A Computer Scientists's Guide to Business Process Management (BPM)

Ko

survey bpm business process management reengineering workflow

@article{
  author={Ryan K. L. Ko},
  title={A Computer Scientists's Guide to Business Process Management ({BPM})},
  journal={{ACM} Crossroads},
  year={2009},
  volume={15},
  number={4}
}

Quote from Davenport: Business process "implies a strong emphasis on how work is done within an organization, in contrast to a product focus's emphasis on what. A process is this a specific ordering of work activities across time and place, with a beginning, an end, and clearly identified inputs and outputs: a structure for action."

Process generally involves many people/machines, different organizations

Two perspectives on business processes

• Level perspective: Organizational structure, broken into three layers:
  • Operational control: Carry out specific tasks efficiently
  • Management control: Oversee effective and efficient use of resources
  • Strategic planning: Objectives, resource allocation, acquisition, other policies
• Core Competency perspective: Functional breakdown into three groups:
  • Core processes: Revenue generating activities
  • Management processes: Ensure efficiency, compliance, governance
  • Support: Critical but non-revenue generating (e.g., shipping)

Goal of business process modeling and management

• Increase self-knowledge of activities, better define roles
• Identify bottlenecks and optimizations
• Auditing, fraud prevention, command and control

Efficient production/process requires smooth flow of products or information

• No over-production, no excess inventory
• No waiting
• No unnecesary movement/transport
• No defects
• No ignored creativity

BPM life cycle

• Process design
• System Configuration
• Process Enactment
• Diagnosis

Quote from Gartner: BPM "is a process-oriented management discipline. It is not a technology. Workflow is a flow management technology found in business process management suites (BPMS's) and other product categories."

• Alternative: Workflow does not include diagnosis and refinement

Good list of BPM standards

Six stage BP modeling process:

• Identifying business needs
• Defining goals and requirements
• Develop process model diagrams
• Develop executable code from diagrams
• Refine the code and add details and necessary components
• Execute BPM in BPMS engine, enabling all-electronic business process