A Two-tier Data-centric Framework for Flexible Business Process Management

Business process management provides a means of coordinating interactions between workers and organizations in a structured way. However, the dynamic nature of the modern business environment requires these processes are subject to an increasingly wide range of variations. Therefore, flexible approaches are needed to deal with these variations in order to maintain viable business. In this paper, we propose a two-tier data-centric framework to achieve process flexibility. Our approach is based on Business Entity, a new process modeling paradigm widely recognized in recent years. We design a process design business entity (PD entity) to include business process definitions as a part of its information, and process execution business entities (PE entities) provide the context for defining the behavior of activities in the processes. The business processes, as the PD entity data, can be modified on-the-fly and evolve naturally as the PD entity progresses through its lifecycle. We illustrate this framework with an example from the travel service industry. It shows that this framework is able to improve process flexibility, empower business users with capability of making timely process changes, and reduces the burden of managing process evolution

Bid-Centric Cloud Service Provisioning

Bid-centric service descriptions have the potential to offer a new cloud service provisioning model that promotes portability, diversity of choice and differentiation between providers. A bid matching model based on requirements and capabilities is presented that provides the basis for such an approach. In order to facilitate the bidding process, tenders should be specified as abstractly as possible so that the solution space is not needlessly restricted. To this end, we describe how partial TOSCA service descriptions allow for a range of diverse solutions to be proposed by multiple providers in response to tenders. Rather than adopting a lowest common denominator approach, true portability should allow for the relative strengths and differentiating features of cloud service providers to be applied to bids. With this in mind, we describe how TOSCA service descriptions could be augmented with additional information in order to facilitate heterogeneity in proposed solutions, such as the use of coprocessors and provider-specific services

Towards a pivotal-based approach for business process alignment.

This article focuses on business process engineering, especially on alignment between business analysis and implementation. Through a business process management approach, different transformations interfere with process models in order to make them executable. To keep the consistency of process model from business model to IT model, we propose a pivotal metamodel-centric methodology. It aims at keeping or giving all requisite structural and semantic data needed to perform such transformations without loss of information. Through this we can ensure the alignment between business and IT. This article describes the concept of pivotal metamodel and proposes a methodology using such an approach. In addition, we present an example and the resulting benefits

An extensible manufacturing resource model for process integration

Driven by industrial needs and enabled by process technology and information technology, enterprise integration is rapidly shifting from information integration to process integration to improve overall performance of enterprises. Traditional resource models are established based on the needs of individual applications. They cannot effectively serve process integration which needs resources to be represented in a unified, comprehensive and flexible way to meet the needs of various applications for different business processes. This paper looks into this issue and presents a configurable and extensible resource model which can be rapidly reconfigured and extended to serve for different applications. To achieve generality, the presented resource model is established from macro level and micro level. A semantic representation method is developed to improve the flexibility and extensibility of the model

SOA and BPM, a Partnership for Successful Organizations

In order to stay effective and competitive, companies have to be able to adapt themselves to permanent market requirements, to improve constantly their business process, to act as flexible and proactive economic agents. To achieve these goals, the IT systems within the organization have to be standardized and integrated, in order to provide fast and reliable data access to users both inside and outside the company. A proper system architecture for integrating company’s IT assets is a service oriented one. A service-oriented architecture (SOA) is an IT architectural style that allows integration of the company’s business as linked, repeatable tasks called services. A subject closely related to SOA is Business Process Management (BPM), an approach that aims to improve business processes. The paper also presents some aspects of this topic, as well as the relationship between SOA and BPM. They complement each other and help companies improve their business performance.Information Systems, SOA, Web Services, BPM

Interoperability of Information Systems and Heterogenous Databases Using XML

Interoperabilily of information systerrrs is the most critical issue facing businesse! that need to access information from multiple idormution systems on tlifferent environments ancl diverse platforms. Interoperability has been a basic requirement for the modern information systems in a competitive and volatile business environment, particularly with the advent of distributed network system and the growing relevance of inter-network communications. Our objective in tltis paper is to develop a comprehensiveframework tofacilitate interoperability smong distributed and heterogeneous information systems and to develop prototype software to validate tlte application of XML in interoperability of infurmation systems and databases

HR Shared Services (HRSS): Model and Trends

[Excerpt] The findings of this research project are based on interviews with 44 Human Resources (HR) leaders across 39 national and international companies within 15 industries ranging from manufacturing to consulting services. The interviews ranged from 45 minutes to one hour, and sought to understand models, best practices, and trends. The interview included questions about employee experience, technology, and the integration between HR Shared Services (HRSS) and the overall HR Organization. To provide background information and data, the HR leaders answered a short survey, giving details about the structure of their HRSS, locations, areas of HR that had work performed in the shared services organization, systems, and technology capabilities