Translation Workflow Make or Buy Business Process Analysis and Workflow Design Frank Bergmann, 20051

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Translation Workflow Make or Buy?Business
Process Analysis and Workflow DesignFrank
Bergmann, 2005-10-22
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Contents
Make or Buy?
IT-Dept?
InternalEfficiency
Rumors, Hype,Fashion
IT Provider Evaluation
ProviderRelationship
CustomerRelationship
OrganizationalChange
Which Parts/Functionalit?
Examples/Cases
Skills Resources?
Do we reallyneed this?
ROI
How to do it?
What to do?
Why do it?
Make or Buytextbook
Explain define "Workflow"
BizProcs
Whats in for me?
WorkflowDesign
Make case Buy case Adapt case
Strategic or not?
Cases
Resources
WorkflowScoping
Eval Matrix
3
Why These Slides?
Do we really have to go through this?

• Reason 1 Understand ROI
• Reason 2 Don't leave it to the Techies! (Im a
  techie!)
• Reason 3 Know What You're Doing

4
Reason 1 Understand ROI
The amount of the positive cash flow depends on
the gained efficiency
Cash

Flow
Product Is

Released to

Net Profit Period
Production
Positive

Cash

Opportunity

Flow
Occurs
(Mostly

Product

RD)
Time
Negative

Cash



Flow


Project
Breakeven

Project
Becomes
Time

Extinct
Activity

First

Begins
Customers



Are Satisfied
Product
Opportunity
Definition

Is Perceived
and Plans

The negative cash flow (investment) depends on
which workflows to implement and how.
Freeze
Source Strategic Issues in Managing Technology
and Innovation, Anthony F. Chelte, Western New
England College
5
Reason 2 Don't leave it to the Techies
System
StakeHolders
Spheres
"Emotional"
"User"
"Logicians"
How to use "logical tools" to analyze the "human
issues"?
"How can we get rid of all this task crap?"
How to do the work?
Text Analysis http//www.fawcette.com/interview
s/beck_cooper/ Figure project-open, own
elaboration, http//www.project-open.com/whitepape
rs/
6
Reason 2 Don't leave it to the Techies
System
StakeHolders
Domains
Strategy
Tactics
Biz Needs
Tech Needs
User Needs
Profiles
Project Manager
The PM is the (only?) conflict mediator
Text Analysis http//www.fawcette.com/interview
s/beck_cooper/ Figure project-open, own
elaboration, http//www.project-open.com/whitepape
rs/
7
Reason 3 Know What You're Doing

• Technology is fashion business it
  changesevery 3-8 years
• "Hypes" usually takea lot of attention
• Most hypes contributesomething, and leavetheir
  trace in the industry.
• Some don't.

Source http//www.jboss.org/products/jbpm/stateof
workflow
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BusinessProcesses
Source Workflow Reference Model, The Workflow
Management Coalition http//www.wfmc.org/
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Whats a Business Process?
A business process is the flow or progression of
activities ...
each of which represents the work of a person,
an internal system, or the process of a partner
company ... toward some business goal.
Start
Mike Havey
Activity1
Activity2
"Deliverable"
End
A sample Business Process in BPMN(Business
Process Modelling Notation)
Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
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Business Process Elements

• "Event"
• Gateway
• Activity
• Artifacts (Documents)
• Sequence Flow
• Document Flow
• Message Flow

Start
End
Activity1
Activity2
Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
11
A Very Simple Invoice Example
GenerateInvoice
SendInvoice
CloseInvoice
ReceiveMoney
Start
End

• Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN)
• Designed to be understood by business users

Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
12
Invoice Example (2)
GenerateInvoice
SendInvoice
CloseInvoice
ReceiveMoney
Start
End
Yes
No
SendReminder
CancelInvoice
Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
13
Invoice Example (3)
Wait forMoney
Start
End
ReceiveMoney
SendInvoice
GenerateInvoice
Company
SendMoney
Yes
ReceiveInvoice
CheckInvoice
Start
Customer
No
SendCorrection
End
Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
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Sample Flash L10n Process
CustomerNegotiations
Start
Initial Contact
Initial Analysis
TMAnalysis
Quoting
End
No
Modify Quote
Yes
Translation
Edit
Integration
QC
ProjectSetup
PrepareL10n Kit
Translation
Edit
Integration
QC
Translation
Edit
Inte-gration
QC
No
Delivery
Invoicing
End
Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
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Business Process Description Languages
Source Mike Havey, author of Essential Business
Process Modeling
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WorkflowEngine
Source Workflow Reference Model, The Workflow
Management Coalition http//www.wfmc.org/
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Workflow Process Elements

• "Event"
• State
• Gateway
• Activity
• Artifacts (Documents)
• Sequence Flow
• Document Flow
• Message Flow

Start
End
Activity1
Activity2
Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
18
Invoice Example (2)
GenerateInvoice
SendInvoice
CloseInvoice
Start
End
ReceiveMoney
Yes
No
SendReminder
CancelInvoice
Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
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Invoice Example (2) With States
State Diagram / Petri Net
GenerateInvoice
SendInvoice
CloseInvoice
Start
End
ReceiveMoney
Yes
No
SendReminder
CancelInvoice
Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
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What's the difference?

• The "State" concept allows your IT guys to put
  this description into a computer system
  (specification)
• "States" won't work in high-level process
  designs. It forces the business analyst to get
  down to "reality"

Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
21
Status Engine Example

• The diagram shows a status engine according to
  the business process that we have defined before.

SendReminder
Waiting for Money
Timeout
InvoiceUnpaid
ReceiveMoney
SendInvoice
MoneyReceived
InvoiceGenerated
CancelInvoice
CloseInvoice
GenerateInvoice
End
Start
Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
22
Question to the audience

• Let's imagine we really want to implement this
  workflow using a Workflow application

SendReminder
Waiting for Money
Timeout
InvoiceUnpaid
ReceiveMoney
SendInvoice
MoneyReceived
InvoiceGenerated
CancelInvoice
CloseInvoice
GenerateInvoice
End
Start
Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
23
Further Questions

• Should everything be allowed ("collaboration
  style)?
• When?
• Why not?

Waiting for Money
InvoiceUnpaid
MoneyReceived
InvoiceGenerated
End
Start
Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
24
Group Work Design the Status Engine
Waiting for Money
InvoiceUnpaid
MoneyReceived
InvoiceGenerated
End
Start
Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
25
WorkflowDesign
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"Fine Grain" or "Coarse Grain"?

• To what degree should a company enforce the
  orderof steps and the assignment of tasks of a
  process?

• Small Company
• Company specializedon Flash
• Your Company ???

Start
FlashL10n
End
Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
27
"Fine Grain" or "Coarse Grain"?
Up-FrontInvestment
Overheadper case
OptimumROI
Cost per case
Fine Grain
Coarse Grain

• Workflow implementations behave like other IT
  investments
• Fine grain workflows have higher initial and
  setup overhead costs
• The optimum granularity depends on many factors

Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
28
Process Implementation Styles

• "Email" Style
• No workflow at all, documents are sent around by
  email
• Pros Flexible, no investment, "ad hoc"
• "Collaboration" Style
• Online Forums, common filestorage, ...
• Pros Flexible, low investment
• "Organizational" Style
• Fixed process, but order is maintained
  informally.
• "Prescription" Style
• Formal workflow
• Pros Formalized, Standardized, Reporting
  Metrics, ...

Activity2
Activity2
Activity1
Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
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Workflow Design Criteria

• Workflow design takes a Business Process and
  creates an IT application from it.
• "Fine grain" or "coarse grain" implementation
• Email, Collaboration or Prescription style
  implementation?
• Short or long-lived processes?
• Reporting Workflow Metrics
• Flexibility
• Security Permissions
• "Trust Model"
• "Water-tight" processes vs. Human Decisions?
• Botton-Up or top-down design?

Source project-open, own elaboration,
http//www.project-open.com/whitepapers/
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End
Frank Bergmann frank.bergmann_at_project-open.com www
.project-open.com