ManyBPMtechnologysolutions

fallintothislayer Humanworkflowsinvolvethesortoforchestrationofaprocessyousee

insideawebserviceorinsideanenterpriseapplication.Sometimesthissort

oforchestrationisreferredtoasworkflow Dataflowsinvolvethesortoforchestrationthattakesplaceinthedatabase

layerthroughmechanismssuchasdatabasetriggers.Ittypicallyhasnotbeen

thefocusofBPMtechnology

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

41/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

41

Thesethreedimensionspurpose,leveloffocus,andorchestrationcreatea

sparsematrixthatcanbeusedtodescribeandquicklycomparealmostanyBPM

technologyinausefulmanner.Thematrixissparsebecausecertaincombinations

eitherdontmakesense(descriptivemodelswithtechnologyscopeatlevel4or

higher)orhavenotyetbeenthefocusofdevelopersattention.

WhenfacedwithanewBPMtechnology,ifyouaskthefollowingquestionsabout

themodelsandfocus,itwillbepossibletoavoidconfusionandquicklyunderstandwhatthetechnologyisintendedtodo:

Isthistechnologyusedforprocessdescriptionorforprocessautomation? Whatistheleveloffocusofthemodels:theenterprise,theprocess,orthe

task?

Whatlayeroforchestrationcanbeperformedbythistechnology?Notethatthequestionaboutleveloffocuscanbeaskedaboutbothprocessdescriptionandprocessautomationtechnology.Thequestionaboutorchestrationis

onlyrelevantforprocessautomationtechnology.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

42/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

42

Figure12.TypesofOrchestration

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

43/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

43

Withthesedimensionsinhand,itwillbepossibletoexplainthedifferenttypesof

BPMtechnologythatareavailablewithahigherdegreeofprecisionandclarity.

Table1showshowthespecifictechnologieswewilldescribefitintothedimensions

usedtodescribebusinessmodels.

Table 1. How BPM Technologies Are Categorized by Their Use of Models

What Is BPM Technology for Process Description?

BPMtechnologyforprocessdescriptionallowsbusinessprocessestobedescribedandannotated,typicallyvisually.Businessprocessmodelingenvironmentsusually

allowtheusertodraganddropvariousshapesonacanvasofsomesortandthento

connectshapesinavarietyofways.Shapesdescribetheflowoftheprocessfrom

steptostepaswellasdecisionpoints.

Descriptivetechnologyvariesinfunctionbasedonthemeaningoftheshapesontheprocessdiagram.Hereiswheredimensionshelpusdistinguishthetypesof

descriptivetechnology.

Enterprise Architecture

OnecategoryofdescriptiveBPMtechnologyisusedforenterprisearchitecture,thatis,themappingofhighlevelprocessesandsystemsthatdescribethebusiness

scenariosandsupportingtechnologyofacompany.

TherearenumerousenterprisearchitectureframeworkssuchasTheOpenGroup

ArchitectureFramework(TOGAF)andZachman.Eachtendstocreateanewsetof

modelingprimitivesthatprovidetheshapesusedtorepresentthedifferentpartsoftheenterpriseandtheprocessesandsystemsbeingdescribed.Table2showssome

ofthemoreprominenttypesoftechnologyinthiscategory.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

44/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

44

Table 2. Enterprise Architecture Technology

Becausethesediagramscanbecomelargeandcomplex,itisnotuncommonforthis

sortofmodelingtechnologytodrilldownintogreaterlevelsofdetailfromahigher

levelenterprisearchitecturediagram.

Business Process Design and Analysis

DescriptiveBPMtechnologythatfocusesonprocessesinsteadofontheenterpriseisoneofthemostactiveareasfornewproductsandnewfeatures.Businessanalysts

useBPMtechnologythatfocusesonprocessestodescribealllevelsofprocessdetail,

fromthemostspecifictaskstothebroadestbusinessscenarios.Whileavarietyofnotationsforbusinessprocessmodelinghadbeeninuseforprocessfocused

descriptivetechnology,BusinessProcessModelingNotation(BPMN)hasemergedastheprimarystandardforsuchmodeling.BPMNdescribesasetofstandardized

visualconstructsusedformodeling.

Table3showsproductsthatprovidethistypeofmodeling.

