69781186 Cloud Enabled BPM Systems

City University London MSc in Business Systems Analysis and Design Project Report 2011

Cloud Based Business Process Management Systems

Jafar RailtonSupervised by

Bill Karakostas

23 September 2011

By submitting this work, I declare that this work is entirely my own except those parts duly identied and referenced in my submission. It complies with any specied word limits and the requirements and regulations detailed in the coursework instructions and any other relevant programme and module documentation. In submitting this work I acknowledge that I have read and understood the regulations and code regarding academic misconduct, including that relating to plagiarism, as specied in the Programme Handbook. I also acknowledge that this work will be subject to a variety of checks for academic misconduct.

Signed:

Acknowledgements

In the Name of Allah, the Most Benecent, the Most Merciful All praise and thanks are due to Allah and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah

To proceed: I would like to thank my family for their patience and support so sorely needed by this incorrigible student, Jack of many Masters. I would also like to thank my supervisor, Bill Karakostas, for his guidance and support throughout, which greatly assisted in the success of this endeavour.

Abstract

Although both business process management (BPM) and cloud computing are relatively well-dened in the literature, their recent amalgamation in the form of Cloud BPM is not. This research contributes to the literature on Cloud BPM, rstly by dening its terms, and then by considering its application and merits. The methods employed are an exhaustive literature survey of the subject domain, followed by the generation of a hypothesis regarding the denition of Cloud BPM. An online survey questionnaire is used to test the hypothesis by collecting data from a target group of BPM practitioners. The ndings will be of interest to potential consumers of cloud based BPM systems, as well as to vendors of BPM systems, and analysts seeking to advise on the potential on this emerging technology and how it might help customers realize their business goals. Keywords: cloud computing, business process management, cloud based BPM, BPMS

ContentsContents List of Figures List of Tables 1 Introduction and project objectives 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Problem statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Important note on terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aims and objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Applicable methodologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Project contribution and supposed beneciaries . . . . . . . . . Organization of this project report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv vii ix 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 6 6 6 7 7 8 9 9 12 14 16 17 19

2 Literature survey 2.1 2.2 2.3 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cloud BPM from the linguistic point of view . . . . . . . . . . Business process management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.1 2.3.2 2.3.3 2.3.4 2.3.5 2.3.6 2.4 2.4.1 2.4.2 Dening BPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The BPM lifecycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The BPM discipline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BPM technology: the BPM suite . . . . . . . . . . . . . BPM and service oriented architecture . . . . . . . . . . BPM adoption and potential obstacles to be overcome . Dening cloud computing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Characteristics of cloud computing . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cloud computing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

iv

CONTENTS

2.5

Cloud BPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5.1 2.5.2 2.5.3 2.5.4 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vendor oerings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Analyst point of view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Practitioners, bloggers, commentators . . . . . . . . . .

21 21 22 29 30 32 33 33 34 34 35 35 36 36 38 38 45 45 45 46 46 46 46 48 49 49 51 54 58 59 61 61 61 61

2.6

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3 Methods 3.1 3.2 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Literature survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.3 3.3.1 3.3.2 3.3.3 3.3.4 3.4 3.5 3.6 Literature search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Literature review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Survey design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . General considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Survey target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Motivation of questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Online survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Proposed denition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evaluation of proposed denition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4 Results 4.1 4.2 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Literature analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.1 4.2.2 4.3 4.3.1 4.3.2 4.3.3 4.3.4 4.4 Description of Cloud BPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hypothesis statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Respondent-specic information . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Survey questionnaire results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dening Cloud BPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Characterizing Cloud BPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cloud BPM - pros and cons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5 Discussion 5.1 5.2 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Discussion of online survey results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.1 Respondents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

v

CONTENTS

5.2.2 5.2.3 5.2.4 5.3 5.4

Dening Cloud BPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Characterizing Cloud BPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cloud BPM - pros and cons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

62 63 67 67 68 71 71 71 72 73 73 75

Status of the hypothesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Implications of these ndings for the future of Cloud BPM . . .

6 Evaluation, Reections, Conclusions 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary of project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evaluation of methods used and outcomes achieved . . . . . . . Suggestions for further research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Some personal reections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

References A Project denition for MSc in Business Systems Analysis and Design B Survey Target C Online Survey D Summary of results for Likert scale questions E BPM Twitter list F BPM Findings G Online survey results summary

A-1 B-1 C-1 D-1 E-1 F-1 G-1

vi

List of Figures1.1 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 3.1 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 5.1 Organization of Cloud BPM project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The BPM lifecycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Components of a BPMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spectrum of business processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BPM and SOA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cloud computing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonita Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cordys cloud platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cordys Business Operations Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intalio|BPM Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cloud BPM project process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Survey respondents by BPM role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Survey respondents by company size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Survey respondents by company sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Survey results cloud BPM functionality . . . . . . . . . . . . The primary advantages of Cloud BPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stated advantages of Cloud BPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stated disadvantages of Cloud BPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cloud ecosystem with BPM as hub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 9 10 13 14 17 24 25 26 28 33 50 51 52 53 58 60 60 70

A.1 Schedule of work - Gantt chant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-5 B.1 Post to LinkedIn BPM groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2 C.1 Cloud BPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1

vii

LIST OF FIGURES

C.2 Dening Cloud BPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-2 C.3 Characterizing Cloud BPM (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-3 C.4 Characterizing Cloud BPM (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-4 C.5 Cloud BPM - Pros and Cons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-5 C.6 About You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-6 C.7 The End . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-7

viii

List of Tables4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Survey results Q1.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Survey results Q1.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Survey results Q2.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Survey results Q2.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Survey results Q2.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Survey results Q2.4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Survey results Q2.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Survey results Q2.6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Survey results Q2.7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 53 54 55 55 55 56 56 57 57

4.10 Survey results Q2.8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ix

1. Introduction and project objectives1.1 Introduction

Business process management (BPM) is a mature business discipline that has spawned a number of technologies to support it. Businesses now put process rst (Ould, 2005, p2), and BPM technologies have evolved to support a business user centred approach to BPM. These days, organizations depend on BPM to enable them to adapt to rapidly changing business conditions by enabling the design and execution of business processes that can span the entire enterprise, as well as connect with systems external to it. Today it is the agile who survive those organizations who are able to adapt to change, to innovate as well as continuously improve, and to continuously monitor and analyze the results of these adaptations. In the current web enabled business environment, processes in many cases depend on the discovery and recognition of components that exist as web services (Datamonitor, 2009) and BPM systems must facilitate this. Furthermore, the current trend is towards increased emphasis on mobility and collaboration as essential elements to support the agility and currency of business processes. This means that BPM vendors are increasingly seeking to augment their BPM packages by incorporating greater Web 2.0 type functionality. Cloud based BPM is one response to these new demands.

1.2

Problem statement

Although cloud based BPM is already a reality, it is an emerging technology and still evolving; thus, it is not entirely clear what it is that BPM vendors

1

1. INTRODUCTION

are oering in the cloud, and how cloud based BPM can be evaluated as a value-adding business proposition.

1.3

Important note on terminology

As will be seen later in the discussion, the concept of the provision of BPM tools and systems using cloud computing technologies is referred to in various terms, such as cloud based BPM, cloud enabled BPM, BPM in the cloud, BPM as a service, BPM on demand, etc. This project proposes to investigate the commonality of these terms under the umbrella concept Cloud BPM.

1.4

Aims and objectives

The objective of the project is to propose a denition of the concept Cloud BPM. The validity of the proposed denition will rest upon an evaluation of its utility in further clarifying the key issues of the problem domain. In order to arrive at such a denition, the project rst presents a review of the literature surrounding Cloud BPM, and analyses what vendors and analysts intend through references to cloud based BPM, cloud enabled BPM, BPM in the cloud, BPM as a service, BPM on demand, and so on. This analysis focuses on two key aspects of Cloud BPM technology: functionality and architecture. Further objectives of this project are to identify: (1) any dierentiating features of Cloud BPM over on-premise BPM, (2) the advantages and disadvantages of Cloud BPM, and (3) future trends relating to Cloud BPM. Some other questions that inform the research are: What types of BPM software are available on the cloud? Does BPM on the cloud oer any particular advantages above and beyond the advantages of SaaS considered generically? Are there any technical barriers to entry that apply to cloud based BPM which are not applicable to other types of SaaS oerings, e.g. CRM? Does BPM have any characteristics that make it particularly well-suited to being deployed in the cloud?

