On the Notion of
Flexibility in Business
Processes
Pnina Soffer
Porto, June 2005
Business process
flexibility:
What does it mean?
Two types of BP flexibility

Short term flexibility
Capability to deviate from a standard
way of working

Long term flexibility
Capability to change the standard
way of working
Theoretical background:
The Generic Process Model (GPM)

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
A process: a sequence of unstable states
transforming by law until a stable state is
reached.
Process goal: a set of stable states on which the
process terminates. Defined by a condition that
specifies what the process is to achieve.
Domain law: Mappings between subsets of
states, specifying possible transformations.
Theoretical background:
The theory of coordination


Coordination: the management of
dependencies
Dependency types:



Flow dependency
Sharing dependency
Fit dependency
Short term flexibility



Ability to achieve the process goal via
multiple paths.
In flexible BPs the law imposes a minimal
set of constraints
Constraints should be distinguished to
essential and inessential.
Constraint classification

Environmental constraints

Goal reachability constraints

BPS system imposed constraints

Sharing dependency related constraints

Soft-goal related constraints
Environmental constraints

Constraints imposed by the environment

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Legislation
Location
Technology
Market
Cannot be eliminated or bypassed in the
short term
Constraint classification

Environmental constraints

Goal reachability constraints

BPS system imposed constraints

Sharing dependency related constraints

Soft-goal related constraints
ESSENTIAL
Goal reachability constraints



Source: process interaction, where an
outcome of one process is required for
another process to attain its goal.
Example: inventory management process
and production process.
Cannot be eliminated if all goals are to be
reached.
Constraint classification

Environmental constraints
ESSENTIAL

Goal reachability constraints
ESSENTIAL

BPS system imposed constraints

Sharing dependency related constraints

Soft-goal related constraints
BPS system imposed constraints



Source: BPS system design to support a
specific way of working
Example: municipal tax collection
A BPS system should be designed to
support every possible path that leads to
the process goal – goal orientation.
Constraint classification

Environmental constraints
ESSENTIAL

Goal reachability constraints
ESSENTIAL

BPS system imposed constraints

Sharing dependency related constraints

Soft-goal related constraints
INESSENTIAL
Sharing dependency constraints

Source: limited capacity of shared
resource.
Possible result: transformation of sharing
dependency into flow dependency,
constraining the paths to the process goal.
Example: computer class allocation

Should be resolved by capacity increase


Constraint classification

Environmental constraints
ESSENTIAL

Goal reachability constraints
ESSENTIAL

BPS system imposed constraints

Sharing dependency related constraints
INESSENTIAL
INESSENTIAL

Soft-goal related constraints
Soft-goal related constraints



Source: policy aimed at achieving
improved performance measures
Example: regular delivery vs. express
delivery
Should be treated as path selection
guidelines rather than constraints
Constraint classification

Environmental constraints
ESSENTIAL

Goal reachability constraints
ESSENTIAL

BPS system imposed constraints

Sharing dependency related constraints
INESSENTIAL
INESSENTIAL

Soft-goal related constraints
INESSENTIAL
Long term flexibility

Ability to easily change the process definitions

Identify desired / required change

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
Compliance with environmental constraint
New goals
Soft-goal improvement

Design BP + BPS system

Implement change
Compliance with environmental
constraint

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Goals are not changed
New paths to design
Impact analysis: new goal reachability
constraints
BPS system: goal orientation
Soft-goal considerations as guidelines
New goals

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New processes to design
Impact analysis: new goal reachability
constraints
BPS system: adaptive goal orientation
Soft-goal considerations as guidelines
Shared resources: capacity issues
Soft-goal improvement

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Goals are not changed
New paths to design
Impact analysis: new goal reachability
constraints
BPS system: goal orientation
Soft-goal considerations as guidelines
Inhibitors of long term flexibility

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Impact analysis capability
BPS system: adaptive goal orientation
Flexible capacity of shared resources
Soft-goal improvement defined as new
paths of a high priority. Maintaining
existing paths to avoid short-term rigidity.
conclusion

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Vague flexibility concept decomposed into
short and long term flexibility.
Explanation based on GPM and the theory
of coordination.
As a result: focus on practical tasks for
achieving flexibility.
Remaining question: how to perform these
tasks…