Table 3. Business Process Design and Analysis Technology

Technology Infrastructure Design and Analysis

WhilemodelingtechnologyinfrastructureisnotthecentralpurposeofBPM

technology,manyproductsthatareusedfordescriptivebusinessprocessmodeling

canalsobeusedtomodeltechnologyinfrastructureusingstandardssuchasunified

modelinglanguage(UML)orcomponentsofenterprisearchitectureframeworks

suitedtothatpurpose.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

45/55

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

46/55

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

47/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

47

Theprimarybenefitofsuchanapplicationisthattheprocessisincharge.Ifchanges

totheprocessarediscovered,thebusinessprocessmodelcanbechangedandthe

applicationcanberecreatedtosupportthenewprocess.Inmanycases,these

environmentsaresimpleenoughsothatbusinessuserscandefineandimprove

businessprocessmodels.WhenthissortofBPMtechnologyisappliedtobusiness

processesthatarecentraltovaluecreation,thebarrierstoinnovationandchange

becomelower,increasingtheagilityofthecompanyanditsabilitytorespondto

changingmarketconditions.

Table4showsspecifictechnologythatfallsintothiscategory.

Table 4. Process-Driven Assembly Technology

Presentationmashupsandwidget-basedtechnology.Basedonsimpleuser

interfacecomponentsdesignedtobeassembledandpresentedtogether,

presentationmashupsandotherwidgetassemblyenvironmentsallowsimple

applicationstobecreated.Simpleformsoforchestrationatthepresentationlevelarepossibleintheseenvironmentsaswidgetsposteventsthatotherwidgetscanreactto.Usuallyeachwidgetgathersinformationfromotherapplicationsand

systemsusingwebservices.Inthemostadvancedoftheseenvironments,itis

possibletodescribeasimpleorchestrationofaprocessthatflowsbetweenseveralscreens.Itisthissortoffunctionalitythatbringsthetechnologyintotherealmof

BPM.Otherwise,itisprimarilyawayforuserstoassemblejusttheinformationthey

needbyselectingfromaportfolioofwidgets.

Workflowconfiguration.Avarietyofdifferentenvironmentsthatappearin

documentmanagementsystems,enterpriseapplications,andothertechnology

allowsabusinessprocessmodelcalledaworkflowtobedefined.Theseworkflowmodelsmayoperateatthemiddlewareorchestrationlayer,butmoreoftenarepart

ofthebackendlayer.Usually,theseenvironmentsallowaseriesofstepstobeexpressed.Specificdocumentsoruserinterfacesareassociatedwitheachstep,and

thentheuserisguidedthroughthesteps,whicharesometimesvisualizedforthe

userastheprocessistakingplace.Workflowconfigurationisaprecursortomore

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

48/55

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

49/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

49

frequentlyusedforintegrationbetweentwosystems,fortheexecutionoflong

runningtransactions,fortheprocessofeventdrivenprocesses,orfora

combinationofallofthese.Suchenvironmentsfrequentlydatebacktotheeraof

EnterpriseApplicationIntegrationandwerecreatedtocontroltheflowofXML

messages.Nowthatwebservicesandeventdrivenarchitectureshavebecomemore

prominent,theyhavebeenincorporated.Backendprocessintegration

environmentsfrequentlyusetheBPELstandardtocontroltheflowofprocess

execution.

Table6showsspecifictechnologythefallsintothiscategory.

Table 6. Process Integration Technology

Businessrulesautomation.Environmentsforcreatingbusinessruleshavebecomesopowerfulthattheycanbeusedtoeffectivelycontroltheflowofa

businessprocesswhenincorporatedintoanapplicationinavarietyofways.

Businessrulessystemsallowmanyrulestobeappliedtospecificinputsto

determinethecorrectoutput.Abusinessrulecouldbeassimpleasdeterminingthe

rightprocessingcentertowhichtorouteapurchaseorderorascomplexascomputingacreditscorebasedonhundredsofinputs.Becauseabusinessruleisso

generallypowerful,itcouldbeusedasawaytocontrolthebehaviorofan

applicationandassuchitisaformofBPM.Businessrulescomponentscanbe

invokedthroughapplicationcodebyprogramminglanguages,byBPMtechnology

forapplicationassembly,fromawidgetenvironment,fromawebservice,orby

othermeans.Businessrulesareusedtoallowthecomplexbehaviorofanapplicationtobeexpressedinamoreabstractformthatissimplertochange.

