<![CDATA[Manage Distributed Production Workflows Online with SmartFlo™BPM - SmartFlo Forum]]>Sun, 20 May 2012 08:36:58 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[BPM for Systems Integration]]>Tue, 29 Mar 2011 06:07:39 -0800http://chalex.com/3/post/2011/03/bpm-for-systems-integration.htmlService oriented architecture, SOA as it is often referred to, is today "the use of web services to integrate the data flow between systems".  The term SOA has been around much longer than web services.  When I first heard the term, it referred to a component approach to software development.  The benefit of adopting a SOA software architecture was to allow teams to work on modules with out having to be constantly concerned about the interaction between modules.  Each software module acts as a service component to the application.  The interaction between modules is defined through APIs that rarely change.
Business Process Management systems orchestrate and choreograph the flow of tasks between systems and performers.  The orchestration of task data movement between systems relies on APIs to exchange system data.  The APIs may be web service APIs or the more modern REST API.  In this form of deployment the BPM system can be an effective systems integration framework. 
The CHALEX BizFlo system with its REST APIs to the BPM workflow and DAM asset management service is a uniquely agile framework for systems integration.  The workflow model defines the routes between performers and systems acting to complete tasks for their assigned roles.  People and systems act in support of the workflow, and the workflow engine records all activities and manages all assignments to service providers, be they man or machine. 
The benefit of this approach to systems integration is the agile way in which changes can be made and new applications created.  The BizFlo framework is also a multi-tenant SaaS  platform where affiliated groups can function independently from one another on a single system.   Any number of system integrations through the BizFlo REST APIs can be created and managed as a SaaS service.  CHALEX has integrated the Cozimo file annotation service, the MarkLogic Server, and is currently adding the OpenBravo ERP system. 
The future of systems integration may well be managed through a drag and drop workflow modeling tool that quite literally automates systems integration.
]]><![CDATA[BPM in Creative Environments]]>Sun, 13 Feb 2011 06:05:10 -0800http://chalex.com/3/post/2011/02/bpm-in-creative-environments.htmlBusiness process management between systems is an orchestration of information flow that is defined by a workflow model and is similar to an orchestra music score in its' clarity of direction.  BPM applied to human workflows is more like choreography.  The roles and the movement through the workflow is choreographed, but the human factor requires greater flexibility. 
Recently I sat down with the production manager of a large New York ad agency to promote the use of our BPM suite to manage the flow of creative projects  from concept to fulfillment.  Shortly into the discussion, the prospective client stated, "Our people are too creative to accept any form of process control.  You could never impose a defined process on their work."

Naturally, I could feel my argumentative side rearing up.  After all, I launched and ran a very successful digital art studio in NYC in the early 1990s and still think I know a thing or two about creatives.  Many projects came into the studio where we had to re-invent the process to solve the problem.  I wish that we would have had a BPM system to help manage those projects. The NY studio was a production facility and not a true creative studio. Our customers were creative directors from the top ad agencies and brands.
 