2

1. INTRODUCTION

In support of the above aims, the project also presents relevant background information on BPM and cloud computing in general, as well as ancillary technologies such as service oriented architecture (SOA).

1.5p20)):

Applicable methodologies

The research follows a sequential process (as described by Dawson (2009,

1. Review the eld; 2. Build a theory; 3. Test the theory; 4. Reect and integrate. This process, and how it is structured within this report, is represented in Figure 1.1 below.

Figure 1.1: Organization of Cloud BPM project

The foundation of the project consists of a literature review which covers information from BPM vendors, analysts and commentators, as well background information on BPM, cloud computing, and enabling architecture (e.g. SOA). From this body of information a tentative denition of Cloud BPM (the

3

1. INTRODUCTION

hypothesis) is proposed. The proposed denition of Cloud BPM is then tested against the opinion of experts in the eld, who were asked to complete a questionnaire about BPM and its application in the cloud, designed specically for that purpose.

1.6

Project contribution and supposed beneciaries

Although BPM is a mature discipline supported by similarly mature technologies, the debate surrounding the denition of cloud computing continues apace. As for Cloud BPM, the amalgam of BPM and cloud computing, it is very much an emerging technology, with many vendors currently just beginning to enter the market while others remain on the sidelines still. Such being the case, Cloud BPM is not yet well-dened; consequently, the discussion regarding the merits of its application lack rigour. This project will address this lack and thereby attempt to stimulate and further the discussion by proposing a research based denition of this important, emerging technology, which has the potential to disrupt the current BPM market certainly, and perhaps, the enterprise systems market in general as well. This research will therefore be of benet to businesses who are considering implementing BPM and considering buying BPM as a software or platform as a service. The research will also interest independent analysts and commentators, as well as other researchers in the eld of IT strategy.

1.7

Organization of this project report

This project report is divided into ve chapters. This initial chapter has introduced the project aims and objectives, and touched upon the methods to be employed in meeting them. The next chapter (Chapter 2) consists of a literature survey covering the key issues relating to the project domain. Chapter 3 goes on to describe the methods used to investigate the research topic, methods which included a literature review and a survey questionnaire. The results of these investigations are presented in Chapter 4 and a hypothesis a tentative denition of Cloud BPM is proposed. The project hypothesis is evaluated and further issues arising from the research are discussed in Chapter 5. Finally, Chapter 6 concludes the project with a reection upon the choice of project methods and their execution, followed by an evaluation

4

1. INTRODUCTION

of project outcomes. A personal view of the projects benets and lessons learned is also oered.

5

2. Literature survey2.1 Introduction

This literature review presents an examination of the key concepts to be considered as a precursor to a tentative denition of Cloud BPM (see 1.3). After a short linguistic prelude, business process management (BPM) as a discipline is discussed, followed by a brief look at how BPM is put into practice using BPM software tools. Then, cloud computing is considered in its generic aspect. Finally, consideration is given to how Cloud BPM is viewed by analysts, software vendors, and BPM commentators and practitioners. It is through the synthesis of this information that a denition of Cloud BPM is then formulated, as presented in Chapter 4.

2.2

Cloud BPM from the linguistic point of view

Cloud BPM is a compound noun comprising two elements: cloud, which refers to the notion of cloud computing, and BPM, which in this case refers to the software tools used in support of the management discipline known as business process management. While business process management is a mature, well-dened concept, cloud computing is less so. Although its origins can be traced back to computing concepts espoused in the 1960s (Hugos and Hulitzky, 2010; Wardley, 2009), cloud computing is a rapidly evolving concept, as it incorporates the rapid advances of the technologies that support it, not to mention the cultural shift that signals its ever wider adoption. Therefore, if Cloud BPM is a term which is in need of a denition, it is so largely because of the imprecision involved in the component term cloud. Nevertheless, the term BPM also has some ambiguities attached. It is important to distinguish two dierent usages of the term. On the one hand,

6

2. LITERATURE SURVEY

there is BPM the management discipline; on the other, there is BPM the technology, the means by which BPM is implemented in the organization (Viaene et al., 2010). It is clear that cloud (computing) denotes a type of technology, so when cloudis combined with the term BPM to yield Cloud BPM, it is understood that BPM in this case refers to the technology by way of which BPM is implemented, and that the technology in question is cloud based. Notwithstanding the particular case of the term Cloud BPM, whenever the technology of BPM is intended (and not the discipline), the term business process management system (BPMS) is commonly used, and that is the usage that is employed in what follows here. The analysts Gartner have in the past used the term business process management technology (BPMT) to refer to the software element of BPM, but now generally use the term business process management suite (BPMS), which implies a comprehensive BPM software package that provides a standard range of functionality (modelling, deployment, execution, etc.) (McCoy, 2011). For the purposes of this project, these two meanings of BPMS business process management system and business process management suite can be considered synonymous.

2.3

Business process management

BPM as a management discipline has its origins in previous management disciplines such as business process reengineering (BPR), as developed in the seminal works of Hammer and Champy in the 1990s (Ko, 2009), and Total Quality Management (TQM) (Viaene et al., 2010). Ko (2009) also cites Davenports seminal contribution in emphasizing the crucial role of information technology in the implementation of BPR in particular.

2.3.1

Dening BPM

In order to understand what BPM is, it is tting to begin with an appreciation of what is meant by a business process. Weske (2007, p5) denes a business process as a set of activities that are performed in coordination in an organizational and technical environment in order to realize a business goal. According to Weskes denition of the term, each business process is enacted by a single organization [emphasis added], but it may interact with business processes performed by other organizations (loc. cit.).

7


Bearing in mind this denition of a business processes, business process management can now be dened as: supporting business processes using methods, techniques and software to design, enact, control and analyze operational processes involving humans, organizations, applications, documents and other sources of information (van der Aalst et al., 2003). So, BPM is a management discipline which may include the use of software systems to support its aims. In most organizations today, the management of business processes involves the use of a software platform to orchestrate a combination of both automated and human tasks. Such business processes are referred to as executable business processes (Crusson, 2006). The generic software systems which use explicit process representations to coordinate the enactment of business processes are termed business process management systems (Weske, 2007, p6).

2.3.2

The BPM lifecycle

In order to understand both BPM and the technologies which support it, an understanding of the BPM lifecycle is necessary. van der Aalst (2004) identies a BPM lifecycle comprised of four stages (see Figure 2.1), as summarized here by Ko et al. (2009): Process design. As-is business processes are modelled in the BPMS. System conguration. The BPMS and the underlying system infrastructure is congured. Process enactment. Electronically modelled business processes are deployed in BPMS process engines. Diagnosis. Using analysis and monitoring tools, ow times, process bottlenecks, utilization, etc. can be identied and improvements suggested. The BPM lifecycle may be preceded by other steps, for example, before the process design phase there is the necessary step of process discovery, which can involve the collaboration of many dierent stakeholders in dening the processes to be modelled. However, once the lifecycle is initiated, the analysis phase normally will lead back into the design phase in which process improvements suggested in the diagnosis phase can be implemented.

8


Figure 2.1: van der Aalst et al.s BPM lifecycle (Ko et al., 2009)

2.3.3

The BPM discipline

The aim of business process management is to improve the business performance of an enterprise by changing business operations to perform more effectively and eciently (Samarin, 2009, p1). A key characteristic of managed processes is that they are adaptive, that is, information derived from the diagnosis of the processes is used to adjust and optimize the process in its next iteration. This concept of continuous improvement (Palmer and Mooney, 2011) is inherited from other management disciplines such as Total Quality Management, Lean Management and Six Sigma, but extends the concept to include management all types of business processes, across the enterprise and beyond.