Table7showsspecifictechnologythatfallsintothiscategory.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

50/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

50

Table 7. Business Rules Automation Technology

What Is the Value of BPM Technology for Process Automation?

LookingbackonthecategoriesofBPMtechnologyforprocessautomationreminds

usthatthedesireforprocessconfigurabilityislongstanding.Notuntiltheeraof

modernBPMtoolscombinedwithSOAwasthebusinessprocesstrulyseparable

fromtheapplicationandabletobeexpressedandmanipulatedonitsown.Inpractice,becauselayersoftechnologyexistatmostcompanies,itmakessensetouse

whatevermechanismsareconvenient.

BPMtechnologyforprocessautomationcreatesvalueinavarietyofwaysthatfit

intothebothtopdownandbottomupsortsofprojectsandatallstagesintheBPM

adoptionprocess.WhileBPMtechnologycanbebroadlyapplied,ingeneral,thefirsttargetsaretheprocessesthataremostcrucialtovaluecreationandthatmustbe

carefullymeasuredandrapidlyoptimized.

Supportingend-to-endprocesses.BecausetheprocessesofBPMprocessautomationtechnologyareindependentofanysingleenterpriseapplication,but

throughSOAcanretrievedataandinvokefunctionalityfromanyenterpriseapplication,itispossibletoorchestrateandautomateprocessesthatflowfromone

endoftheenterprisetotheother.Suchprocessesareoftenthemostimportantto

efficiencyandvaluecreation.Lookingatthemasanintegratedsequenceofstepscanincreasetheopportunitiesforunderstanding,improvemonitoring,and

accelerateinnovation.Expandingprocessautomationbeyondenterpriseboundaries.Theweb

servicesofSOAandwebbaseduserinterfacescanexpandthereachofendtoend

processautomationbeyondtheboundariesoftheenterprise.BPMtechnologyfor

processautomationcanpresentuserinterfacestosuppliersandpartnersandalso

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

51/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

51

invokeservicesthatexchangeinformationandinvokefunctionalityinexternal

systems.

Acceleratingdevelopment.BPMprocessautomationtechnologyleveragesthepowerofvisualmodelingandautomatedapplicationgenerationtechniquesto

speedassemblyofawidevarietyofcomponentsandwebservices.Whetherinthe

handsofanITprofessionaloranexpertbusinessuser,muchmoreworkcanbe

donewithamodeldrivenapproachthanwithtraditionalprogramminglanguagesoncethepropercomponentsandwebservicesareinplace.

Promotinginnovationandagility.BPMprocessautomationtechnologyincreases

thespeedandlowersthecostofchangecomparedwithtraditionaldevelopment

methods.Inaddition,bybringingmorepeopleintotheprocess,especiallybusiness

userswhoareexpertinthedetailsofaprocess,developmentandinnovationcycles

movefaster.

Userempowerment.BPMprocessautomationtechnologyisfarsimplertousethan

traditionaldevelopmenttechniquesthatemployprogramminglanguages.Insomecasesthismeansthatbusinessuserswillbeabletodesignandimplementprocesses

ontheirown.Anewrolecalledthebusinessprocessexperthasstartedtoemergeto

helpacceleratethetrainingofusersandtoenablemorerapidcommunicationwithIT.ThisnewrolealsohelpsITbetterunderstandtheneedsofbusiness.Inthe

contextofBPM,thistakesplaceusingbusinessmodels,whichmakestheprocessmuchmorestraightforward.Ofcourse,ifnewprocessesrequirenewcomponentsor

services,ITstaffusuallymustcreatethem.Also,asapracticalmatter,evenwhena

businessuserorbusinessprocessexpertdevelopsanewapplicationusingBPM

technology,ITstaffareinvolvedascoachestoensurecompliancewithITpoliciesandforqualitycontrol.

Expandingthereachofenterpriseapplicationstomeetrole-basedneeds.

Sometimesitseemsasifinformationgoesintoenterpriseapplicationsandremains

trappedthere.BPMtechnologycanrepresentanescapehatchthatpresentsjustthe

informationandfunctionalityneededbyapersonplayingaroleinaprocess.The

combinationofwebservices(SOA)andBPMtechnologymakescreatingsuchrole

basedinterfaceseasy.

