1. Adaptive Case Management
With Alfresco and Activiti

2. Alfresco Certified Instructor
Short Intro
Jörg Sauer
Allianz Life Indonesia
Head of Application Development
Jakarta / Indonesia
Community:
Alfresco Community Jakarta
Blog Posts (none in past 12 month )
Blog: blogs.ecmconcepts.org
Alfresco Certified Instructor

3. Agenda Introduction into Knowledge Work Challenges with BPM
Adaptive Case Management
What Alfresco Provides Out of the Box
What Activiti Provides Out of the Box
What Needs to be Done / Customized
Conclusion

4. Introduction to Knowledge Work
What does a knowledge worker look like?

5. Knowledge Worker?
University Professors

6. Knowledge Worker?
Librarian?
Maybe…

7. People who figure out what they have to do
Knowledge Worker!
People who figure out what they have to do
Definitely!

8. People who assess a situation and determine the course of action
Knowledge Worker!
People who assess a situation and determine the course of action

9. People whose actions are based on many sources of information
Knowledge Worker
People whose actions are based on many sources of information

10. People who gather clues, follow up and discover things
Knowledge Worker
People who gather clues, follow up and discover things

11. Knowledge Work is Everywhere
Rescue Work
Complex Insurance or Bank Tansactions
Police & Legal Investigation
Financial Audit
Coordinating a Meeting
Exceptions, e.g. Billing Dispute
Medical Treatment
Help Desk
Hiring
Executive Management etc.

12. Quality of Knowledge Work
Non Repeated!
Two murder investigations are not the same
Complex insurance claims are not the same
Endless examples to go

13. Quality of Knowledge Work
Non Repeated!
Unpredictable!
Legal case may take unexpected course
Medical claim might not be valid due to wrong statements made in application
Conflicting factors impact decision making

14. Quality of Knowledge Work
Non Repeated!
Unpredictable!
Emergent!
A doctor runs a test on a patient
Leading to a treatment plan
Which is monitored and additional test
Which leads to a modified treatment
Which is monitored

15. Quality of Knowledge Work
Non Repeated!
Unpredictable!
Emergent!
Robustness (in face of variable conditions)
High velocity and High reliable organizations run on knowledge work.

16. Industrial Development
: Industrialization: Mass Production /Routine Work
Define exact process
Run 1000’s times
Distribute initial cost over many identical copies
Research: Frederick Winslow Taylor
: Just in Time Kanban
Mass customization
Excess production is waste
Lean & Pull Based
Responsive to change
Research: Taiichi Ohno (Toyota)
: Knowledge Work
Knowledge Worker: Someone who knows more about her job than anybody else in the organization
Research: Peter F. Drucker

17. Manufacturing
Office Work
Unpredictable
Predictable
Just in Time
Knowledge Work
Mass Production
Routine Work

18. Knowledge Work Facts 30%-50% off all Workers = Knowledge Workers
The number is increasing
High pay
Key area of economical growth in economies
Key factor for developed countries to stay compitetive
Research: Tom Davenport

19. Cost & Complexity of Implementation
value
Less Predictable
Knowledge Worker Processes
Routine Human Processes
System to System Processes
€€€
Difficult to Implement
Knowledge Work €€
Business Process Spectrum
Routine Work
Easier to implement €
More Predictable

20. Business Process Management (BPM)
Mature
Good Tools
Lots of Experts
However:
High upfront investment in process analysis
ROI = process to be run thousands of times

21. BPM = Mass Production!
Works only for routine work!

22. BPM Real Life Issues Business processes not well understood
Users = just see what they do
Scope?
Management: just cares about results, KPIs, SLAs, head count
Internal resources most times not sufficiently skilled to do process analysis
External consultants = Project = Solve all problems approach = PROBLEM!

23. BPM Real Life Issues
Conflicts among stakeholders how process should look like
Scope issues
Goals not defined
End to end process = multiple department = multiple interests

24. BPM Real Life Issues
Misconception that BPM implementation will solve business problems.
Business Problem != Human Error != Solvable with BPM
Automation = Change = Unknown Results how it will work
Try and Error

25. BPM Real Life Issues Focus on end to end processes
End to End is overly complex
3m x 5m process diagrams
Not all things can be foreseen
Huge effort gather requirements
Huge effort to get sign off.
Always too many compromises
Once implemented will remain as is for ever

26. BPM Real Life Issues Optimistic Flow
Tendency to include the optimistic flows only
Error handling on process level missing
Exception / alternate flows incomplete

27. New Approach Needed BPM = assumption that BPM = Process is center
Process is predictable
Implementable as an automated process
ROI comes from scaling up and repeatability
BPM = Process is center