2.3.4

BPM technology: the BPM suite

A BPM system (BPMS) oers agility and exibility to enterprise software solutions, in contrast to traditional enterprise software, which was designed to provide process optimization through standardization (Jost, 2011). A BPM system provides a business process abstraction layer over an organizations applications and software services (Hill and Sinur, 2010). Process centred BPM initiatives change the entire notion of a business application because a BPM enabled application responds to process context rather than routing processes around the limits of technology (Palmer and Mooney, 2011). Once again, BPM initiatives put process rst (Ould, 2005).

9


A BPMS can support the entire lifecycle of business process development discovery, modelling, execution, monitoring, optimization from design-time to run-time (Kemsley, 2011c) (see Figure 2.2 below). BPMSs provide a composition environment and process modelling tools to graphically reassemble existing functionality outside the suite (usually in the form of services made available through the implementation of a service oriented architecture) to create a process application. A registry and repository are required to locate these reusable assets in the form of services (ibid.) (see 2.3.5).

What is a BPMS?

Performance Management - Dashboards - Analytics - BAMIntegration adapters Business SystemsERP

Performance Data

Integration Framework

Process Design Process Modeling Flow Resources/costs KPIs Simulation analysis Flow Resources Data Business rules Forms Integration Process Engine

CRM

EJB

Business Rules

Legacy

Business

IT

User

User

User

User

Human workflow

Figure 2.2: Components of a BPMS (Silver, 2006) According to Linthicum (2009, p129), the other components of a BPM technology solution are: a business process engine that controls the execution of a process and maintains the state of each of the process instances, a business process monitoring interface [performance management] for the monitoring and optimization of processes, a business process engine interface that allows the other applications to access the business process engine, and

10


integration technology that is required to enable the various systems and services to communicate. In some cases the integration function may be performed via existing middleware (e.g. an enterprise service bus) external to the BPMS, in others, via integration technology bundled with BPMS solution itself. According to the analysts Gartner (Hill and Sinur, 2010), a BPMS serves to support the following key aspects of the BPM discipline: optimizing the performance of end-to-end business processes that span business functions, as well as processes that might extend beyond the enterprise to include partners, suppliers and customers making the business process visible (i.e., explicit) to business and IT constituents through business process modelling, monitoring and optimization keeping the business process model in sync with process execution empowering business users and analysts to manipulate a business process model to modify instances of the process enabling the rapid iteration of processes and underlying systems for continuous process improvement and optimization One can see that a prominent feature of the BPMS is its business centred focus; it is a comprehensive tool that is intended to support the entire BPM lifecycle from design, to deployment, to analysis and optimization. From the business users point of view, perhaps the most important function that the BPMS oers is to provide operational transparency by making business processes visible (Gilbert, 2010). According to Gartner (Hill and Sinur, 2010), the top four usage scenarios that drives companies to invest in BPMS are: support for a continuous process improvement program implementation of an industry-specic or company-specic process solution support for a business transformation initiative

11


support for a process-based, service-oriented-architecture (SOA) redesign In order to support these various use cases, BPMSs must provide comprehensive functionality and the ability to integrate with the rest of the technology stack. In terms of processes, a BPMS must be capable of handling all of the following (Kemsley, 2011c): straight through processes (fully automated) long running with human input dynamically changing process ows collaboration within processes Business processes cover a wide spectrum, from structured, repeatable processes to unstructured dynamic processes and case management, but processes usually comprise a mixture of types (Kemsley, 2011b) (see Figure 2.3). Given these dierent types of processes, new products are evolving and dierentiating according to the type of process they focus on. Thus, we now see Case Management software emerging as a separate category of BPM, which focuses on the management of long running, unstructured document based processes, which comprise a series of human tasks.

2.3.5

BPM and service oriented architecture

As has been mentioned, the building blocks of business processes consist of services, well-dened blocks of functionality that are available to be orchestrated into a business process. The availability of such services is dependent upon systems which are architected in such a way that services, these discrete blocks of functionality, can be located and consumed. This is accomplished by way of a service oriented architecture (SOA). Linthicum (2009, p5) denes service oriented architecture as: a strategic framework of technology that allows all interested systems, inside and outside of an organization, to expose and access well-dened services, and information bound to those services, that may be further abstracted to process layers and composite applications for solution development.

12


Figure 2.3: Spectrum of business processes (Kemsley, 2011b)

The exposure of these well-dened, loosely coupled services is accomplished via interfaces which rely on common interface denition languages (Papazoglou, 2008; Weske, 2007). Business users dene the processes they need to implement, and the BPM system (with or without the intervention of the technology team) identies the services that are required in order to supply the needed functionality. SOA is the means whereby these services are made available for implementation. Ideally, the two concepts should be bridged into the same platform but in the meantime developers can use Web Services platforms to wrap existing application adapters and expose them to the BPMS (Crusson, 2006) (see Figure 2.4). In the classical service oriented architecture, a service provider publishes a service to a service registry. The service requestor then requests a service from the service registry, which in turn replies with the information necessary to allow the service requestor to bind with the nominated service provider (Weske, 2007, p59).

13


Figure 2.4: BPM and SOA (adapted from Crusson, 2006)

2.3.6

BPM adoption and potential obstacles to be overcome

BPM is certainly being marketed as an important trend in business software. According to Ko et al. (2009), as early as 2006, research by Gartner found BPM systems to constitute a mature, established middleware product oering that was predicted to sustain 24% annual growth in the market. However, many commentators have commented on the slow rate of BPMS adoption (Dubray, 2007; Patig et al., 2010; Spurway, 2011), citing both functional and technical factors in explanation. Spurway (2011) in particular accuses the BPM industry of over-hyping the simplicity of BPM tools and the extent to which business users can easily implement BPM solutions without the need for substantial IT support in the overall process. Deane (2011) similarly disputes the reality of a comprehensive business process solution that eectively bypasses IT.1 Silver (2006) characterizes BPMS as neither business user centred nor the means for a clean hand-o from business to IT, but rather, a means whereby business and IT can collaborate on a process throughout the BPM lifecyle. This is perhaps the correct view, provided that the business process model being usedHowever, there is much anecdotal evidence that BPM-as-a-service solutions especially do provide an opportunity for line of business implementations of BPM initiatives, perhaps in the form of pilot projects, or simple, domain specic needs, and this aspect of cloud based BPM may be an important factor in its favour.1

14


can be easily shared and understood by both parties.1 The current standard for BPM modelling is BPMN 2.0 (Business Process Modelling Notation). The goal of BPMN is to provide a business process modeling notation that is readily usable by business analysts, technical developers and business people that manage and monitor these processes. One of the goal of BPMN is also to be able to generate execution denitions (BPEL4WS) that will be used to implement the business processes. As such, BPMN positions itself as a bridge between modeling and execution and between people that run the business and implementers of systems that support the business. (Dubray, 2004) Many commentators have questioned the degree to which BPMN 2.0 is actually accessible to average business users (rather than specialists, such as business analysts), and its ultimate suitability for the modelling of executable processes of any degree of complexity (ebizQ, 2011). Another obstacle in the path of BPM adoption using BPMN is the roundtripping problem, as described by Silver (2007): A process model created in BPMN or comparable owcharting notation could not be easily kept in sync with the executable BPEL design throughout the implementation lifecycle. Essentially, you couldnt update the process model from the BPEL.. . . So the model was not a continuous business view of the implementation. In fact, it was still what it had always been initial business requirements. Some vendors tried to bypass this problem by focusing on human-centric processes, leading to a new style of BPMS in which executable design is layered directly on top of the process model, in the form of implementation properties of BPMN activities. The new style does not create a hando between dierent tools (with dierent ow models, data models, and programming models), but leverages a single tool shared by business and IT, with business focused on the activity ow and IT focused on making those activities executable. (Silver, 2007)1

This round-tripping problem is discussed below.

