Articles

Author(s):

Raj Ramesh

Chief Story Teller, TopSigma

Integration Complexity

This business of running a business has become a lot more complicated and much of it can be attributed to the use of information technology. Technology has indeed fueled growth through automation and increased efficiency, but it has also added a management nightmare in the form of disparate systems that are unable to talk to each other. Now we have whole new specialties (like ITIL and COBIT) devoted to managing IT services, assets and infrastructures. How did we end up in this quagmire?

BPMS Watch: Fulfilling the Promise of Process Simulation

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

A central promise of BPMS is that process improvement can be projected and optimized in advance of implementation, using process modeling’s simulation capability. By including simulation analysis, process modeling tools can not only define the structure of the proposed to-be process but project its expected ROI. For that reason, nearly all BPMS offerings today include some form of simulation tool. But are these tools really fulfilling the promise? Not yet, in my view. Let’s look at what they do, and what’s still missing.

First, let’s deconstruct the promise.

From Specifications to Implementation: the Importance of Workflow Patterns

Author(s):

Tom DeBevoise

Co-Author of The Microguide to Process Modeling in BPMN 2.0, www.tomdebevoise.com

In the early stages of a BPM project a business might create a written specification and planning level diagram of the project target process. Yet there is much work that must happen to translate these into a functioning business process. The challenge to the process implementer is to see the shape of the business processes based on an oral or written description of the process. An able implementer should perform a lexical analysis of the business requirement to develop a technically accurate assessment. A process solution can break when there is a weak implementation of requirements.

The Time Lens

Author(s):

Daniel Madison

Principal, Value Creation Partners

Time is a critical dimension of customer satisfaction and cost reduction. Getting products and services to customers in a speedy fashion is a value-adding activity. By beating your competitors to market, you gain sales and market share.

As a cost-reduction strategy, time reduction can be very effective. Inspection, moving, setup, rework, and waiting all add costs. The amount of time in these areas can be staggering.

Sustainable Business Rules: An Introduction – Part 2 of 3

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

In part one of this article, I provided an introduction to applying the concept of sustainability to business rules.

Business Architecture: Creation and Application

Author(s):

Geoffrey Balmes

Business Architect Executive, Independent Consultant

Business Architecture is not an intuitively obvious concept. It does not conjure up an immediate vision of what it is, or what it comprises. With this inherent disadvantage – the business can’t articulate it easily – how can it be used to align IT with the business?

Business Architecture includes three components: the Functional Architecture, the Process Architecture and the Information Architecture. There are well documented methodologies for developing each component.

The Elusive Missing Link

Author(s):

Barbara von Halle

Managing Partner & Founder, Knowledge Partners International LLP

As one website puts it, history is a puzzle made up of a million different pieces. For business history, the pieces tend to be automation artifacts. You may be translating pieces of history into BPM and BR technology. At times, you operate as a historian, studying...

Understanding “Services”

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

In the last column, I introduced the topic of services engineering and why it is going to be so important. The vast majority of the labor force is employed in services today, and nearly 80 percent of our GDP is from services industries.

Getting Team Involvement in Process Change

Author(s):

Tammy Adams

Managing Partner, Chaosity, LLC

If you’ve worked in the corporate world for any length of time, you’ve probably experienced a merger or acquisition somewhere along the way. Personally, I’ve gone through five in 15 years (which may have been a contributing factor to starting my own business). Each time I’ve been bothered by the overlooked opportunities and communication snafu’s that have resulted in poor morale and decreased productivity. But does that really matter? After all, the company isn’t permanently damaged – gradually morale improves and the productivity gets back on track.

Organizational Governance: Key to Business/IT Architecture Alignment

Author(s):

William Ulrich

President, TSG, Inc.

When executives cannot see their way clear to address structural dysfunction within their organization, then attempts to align business architecture and IT architecture will see limited success. This does not imply that BPM, SOA and systems modernization cannot deliver tactical value. It does imply that these initiatives should be coupled with macro level efforts to recognize and address structural weaknesses across organizational infrastructures that impede business architecture and IT architecture alignment.