Sandy KemsleyBPM Analyst and Architect

Kemsley Design Ltd.

www.column2.com

Using BPM to Prioritize Service Creation

Agenda

How processes and services fit together Finding the right level of services Approaches to service definition

Processes and Services

Before BPM and SOA

Two main functionalities:• Human-facing workflow• Enterprise application integration (system-to-system)

Custom coding for integration Rudimentary modeling and management tools

BPM and SOA defined

BPM:• Management practice• Tools for automating processes

SOA:• Architectural philosophy• Design standards-based services to access system functionality

BPM and SOA

Service A Service B Service C

Service D Service E

LegacySystem

Database ERP

ProcessStep 1

ProcessStep 2

ProcessStep 3

ProcessStep 4

BPM and SOA together

BPM is the “killer app” for SOA; SOA is the enabling infrastructure for BPM• SOA alone only allows you to design and build a set of services• BPM alone would require custom coding for each system

integration BPM + SOA orchestrates people and services into a business

process Processes are intentionally transparent, services are

intentionally opaque

BPM and SOA with ERP

Using BPM and SOA with major ERP implementations:

“For these companies, the value of SOA will be found in business process management (BPM), which promises to allow companies to create unique and differentiating business processes on top of the same software many of their competitors use.”

“SOA and BPM for Enterprise Applications: A Dose of Reality”AMR Research, May 2007

The Right Level of Services

Where do services come from?

Service-enable legacy systems• Wrap your in-house applications• ERP application service layer

Purpose-built functionality• Custom services• 3rd-party services, including web-based

Service Granularity Issues

Too granular:• Multiple calls for each logical business function impacts

performance• Function/data can’t be expressed in business terms

Too coarse:• Decreased flexibility and reusability• Increased complexity

Getting the Granularity Right

Business-level services: specific business functionality or business object

Expose multiple actions to combine similar services May be composed from base-level services

Layers of Services

UpdateData

UpdateAddress

Create/UpdateOrder

ScheduleShipment

LegacySystem

Database ERP

UpdateAddress

ApproveOrder

CreateOrder

ScheduleShipment

Service Definition Approaches

Top-Down

Map business processes Identify business-level functions within processes Decompose to lowest level that still maintains business focus

to maximize reusability Map to base-level services (existing or new) that will compose

business-level services

Bottom-Up

Define base-level services based on underlying system functionality and exposed interfaces

Compose into business-level services and expose for orchestration

Consume business-level services in process maps

Issues with Both Approaches

Top-down:• Service definition is delayed until processes are mapped• May not make use of existing services• Services may not be reusable across processes

Bottom-up:• No business-IT collaboration in service definition• Services may not match required functionality

The Winner Is…

Top-down whenever possible• Allows business processes to define the (business-level)

services• Supports enterprise architecture methodology• Provides alignment between requirements and services

Some base services will exist and be unchangeable• Conform process to match services• Create new layer of services to wrap base services

Consider reusability across multiple processes to fine-tune service definitions

Getting Started

Map to-be high-value business processes (business) Identify required business-level services at swimlane

boundaries (business and IT) Catalogue existing services (IT) Create subprocesses as a placeholder for business-level

services if required (IT) Use business value to prioritize service creation (business)

Summary

BPM and SOA must be considered together:• BPM implementation is accelerated by services• Services are consumed by BPM• Joint high-level design exploits the BPM-SOA synergy

For optimal results, process requirements drive service definition

Questions?

Sandy KemsleyKemsley Design Ltd.www.column2.com