15

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

However, this solution was a partial one at best. Dubray (2007) suggested that (as of 2007) no vendor could claim that a general purpose engine that business analysts can use (even with minimal intervention from IT) to create a solution from process models had been delivered. Agreeing with Silver, he claimed that the limited success that vendors had achieved was the result of the focus on human-centric processes, which for the most part t well the centralized view of a business process engine developed by these vendors, especially when limited customization of and integration with existing systems is needed (ibid.). In summary, problems with the complexity of the BPMN modelling notation, coupled with the diculties relating to the translation of models into executable code (using BPEL) meant that vendors were faced with an understandable resistance to widespread adoption of BPMSs. Indeed, based on the responses of over 130 Forbes 2000 Global companies, a recent study by Patig et al. (2010) showed BPM adoption to be at a lower level than what might be expected. The authors found that BPM maturity in most companies was at a low to intermediate level, and cited the lack of BPM in a SaaS format as being one possible factor contributing to the lack of adoption, with the over-complexity of bundled BPM modelling tools being suggested as another. Although the adoption of BPM products continues to advance, the extent to which business processes are utilizing cloud based services is still quite low; a Gartner survey conducted in 2010 found that only 40% of companies with BPM systems had even a small proportion (10%) of their processes utilizing services based in private or public clouds (Gartner, 2011).

2.4

Cloud computing

It is dicult to agree on a comprehensive denition of cloud computing, as it is a technology which supports a wide variety of use cases. As a generalization, Wardley (2009) characterizes cloud computing as a disruptive shift of the computer stack to online services, allowing on-demand access to software applications, development and deployment environments, and computing infrastructure, on a pay-per-usage basis.

16


2.4.1

Dening cloud computing

A more comprehensive denition has been proposed by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST, 2011): Cloud computing allows computer users to conveniently rent access to fully featured applications, to software development and deployment environments, and to computing infrastructure assets such as network-accessible data storage and processing. Some observations on this denition are in order. Firstly, as has become conventional, cloud computing is here dened as comprising three service models (see Figure 2.5): 1. Software-as-Service (Saas). An application that is hosted and delivered to the customer by a software provider. 2. Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). A development environment where a customer can create and develop applications on a providers computing environment. 3. Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). An o-premise data centre environment. (ibid.)

Figure 2.5: Cloud computing (Source: http://contactdubai.com/web hosting/advantages-of-cloud-computing)

17


Secondly, cloud computing services are rented, that is, the service is provided and charged for on the basis of usage, either based on a subscription model, or on actual usage, such as compute cycles consumed or data stored. Thirdly, the services can be conveniently accessed, which eectively means by way of any standard web browser. NIST (2011) go on to caution that a comprehensive denition of cloud computing is not possible, due to the fact that cloud computing is not a single kind of system, but instead spans a spectrum of underlying technologies, conguration possibilities, service models, and deployment models. However, the following ve characteristics are identied: 1. On-demand self-service. The service can be accessed by the user, as and when required. 2. Broad network access. The service can be accessed from a variety of devices, using standard network protocols. 3. Resource pooling. The service uses a multi-tenant model, using a combination of physical and virtual machines, assigning resources dynamically according to user demand. 4. Rapid elasticity. From the customers point of view the service can be scaled up or down on demand, as needed. 5. Measured service. Resource usage is monitored for the purposes of

billing, as well as for service quality purposes. (ibid.) Finally, four deployment models are identied: 1. Private cloud. The cloud infrastructure is for the sole use of the organization, although it may be managed by a third party and may be located o-premise. 2. Community cloud. As above but with the infrastructure being shared by a number of organizations with shared concerns. 3. Public cloud. The infrastructure is owned and operated by a provider and made available to the public. 4. Hybrid cloud. A combination of two or more of the above types of clouds which remain distinct, yet are bound together by standardized

18


or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g. cloud bursting for load balancing between clouds). (ibid.) In what may be seen as an indication of the rapid evolution and maturation of the cloud computing paradigm, Linthicum (2009) proposes the to categorization of cloud computing with increased granularity, thereby identifying 11 major categories: 1. Storage-as-a-service 2. Database-as-a-service 3. Information-as-a-service 4. Process-as-a-service 5. Application-as-a-service 6. Platform-as-a-service 7. Integration-as-a-service 8. Security-as-a-service 9. Management-as-a-service 10. Testing-as-a-service 11. Infrastructure-as-a-service It should be noted that process-as-service here refers to ready to use processes, that is, a set of orchestrated services that can be consumed as a component to be further orchestrated into a larger process; it does not refer to a platform for the the construction and management of business processes (a BPMS). Most BPM cloud oerings are classied as Software-as-a-service or Platform-as-aservice.

2.4.2

Characteristics of cloud computingInsofar as the cloud is preeminently designed to provide ser-

Architecture.

vices, the cloud shares with SOA a common foundation (see 2.3.5). According to Rosen (2011), the same service design principles that make a good SOA service need to be applied to a cloud service: well dened interfaces, loose coupling, proper decomposition, common semantics, etc.

19


Use cases. Armbrust et al. (2010) identify three main use cases for cloud computing: (1) when demand for a service varies with time, (2) when demand is unknown in advance, and (3) for batch data analytics requiring short bursts of high resource usage. Advantages. The primary economic advantage of cloud computing is a re-

sult of the elasticity of the service: because the service is made available on demand, there is no need to over-provision resources to meet peak demand; similarly, there is no risk of under-provisioning and the resulting loss of revenues due to the inability to meet demand (ibid.). Elasticity refers to the ability of the service to expand or contract resources in the very short term almost instantaneously according to load. Consumers pay for the resources they are using, unlike on-premise resources which need to always maintain the capacity to cope with peak demand levels. Another advantage of the cloud model is scalability. With reference to cloud services, scalability is often used synonymously with elasticity, however, scalability may also refer to the ability of a cloud based service to facilitate an expansion of business operations, not in the moment, but rather, over time. Whereas elasticity refers to the responsiveness of resource allocation to workload, and is characteristic of shared pools of resources, scalability is a feature of the underlying infrastructure and software platforms (Gartner, 2009). Concerns. Cloud computing necessarily involves trusting ones data to a

third party, so in addition to there being the normal concerns about data security that are applicable in any context, there are also concerns about to what degree the provider is capable of guaranteeing security, especially when their arrangements may involve other third parties, for example, the utilization of storage provision from other cloud providers. Cloud customers also need to be aware of where their data might be stored, as that has implications for data privacy, which is dependent upon the laws of the country under whose jurisdiction the stored data falls. According to Kemsley (2011, pers. comm., 12 June), many companies are reluctant to put their processes in the cloud because of the potential for not only security breaches, but also government intervention in the data. Finally, cloud computing admits of all of the security concerns inherent

20


to large-scale systems, especially those that depend on virtualization technologies that are still not well understood (Chorafas, 2010, p206). Of course, much of the cloud computing model is heavily dependent upon virtualization technology.

2.5

Cloud BPM

In the preceding sections the two constituents of Cloud BPM were considered is some detail. In the following section the focus returns to Cloud BPM proper, beginning with a brief glimpse into its the origins.

2.5.1

History

According to Weske (2007, p25), business process management mainly deals with information systems in the context of enterprise systems architectures. Today, the nature of this architecture is changing as the needs of business, and the nature of the business processes that support business, are changing. The latest development in this evolution of enterprise systems architecture is the growing adoption of cloud computing technologies, as described above (Section 2.4). Cloud BPM, the marriage of BPM and cloud computing technologies, is the logical outcome of the need to manage business processes in this new context of cloud computing. The more processes move o-premise, the more compelling the argument for cloud based BPM becomes (Cordys B.V., 2011a). In earlier times, although in a free market economy services should be most economically provided externally, for corporations operating at scale, most services could be provided more eciently in-house, saving the additional expenses that would be incurred in locating, contracting, coordinating and paying for such services from external sources (Hugos and Hulitzky, 2010, p1). Today, however, because of the technological advances that aord increased connectivity through web services and the like, it is increasingly the case that services can be procured more economically outside the enterprise. Thus, the modern enterprise itself has metamorphosed into a new incarnation, that of the virtual enterprise (Hugos and Hulitzky, 2010). These developments initially led to the outsourcing of complete business processes, but today, as the services on oer become increasingly granular and accessible, more control can be gained by orchestrating these services to compose business processes in

21


the form of custom composite applications that are exible, agile and adaptive (see Dubray, 2008). The rst glimmerings of Cloud BPM emerged around 2006 or so, when vendors began to oer modelling tools that would run in a browser and be accessible on the internet, announcing these as BPM platforms oered as a service. However, these were not considered as tools t for any serious BPM purpose (Ghalimi, 2007). Writing in 2006, Khan stated that a True BPM-as-SaaS oering should be capable of managing and executing complex, personalized, fully-integrated, mission-critical processes and have the ability to adapt the processes on the y to meet changing business conditions. In stark contrast, he noted that the BPM-as-SaaS oered at that time was restricted to providing partial functionality, such as modules providing modelling or documentation, templates oering simple pre-dened processes, or simple hosting. Both authors were implying that SaaS BPM should include the ability to execute processes. He also identied a lack of exibility as being one of the limiting features of SaaS in general and puts this forward as being a challenge for vendors wishing to provide a BPM-as-SaaS. By 2009, bloggers were beginning to ask what BPM in the cloud was, and what it might be good for, writing articles with titles such as BPM and cloud computing (Silver, 2009) and BPM in the Cloud: one plus one is more than two (Byron, 2009a). Some of these articles are discussed below, in Section 2.5.4. By 2010, ten of the top 15 BPMS vendors (based on worldwide total BPMS software revenue in 2009) were oering cloud-enabled BPMS platforms (Gartner, 2010), with a much larger number of smaller vendors adding to the mix of options available. Some of these oerings are discussed in the following section.

