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BPM Workflow

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mgallot

MIS
Jan 22, 2001
93
US
Has anyone used BPM workflow tools? Do you find them to be useful, or more trouble than they are worth?
 
"Business Process Management" I would assume. I could be wrong though. Those MBA-types love their TLAs, I think it lets them pretend what they do is some sort of "science."

Sorry to sound bitter. I had to sit through three different clients' presentations today, in three different dialects of "biz-speak." I felt lucky to have the will to drive home tonight.

;-)
 
Yeah, you gotta love bizspeak. My former employer had actually published all of "Mission Statement", "Vision Statement", "Business Concept" and "Strategic Intent". We once had a meeting where the CEO announced that we had changed a couple of words in a couple of them.


Jeff
If your mind is too open your brains will fall out...
 
I believe it is Business Process Mapping. At my former company (Fortune 400) they were implementing a BPM solution using Holosofx, which I think was purchased by IBM.
 
It means Business Process Management. Workflow software tools is what vendors are presenting to integrate business processes with system processes and databases. It is supposed to connect activities that take place in a business via a tool that uses Java api's to kind of 'seam' the processes together and streamline them. Even Oracle seems to be trying to come up with something. I am trying to determine whether or not adding this piece into the architecture will add value.
 
I’m in a similar position, looking at a product called Metastorm. It’s supposed to manage workflow and integrate all of our back-office systems (Oracle, SQL Server, Access, Pick etc.).

What confuses me is the “how”, the literature (of all the suppliers) is full of words I understand individually, but when they’re strung together into sentences, any meaning seems to evaporate. It certainly lets you draw pretty process diagrams, but I can do that in Visio.

At best, I have a feeling that it will involve a lot of very expensive consultancy, and that integration will involve some fairly ugly compromises.

I’m trying to get a visit to a site where it’s fully up and running, so I can see what’s really involved.

If anyone’s got any experience of one of these systems, I’d be very interested in what you think.

Rosie
 
Just to add to the confusion, I've read numerous articles that say BPM is not workflow management. But I don't have the energy left right now to try to make any sense out of it all.

Workflow management seems to be about gluing things together with technology as described above. And BPM is about hiring expensive consultants??

Maybe it is like "The Emperor's New Clothes." If you "don't get it" (or pretend to) you're shunned as an idiot. Meanwhile, nobody "get's it" because there is nothing there to "get?"
 
dilettante
It gets worse….

As far as I can see, you also need document management and records management. Some document management systems come with records management modules and vice versa, some workflow packages come with document management and records management, etc, etc. But they all need consultancy.

Currently I have strong suspicions about the emperor’s clothes, anyone seen them?
 
I am chagrined, as I represent a company - Exact Software - that has a BPM functionality.

BPM is just another buzzword, that soon everyone will claim to have. MRP evolved into MRP II and then to ERP. CRM and BPM are just the latest buzzwords. The bottom line when evaluating a system is to see if the functionality is there for your needs. They can call it whatever they want at that point.

Software Sales, Training, Implementation and Support for Exact Macola, eSynergy, and Crystal Reports
 
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