Business Process Management

2 ”A structured, measured set of activities designed to produce a specific output for a particular customer or market… A process is thus a specific ordering of work activities across time and space, with a beginning and an end, and clearly defined inputs and outputs: a structure for action.” “Taking a process approach implies adopting the customer’s point of view. Processes are the structure by which an organization does what is necessary to produce value for its customers.” Davenport (1993) Business process

3 A business process is the series of steps executed by an organisation starting with a customer need and completing when the business transaction required is completed. Business processes span potentially multiple departments Business process Process can be Large and complex Dynamic Widely distributed Long running Mix of business and technical steps Involve human intelligence and judgement

4 Business Process: technology A process is an entity that typically encapsulates an interaction of a user with business entities (applications). Can includes user-centric interactions ( reminders, task lists etc) and system interactions A BPM product which only supports user-centric interactions is sometimes called a human workflow system. A BPM product which only supports system interactions is sometimes provided as a component of an EAI product. A process typically updated and changes the state of the business entities. A business process may have its own state which may exist only for the duration of the process; at the completion of the process the state ceases to exist. The duration of the state may be very long Process state may be transient or persistent.

A simple process 1. Process starts at a scheduled time. 2. Collected information from database 3. Format the to the customer 4. the invoice 5. Format the with the late reminder 6. Add a new activity (a reminder if not paid for a week) 7. Wait for the week 8. Send the late payment reminder (c) SAP

What is Business Process Management (BPM)? BPM is a discipline combining software capabilities and business expertise through people, systems, and information to accelerate time between process improvements, facilitating business innovation BPM is an approach to the definition of Business Processes as they are today and evolve over time. BPM captures the organization’s knowledge about the way it operates as process definitions. BPM maintains these process definitions and supports change BPM also enables flexible deployment, monitoring and tracking, process focus and efficiency.

BPM and process re-engineering The concept of Business Process Management came from Process re-engineering: Analysing and redesigning key processes within an organisation in order to improve performance Workflow automation (typically person-centric processes such as purchase order approval) BPM is complementary to process re-engineering and six- sigma projects but can also be used for any process automation project. Process re-engineering/six sigma is a business driven initiative to measure and optimise performance at a business level. Process re-engineering/six sigma does not require IT integration, it may simply add reports to existing systems.

BPM versus EAI and SOA BPM can use different technologies to implement the process. Like SOA, it can be implemented using different technologies EAI products typically claim to provide BPM capabilities Typically support processes defined as system to system interactions (i.e. does not include human interactions) SOA and BPM are partially complementary BPM can build upon SOA using the services already defined. However, it is not usual to attempt to combine a move to SOA and a move to BPM

BPM and ERP BPM provides process integration If the organisation is using an ERP system, the BPM system integrates into the capabilities of that system and integrates with other systems and users (via etc) SAP’s Business One tool: System interaction step User interaction steps

DiscoverDesignDeployAnalyseOptimise Identify Key Processes Define Rules & Roles for each process Model the process with its rules and roles on to the system Integrate involved systems Train users of the process Measure performance of process Identify bottlenecks Redesign process to remove bottle- necks BPM in Process Re-engineering Define the process Deployment the process Optimise the process BPM can be used as a key part of a process re-engineering strategy

BPM in process automation BPM can also be tactically to automate or optimise processes Removing manual processing steps ensures appropriate processes are followed. To formalise and capture knowledge The activity of defining the process means that knowledge in people’s heads is captured (and hence supports out-sourcing). To reduce the opportunity for human error The defined process is enforced with the BPM software and opportunity for human error reduced. To ensure compliance with legal or organisational requirements The process definitions can be audited and the execution of the processes tracked

BPM: Setting up a new customer account Collect new customer details. Verify compliance with money laundering laws Set-up account Blacklist DB Compliance systems Compliance systems Pending Branch network Account system

Verify compliance with money laundering laws Matching BPM to the example Capture new customer details. Account set-up and provisioning Blacklist DB Compliance systems Compliance systems Pending Branch network Account system Captures existing process knowledge. Supports future out sourcing decisions. Out sourced provider Reduces errors changes. Automates roll-out of change Automates process to enhance self-service

BPM software BPM software supports the life-cycle from process definition to execution to monitoring to optimization. Includes support for rapid prototyping Provide the generic framework for implementation. Can also provide templating of industry specific processes BPM software links both applications and people together.