2.5.2

Vendor oerings

In this section, overviews of a small sample of Cloud BPM products are given. The products mentioned are from the vendors Appian, BonitaSoft, Cordys, and Intalio.

22


2.5.2.1

Appian

Appian is one of the top vendors of BPM oering a cloud enabled BPMS. A web search on Cloud BPM consistently has Appian Cloud BPM as the rst result, and this has been the case for the duration of this project (June September 2011). Their choice of the generic-sounding Cloud BPM as the name of their oering appears to have been a good choice in search engine optimization terms. Appians Cloud BPM webpage mentions decreased costs as the principal benet of this deployment method, and goes on to tout Appians security and reliability features. Clearly, Appian think that customers are looking for cost savings (as well as rapid deployment timeframes), and are most concerned about the security and reliability of cloud deployment. Appian oers a cloud deployment that aords the same functionality as traditional on-premise BPM software deployments (Appian Corp., n.d.), including easy SOA integration using packaged connectors for common system interfaces and native support for SOA frameworks (Appian Corp., 2011a). Appians BPM products include SaaS and PaaS oerings, with PaaS being the more popular option with customers, according to Samir Gulati, vice president of marketing for Appian (All, 2011). In many cases, customers choose the cloud deployment as a way of expediting the BPM implementation, and switch over to an on-premise solution once the pilot project is working well (ibid.). 2.5.2.2 BonitaSoft

Bonita Open Solution is a BPM system using open source technology to provide a fully featured BPM product including a BPMN modelling tool, a BPM and workow process engine, and an advanced, clean user interface (see Figure 2.6) (BonitaSoft, 2011). The Bonita Studio modeller allows users to choose between a simple or advanced palette, thus determining which subset of BPMN 2.0 features are made available to the user. The modelling component includes over 100 built-in connectors to build processes that include services derived from a number of commonly used commercial and open-source databases, ERPs, CRMs, etc., and also includes process simulation. The monitoring component features custom dashboards and reports using custom-dened key performance indicators (KPIs), as well as real-time activity monitoring.

23


Figure 2.6: Bonita Studio (taken from BonitaSoft (2011))

2.5.2.3

Cordys

Cloud based BPM represents only one aspect of Cordys grander vision of creating a comprehensive, cloud based enterprise software platform, utilizing state-of-the-art technologies to enable enterprise systems that deliver the features and performance that the enterprises of today require. The cloud based platform comprises three main functions: integration, BPM, and composite application development (see Figure 2.7). The Cordys Business Process Management Suite forms one of the main components of a comprehensive BPM platform called Cordys Business Operations Platform (BOP-4) (see Figure 2.8), which allows for the design, execution, monitoring and continuous optimization of business processes, and includes components such as Business Activity Monitoring (BAM), Master Data Management (MDM), Composite Application Framework (CAF), and SOA Grid (ESB). Cordys also oers a more lightweight platform, the Cordys Process Factory, which allows SMB or departmental users to build and run process-centric mashup applications on the Web. The Cordys BPMS appears to have solved the round-tripping problem mentioned above; Cordys claims that the platform allows business and IT to

24


Figure 2.7: Cordys cloud platform (Source: http://www.cordys.com/cordyscms com/improving business operations.php)

work on the same process model, which always stays in sync (Cordys B.V., 2011a). It is a completely browser based product which features highly responsive AJAX based applications and oers enterprise grade scalability, reliability, security and standards support. Some of the features of the Cordys BOP-4 architecture are described below and indicate to what extent Cordys BPM platform is optimized for cloud deployment. AJAX based applications on browser Modelexecution synchronization Browser based collaborative workspace Stateful objects and stateless connections for near-linear scalability Integration-ready SOA for both internal and external interfaces High availability with Cordys clustering technology (State Synch-up) Reliable transport support (JMS, MSMQ) Standardized on WS-Basic prole compliance, WS-Security support, etc.

25


Figure 2.8: Cordys Business Process Operations Platform (Source: http://www.cordys.com/cordyscms com/platform overview.php)

26


Pluggable and loosely coupled architecture internal component communication also uses Web services The Cordys platform has the ambition and vision to supersede the datacentric ERP systems of decades past with an Enterprise Cloud Orchestration platform that is process-driven, to provide agile and responsive solutions to rapidly changing business requirements (Cordys B.V., 2011b). 2.5.2.4 Intalio

Intalios cloud based BPM suite is called Intalio|BPM and is legacy-free software, a purpose-built cloud application. It oers 100% Web-based user interfaces, native multi-tenancy, a small memory footprint optimized for virtualization, and support for the most popular deployment options, including VMware vCloud, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon EC2, both on premises and on demand. (Intalio, Inc., 2011) The latter deployment options would enable single-tenancy deployments, which some would consider to oer greater security of data. Intalio|BPM is a full feature BPM suite. Its features are organized across a twelve-step cycle for business processes, from process discovery to process control (Intalio, Inc., 2011), including modelling, simulation, execution, monitoring and analysis. Intalio|BPM is architected such that its next-generation process engine is capable of executing BPMN 2.0 processes natively, without having to resort to any code translation (Intalio, Inc., 2011) into BPEL or otherwise (see Figure 2.9). Intalio|BPM also supports complex workow processes and Adaptive Case Management scenarios, includes a fully extensible Human Task Manager service compliant with the WS-HumanTask industry standard. This service implements the end-to-end life cycle for human tasks, and can be easily modied to support custom steps and transitions, while taking full advantage of a powerful built-in Business Rules Engine (BRE). 2.5.2.5 Other vendors

Tibco consider that BPM in the Cloud promises increased IT eciency, reduced capital expenditure, and lower barrier to entry, while providing scala-

27


Figure 2.9: Intalio|BPM Architecture

28


bility with innite computing power (Tibco Software Inc., 2011). Pegasystems (Pegasystems Inc., 2011a) oer in their cloud BPMS product all of the functionality of their on-premise BPMS, as well as promising unparalleled security and reliability and out-of-the-box integration to existing data centers. They also mention an advantage of the cloud deployment, claiming that multi-enterprise processes are ideal for cloud deployment, automating the interactions between multiple parties and ensuring that SLAs are fullled (ibid.). But Pegasystems Founder and CEO, Alan Treer, acknowledges the reluctance of some users to trust their highly strategic processes and data to the cloud: Business users have become increasingly intrigued by the SaaS model, but have told us they are not going to trust their mission critical processes, policies and data to an externally hosted environment. (Pegasystems Inc., 2011b)

2.5.3

Analyst point of view

In July 2010, the analysts Gartner characterized cloud enabled BPM as an emerging technology with potentially high benets but with low market penetration to date (Gartner, 2010). Cloud enabled BPM is dened as software that use BPM technologies to construct and optimize process-centric solutions in a software-as-a-service or cloud service delivery model, technologies including high-level process modelling tools, business process analysis software, workow, automated business process discovery tools, BPM suites, business activity monitoring, and business rules management systems (ibid.). Cloud enabled BPM solutions may be provided as a platform-as-a-service or embedded in software-as-a-service solutions. Two common use cases for Cloud BPM mentioned are as platforms for collaborative modelling of business processes, and the adoptions of BPMSs for BPM pilot projects. Perceived benets mentioned are cost savings and scalability, especially for midsize companies who may not otherwise be able to acquire this technology. Cloud enabled BPM is also seen as enabling increased collaboration in BPM projects: Gartner believes that extreme collaboration is critical to impacting change and improving performance. Cloud computing accelerates collaboration and allows BPM and SOA initiatives to have an even greater impact. (Software AG, 2011)

29


The analysts Forrester mention the value of cloud computing to accelerating delivery and minimize risk (Kemsley, 2011a). BPM-as-a-service will lower barriers to getting started with BPM suites. Startup costs for implementing BPM suites can put these tools out of reach for some process owners that dont already have budget and executive support for launching their process initiative. To prove initial value of BPM suites, smart process professionals now turn to BPM suites hosted in the cloud often referred to as BPM-as-a-service.

