Driven by the need for a closer alignment of business and IT requirements, the role of business process models in the development of enterprise software systems has increased continuously. Similar to other software artifacts, process models are developed and refined in team environments by several stakeholders, resulting in different versions. These versions need to be merged in order to obtain an integrated process model. Existing solutions to this basic problem in the field of software configuration management are mainly limited to textual documents, e.g., source code. This monograph presents a generally applicable framework for process model change management, which provides easy-to-use comparison and merging capabilities for the integration of different process model versions. The framework supports popular modeling languages such as BPMN, BPEL, or UML Activity Diagrams. Differences between process models are represented in terms of intuitive, high-level change operations. Equipped with a sophisticated analysis of dependencies and a semantic-aware computation of conflicts between differences, the framework constitutes a comprehensive and practically usable solution for process model change management in the model-driven development of enterprise software systems.

Ten years ago, groupware bundled with email and calendar applications helped track the flow of work from person to person within an organization. Workflow in today's enterprise means more monitoring and orchestrating massive systems. A new technology called Business Process Management, or BPM, helps software architects and developers design, code, run, administer, and monitor complex network-based business processes BPM replaces those sketchy flowchart diagrams that business analysts draw on whiteboards with a precise model that uses standard graphical and XML representations, and an architecture that allows it converse with other services, systems, and users. Sound complicated? It is. But it's downright frustrating when you have to search the Web for every little piece of information vital to the process. Essential Business Process Modeling gathers all the concepts, design, architecture, and standard specifications of BPM into one concise book, and offers hands-on examples that illustrate BPM's approach to process notation, execution, administration and monitoring. Author Mike Havey demonstrates standard ways to code rigorous processes that are centerpieces of a service-oriented architecture (SOA), which defines how networks interact so that one can perform a service for the other. His book also shows how BPM complements enterprise application integration (EAI), a method for moving from older applications to new ones, and Enterprise Service BUS for integrating different web services, messaging, and XML technologies into a single network. BPM, he says, is to this collection of services what a conductor is to musicians in an orchestra: it coordinates their actions in the performance of a larger composition. Essential Business Process Modeling teaches you how to develop examples of process-oriented applications using free tools that can be run on an average PC or laptop. You'll also learn about BPM design patterns and best practices, as well as some underlying theory. The best way to monitor processes within an enterprise is with BPM, and the best way to navigate BPM is with this valuable book.

In the current fast-paced and constantly changing business environment, it is more important than ever for organizations to be agile, monitor business performance, and meet with increasingly stringent compliance requirements. Written by pioneering consultants and bestselling authors with track records of international success, The Decision Model: A

The Complete Business Process Handbook is the most comprehensive body of knowledge on business processes with revealing new research. Written as a practical guide for Executives, Practitioners, Managers and Students by the authorities that have shaped the way we think and work with process today. It stands out as a masterpiece, being part of the BPM bachelor and master degree curriculum at universities around the world, with revealing academic research and insight from the leaders in the market. This book provides everything you need to know about the processes and frameworks, methods, and approaches to implement BPM. Through real-world examples, best practices, LEADing practices and advice from experts, readers will understand how BPM works and how to best use it to their advantage. Cases from industry leaders and innovators show how early adopters of LEADing Practices improved their businesses by using BPM technology and methodology. As the first of three volumes, this book represents the most comprehensive body of knowledge published on business process. Following closely behind, the second volume uniquely bridges theory with how BPM is applied today with the most extensive information on extended BPM. The third volume will explore award winning real-life examples of leading business process practices and how it can be replaced to your advantage. Learn what Business Process is and how to get started Comprehensive historical process evolution In-depth look at the Process Anatomy, Semantics and Ontology Find out how to link Strategy to Operation with value driven BPM Uncover how to establish a way of Thinking, Working, Modelling and Implementation Explore comprehensive Frameworks, Methods and Approaches How to build BPM competencies and establish a Center of Excellence Discover how to apply Social BPM, Sustainable and Evidence based BPM Learn how Value & Performance Measurement and Management Learn how to roll-out and deploy process Explore how to enable Process Owners, Roles and Knowledge Workers Discover how to Process and Application Modelling Uncover Process Lifecycle, Maturity, Alignment and Continuous Improvement Practical continuous improvement with the way of Governance Future BPM trends that will affect business Explore the BPM Body of Knowledge

