Sunday, October 4, 2009

Business Process Flexibility in process modelling foundation:

The quest for flexibility can be regarded as the main driving force behind
business process management, both at an organizational level, where strategic
business processes are investigated, and at an operational level, where
human interaction workflows and system workflows are important concepts
for realizing business processes.
According to Wikipedia, flexibility refers to the �ability to easily bend
object or the ability to adapt to different circumstances.�
In todays dynamic market environments, �different circumstances�
induced by changes in the market environment of the company. Business processes
are objects that need to adapt easily to changes. Since products that
companies provide to the market are generated by business processes, flexible
business processes are an important asset for coping with market changes
an effective manner.Different aspects have to be taken into account when considering flexibility.
First of all, flexibility is provided by explicit representation of business
processes, because adaptations of explicit, graphically specified business processes
is much easier than adaptation of written organizational procedures or
business policies buried in software code.Enactment platforms, such as workflow management systems, provide
powerful mechanisms for enacting business processes in diverse technical and
organizational environments. One area specific to human interaction workflows
is the assignment of knowledge workers to process activities.In typical workflow environments, such as system workflows and human
interaction workflows, information systems are required for enacting workflow
activities. The interfaces to these systems might be hardcoded in the adapters
of the workflow management system. In dynamic software landscapes, where
functionality is provided through standardized interfaces, the ability to change
the binding of particular software to workflow activities is another source of
flexibility.

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