Articles

Business Architecture: Leveraged in Strategic IT Planning

Author(s):

Geoffrey Balmes

Business Architect Executive, Independent Consultant

Considering the forum in which this article is published, I think it is safe to say that anyone reading it already knows the value of Business Architecture. I hope we also share the opinion that the IT Architecture is secondary to the Business Architecture: the business is the driver, not IT.

That is nice theory, but it hasn’t been reality for quite some time. New technology trends emerge, people with an eye for technology see the benefits, and they sell the idea of implementing the new technology based on those benefits.

Converging BPM and Business Rules Maturity Models

Author(s):

Tom DeBevoise

Co-Author of The Microguide to Process Modeling in BPMN 2.0, www.tomdebevoise.com

Readers of the Business Rules topic section have probably found Barbara von Halle’s writing on the Rules Maturity model RMM. The model depicts an enterprise’s staged understanding of business rules and their progressive benefits. The model starts with stage zero, no recognition of importance of formal processes of managing policies and corporate guidance through business rules. In short, the stages are:

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

Governance has been defined as: “the art and discipline of managing outcomes through structured relationships, procedures and policies.” Governance plays an important part in the adoption and ongoing operation of any SOA initiative. It enforces compliance with the architecture and common semantics, and facilitates managing the enterprise wide development, use and evolution of services.

When discussing SOA governance, it is important to make sure that everyone is on the same page about what type of governance they are referring to.

BPM is Not the Same as BPR

Author(s):

Janelle Hill

VP & Distinguished Analyst, BPM Research, Gartner Inc.

In the late 1980s, Michael Hammer and James Champy published a bestselling book, Reengineering the Corporation, promoting the idea that radical redesign and reorganization of an enterprise was necessary to lower costs and increase quality so American businesses could become more competitive.

Transitioning to Services Engineering

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

In past columns, I have discussed the idea of services engineering, the importance of understanding businesses as service providers, and the characteristics of different types of services. This column looks at the challenges of measuring and managing process performance in services industries.

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.

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The Marriage of Process and Data Governance: Key to BPM and SOA Initiatives’ Success

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

Business Process Management (BPM) and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) initiatives can either be easy or difficult depending on your approach.

At first glance BPM and SOA offer a very good value proposition. However, the more you learn, the more you discover that everything is not exactly as expected.

BPM and SOA initiatives are made up of process and data. Too often, a lack of focus in one area or the other occurs and has pervasive effects on business results.

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The Greatest Innovation Since the Assembly Line

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

The most profound innovation since the assembly line is staring us right in the face. But we don’t see it because we are so busy looking for something else. For most of us the word “innovation” still conjures up images of amazing new gadgets such as technology to turn water into gasoline, black boxes to project moving 3D holograms from our TV sets, and bio-tech breakthroughs that reverse the aging process.

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Committing to the Business Architecture

Author(s):

Ralph Whittle

Enterprise Business Architect, Independent Consultant

BPMInstitute.org and BrainStorm Group hosted Business Architecture (BA) events at their conferences in San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and New York in 2006. Interest in BA across all industries is growing with attendance at all BA presentations increasing. The conference attendees are coming prepared with excellent questions, expecting answers and seeking information about BA initiatives.

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BPMS Watch: Measure Then Model? An Alternative Process Lifecycle

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

BPM users are familiar with the process lifecycle. It starts with process modeling. Business analysts document the as-is process, and analyze its shortcomings – handoff inefficiencies, exception handling, inconsistent application of policies and rules. From the model they can define KPIs for the process and estimate their value using simulation analysis. Then they model proposed process improvements, and project the expected benefit using simulation, before committing resources to the implementation.

The next step in the standard lifecycle is process design.

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