Natural language is one of the most important means of human communication. It enables us to express our will, to exchange thoughts and to document our knowledge in written sources. Owing to its substantial role in many facets of human life, technology for automatically analyzing and processing natural language has recently become increasingly important. In fact, natural language processing tools have paved the way for entirely new business opportunities. The goal of this book is to facilitate the automatic analysis of natural language in process models and to employ this analysis for assisting process model stakeholders. Therefore, a technique is defined that automatically recognizes and annotates process model element labels. In addition, this technique is leveraged to support organizations in effectively utilizing their process models in various ways. The book is organized into seven chapters. It starts with an overview of business process management and linguistics and continues with conceptual contributions on parsing and annotating process model elements, with the detection and correction of process model guideline violations, with the generation of natural language from process models and finally ends with the derivation of service candidates from process models.

Discusses how to define and organize use cases that model the user requirements of a software application. The approach focuses on identifying all the parties who will be using the system, then writing detailed use case descriptions and structuring the use case model. An ATM example runs throughout the book. The authors work at Rational Software. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This practical book describes the key operations of ARIS Toolset - the market leading Business Process Modelling Tool. Based on his experience of using ARIS in British Telecommunications plc, the author describes practical ways of using the tool. Using screen shots and plenty of practical examples, Rob Davis shows how ARIS can be used to model business processes. Throughout the book Davis provides readers with tips and short-cuts, enabling users to start modelling quickly and effectively. He also provides insights into the ARIS concepts, and tells readers about the benefits and trade-offs of using the tool in alternative ways. Unlike other books, this practical guide tackles issues found in real projects.

Business processes are among today's hottest topics in the science and practice of information systems. Business processes and workflow management systems attract a lot of attention from R&D professionals in software engineering, information systems, business-oriented computer science, and management sciences. The carefully reviewed chapters contributed to this state-of-the-art survey by internationally leading scientists consolidate work presented at various workshops on the topic organized by the editors of the book in the past few years. The book spans the whole spectrum of business process management ranging from theoretical aspects, conceptual models, and application scenarios to implementation issues. It will become a valuable source of reference and information for R&D professionals active in the fascinating interdisciplinary area of business process management and for ambitious practitioners.

[Special Note: If you ordered in early September, please contact www.processmodelingadvisor.com to receive your FREE final-edited copy directly from the author.] Many business process models don't meet expectations. Why? Business analysts, managers, productivity improvement specialists, and consultants who develop process models by trial and error are prone to fail. This is THE only start-to-finish how-to guide for consistently producing high-quality business models. It shows you how to: - Establish or improve your business process modeling competence using the 6-step Universal Process Modeling Procedure. - Perceive, define/normalize any business process or activity using the 4-part Universal Business Process Definition. - Never miss the 3 Basic Business Process Flow elements. - Efficiently elicit process model content using razor-sharp elicitation agendas. - Elicit and model the 10 most common logical process model refinements. - Validate any process model's quality using 5 Universal Process Model Quality Checklists. - Use any process modeling tool at-hand, whether it be white board or process modeling software. Learn more at www.ProcessModelingAdvisor.com

This book describes in detail how ARIS methods model and identify business processes by means of the UML (Unified Modeling Language), leading to an information model that serves as the basis for a systematic and intelligent development of application systems. Multiple real-world examples using SAP R/3 illustrate aspects of business process modeling including methods of knowledge management, implementation of workflow systems and standard software solutions, and the deployment of ARIS methods.