Anew Approach

8/8/2019 Anew Approach

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1 A New Approach MWP1002-000-00102

A New Approach to SoftwareDevelopment and Management

The convergence of two distinct but completely complementary technologies; the Internet/Extranet/

Intranet (collectively Xnet) and e-Process Design and Management (EPDM) software is transforming the

business landscape. Metastorm has developed a new approach to custom software application

development and management to ensure successful exploitation of its EPDM technology.

This radical approach successfully overcomes major problems that have inhibited the widespread

penetration of entire classes of software application; the protracted delays associated with initial

development, and the difficulty and costs of maintaining essentially static applications in a dynamicbusiness environment.

DEMAND DRIVERS

The widespread adoption of Internet/Extranet/

Intranet (collectively Xnet) technologies has allowed

companies to redefine the nature of their

relationships with every constituency impacting their

business employees, customers, suppliers,

partners, prospects and government/regulatory

agencies.

Meanwhile, emerging EPDM technologies are

allowing every kind of business process to be

automated, enhanced and extended over the newly

developed Xnets.

EPDM adoption is being driven by companies

looking to achieve the benefits of this transforming

technology:

Enhanced business processes: more accurate, morereliable, faster and less costly.

Information and intelligence held and managed inpreviously disconnected databases and systems nowintegrated and at any time, to everyone.

Processes extended to allow partners, customers,suppliers and remote staff to be made part ofbusiness activities.

E-process applications where everything is tracked

and monitored all of the time. And with a completerecord of all of the data created or employed in thee-process, managers get continuous feedback onthe efficiency and content of the operations amajor tool to inform improvement in the future.

EPDM systems allow changes to be made in realtime in response to changes in business conditionsand company strategy.

THREE PIVOT POINTS

In re-thinking the traditional approach to application

development and management, Metastorm software

architects identified three pivot points around which

we could transform the experience of deploying and

supporting applications developed on the Metastorm

e-work software platform.


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One way or another mostsignificant corporateapplications are no longer intune with currentrequirements.

Application development is a process nota project.By this we mean that there is no end pointin developing a custom software application.There is a deployment date when users first

use the new application, but from then onthe application should be in a cycle ofcontinuous improvement. No longer shouldIT departments try to maintain essentiallystatic applications in a dynamic businessenvironment.

The people who specify and operateapplications should have a more directrole in developing them.We broke down the traditional barriersbetween the non-technical businessmanagers who understand their needs and

goals and the technical software developerswho understand the design anddevelopment of applications.

The real rewards of e-businessautomation only begin when thecomplete process cycle is automatedend-to-end.For as long as even one element of atransaction process is performed manually,or outside of the core application, then thefull benefits of the automation transformationwill be lost. Audit trails will be incomplete,metrics will be approximations or someoneis wasting time and money by re-enteringdata from one application to another.Automation must encompass every step inthe process.

Process vs. Project

The development of custom software

applications has traditionally been viewed as a

project specify, design, test, deliver. New

releases or versions have been adopted to allow

periodic updating of legacy applications.

At its core, however the approach to application

development has been determined by the fact

that all but the most simple solutions are either

monolithic, and hence hard to alter, or highly

complex and fragmented, and hence hard to

alter.

Since the application was specified and then

delivered, company objectives, market

conditions, business strategies have changed,

often radically. However, such is the difficulty of

modifying mature applications that users make

do with what they have or they develop

workarounds to compensate for the deficiencies

of the applications.

The answer is to incorporate into the

fundamental architecture of development tools

and platforms, the idea that software

development is an ongoing process.

Software Esperanto

According to a KPMG-commissioned survey at

the beginning of 2000, a third of board directors

admitted to not knowing how to go about

adopting new technologies for their organization.Consequently, 60% said they would wait until

the technology was tried and tested by their

competitors.

A common theme in software project inquests is

the gap that exists between the training and

vocabulary of technical and non-technical staff.

This gap leads to miscommunication that leads

to delays and solutions that fail to meet user

expectations. A cycle of re-specifying and re-

presenting goes on until the budget is exhausted

or exceeded.


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Lowering the Passing Grade in theMateriality Test

Software development is subject to materiality

tests. Such is the cost of traditional software

development efforts that applications deemed

non-critical would generally not be automated.

Consequently, although the Internet has forced

many organizations to digitize one link in the

process chain the part that interacts with the

web site, this is more often than not a faade,

behind which processes continue to operate in

the same inefficient and costly way.

Accountancy software vendor, Exchequer

Software, estimates that medium- and small-

sized companies each spend around 700 hoursa year re-keying web data just into unintegrated

accounting packages.

Only by radically lowering the cost of

development can the cost/benefit analysis be

made to support the effort of linking and

automating each link in the chain. The more

links are integrated into the system, the more

benefit is derived.

THE METASTORM e-WORKSOLUTION

Metastorms solution to these challenges

recognizes a number of key issues.

The development process must allow extremelyrapid development and extremely easy updating.

The development tool must be appropriate for bothnon-technical and technical users.

