Business Process Modeling (BPM) Essentials

At course completion, students will be able to :

• Understand the key terms and concepts in BPM
• Use major methodologies and techniques for implementing BPM
• Define the various technologies that support BPM 
• Learn to discriminate between process and rules requirements
• Map written business cases into process areas and rule sets
• Understand variations in strategies between rules-centric and process centric approaches
• Develop business intelligence from process description & rule sets
• Define rules interfaces that are truly flexible
• Re-engineer existing system and data process for increased IT productivity
• Understand agility metrics

Introduction

• Course Objectives
• Lesson Review
• Why BPM?
• Topology of a SOA reference architecture
• BPM Vendors overview
• Positioning of vendor tools

BPM Overview

• BPM vs BPMS
• When to choose a BPMS
• IT and business must work hand in hand
• Matching the right technology to your problem
• Adopting a development model
• Overview of a BPM system

Architecture of a BPM System

• EAI and B2B aspects
• Topology and scalability
• Design tools
• Deployment tools
• Monitoring and management
• The process engine
• Process definition repository
• Transaction manager
• Connector framework

Understanding Basic Concepts and Architecture

• Overview of open standards
• Overview of the BPEL Standard
• The BPEL Suitcase Manifest
• basic concepts of a BPEL Process Manager
• BPEL Process Manager Implementation Options
• Example: BizTalk 2006 vs Oracle SOA Suite

Administering Processes using Process Monitoring

• Managing a BPEL Process
• Platform Administration
• Interfacing with BAM (business activity monitoring)
• What about BAS? (business activity services)
• Adding a Notification to a Process
• Selecting a Notification Channel

Adapter support in a BPMS

• Adapters for a standards-based environment
• Selecting an adapter service
• Configuring a File adapter
• Supported and bundled adapters
• The adapter framework
• OEM adapters

Core BPMS features and Interfaces

• Repository support
• Database support
• The Adapter SDK
• The level of required customisation
• WS-* standards support
• Involvement of development languages
• J2EE containers or .Net?
• Human workflow solutions

BPM as enabler of SOA: Key components

• Application frontends
• Basic Services
• The value of an ESB
• Using a Repository
• Increased agility for the business

The BPM Board

• Distributing technology white papers
• Controlling & measuring improvement processes
• Managing the repository
• Setup of a quality gateway
• The 4 pillars of success

Governance and Business strategy

• The personal perspective
• Innovation, growth and flexibility
• Convincing the CEO,CIO, and Business units
• The past: data/functions vs objects & services
• The future: core business logic vs process control logic
• Design implications for Architects
• Alignment of Business and IT

Business Rules

• Motivations for BRs
• Basic Concepts
• Rule Maturity Model (KPI RMM™)
• KPI STEP™ Principles
• New Roles of Business and I/T
• The Business Focus in Business Rules
• When is a BR Approach Appropriate?
• New Aspects for Scoping a BR Project
• Key Elements of a BR Project Plan
• The Role of a BR Pilot
• Overview of Mining BRs from Code

Choosing the right approach

• Start at the beginning: the business
• Definition of business competencies
• Identifying differentiators and overhead
• From requirements to components
• What components should be re-usable?
• Architecture requirements
• Reaching vendor independence
• Roadmap to enterprise renovation
• Continuous improvements