Table8showsthatthesparsematrixmentionedearliercannowbefilled,depicting

whichtechnologiesareoperativeateachleveloforchestration.

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

52/55

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

53/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

53

applicationsandtoreachouttoothersourcesofinformationandfunctionalityon

theWeb.

Businessrules.Processstepscaninvolvetheapplicationofsetsofbusinessrulesthatdeterminesomesortofresult,basedontheinputspassedinandtherulesin

effect.Rulescouldbeusedtodeterminetheroutingofadocument,thecreditscore

ofanindividual,orasuggestionforaproducttoupsell.

Userinterfaces.Whenprocessstepsneedtointeractwithpeopletocollectinformationortodefineataskthatmustbeperformedmanually,auserinterfaceis

needed.Inthisway,auserinterfaceisacomponentthatisincludedinthesetof

partsthatareassembledintoaworkingapplicationbytheBPMprocessautomation

technology.Userinterfacecomponentscanbegeneratedautomatically,basedon

interactionsimpliedbywebservices,businessrules,ordatarequiredbyprocess

steps.Userinterfacecomponentscanalsobecreatedbyusersanddevelopersusing

avarietyoftools.

Modelingandorchestrationtools.ModelingandorchestrationtoolsareusedatmanydifferentlevelsofaBPMS.ThecenterofaBPMSisusuallyanenvironmentfor

modelingusedtodefinebusinessprocessmodelsortheorchestrationofservices.

Modelingcanbeusedtocreateservicesanduserinterfaces.Modelingalsocanbeusedtodefinetheintegrationandmappingofdatafromonesourcetoanother.

Simulationtools.Inordertounderstandtheflowofworkthroughaproposed

businessprocess,simulationtoolsmaybeemployed.Assumptionsaremadeabout

theamountofinputstoeachprocessandtheamountoftimeittakestoperform

eachprocessstep.Inthiswaybottlenecksorkeyareasforoptimizationcanbe

found.Thesekeyareascanbecloselymonitoredtofindproblemsearlyonin

implementationsortoconfirmthevalidityofassumptions.

Modelandprocessrepositories.Whenmodelsarecreated,theymustbestoredin

repositories,whichallowthemtobeaccessedandsharedbylargegroupsofpeople.

InanylargeprogramofBPMadoption,someprocessesareusedoverandover.Theseprocesscomponentsmustbestoredinacentrallocationandreusedinother

businessprocessmodels.

Webservicesrepositories.Tolinkbusinessprocessstepsanduserinterfacesto

theinvocationofservices,itisimportanttobeabletofindservices,understand

whattheydo,andidentifythedatasentandretrievedthroughthem.Webservices

repositoriescontaininformationabouttheinterfacesandfunctionalityofthe

servicesandtheunderlyingapplicationstheservicesareconnectedtoatruntime.

Integrationtools. Itisnotuncommonforabusinessprocesstorequiretwosystemstoworktogetherinspecificways.Perhapsapurchaseordermustbe

transferredfromtheCRMapplicationtoERP.Frequently,theBPMSdoesnot

8/14/2019 BPM Technology Taxonomy:

54/55

BPM Technology Taxonomy | March 2009

54

containthecapabilitytoperformsuchintegrationandsootherintegrationtools

mustbeusedtocreatetheneededfunctionality.TheBPMtoolstheninvokea

servicethatperformstheintegrationdefinedbytheintegrationtools.Inthisway,

specificintegrationsbecomecomponentsusedbyBPMtechnology.

Centralizedtaskmanagement.Oneofthemostimportanttransitionsinabusiness

processmodeloccurswhenasoftwareapplicationasksapersontoperformatask.

Itisvitalthatthetasktobeperformedbeadequatelydescribedandthattheresultsofperformingthetaskberecorded.Asingleusermaybegettingrequeststo

performtasksfrommanydifferentbusinessprocessapplications.Centralizedtask

managementcomponentscreateasingleinboxintowhichallrequestsfrombusinessprocessapplicationsaresent,whichstreamlinesmonitoringandexecuting

thosetasks.

Processandactivitymonitoringtools.Onceanapplicationhasbeencreatedusing

aBPMS,itisimportanttomonitorthebusinessprocessmodelduringexecution.By

monitoringtheactivityofspecificsteps,itispossibletomonitornotonlythe

technologicalactivityofthesyste