28. Adaptive Case Management (ACM)

29. Adaptive Case Management
Enable Knowledge Worker
Case Data is Center not Process
Process not carved in stone
Worker decides on steps
SOP as guidance / frame for work
Holistic View on Data / Information

30. BPM vs. ACM modelling
Routine Work
Knowledge Work

31. Knowledge Work Requires Guidance & Rules: SOP & Business Rules
Adaptable approach
Templates: Filing structure Check lists
Small Workflows
Customizable elements
Collaboration
Holistic Data / Information
Visibility of
documents
structured information
communication
Historical data
Related cases

32. Statement
“Knowledge worker productivity is the biggest of the 21st century management challenges. In developed countries it is their first survival requirement”
Peter F. Drucker

33. Case Management with Alfresco
Does Alfresco provide case management out of the Box?
Not really – at least not as a solution
Can Alfresco do case management?
Off course if you implement the required things
Who is doing case management with Alfresco?
Many companies
Who is implementing case management in Alfresco?
You
Partners
Community

34. Case Management Support in Alfresco
Case management based on folder (structures)
Small Workflows
Rules and Actions
Simple Workfows
Tags

35. Alfresco Functionality for Case Management Implementations
Custom Content Models
Document & Folder types
Metadata
Custom Workflows
Web Scripts
Integration with 3rd party systems
Filing structure initiation – create case structure
Metadata synchronization
Status updates
Extending Alfresco & Share functionality
Freemarker
Templates
Components
Reports

36. Alfresco Functionality for Case Management Implementations
Custom Actions:
Automation of manual tasks
Create case
Start workflow
Synch information
Generate status report
Transformations
Generate Status Reports
Full text index on holistic data
Synchronization
Share documents with (external) stakeholders

37. Alfresco Functionality for Case Management Implementations
Data Lists
Check Lists
Todo’s
Policies
Events in Repository trigger actions
Start configured workflow if data list entry is created
Update status on workflow completion

38. Activiti Case Management out of the Box
Standard Workflows
Ad Hoc Workflow
Review Approve Workflow
Etc.

39. Adaptive Case Management With Alfresco & Activiti
Basic Repository Customizations
Case Metadata Model Foundation
Case Group Container
Case Folder
Case File
Aspects
Case Check List (Data List)
Basic Workflows
Activiti Workflow to run on Folder chains
User configurable sequential workflow, with full support for task list, escalation, task assignment etc.
Basic Case Workflows
Main Case Status workflow
Identify expert workflow
Assessment workflow
Request additional document workflow

40. Adaptive Case Management With Alfresco & Activiti
Share Customizations
Additional Folder Views
Case Status
Including workflows running
Case Information Aggregation View
Template components for extensibility
Data lists on case folders
List entry can initiate workflow
Workflow updates list entry on completion or status updates.
Just a foundation!

41. Adaptive Case Management Version Chart
Functionality
Extensibility
Alfresco 3.4
Core functionality Replication
Easy Not existant
Alfresco 4.0
Easy Supported
Alfresco 4.2
Easy
Better as in 4.0?
Share 3.4
Components Modules
Complicated not existing
Share 4.0
Components Modules Markers
Basic
Not yet
Share 4.2
good
Yes
Activiti 5.7 (Alfresco <4.2)
Call Activiti expression
Signals
Compensation
Messages
Other cool stuff
No No No No No
Activiti 5.10 (Alfresco 4.2)
yes yes yes yes yes

42. Activiti Adaptive Case Management

43. Implementation
Initiated two month ago as Jakarta Alfresco Community project
Goal
Learn about Alfresco by doing something useful and which is fun
Delivery Date 1st release
Missed 
When to be expected?
November 2012
Where to be found

44. Q & A

45. References Presentations: Books: Web:
Keith Swenson: The Nature of Knowledge Work
Books:
Keith Swenson: Mastering the Unpredictable
Keith Swenson: Taming the Unpredictable
Jakob Freund, Bernd Ruecker: Real Life BPMN
Jakob Freund, Bernd Ruecker: Praxis Handbuch BPMN
Web:
Activiti User Guide:
Alfresco Wiki:
Blogs:
David Draper:
Will Abson:

46. References… Training: Adaptive Case Management Toolkit
Alfresco Share Configuration
Alfresco Share Development
Alfresco Activiti Workflow
Alfresco API Developer
Customized Training Alfresco: Averi
BPMN and Process Analysis: Camunda
Adaptive Case Management Toolkit
toolkit/
Stay tuned for the first code to be posted shortly