The platform has to allow in-process, real-timeupdates to the code, with ready roll backirrespective of the complexity of the application.

The development environment must be modularand truly scalable in the sense that it has to allowmodules to be updated independently, withoutrisking a breakdown of the application.

Non-technical staff must maintain the mostdynamic elements of the application design. This isa real world requirement as it can be assumed thattechnical staff will always be a scarce resource andtherefore it is imperative to reduce dependency onthis resource if continual change is to be managedin a timely manner.


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APPLICATIONSDATA

Back Office

Applications

EnterpriseDirectories

ENTRYPOINTS

PEOPLE

Process Controller

EAI

CustomClients

Existing applicationse.g. CRM, HR, Finance

Browser / Portal/ EmailProcess Design &Management Suite

Employees Partners Customers Public Supplierse-Process Managers

Adapters

Data

Stores

e-Process

database

Figure 1

Figure 1 provides an overview of e-works architecture. A critical component is the e-work Process

Management Suite. This consists of a group of user definable modules, which allow distributed

control and management of all aspects of application development and maintenance.


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METASTORM e-WORK PROCESS DESIGN & MANAGEMENT SUITE

The e-work Process Design & Management Suite consists of three modules for each of the technical and

non-technical staff involved in specifying, developing and maintaining e-processes.

Note that the modules designed for use by business managers require NO technical knowledge at all.

Where required, short presentations introduce the module and its use.

MODULE USED BY USED FOR

Metastorm e-work

Managers Edition

Business Manager Mapping the business process and documenting the

integration required. Can also be used to lay out the

forms and interfaces used in the process.

Includes output to a supplied Microsoft

Excel

application for simulation and what if? analysis.

Reporting Application Business Manager A customized e-work application to deliver

performance and content reports on each e-work

application. Can be supplemented by additional

reporting using standard tools (e.g. Crystal Reports)

Process Maintenance

Application

Business Manager Customized for each process, this e-work application

allows the appropriate manager(s) to respond to

reports by updating key variables in the procedure

(e.g. signing levels, deadlines, escalation levels), in-

process and without input from technical staff.

e-work Designer Developer Takes the file created by Managers Edition and adds

integration to databases, third party applications, other

e-work procedures.

e-work Users & Roles Network / Technical

Administrator

Creates e-work users, manages role information

e-work Administrator Network / Technical

Administrator

Administers and troubleshoots e-work folders and

applications.


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THE METASTORM e-WORK APPLICATION DESIGN PROCESS

The e-work application design process is unique. The following outline illustrates how most

e-work applications would be developed and maintained.

1. DESIGN

e-work Managers Edition allows thebusiness manager to simply draw amap of the desired e-process. He orshe can annotate each element inthe process, for example At thispoint, update the employee record inPeopleSoft

or When complete,

send an email to the customer.A supplied Microsoft Excel ProcessAnalyzer application provides a setof standard reports How long willthe process take? How many folderswill follow route A, B or C? Whichsteps are holding up the process?

2. DEVELOPMENT

The developer then takes over withe-work Designer to implement theintegration requirements of theprocess, add client and serverscripts and manage the

connections between multiplee-work applications.

He or she will also complete thedefinition of the procedures formsand interfaces.

3. FEEDBACK and MAINTENANCE

A key benefit from adoption of EPDM technology is continuous feedback. e-work can generate

both content reports (How many widgets are we ordering?) and performance reports (How long

does it take us to process an order for widgets?).

With this feedback, the owner of the e-process uses e-work Managers Edition to make changes to

the process definition, or, more often, uses the Process Maintenance Application to quickly

change key decision variables.

Figure 2


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Metastorm e-work Managers Edition

e-work Managers Edition was designed for use

by non-technical staff with no formal training

required to use it.

E-processes can be quickly defined, forms and

interfaces laid out and it will even allow sub-

maps to be used so individual groups can

manage their own part of a larger process.

Annex A to this paper lists the various procedure

and form components that the e-work Designer

utilizes.

e-work Designer

e-work Designer will take a file created by the

business manager using the Managers Edition

and allow the developer to quickly complete and

publish the procedure, creating a functioning,

web based e-work application.

The working process is now available to staff,

partners, customers and suppliers as required.

Immediately, information will begin to be

collected by e-work information that can

provide valuable insight into the content and

efficiency of the processes controlled by e-work.

Process Maintenance Application

The Process Maintenance Application is a

specialized e-work application that is used to

maintain another e-work process.

Decision variables such as approval levels and

time constraints, and management of lists canall be accomplished via simple forms available

to the relevant manager (and only available to

that manager). This allows the process to be

maintained continuously and without the

involvement of an IS department or other

technical staff.

Figure 3


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In the example in Figure 4 and Figure 5 below,

the maintenance application is being used to

manage the process. A series of input fields on

a form control the most dynamic aspects of the

process.

However, it is equally easy to have themaintenance form control just that single case.