2.5.4

Practitioners, bloggers, commentators

Vendors and analysts both have their views regarding cloud enabled BPM, and these two groups can display a degree of symmetry in their outlook. What is really important to the future of cloud based BPM, however, is how this technology is viewed by practitioners of BPM. The source of reference for these opinions is a number of weblogs and the discussion that they spawn. In these discussions the true state of Cloud BPM can be discerned what Cloud BPM is, what is promises, what it lacks in short, the issues that the BPM customer faces when contemplating the purchase and deployment of cloud enabled BPM systems. Much of this discussion occurred around 2009, when the Cloud BPM option was just beginning to become available. Wainewright (2009) was one of the BPM consultants early on hinting at the possibility that cloud BPM could oer a new future for BPM. Commenting on the ebizQ article How does using a BPM solution in the cloud dier from using an on- premise BPM application? Which is better?, he wrote: However one might also ask whether, looking further ahead, a cloud environment would ultimately change the nature of BPM because of factors such as easier modication, more standardized integration and APIs, and the ability to do more process integration at the user interface layer by taking advantage of standardization on web client technologies such as the browser, AJAX, Flex and so on. Also writing in 2009b, Byron canvassed the views of BPM practitioners with his ebizQ article, Calling for input on BPM in cloud computing: lets

30


clear away the fog. Having done his sums, the results were written up in an article entitled BPM in the Cloud: one plus one is more than two in which he states: One interesting thing about a BPM in the Cloud architectural analysis is that the basic design of the BPM-enabling software (or any other type of software in the cloud) could make a dierence. Presumably software is more functional if it is designed or re-designed to run in the cloud as opposed to simply taking advantage of the clouds characteristics. Byron goes on to substantiate this claim by citing the view of one vendor, Software AG, that the cloud lets BPM analysts and developers more easily collaborate on process discovery (gathering artefacts, nd out who does specic work, identify who the process expert is, etc.) (ibid.). In this view the beginnings of the current focus on social BPM is evident. Khoshaan (2011) notes the robust relationship between Cloud BPM social networking. Business processes provide the context of collaboration, and social networking supports and augments the various phases of the BPM continuous improvement lifecycle. Barlow (2009) points out that cloud BPM platforms provide all the advantages that traditional SaaS oerings such as CRM and workforce management systems provide, without the expected drawback of reduced exibility. Since Cloud BPM is a platform-as-a-service, the system is can evolve functionality through the creation of process-oriented business applications, rather than merely utilizing the limited, built-in functionality that SaaS software provides. Sandy Kemsley (2011, pers. comm., 12 June), a prominent BPM consultant, cited security/privacy concerns as the biggest issue with cloud BPM currently. Vendors acknowledge these concerns too, Appian for example. Cloud computing promises lowered IT costs and faster time-to-value than traditional on-premise deployments, but the cloud model is still new territory and many questions particularly around issues of data security persist (Appian Corp., 2011b).

31


2.6

Summary

In this chapter, the literature surrounding the concept Cloud BPM has been reviewed.1 This began with a discussion of each of the two elements of the CloudBPM marriage cloud computing and business process management. Thereafter, Cloud BPM, as it has developed since around 2006 until the present, and as evidenced by the views of vendors, analysts and BPM practitioners writing on the internet, was discussed. Certain themes have emerged, and these will inform the tentative denition of Cloud BPM that is proposed, and then tested, in the chapters following.

For the sake of completeness, one other manifestation of Cloud BPM should be mentioned. Linthicum (2009, p127 .) discusses the relocation of information, service and processes [emphasis added] to the cloud, rather than the relocation of a BPMS to the cloud, and is therefore invoking the concept of BPM-as-a-service, mentioned above in Section 2.4.1.

1

32

3. Methods3.1 Introduction

The purpose of this research project, as mentioned previously in Chapter 1, was to investigate, characterize and dene Cloud BPM. The project followed a sequential process, consisting of four main tasks: (1) review the eld, (2) build a theory, (3) test the theory, and (4) reect and integrate. The subtasks for each of one these tasks are shown in Figure 3.1 below. The research data for the project was generated via the completion of two main tasks: the literature survey and the online survey questionnaire, which are described in the following two sections.

Figure 3.1: Cloud BPM project process

33

3. METHODS

3.2

Literature survey

The rst phase of the project (the Review phase) was to conduct a comprehensive literature survey of the project domain. The results of the literature survey have been presented in the the previous chapter (Chapter 2). The purpose of the literature survey was twofold: (1) to gain familiarity with the project domain, its issues and dening features, and (2) to gain an understanding of the key aspects of the domain, namely, the theory and practice of business process management and cloud computing, all as a precursor to the projects aim of dening Cloud BPM. This understanding would provide the foundation upon which a proposed denition of Cloud BPM would be built.

3.2.1

Literature search

The rst aspect of the literature search involved an intensication of the methods that the author had already employed in developing an interest in the domain of the project in the rst place; thus, the information provided by industry analysts and bloggers on the Internet was reviewed, and references to further articles were investigated. Twitter1 provided an important source of information from both vendors and commentators. The author followed on Twitter a number of prominent BPM and technology commentators and analysts, as well as vendors, in order to be alerted of current discussions, upcoming webinars or new products or features. A partial list of these is provided in Appendix E. The websites of a number of providers of BPM technologies were consulted, and many of them provided links to relevant whitepapers, as well as slide presentations and previously recorded webinars. Background research about BPM and cloud computing in general was conducted by way of library searches, using the City University library website2 , and the British Library website3 , where a number of books and journals were located and consulted.1 2

http://twitter/com/ http://www.city.ac.uk/library 3 http://www.bl.uk

34

3. METHODS

3.2.2

Literature review

Once the main sources for the literature survey had been identied and gathered, the literature review was begun in earnest. The background topics were researched and written up, and the central topic of Cloud BPM was investigated and presented. The ndings of the literature review formed the basis for the proposed denition and characterization of Cloud BPM (the Build phase), which was then transformed into a hypothesis (as presented in Chapter 4). The hypothesis was then compared with the results of the online survey questionnaire (the Reect phase). The online survey is described in detail in the next section.

3.3

Online survey

An online survey questionnaire was the method chosen to test the hypothesis (the Test phase) of the denition and characterization of Cloud BPM, as suggested by the results of the literature review just mentioned. Survey questions were devised to canvass the opinions of BPM practitioners regarding the topic domain. The target of the survey consisted of the members of BPM related groups on LinkedIn1 as listed and described in Appendix B. The survey received 38 responses. Because the survey elicited such a good response, and achieved a sample size which could be considered signicant for the purposes of a qualitative survey, it was decided that the project would focus on an interpretation of the data from the survey and dispense with the original idea of canvassing the opinions of a small number of BPM experts, with the online survey being a backup plan to gather data if an insucient number of BPM experts were available to cooperate in project. The survey provided a broad view of practitioners perspective on Cloud BPM, which was what was wanted. The idea of conducting interviews with a few specic individuals would not have furthered this goal. The option of follow up was pursued, however, in two cases where survey responses required further clarication.1

http://www.linkedin.com

35

3. METHODS

3.3.1

Survey design

The survey was entitled Cloud BPM - a survey and was administered online. It consisted of 13 closed questions nine statements to be answered using the Likert scale, two tick box questions, and two multiple choice questions and three open questions. For the sake of clarity, and ease of response, questions were grouped according to question type. Additionally, a section at the end of the survey had questions to gather a minimum of personal information about the respondents. A survey invitation was sent to a total of 16 dierent LinkedIn BPM Groups, whose members were invited to complete the questionnaire. Respondents were advised that a summary of the results of the survey would be made available to them at a later date, should they wish to receive this information.

