Category Archives: BPM

Large-Scale Federated Processes

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A presentation that I gave at the Stevens BPM day covered the subject of Large Scale Federated Processes. What is a federated process?

It is a distributed process that spans many servers. Distributed process support might be designed and implemented in a very centralized way: for example a single process application with parts of the application deployed to different machines. This allows the process to be much larger that it might be if limited to a single server, but that really is not the point of federation.

A federated process is a distributed process where the different parts of the process are controlled by different people. Continue reading →

Model Strategy Slidecast

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I gave a presentation on the Model Preserving Strategy / Model Transforming Strategy comparison at the Process.gov conference in Washing DC on Jun 19.  I have put the slides on SlideShare and for the first time I figured out how to attach an audio track to make it a “SlideCast“.  An experiment at this point, but it seems easier than video.  Let me know if you think this works well or not.

Good advice to avoid process micromanagement from Anatoly Belychook with his post on a Process Anti-pattern: One Man Show.   A process should include things are relevant to the group, and avoid all things that are not.

Don’t miss next week’s Virtual BPM Tech Show on July 7 thru 9.  It is a good way to get some real details on how different products work — all from your regular desk chair.  (While you are there, be sure to ask whether the products take a Model Preserving Strategy or not.  🙂

Process Anti-pattern: “One Man Show”

Rise of the Process Wiki

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A few weeks ago I became aware of Process Wiki  (http://wiki.process.io/) when the founder of the wiki left a comment on one of my blog posts.  I was curious.  Without surprise, the wiki site contains a good collection of example business processes.  You can join to be a member, and collaborate either by contributing more process examples, or by commenting on the existing ones.   Processes can be uploaded & downloaded as XPDL files, and the site has a converter to visualize the processes as BPMN diagrams.  Most sites have GIF files embedded in the page, but this is the first I have seen that you simply upload the XPDL file and it provides the visualization directly in the page. Continue reading →

The 80% Solution

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In a panel session this week at the eBizQ virtual conference (see here and here) I was asked “What common mistake do people make that causes unnecessary delay in BPM projects?”  The answer: Many projects have a goal to implement too much at once.  Some projects attempt to turn a manual process into a completely automated “straight-through” processes where there is no human interaction at all. Continue reading →

Process Language, Agility, and Fitness

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When designing a business process, you need to design for change, because business is always changing and agility depends upon the ability to change.  Once you understand that change is a constant part of business, you know that the business process you design today is not going to remain static.

If you are going to design for change, it is important to pick the right language.  If you pick the wrong language, then change will be very difficult.  We say that a language is a good language Continue reading →

Upcoming BPM Events

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Three upcoming events might be worth looking into:

May 19: Industry Briefing: BPMN 2.0 Examined

This is a free webinar by Robert Shapiro the brain behind XPDL.  Few have his insight and experience into the process space.  Now a consultant at Process Analytica he brings a vendor independent view to the future of BPM and workflow standards.  This will not be a presentation for the timid — expect considerable depth and details.  If you are a software vendor thinking about implementing BPMN 2.0 or if you are a consultant that needs to keep up on BPM trends this briefing will be an easy way to get tips to help you plot your way forward.

June 18-19: The BPM in Government Event

There has been a big focus on BPM in the government this year, with the DoD sponsored SOA Symposium in DC in April, and now the Process.gov event in June, also in Washington DC.  No coincidence that the 2009 BPM & Workflow Handbook has the theme Spotlight on BPM in Government.  Most important:

The only event of its kind, Process.gov is strictly non-commercial and no paid-for sessions or sponsored content will be presented. All sessions and presenters are peer-reviewed and subject to a rigorous jury process.

I will be presenting a session on “Model Preserving Strategy” which is also the subject of my chapter in the 2009 Handbook. It is a great opportunity to have face-to-face meetings with many process thought leaders.  Price is a very modest $100, but note: if you are not a government employee sign up early: there are a limited number of non-government admissions.  As of this moment, there are a few open speaking slots as well (six I believe).

June 22: Stevens BPM Day

This is the third year for this vendor-independent executive seminar (pdf brochure) located conveniently just across the Hudson River from New York City hosted by Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken NJ.  I will be there with a few other though leaders presenting the acclaimed “BPM in Practice” full day tutorial on currently evolving BPM technology and standards.  Stevens adds an additional twist with a breakout track focusing on BPMN modeling.  Robert Shapiro will  surely have lots of interesting details on the BPMN 2.0 standard. Early registration is $495 but you save $100 if you are a WfMC member.

21 Questions to Ask a BPM Vendor

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With all the work I do in getting BPM system to interoperate with each other, I have come to recognize a set of potential problem areas.  Naturally, vendors are not always forthcoming with these little glitches.  So I have put together a list of questions that someone who is currently evaluating product might want to ask the vendor, and gauge the response.  Pick and choose, but I hope this list is helpful in getting some probing questions:

  • Does your product support a standard external interchange format for process definitions? – some products support only an internal proprietary file format. Continue reading →

Searching for BPMN / XPDL Incompatibility

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For you who read this blog on occasion, please help.  I am looking for any valid BPMN diagrams that can not be represented as standard XPDL.  Many people understand that XPDL is a superset of BPMN, meaning that everything from BPMN can be represented as XPDL, while the converse is not necessarily true.  There are, however, a few vocal opponents who claim that XPDL can not be used to store BPMN.

OK.  Both BPMN and XPDL are complex subjects.  Continue reading →

Representing Choice in a Process Diagram

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A business process is compsed of activities.  Are those activities of a computer (an automating diagram) or are those activities of people (a facilitating diagram)?  There are places for both kinds of diagrams in making organizations run better, and BPMN is a notation designed to support both as well.  To support facilitation diagrams well, there is one key thing that is missing: a way to denote a “choice“. Continue reading →