Is it true that creatives can't be managed by a process?  Is it impossible to define a creative workflow?  I for one believe that BPM technology can be successfully applied to any process. What do you think?  Is it an exercise in futility to sponsor a BPM project to manage the creative process?  Let's hear from those who have tackled this challenge.]]><![CDATA[BPM implementation; Roles and Responsibilities?]]>Sat, 12 Feb 2011 04:58:48 -0800http://chalex.com/3/post/2011/02/post-title-click-and-type-to-edit2.htmlWithin a mid-size organization, the management makes an executive decision to implement a BPM system to manage end-to-end production workflows.  What methodology should be used to define the workflows, and who within the organization should be tasked to lead and manage the planning and implementation process and the communications related to the change?  Anyone adopting BPM technology asks themselves these questions.  Is there a right answer?  Tell us what you think.  Is this an IT role, a role that belongs under the quality department, or a free for all?  Assume that the tools for creating the flow are highly intuitive and no actual software programming is required?
]]><![CDATA[BPM and the IT Architecture]]>Fri, 28 Jan 2011 04:56:11 -0800http://chalex.com/3/post/2011/01/post-title-click-and-type-to-edit1.html It seems to me that one of the real benefits of BPM technology is its ability to function in a layer above the systems architecture and as a service to the people managing the business. We chose to work with XPDL as an executable language rather than BPEL or the controversial BPEL 4 People simply because XPDL gave us the ability to manage the full matrix of people and machine tasks at the servlet container level.
The issue I have with your statement about "Task-supported by IT....never at the business level", is that it sets IT apart from the business at a time when the opposite should be happening. I go back to the replenishment model. Min/max inventory control can be automated for each item by setting a flag on the item that is controlled by the brand manager. The normal process runs automatically unless there is a change driven by the brand owner who turn off automation when the product is being changed.
BPM often is applied by IT using BPEL to automate EDI activities between businesses, and at that level the web-service exchange of data works fine. BPM project often fail when IT imposes process control on people. At CHALEX we believe that this is because the business people should be controlling the BPM technology, and IT should be more seamlessly involved in the business. BizFlo and other hosted Multi-tenant SaaS BPM solutions, can serve the business with virtually no IT involvement, but machine-to-machine automation needs IT. Rules engines can define when to automate the next task or assign the task to a person and a person can decide when automation is right for the current situation or not. Effective BPM technology can seamlessly integrate the full man/machine matrix and invoke automation where appropriate. Anyone interested in BPM through XPDL should download TWE http://bizflo.biz/3/?48
and check out BizFlo http://bizflo.biz/3/?59 ]]><![CDATA[Post Title.]]>Mon, 24 Jan 2011 10:50:44 -0800http://chalex.com/3/post/2011/01/post-title-click-and-type-to-edit.htmlLokBx secure file sharing is fast and easy to manage.  Select the file you want to share by placing a check in the box to the left of the Thumbnail image.  Select the hyperlink tool from the tools gallery.  LokBx will pop up a dialog box.  Check secure link and select the number of hours that you want the link to be active.  The select "Get Links"  LokBx will display the secure hyperlink for you to cut and paste into your email or web site.  Below the file link is HTML code that may be copied and pasted to display the thumbnail image as a ling on a web page or email signature.  Go to http://www.bizflo.biz/LokBx to register fro a free trial.
]]><![CDATA[Murray Oles]]>Fri, 21 Jan 2011 07:06:04 -0800http://chalex.com/3/post/2011/01/bpm-in-the-cloud.htmlBPM in the Cloud
BPM, business process management, is about as broad a term as one can get to describe a methodology.  The Wikipedia defines BPM as a broad methodology or discipline for managing the value-added processes of a business.  The concepts of measurement and continuous improvement are central tenants of BPM.  Workflow is an equally broad term that is often associated with BPM, but the difference between the two is dramatic.

Many software applications manage workflows but are wizards and not BPM solutions.   A BPM workflow engine abstracts the logic for transitioning from one workflow task to another into a configurable, rule-driven software component. The configurability of the workflow engine most distinguishes workflow software from wizard software. Workflow engines can be programmed to execute almost any business process; workflow wizards execute a single, pre-programmed, possibly configurable business process. New workflows or new versions of workflows can be loaded into a workflow engine in minutes; wizards require reprogramming to implement significant changes to workflows. A workflow engine can execute multiple different workflows simultaneously; a wizard executes only a single workflow.

Most workflow software applications are wizard based.  They have been developed to manage a well defined business process and they often incorporate functions that are very specific to the business vertical they were designed for.  When starting from scratch, the programmer can create a workflow wizard in a fraction of the time required to develop a BPM system.  Few developers understand BPM systems and workflow engines and so that learning curve often prevents them from considering the use of BPM to solve their immediate need to manage a workflow. Fortunately, the learning curve is being shortened by the arrival of configurable BPM driven services.  BizFlo from CHALEX corp offers a workflow engine in the cloud and full set of REST APIs that allow software developers to call the engine from their application and create BPM orchestrated workflow applications in a relatively little time.  Other companies a re bringing workflow engines to the cloud and providing developer tool kits to facilitate rapid application development.  This is important because of the velocity of change in the market place and the need for agility in an organization is critical.  The ability to adjust to changing conditions and change a workflow in a few minutes rather than months is a significant competitive advantage.

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