3.3.2

General considerations

The intention of the survey was to gather data about the perceptions of BPM practitioners about Cloud BPM what it is and what advantages or disadvantages it might have. The survey was intended as (in the words of one respondent) a lightweight overview of current practitioners views of the topic domain. Scope. The rst consideration was to produce a survey which covered the topics that the literature review had suggested as salient. Delivery. The next consideration was to produce a questionnaire that would

be fairly easy to complete and would encourage a high level of participation from the target group.The online approach was deemed most appropriate as it would reach a large number of potential respondents. At the same time, targeting BPM related groups on LinkedIn would mean that respondents could be assumed to be knowledgeable about, and experienced with, BPM tools and methods.1 Google Docs was selected as the vehicle for the online survey due to the authors previous familiarity with it, as well as its simplicity of use and clean presentation. A Google spreadsheet is easily transformed into an online form suitable for a questionnaire.Indeed, the level of insight revealed in many of the comments collected indicate the validity of this assumption.1

36

3. METHODS

Style.

In order to make the results capable of easy analysis, a large number

of closed questions were used, with Likert scale type questions used where possible and forming the majority of the questions to encourage a high completion rate. The closed questions were actually in the form of statements to which respondents would respond on a Likert-type scale, ranging from Strongly disagree (1) to Strongly disagree (5), with a (3) assumed to indicate a neutral or undecided position a valid response in the case of these questions and so not to be excluded by choosing an even number of terms for the scale. The assertions were mixed, some being positive statements, others being negative statements, in order convey a degree of objectivity.Three open questions were also set, mainly to give respondents a chance to personalize their responses. This was for two reasons: rstly, to draw out new insights that the other questions may not have adequately addressed, and secondly, to give the respondents the satisfaction of contributing a more personal view. Respondent information. It was considered appropriate to obtain data on three aspects of the respondents: (1) their relationship or role with respect to BPM, (2) the size of the company they represented (if applicable), and (3) the industrial sector that their company falls under.1 The motivation behind these questions was as follows. It was considered desirable to determine what role the respondents had to BPM, and where they might fall within the businessIT spectrum, that is, whether they were business users (management, end users), software developers (either working for customers or vendors), or working on the interface between business and IT (e.g. business analysts), or any other role (e.g. academic). It has become a convention to talk about the gap between business and IT and it was thought important to assess where respondents stood in relation to this dividing line. Especially in the case of respondents being end users, it was of interest what sector the company operated in, as well as the company size, in order to gauge what types of companies were interested in Cloud BPM, and what types of processes Cloud BPM would be enacting.2 With regard to industrialIt was not considered that respondents age or gender was of any signicance, nor their country of residence or activity, nor their number of years of involvement in the problem domain, and so these types of information were not sought, and this served to streamline the process. 2 Business size rankings were based on the European Union denition (see1

37

3. METHODS

sector, in addition to the using the traditional categories of primary, secondary and tertiary sectors (corresponding to oil and gas, manufacturing, and services respectively), a fourth category IT services was added, to allow a ner grained picture to emerge. All of the above questions were also intended to determine the degree of variety in the sample, in order to gauge whether the results could be considered representative of the target population.

3.3.3

Survey target

Members of LinkedIn BPM groups were chosen as the target of the survey for the following reasons. LinkedIn is a social networking site that is focused on the needs of professional business users. LinkedIn provides users with a professional online presence, and allows members to connect with each other (becoming connections) and follow their activities and discussions. Members may also join groups. LinkedIn Groups allow LinkedIn members to follow and participate in discussions around topics of interest specic to the group. Such groups can usually be joined by membership only and for this reason anyone reading and responding to posts in the group can be assumed to have a genuine interest and some level of expertise in the subject domain of the group.

3.3.4

Motivation of questions

This section describes the the rationale and motivations behind each of the survey questions, which were grouped into four sections. SECTION 1. The rst three survey questions, grouped under the heading

Dening Cloud BPM, were intended to derive a general sense of how respondents perceived the term Cloud BPM as it is used currently. The literature review had identied three main usages of the term and in the rst question these were suggested as possible responses. A fourth option of Other was given, with a blank eld provided for the respondent to supply their own preferred denition. Q1.1 What do you think is usually intended by the term Cloud BPM?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small and medium businesses).

38

3. METHODS

the design and deployment of processes that utilize external web services any BPM tool (e.g. modelling) which can be accessed over the internet a BPM system that is deployed o-premise and consumed as a service The third option is the most specic and relates to a comprehensive BPM solution or suite, functionally equivalent to existing on-premise BPM suites. The second denition is more general and refers to any type of BPM tool (typically, a modelling tool) that is accessible online through a browser. The rst denition refers to a completely dierent notion, that of constructing business processes which incorporate externally sourced cloud services or services combined as processes, that is, BPM using cloud services rather than a BPM software system that runs in the cloud. Q1.2 According to your denition of Cloud BPM, a cloud based BPM solution must include which of the following components? process modelling process discovery process execution process monitoring process analysis process simulation Other: The next question was intended to follow on from the assumption that Cloud BPM did in fact refer to a comprehensive BPM solution consumed as a service, and to determine what components such a solution would comprise.1 In other words, what sort of functionality would the respondents require from a Cloud BPM solution? The three core components of BPM were included process modelling, process execution, process analysis as well as optional components such as process monitoring and process simulation. Other options,It should be noted that of the three denitions proposed in the previous question, the author judged the rst to be the most prevalent in the literature, and the results of the survey conducted substantiated this view.1

39

3. METHODS

such as a process repository or process marketplace were not included for fear of including too many tick boxes, but an Other box was included to cater for respondents who felt that other options were essential. Q1.3 Cloud BPM is simply a delivery model for BPM tools - no more, no less. (Its not about WHAT you get, but HOW you get it.) [Likert scale] The nal question in this section was intended to test the hypothesis that Cloud BPM is no dierent from on-premise BPM, only the method of delivery is dierent. The contrary of this would be that the nature of the cloud platform for delivery of BPM solutions either (a) enhances or (b) detracts from the end product, functionally of technically. Most of the respondents agreed with the proposition that Cloud BPM is simply a model of delivery, having no implications on the nature of the product in itself. SECTION 2. The next section of the survey was headed Characterizing Cloud BPM and was intended to tease out some of the issues that surround cloud based BPM solutions. Q2.1 Cloud BPM is a solution which is attractive mainly to the SMB market. [Likert scale] The rst question of this section related to whether Cloud BPM was predominantly a solution that appealed to small and medium-sized businesses rather than large enterprises. The hypothesis here is that many of the benets of cloud based BPM are related to the minimization of capital expenditure and initial outlay required, lowering the barrier of entry to BPM solutions. Q2.2 Cloud BPM is not suitable for the design and deployment of complex business processes. [Likert scale] The next question sought to gauge the respondents perception of the capabilities of cloud based BPM solutions by proposing that Cloud BPM is not suitable for the deployment of complex business process. The implication is that Cloud BPM solutions are more geared towards the creation of mashups,1 or the design and implementation of comparatively lightweight processes thatWeb applications that combine data and/or functionality from more than one source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup)1

40

3. METHODS

can make use of existing templates and built-in connectors to the required services. Q2.3 New BPM initiatives pursued using a cloud BPM platform will attract a lower level of business risk than the same project pursued using traditional, on-premise methods. [Likert scale] This question was meant to gauge the respondents perception of whether cloud based BPM is better suited for developing new BPM initiatives easily, without requiring the mobilization of a large amount of IT department resources in order to implement pilot projects, in other words, attracting a lower level of business risk for the project. Q2.4 Cloud BPM entails serious - and in some cases, prohibitive - security risks. [Likert scale] Question 2.4 sought to gauge respondents perception of the level of security risk associated with a cloud based BPM system. The question was worded to nd out if respondents felt that security risks were considered to be of such a degree that they might seriously impact any decision to be made about deploying BPM in the cloud. Q2.5 One of the main advantages of Cloud BPM is its synergy with social BPM technologies. [Likert scale] Question 2.5 sought to gauge respondents perception of the link between cloud based BPM and social technologies that enable users to more easily collaborate in the design processes, as well as monitor processes that are running. The hypothesis is that a cloud based BPM system is better suited architecturally for the provision of such functionality. Q2.6 Due to its high strategic value to the organization, BPM is not a suitable candidate for a cloud implementation. [Likert scale] Question 2.6 aimed to test the hypothesis that since the business processes that a company runs are of high strategic importance, due to the security concerns associated with hosting the process information in a cloud environment, a cloud environment is not suitable for the implementation of a BPM system.