Key components of a BPM software product Modelling and simulation Support the design and simulation of business processes. Uses graphical tools and standardised specification languages to define the process Monitoring (Business Activity Monitoring) Track performance of processes and operational activity Process orchestration and optimisation Execute the process definitions Modify and evolve the definitions to improve performance.

Example of monitoring dashboard

Second example of dashboard

Where BPM is appropriate Business Process Management is not suitable for all areas of business as it requires processes which can be formalised. Clearly needs a well-defined business case to support the potential changes in the operational process, Finding matches for the strengths of BPM Areas which are already well-defined. Areas where there is either complexity or rapid change or both Areas where the cost of error is much greater than the cost of fixing the problem.

Types of business problem BPM solves © IBM

BPEL – A business process language

21 A simple business scenario A specific ordering of work activities Across time and place With a beginning, an end Clearly identified Inputs Outputs E.g. An order arrives and proceeds down a simple series of steps to check Inventory Price Credit check Before issuing an invoice

Exercise: Defining a business process 22 Working in groups pick a business process Define the steps involved in the process from a business perspective Define the steps involved in the process from a technology perspective Think about the time the process takes to complete Think about what happens if it goes wrong

Business Process Orchestration with BPEL Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) Defines the process as an XML document which is executed by a process engine. Most BPEL products provide graphical process editing tool to define the process A portable business processes built on top of the Web services infrastructure Industry wide language for business processes Simple constructs and principles Common skill set and language for developers Choice of process engines Standards lead to competitive offerings Allows different engines to be used for different tasks A number of Open Source implementations available

BPEL Components The basic activities required to define a process such as Invoke the port- type on a participant. Receive a message from a participant Reply to a message Terminate a process “Structured” Activities including Pick from a list of options based on some value While a condition is true repeat the task Flow to the next step Defining the entities involved in the process. BPEL defines these as Partner Links (role of the participant in the process). Defining the way the entity is involved with the Port-types (an interface definition)

Structured activities – as XML and diagrams Serialized,,, parallel,,, Wait for one or more or an alarm condition

Structured activities – as XML and diagrams … While Wait

Starting and stopping process Start a process on receiving an external message … Start a process at a predefined time …

BPEL Error Handling As well as defining the usual behaviour of the process, it is also necessary to define what to do when things go wrong. This is done with faultHandlers which are called when the usual behaviour fails and an exception is thrown. … … 100">

Many instances of a process may be running in the BPEL engine. When a message arrives, the engine has to figure out which process it belongs to. This is done with message correlation The correlation data is something in the message which is unique (e.g. invoice purchase order number) and allows the process engine to associate the message with the right process <propertyAlias propertyName="orderNumber" messageType="POMessage" part="PO" query="/PO/Order"/> <correlationSet name="PurchaseOrder" properties="orderNumber"/> … BPEL Message Correlation

Advanced concepts: BPEL Transactions Transactionality is also important for BPEL but it is different to that used by J2EE (with the JTS/JTA interfaces). BPEL uses compensation handlers which reverse the effects of failed processes. i.e. the compensation handler reverses out the changes made by the failed process J2EE’s transaction model ensures no work happens until it is all complete The J2EE model does not work for long lived transactions which BPEL processes often are. <invoke partnerLink="Seller" operation="SyncPurchase" …> … <invoke partnerLink="Seller" operation="CancelPurchase“ …/>