1. www.process-conference.org FEATURES OF BUSINESS PROCESS TOOLS: AN OVERVIEW Vesna Bosilj-Vuksic University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business

2. www.process-conference.org Contents 1.Introduction 2.Business process orientation 3.Features of BP tools 4.Research about BP tools 5.How to select a BP tool? 6.Conclusion

3. www.process-conference.org Introduction The first rule of any technology is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency. Bill Gates, Microsoft Corporation

4. www.process-conference.org Business process orientation (1) Brief history of business process orientation: Six Sigma – 1986 Hammer and Champy, July 1990: Don’t automate, obliterate’, in Harvard Business Review – BPR Smith and Fingar, 2002: Business Process Management: The Third Wave

5. www.process-conference.org Business process modelling vs. Business process management Enterprise architecture, process modelling and simulation tools vs. Business process management tools Many companies use different business process (BP) methods and tools Business process orientation (2)

6. www.process-conference.org BPTrends Report, June 2006.: The State of Business Process Management: 345 respondents –28% of respondents indicated to regard BPM as a major strategic commitment by executive management –46% only occasionally had up-to-date documentation of processes –Only 26% had standard process models for each of its value chains –23% had performed similar processes in a similar way Business process orientation (3)

7. www.process-conference.org BPTrends Report, June 2006.: The State of Business Process Management: –About 20% had standard measures to evaluate the performance of major processes –The existing software supported core business processes in 18% –Most respondents felt that their software only occasionally (41%) or frequently (33%) supported their business processes Business process orientation (4)

8. www.process-conference.org BPTrends Report, June 2006.: The State of Business Process Management: –5% spent over 10 million US $ on BPM in 2005., –58% spent between 0-half million US $ –The BPM software tool that was most important in 2005: Graphic tool (Visio, Power Point,..) 24% Repository based process modelling tool (ARIS, iGrafx, Adonis,..) 22% ….. Simulation tool 6% Business rules tool 5% Business process orientation (5)

9. www.process-conference.org Features of BP tools (1) Business process modelling tool 1)Organization and data modelling 2)Static Process Modelling 3)Dynamic Process Modelling 4)Organization, Data and Process Modelling Interface 5)RepositoryPublisher

10. www.process-conference.org Features of BP tools (2) Business process modelling tool The features of data and static process modelling are most widely used. The term analysis is used with a rather broad meaning, including simulation, diagnosis, verification and performance analysis The two most important standardization efforts include the development of a Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN) and a Unified Modelling Language (UML).

11. www.process-conference.org Features of BP tools (3) Business process management system 1)Business process management engine (server) 2)Organization modelling tool 3)Business process modelling tool 4)Business rules 5)Developer 6)Administration tool 7)Integration 8)Business process monitoring, measurement and management 9)Process adaptability

12. www.process-conference.org Features of BP tools (4) Business process management system According to Miers and Harmon (2005) and Khan (2003) one of the major goals of business process management is to realize business activity monitoring (BAM). Business process management environment should have a formal foundation, providing a structured way of identifying and capturing all information, relationships and business rules that make up a business process.

13. www.process-conference.org www.bptrends.com www.bptrends.com Paul Harmon: Business Process Trends

14. www.process-conference.org Research about BP tools (1) Mojca Indihar Stemberger and Jurij Jaklic, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics, Dept. of Information Management The research about the suitability of business process (BP) tools in relation to different project types, in 2006. The features evaluated were initially based on the classification used by Harmon (2004) in Business Process Trends report. ARIS, Corporate Modeler, IBM WBI, Adonis, iGrafx, Ultimus

15. www.process-conference.org Evaluation of the features of BP tools Scale 1-5 Legend: –A – The level of importance in general for simulation/process modelling/BPC projects –B – The level of importance in general for BPM/WFM/ IS projects –C – Evaluation of vendor’s tool features Research about BP tools (2)

16. www.process-conference.org BP tool vendor or representative Individual criteria of software according to project goals/objectives Enel, Croatia: ARIS Infodom, Croatia: Corporate Modeler IBM, Slovenia: WebSphere Institute of Knowledge and Business Engineering, Univ. of Vienna: ADONIS Six Sigma Akademija, Slovenia: iGrafx ITSS, Croatia: Ultimus ABCABCABCABCABCABC Enterprise architecture framework (repository) and strategy 545545555434445443 Process analysis and modelling 555555555525555534 Process simulation, measurement, animation/visualisation 544544555525555434 Process performance improvement 55 4/ 5 544555444544433 Process automation, workflow management, BPM engine, rules 2/352454555253334355 Real time process management (senior management dashboards) 555454444324234253 Developing code (business applications) based on diagrams (models) 24 2/ 3 352445152335255 Integration into other software tools/packages 35 4/ 5 452445454334245

17. www.process-conference.org BP tool vendor or representative Individual criteria of software according to project goals/objectives Collective assessment AB SumRankSumRank Enterprise architecture framework (repository) and strategy 4,544,06 Process analysis and modelling 5,014,24 Process simulation, measurement, animation/visualisation 4,823,88 Process performance improvement 4,734,24 Process automation, workflow management, BPM engine, rules 3,374,71 Real time process management (senior management dashboards) 3,354,06 Developing code (business applications) based on diagrams (models) 2,584,32 Integration into other software tools/packages 3,354,32 A – Simulation/process modelling /BPC projects (1)Process analysis/modelling (2)Process simulation (3)Process performance improvement B – Business process management (1)Process automation, WFM, BPM engine (2)Integration (3)Developing code based on diagrams

18. www.process-conference.org How to select a BP tool? (1) In business practice: Decide on re-use, buy, make or outsource –Buy an off-the-shelf product –Develop a new system –Outsource the application Who is selling BP tools ? –Internal sponsors, process owners, CPO –A software vendor –A system integrators and/or consultants

19. www.process-conference.org How to select a BP tool? (2) In business practice: Product aspects –Customer experience –Quality and reliability –Performance –Standards compliance –Ease of migration –Integration and compatibility –User interface –Management and administration tools

20. www.process-conference.org How to select a BP tool? (3) In business practice: Offer aspects –Availability –Finance, price and terms –Licensing scheme –Servicing and maintenance –Support –Training –Project help

21. www.process-conference.org How to select a BP tool? (4) In business practice: Organization aspects –Culture –Corporate history –Market channels –Financial and human resources

22. www.process-conference.org How to select a BP tool? (5) In business practice: Which components of BP tool are required? –Process design (modelling, analysis, simulation) –Process management (workflow engine, business rules engine) –Integrated document management system –Reporting, Business Activity Monitoring –…….

23. www.process-conference.org How to select a BP tool? (6) A theoretical overview: Hommes and van Reijswoud (2000): a framework for the evaluation of business process modelling techniques that are the most important part of a process modelling tool. Hall, Harmon (2005): several expected characteristics for business process modelling and simulation tools - can be identified. Khan (2005): Business Process Management – A Practical Guide, Meghan-Kiffer Press – the main components of BPM tools

24. www.process-conference.org A big market A software selection process in organisations is typically not defined There are often no possibilities to learn from previous experience A selection of a business process management/modelling tool is a typical multi-criteria decision process General framework should be defined to help the selection of BP tools Conclusion