This morning (Oct 28, 2009) I attended a iLog Business Rules Management System (BRMS) Demo and it gave me an idea.
iLog has a great tool for testing rules. It allows to design test cases using MS Excell that are sent to the Rules Engine in order to determine if a rule set provides the expected decision.
In the past I ave been involved with the difficult exercice of generating test data for Business Processes. Using the iLog testing tool, this could be realized like this :
1. Before the process is designed, use the BRMS to design the process vocabulary.
2. Create some basic rules which from process inputs produce process outputs. In fact these rules simulate the process.
3. Create the rules test cases such that the rule responds the right process output from a given process input. In fact the rules set must simulates the process for the foreseen test cases.
4. Communicate the rules and their test cases to the Process developpers so they can design and build the process using the test cases.
5. For automating the tests, at the end of the process (or at intervals if the process is composed of serveral parts), send the process inputs to the business rules and ask the rules engine to compare process results with the expected process results (this requires a comparison rule which allows to determine of two result sets are considered equivalent).
To illustrate this, I used the opportunity to test gliffy to make a diagram:
A typical approach when thinking about Business Process Management is to try to draw two types of diagrams:
the AS-IS Diagram: represents how the process is executed today
the TO-BE Diagram : how we would like to execute the process in the future
The TO-BE diagram aims at improving the business efficiency by for example automating certain tasks. The Business Process Modeling Notation is the standardized notation for such Process Diagrams. Once the process is modeled in BPMN it can be implemented using the Business Process Execution Language (BPEL).
BPMN seems to be the way to go to manage a company's business process.
So the question is : Is BPMN the panacea (a cure to all pains) for Business Process Management ?
I dont think so. Here is why...
If the BPMN approach sounds logical, it has nevertheless some drawbacks:
How to get non architects draw their processes, they prefer natural language = to talk about it. Drawing and agreeing the right process is a painful exercise in most companies.
Some of the Process Drawing tools like ARIS, MEGA, System Architect require some training before they can be properly used. They are perceived as complex.
BPMN diagram don't represent the reality. It's sometimes very difficult to draw the reality because there are numerous exceptions to the process (exceptions are the rule...)
Alternative approaches to BPMN are than very useful. One can find at least 2 types of alternatives : Middelware and Applications.
Middelware (other than BPEL Engines) allow businesses to manage their processes. Here are some examples:
Business Rules Engines allow to determine what is the best next step to be executed in a process (decision), or determine how an activity should be performed (planning). At IBM this would be the iLOG BRMS.
Business Activity Monitoring and Complex Events Processing allow to monitor a process though relevant events (product purchased, payment completed...). At IBM we implement this with Websphere Business Monitor and Websphere Business Events.
Business Intelligence tools allow to create reports and dashboards which help Business Managers to lead their teams to execute the processes in the right way.
Companies have also been managing their business processes without modeling them. They have purchased applications or frameworks which contained ready to use processes:
Horizontal Applications like ECM solutions include standard document flows for publication and approval of information
Vertical Applications Packages like SAP, Temenos T24 or PTC Windchill include pre-canned business processes that "just" need to be customized to the company needs.
