Managing Information to Create Business Success
How Information-Based BPM Works With Content Management

A typical I-B BPM implementation is a continuous loop, consisting of the following phases:

• Process modeling—Analyzing and capturing enterprisewide business process and workflows, gathering requirements, designing and specifying new processes, modeling and testing processes and specifying key performance indicators (KPIs). This phase is driven by business analysts supporting the function or line-of-business in collaboration with system architects;
• Process implementation—Building system architecture and workflows based on process models and information flow; evaluating and selecting process-based enterprise content management systems; specifying IT interfaces; and eventually developing, deploying and testing the implementation. This phase is driven by IT architects and engineers, with extensive feedback from business analysts;
• Process control—Continuous execution of information-based processes and workflows, handling process exceptions and collecting and measuring predefined KPIs to provide feedback into the process optimization phase. Information is collected via performance management systems, and analysis is carried out by business analysts and IT specialists; and
• Process optimization—Feedback and outputs are gathered from the process control and review phase, and used to measure and improve existing information-based business processes and workflows to implement new ones, re-starting the process at the modeling phase.

The Role of Workflow
Many business process automation systems are designed to support processes that are either largely human-driven or completely automated. A successful I-B BPM process requires an engine that orchestrates and executes information-based business processes across departments, lines of business and applications. Workflow technologies provide that engine and should be part of a process-based ECM system to handle both human and system business processes. Workflow technologies integrate, orchestrate and coordinate the people, information and systems required to complete the business process. Organizations can see, at any time, what stage the business process is in; track every action, identify who or which system completed it and when; and, determine who or which system is responsible for the next step. Work can be reassigned or re-prioritized dynamically if needed. If activities are defined by role or system availability, the workload can be distributed among multiple employees or systems sharing the same role. With information as the primary business enabler, enterprises that are customer-focused must continually refine their business processes to improve the exchange of information among employees, customers, partners and suppliers. It’s very common for entire business processes to be accessed and completed through Web browsers, as they have become the universal interface to information and applications inside and outside the enterprise.

Building and Implementing Workflows
Building and implementing information-based workflows mirror I-B BPM implementations. They have similar methodologies, defined processes, and use people in like roles:

Designing: As workflow application power users, designers access every capability on a regular basis. Designers identify and map the process, define and chart workflow steps and activities, then publish the applications to a pre-production application server for testing.

Process modeling: Modeling and defining a workflow application begins after the business analyst has a clear design for the new process. For ease of learning and daily use, workflow applications should include a graphical user interface for modeling the overall process, identifying the steps within the process and defining automation and integration opportunities. The process modeler creates an arrangement of nodes that represent steps or decisions in the business process, specifying properties and connecting them with transitions.

User interface development: Workflow applications should be built on Web-based application architecture. This enables the designer to take full advantage of industry-standard Web design tools, such as Adobe Dreamweaver, to create more intuitive activity screens for the user interface. Ideally, the workflow application should integrate directly with these tools and provide extensive code-editing support.

Once a workflow application is fully modeled and tested, it’s moved to production. Changes and enhancements to processes should be done within the modeler, which provides version control and an audit trail.

Application users: Users can be from any department, in any role—business or IT. They can work in either of the following modes and may alternate between the two:

• Standard mode: The user selects work items in any order from a personal, browser-based task list compiled by the workflow application; and
• Production mode: The workflow application automatically presents the user with work items until the user completes all items or logs out.

Application users will continually enter information in the activity screens created by the designer, so an intuitive user interface is critical to ease of training, usability and productivity.

Administrators: An administrator’s tasks include:

• Audit configuration: Configure the switches required to audit activities and instances within the application;
• User administration: Create and edit users and administrators, assign roles, and perform other user-related tasks;
• Organizations administration: Create and edit organizations and perform other organization-related tasks; and
• Workflow administration: Perform workflow-related tasks such as suspending workflow instances and changing their priorities.

Bringing It All Together
Business process management and workflow applications aren’t new. They’ve been used and refined over the course of more than 30 years, leveraging new technologies and incorporating lessons learned from both errors and successful practices in previous versions. Current workflow technologies that are part of information-based enterprise content management systems are sophisticated, extremely valuable tools for information-based BPM. However, organizations must keep in mind that workflow technology is an enabler. Sound BPM and ECM methodologies, analyses and understanding must be applied first. Only then will enterprise content management workflow capabilities bring agility to the business, flexibility to changing market demands and the ability to manage information to create business success.

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ASG provides software solutions to more than 85% of the world’s largest companies. Through its comprehensive business service management (BSM) solution, Business Service Portfolio, ASG is an established BSM provider with a strong heritage in metadata management, information management, applications management, infrastructure, performance and operations management and service and support technologies. ASG enables clients to reduce costs, improve business-service delivery, and reduce risks.

For more information, visit www.asg.com or call 800-932-5536.