Integration of BPM systems

New technologies have emerged to support the global economy where for instance suppliers, manufactures and retailers are working together in order to minimise the cost and maximise efficiency. One of the technologies that has become a buzz word for many businesses is business process management or BPM. A business process comprises activities and tasks, the resources required to perform each task, and the business rules linking these activities and tasks. The tasks may be performed by human and/or machine actors. Workflow provides a way of describing the order of execution and the dependent relationships between the constituting activities of short or long running processes. Workflow allows businesses to capture not only the information but also the processes that transform the information - the process asset (Koulopoulos, T. M., 1995). Applications which involve automated, human-centric and collaborative processes across organisations are inherently different from one organisation to another. Even within the same organisation but over time, applications are adapted as ongoing change to the business processes is seen as the norm in today’s dynamic business environment. The major difference lies in the specifics of business processes which are changing rapidly in order to match the way in which businesses operate. In this chapter we introduce and discuss Business Process Management (BPM) with a focus on the integration of heterogeneous BPM systems across multiple organisations. We identify the problems and the main challenges not only with regards to technologies but also in the social and cultural context. We also discuss the issues that have arisen in our bid to find the solutions

General purpose MDE tools

MDE paradigm promises to release developers from writing code. The basis of this paradigm consists in working at such a level of abstraction that will make it easyer for analysts to detail the project to be undertaken. Using the model described by analysts, software tools will do the rest of the task, generating software that will comply with customer's defined requirements. The purpose of this study is to compare general purpose tools available right now that enable to put in practice the principles of this paradigm and aimed at generating a wide variety of applications composed by interactive multimedia and artificial intelligence components

Auditing Personal Information Management

This paper firstly introduces personal information management using computers. It then describes a suggested approach to auditing the information needs which are personal to a knowledge worker. As part of an overall research programme in personal information management, the paper describes a personal auditing approach which is positioned as part of the experimental research aspect of the overall research. The paper aims to give practical guidance including on the effective classification of an individual’s data

Supporting users tasks with personal information management and web forms augmentation

Currently, many tasks performed on the Web prompt users to provide personal information through forms. Despite the fact that most users are familiarized with this kind of interaction technique, the use of Web forms is not always straightforward. Indeed, some users might need assistance to understand labels and complex data format required to fill in form fields that, quite often, vary from a Web site to another even when requesting similar data. Filling in forms can be tedious and repetitive as many Web sites request similar information. In this work we analyze user's interactions with Web forms and propose an approach for enhancing Web forms using client-side adaptation techniques in order to assist users to fill in Web forms. As the use of Web forms is closely related to the management of personal information our approach includes the support for data exchange between user's personal information management systems (PIMs) and third-party Web forms. The approach is illustrated by a set of client-side adaptation tools and a pervasive Personal Information Management Systems called PIMI.Publicado en Lecture Notes in Computer Science book series (vol. 7387).Laboratorio de Investigación y Formación en Informática Avanzad

Supporting users tasks with personal information management and web forms augmentation

Currently, many tasks performed on the Web prompt users to provide personal information through forms. Despite the fact that most users are familiarized with this kind of interaction technique, the use of Web forms is not always straightforward. Indeed, some users might need assistance to understand labels and complex data format required to fill in form fields that, quite often, vary from a Web site to another even when requesting similar data. Filling in forms can be tedious and repetitive as many Web sites request similar information. In this work we analyze user's interactions with Web forms and propose an approach for enhancing Web forms using client-side adaptation techniques in order to assist users to fill in Web forms. As the use of Web forms is closely related to the management of personal information our approach includes the support for data exchange between user's personal information management systems (PIMs) and third-party Web forms. The approach is illustrated by a set of client-side adaptation tools and a pervasive Personal Information Management Systems called PIMI.Publicado en Lecture Notes in Computer Science book series (vol. 7387).Laboratorio de Investigación y Formación en Informática Avanzad

Rapid Budget Analysis of the Agricultural Sector for the General Budget Support Annual Review 2010/11.

The main objective of the budget analysis chapter is to provide an overall assessment of how well the approved budget allocations in 2010-11 align with the strategic objectives and with sector strategic priorities of the Second National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (known by its Kiswahili acronym, MKUKUTA II). It also assesses the consistency of the actual spending and approved budget in 2009-10. In evaluating the alignment of the budget and MKUKUTA's strategic objectives and sector strategic priorities, the analysis gauges the accuracy and reliability of the macro and budget framework, share of the budget allocated to MKUKUTA cluster strategies, share of the budget allocated to capital investment, and strategic prioritization within key sectors. This budget analysis chapter summarizes nine background notes that covered six key sectors and three thematic areas. The six key sectors are education, health, water, roads, energy, and agriculture; the three thematic areas are the wage bill, local government, and aggregate analysis. The six sectors were selected because they consume approximately 60 percent of the overall budget and are keys to achieving the MKUKUTA strategic objectives of growth and reduction of poverty. The three thematic areas were selected because of their crosscutting nature, as they touch each key sector but also are critical for achieving the MKUKUTA strategic objectives.