Business Process Management Systems
[Συστήματα Διαχείρισης Επιχειρησιακών Διαδικασιών]
Lecture 1, 2: BPM, Business Processes and
Business Process Models
Univ. of the Aegean
Financial and Management Engineering Dpt
Petros KAVASSALIS
<pkavassalis@atlantis-group.gr>
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What you will learn in this course

This course provides a set of fundamental concepts for understanding Business Process
Management (BPM), business process modelling, process automation and use.

Course topics:
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Business Process Analysis
Business Process Design by using:
o
BPMN
o
XML
o
Web Services
o
E-Forms
Best practices and techniques for modeling business processes:
o
Methods and examples
o
“Hands-on" experience: create business process models by using Intalio|BPMS (open source)
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Download Intalio|BPMS
Intalio Designer: Getting Started
Tutorial (in Greek)
Strategies for orchestrating enterprise IT systems and human activity through Business Process
Management Systems
Familiarization with practical use of BPM in:


e-business
e-government 2.0
<pkavassalis@atlantis-group.gr>
2
Who am I?

PhD in Economics and Management (Univ. Paris Dauphine
& Ecole polytechnique)
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Research experience
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

Ecole polytechnique, Paris
MIT Center of Technology Policy and Industrial Development, MIT
CTPID (MIT Internet Telecommunications Convergence Consortium)
Current positions
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Univ. of the Aegean (FME): Assoc. Professor
RACTI: Director of ATLANTIS Group
<pkavassalis@atlantis-group.gr>
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Communication tools
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e-mail: pkavassalis@atlantis-group.gr
Course web site: see FME web site
<pkavassalis@atlantis-group.gr>
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Students evaluation
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Class Participation (20%)
+
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Assignments (20%)
+
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Final Exam (60%)
<pkavassalis@atlantis-group.gr>
5
Starting Point: What is a value chain?
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
6
Firms as a “budge” of business functions:
M. Porter’s Value Chain
<pkavassalis@atlantis-group.gr>
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Firms as a “budge” of business functions:
Value System
<pkavassalis@atlantis-group.gr>
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What is a process?
[Anupindi et al, Managing Business Process Flows, Prentice Hall]
Information
structure
Inputs
Process
Management
Network of
Activities and Buffers
Outputs
Goods
Services
Flow units
(customers, data,
material, cash, etc.)
Committed
Resources
Examples

Process / Flow unit / Input-Output Transformation
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Order fulfillment / Orders / Receive order – Deliver product
Production / Products / Receive components – Develop end product
Outbound Logistics / Products / Store product – Move to the customer
Supply Cycle / Supplies / Issue a purchase order – Receive the supplies
Customer Service / Customers / Arrival of the customer in a store (Receive
request) – Customer’s departure from a store (Satisfy request)
New Product Development / Projects / Recognition of the need – Launch of
the product
Cash Cycle / Cash / Cover costs – Collect revenues
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
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Process Hierarchy
[Harmon, Managing Business Processes, Business Process Trends]
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
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What is process management? (1)

Core concepts:
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Understand the process architecture of an organization (discover and
model processes – process mapping)
Assess process performance (extract, manipulate and calculate
process information)
Simulate processes (move from “as-is” to new process, and process
orchestration, designs – “to-be” processes)
Improve in reality process architecture and performance
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
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What is process management (2)

Business processes are the key instrument to decompose
firms’ value chains into networks of activities (and buffers)
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“Committed” resources are allocated to processes
Processes assure the proper alignment of the firm’s strategic agenda
with the three basic execution principles: Operational Effectiveness,
Customer Targeting, and Innovation
Business Process Management (BPM) makes it possible to
align companies towards customer requirements and to
organize an increasingly large number of activities effectively
and efficiently (by measuring and evaluating firm’s
performance and by constantly re-designing firm’s process
architecture according to its strategic goals)
<pkavassalis@atlantis-group.gr>
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A business process is (in formal terms)
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A set of activities
Performed in coordination to realize a business goal
In an organizational and technical environment
Each process is enacted by a single business or it may
interact with processes performed by other enterprises.
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
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Source: M. Weske, Business Process Management:
Concepts, Languages, Architectures, Springer, 2007
A business process example
<pkavassalis@atlantis-group.gr>
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Business Process Management (BPM)
includes

Concepts
Methods
Techniques
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To support the

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Design
Administration
Configuration
Enactment
Analysis
… of business processes
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
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A Business Process Management
System (BPMS) is
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Software that
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To coordinate
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Is driven by explicit process representations
The enactment of business processes
BPMS contain graphical notations to express orderings
between activities of a business process (BPMN)
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
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A business process view of the
organization
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Implies an horizontal view of organization
Looks at processes as sets of independent activities
designed and structured to produce a specific output for a
customer or a market
Uses the term activity

