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
 


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