41

3. METHODS

Q2.7 The full benets of a cloud based BPM system will only be realized when the application is purpose-built for deployment in the cloud. [Likert scale] Question 2.7 sought to gauge the respondents perception of the utility of Cloud BPM towards introducing BPM initiatives easily and quickly, perhaps on an experimental or pilot basis. The hypothesis here is that cloud based BPM solutions can be introduced and trialled at a very low cost, without the need to purchase new hardware or software, and without relying on the IT department to mobilize for this change. In other words, Cloud BPM ban put a BPM solution into the hands of the business users and allow them to pursue pilot projects for a quick win, in order to demonstrate the ecacy of BPM solutions in general. Q2.8 The full benets of a cloud based BPM system will only be realized when an organizations IT stack is predominantly cloud based. [Likert scale] Question 2.8 was intended to gauge respondents perception of whether cloud based BPM was more suited to the management of business processes when the rest of the IT stack was cloud based. The hypothesis here is that cloud based BPM makes the most sense when the systems that it is interacting with are architected specically to operate in a cloud environment. Q2.9 What are the main reasons for an organization to choose a cloud based BPM solution over an on-premise solution? (Please tick a maximum of FIVE reasons only.) quicker time to market lower start up costs reduced capital expenditure higher return on investment increased business agility elasticity of service reduced total cost of ownership

42

3. METHODS

scalability of service better process collaboration Other The last question in this section suggested some of the possible advantages associated with cloud based BPM, and requests that the respondent choose up to ve main reasons. This question sought to identify the features of cloud based BPM that respondents considered to be the most important. SECTION 3. This section consisted of two open questions and was intended to give respondents a chance to express their own views about Cloud BPMs advantages and disadvantages. It was expected that many respondents would merely seek to emphasize certain points already covered in the survey in previous questions, but it was hoped as well that some respondents might provide new insights which the author had possibly missed. The questions were worded as follows. Q3.1 What are the main ADVANTAGES (business, functional, technical, etc.) of a cloud based BPM solution? [Text box]

Q3.2 What are the main DISADVANTAGES (business, functional, technical, etc.) of a cloud based BPM solution? [Text box] SECTION 4. The nal section of the survey was entitled About you and

was intended to gather relevant personal data relating to the respondents, as well as allow them to comment on the survey. Q4.1 Which of the below best describes your primary role with respect to with BPM? business analyst management level user of BPM methods and/or technologies end user of BPM technology software developer

43

3. METHODS

researcher or academic researcher or academic student other Q4.2 What is the size of your company by number employees? < 50 50249 250999 10004,999 > 5,000 n/a Q4.3 Which sector does your company primarily operate in? oil and gas, mining, or agriculture manufacturing services IT services n/a Q4.4 Please use the space below to provide any additional remarks about Cloud BPM and/or to comment on this survey. [Text box] The nal question was intended to elicit comments from the respondents about the form and content of the survey, but also to give respondents a chance to bring to light any important issues that may have been omitted from the survey.

44

3. METHODS

3.4

Proposed denition

The Review (literature review) and Test (online survey) phases of the project were described in the above two sections. However, in terms of the research process, prior to the Test phase the Build phase had to be completed. This entailed the process of distilling the results of the literature review into a proposed denition of Cloud BPM and the formulation of the project hypothesis. The results of this phase, that is, the proposed denition of Cloud BPM, are presented in Chapter 4.

3.5

Evaluation of proposed denition

The nal phase of the project, the Reect phase, focused on the comparison of the proposed denition of Cloud BPM with the results of the online survey. This is discussed in Chapter 5.

3.6

Summary

In this chapter the various phases, tasks and research methods used during this project have been detailed. The research method followed a sequential process survey, build, test, reect and comprised a literature review and an online expert survey as its pillars, with the proposed denition of Cloud BPM and its evaluation representing their respective fruits. In the next chapter, the results of the literature review and the online survey are presented. Based on the literature survey, a tentative denition of Cloud BPM is proposed, and the results of the online survey are presented in a summarized form.

45

4. Results4.1 Introduction

This chapter presents the results of the research conducted with the objective of dening Cloud BPM. First, the denition of Cloud BPM that was formulated and distilled from the comprehensive literature review (see Chapter 2) is presented. Following that are presented the results of the online expert survey, which was devised to test the validity of the proposed denition by comparing it with the views of experts in the eld, as far as these could be inferred from their responses to the survey questions.

4.2

Literature analysis

Having completed the literature review, the next phase of the project was to to summarize the key ndings of the literature survey, in anticipation of the formulation of a denition of Cloud BPM. The key ndings were listed (see Appendix F) and working from these points, a series of assertions regarding Cloud BPM was developed. In the next section, a descriptive denition and characterization of Cloud BPM is proposed. Following this, the denition is presented as the hypothesis, claried and expressed as a series of assertions that will encapsulate the denition and characteristics of Cloud BPM. It is this series of assertions encapsulating the hypothesis regarding Cloud BPM that the online survey was intended to test.

4.2.1

Description of Cloud BPMAlthough BPM is both a methodology and a set of tools, Cloud

Denition.

BPM clearly falls into the category of a technology: Cloud BPM is a specic

46

4. RESULTS

type of technology which fully supports the practice of BPM, that is, it is a BPMS, the key characteristics of which are its on-demand availability and its pay-per-use pricing model. Market. Research indicates that Cloud BPM is of primary interest to small

and medium size enterprises, as well as for localized pilot BPM projects within large enterprises. In the case of SMBs, the low startup costs associated with Cloud BPM platforms mean that there is a lower barrier to entry to this technology. As for large enterprises, low startup costs mean that new departmental BPM initiatives can be trialled, and in many cases implemented, without the need to involve the IT department and its cumbersome procurement procedures. Functionality. Cloud BPM functionality should support all of the primary phases of the business process lifecycle (design, congure, enact, diagnose) and be capable of supporting both structured and unstructured processes, and both human task centred and automated processes, or a combination of these. Delivery. A Cloud BPM system should be a SaaS or PaaS oering, with a

multi-tenant architecture that allows frequent and instant system upgrades. A signicant number of established vendors provide BPMS oerings that are deployable either in the cloud or on-premise, with identical functionality, according to customer needs. Advantages. The main advantage of Cloud BPM is the lower startup costs

and the exibility aorded by a system that is available as a service. A further important benet is the elasticity of the service provided, with the associated cost benets. Disadvantages. o-premise. Future trends. Although there is no clear link between added functionThe main disadvantages associated with Cloud BPM are

the security concerns that arise from the hosting of valuable business data

ality and cloud architecture at this moment, current trends point towards the

47

4. RESULTS

growing importance of the cloud platform (PaaS) sector of cloud provision, and BPM as a practice and technology is perfectly suited to this development. A BPM platform in the cloud will provide the exibility and agility that is key to successful business process management, allowing all of the advantages of a SaaS oering, without its restrictions in terms of functionality and customizability.

4.2.2

Hypothesis statement

Based on the above ndings of the literature review, a hypothesis is proposed below. The hypothesis statement consists of a series of assertions, the assertions being of two types. The rst type are rm assertions (Type 1) which can be tested by a consideration of the null hypothesis, that is, the negation of the assertion. The second type of assertions are tentative (Type 2), that is, the assertion is made merely for the purpose of gathering further research data in the form of respondents views on a particular aspect of the domain, with a view to deciding the validity o

Documents

69781186 Cloud Enabled BPM Systems