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To refer to a small scale process that consists of one or few closely
related steps
A process defines
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The results to be achieved (start-end)
The context of the activities
The relationships between activities
The interaction with other process and resources
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
18
Source: M. Weske, Business Process Management:
Concepts, Languages, Architectures, Springer, 2007
Business Process Management and
Information Systems
<pkavassalis@atlantis-group.gr>
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Source: M. Weske, Business Process Management:
Concepts, Languages, Architectures, Springer, 2007
Enterprise Application Integration
through Workflow: example
<pkavassalis@atlantis-group.gr>
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Enterprise Application Integration
through Workflow: Workflow Management
System (apps)
Source: M. Weske, Business Process Management:
Concepts, Languages, Architectures, Springer, 2007
<pkavassalis@atlantis-group.gr>
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Enterprise Application Integration
through Workflow: Workflow Management
System (apps + humans)
Source: M. Weske, Business Process Management:
Concepts, Languages, Architectures, Springer, 2007
<pkavassalis@atlantis-group.gr>
22
Enterprise Application Integration
through Workflow: Workflow Management
System (humans + apps)
<pkavassalis@atlantis-group.gr>
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A business process model
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Consists of
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Is used
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To configure the Business Process Management System accordingly
Represents
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A set of activity models and execution constraints between them
Activities and Relationships
Graphical representations of business processes focus on
the process structure and the interactions of participating
parties (rather than on technical / software aspects)

Examples follow
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
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Example: A reseller’s process
Source: M. Weske, 2007
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
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Example: A buyer’s process
Source: M. Weske, 2007
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
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Example: Interacting business
processes (case 1)
Source: M. Weske, 2007
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
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Example: Interacting business
processes (case 2)
Source: M. Weske, 2007
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
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Interacting business processes (case 2)
Source: M. Weske, 2007
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
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Business modeling is a process by itself!
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
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Stage 1: Analysis
Stage 2: Design
Stage 3: Implementation
<pkavassalis@atlantis-group.gr>
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Business Process Management Notation
(BPMN)
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Graphical notations are being used to expressing orderings
between activities of a business process

There are several graphical notation languages for business
process modeling, with the more simplified variant being the
Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN)
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
31
BPMN Diagrams from scratch
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Events (i.e. the occurrence of states in the real world0 are
represented by circles
Activities are represented by rounded rectangles
Execution ordering of activities is expressed by directed
arrows
Branching and joining of nodes (i.e. the split behavior of the
flow of control between activities) is represented by
diamonds (called “gateways”) that can be marked by


A “+”: Parallel Fork ? Join (AND)
A “x”: Exclusive Decision / Merge (XOR)
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
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Events
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
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Activities
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
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Flows
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
35
Gateways
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
36
Pools, Lanes (sub-partitions within a
Pool) and Executable Pools

Models of human-enabled process are not “executables”
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
37
Special: Sequence flow and Gateways
(1)
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Sequence flow: control flow. It is represented by

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Normal flow: represents
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An Event (start and end even)
Continues
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Expected and Desired behavior of the process
Starts and Ends with
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Solid Arrows between
Activities, Events and Gateways
Via a a set of flow objects (activities, gateways etc.)
Gateways act

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As either a join node
Or a split node
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
38
Special: Sequence flow and Gateways
(2)
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Joint nodes:
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Split nodes
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2 incoming arcs (at least):
1 outgoing edge
One incoming arc
2 outgoing edges (at least)
Remind:

Each Gateway acts as a join node or as a split node
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
39
Special: Sequence flow and Gateways
(3)
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“Exclusive or” splits

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“Inclusive or” splits
“Data-based exclusive or split”
(x)
o
o
There is gate with an associated
condition (gate condition / data
based)
Once a gate condition evaluated
the true, the corresponding
branch is taken, and the other
conditions are disregarded
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
o
o
There is gate with an associated
condition (gate condition / data
based)
An arbitrary number of outgoing
branches is selected (not only 1)
40
Special: Sequence flow and Gateways
(4)

A complex gateway allows the definition of a combined split and join
behavior

“And split/join”
o
o
o
o
The process starts with getting an order
Then, a “parallel” gateway triggers the execution of number n activities (2 and
more)
These activities are completed simultaneously
When they are completed, the “and join” synchronized the parallel flows, and the
process terminates
Petros KAVASSALIS <petros@cfp.mit.edu>
41
application with: Intalio|BPMS
[http://community.intalio.com/ ]
Source: M. Weske, 2007
<pkavassalis@atlantis-group.gr>
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