So for example, on major investment cases, the

originator could specify, within whatever

constraints corporate management imposes:

deadlines for each stage,

make up of a review committee,

sign off by VPs (other than required by corporate),

a list of approved contractors.

TYPICAL e-WORKPERFORMANCE REPORTS

Current status of folders by procedure

Current To Do list size by staff byprocedure

Min/Max/Ave duration by procedure bystage

Number of escalations by procedure bystage

Stages reached by less than 1% ofcases

Cases actioned in group stages, by staff

Outcome of cases by procedure

Stage durations as percentage of totalprocedure

Figure 4


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9 A New Approach

Here the ma

for each ma

Figure 5

Timer controls are anessential mechanism forensuring compliance withquality standards.

This input determines which seniormanagers have to sign off capitalexpenditure.


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SUMMARY

Metastorm e-work enables a fundamentally new approach to software development and management.

Metastorm e-work Managers Edition allows, for the first time, business managers to use the exactsame tool to define their automation needs as the technical developer will use to build a powerful,

integrated Xnet application.

e-work Designerallows developers to be immediately productive as all they are required to do is

complete the development process, not re-interpret business requirements.

As soon as e-work Designer publishes the working application, it is available for use by employees,

customers, suppliers and partners. Feedback reports provide critical information to guide a cycle of

continuous improvement.

e-work Process Maintenance Applications allow process owners to remotely update key variables and

controls in their applications; securely, but without reference to technical staff. Where more substantial

changes are required, e-work Designer Managers Edition can again be used to specify alterations.

This means that:

application development is a continuous process of improvement and adaptation,

applications do what the business manager wants them to because he/she played the instrumental role indesigning them, no subsequent translation into technical language was ever necessary, and the businessmanager is also in control of updating and maintaining the application,

E-business operations are automated cradle-to-grave, ensuring that the full benefits of e-business migration areearned, with no compromises - because no element is too expensive to automate.

In short, Metastorm customers have e-business applications that are available now - when they are

required, not at some distant future date; and their business processes are always in tune with market

and business imperatives.

The payback?

Isnt this what e-business was supposed to be?


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Annex A

e-work Stages

An e-work Stage can be considered as a desk with an in-tray. Folders sit in the in-tray waiting to be

processed. When a folder is waiting in a Stage, it will appear on one or more users To Do lists and also

optionally on one or more users Watch lists. There are six types of Stages, each of which is represented

in the e-work map by a different icon:

A UserStage is one where a folder waits for a single user to perform Actions.

A Group Stage is one where the folder is placed on the To Do list of a number of

users. e-work allows the designer two options in a Group Stage. The first is whereonly one of the groups undertake the Action on the folder and then the folder isremoved from everygroup members To Do list. The second is where everymember of the group has to perform an Action at the Stage before the folder ismoved to the next Stage. As soon as a particular member of the group hasundertaken their Action, then the folder is removed from that members and onlythat members To Do list.

A System Stage is one where e-work itself undertakes the Actions without anyuser intervention. A typical system Stage would be one where conditional Actionsare undertaken as a result of either data stored in the folder or data supplied fromsome external system

A Common Stage is used when the same Action is to be made available at a

number of different Stages in a workflow. For example, an Action to add notes toa folder or an Action to withdraw a folder from the workflow. The Action(s) aredrawn from the common Stage and the common Stage is applied to (or overlaid)on other specified Stages.

A Sub-procedure Stage is a Stage that automatically creates child folders inone or more sub maps. It is often used in conjunction with a Rendezvous Actionto hold the parent folder at the sub-procedure Stage until one or more of the childfolders have reached the end of their sub maps. These child folders may beprocessed in parallel with each other.

An Archive Stage is a special type of Stage that only ever occurs at the end of aprocedure. A folder in an Archive Stage would not appear on anyone's To Do list.

The designer may assign to each Stage operations to be undertaken when the folder arrives at the Stageand when the folder leaves the Stage.


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e-work Actions

It is the completion of an Action that causes a folder to move from one Stage to another. Actions are

drawn on the e-work map to connect different Stages. The Action buttons that appear in an e-work folder

are defined by the names of the Actions leaving the Stage that the folder sits in.

A UserAction is one where a user or group of users undertakes an Action. TheAction could range from completing a form to just pressing a button.

A Timed Action is one that is undertaken automatically by the system after acertain interval. This is often used either as a reminder to the people on the ToDo list that the folder is still waiting for them to process it or to escalate the folderto another person. Timers can be set to generate alarms after:(a) The folder has entered the Stage(b) The folder was created(c) The folder was last updated(d) A deadline that was set has expired.(e) A specified number of time units before or after a deadline.Timers can also be set to repeat periodically, for example to instigate weekly,monthly or quarterly reports.The following units of time can be used in a timed Action:Minutes, Hours, Days, Weekdays (Monday to Friday), Weeks, Months

A Flagged Action is one that is triggered by either another procedure or anexternal system raising a Flag. This can be useful when, for example, theBusiness Manager wants the scanning of a document to create a new e-workfolder. The scanning of the document raises the Flag that causes a new folder toinitiate the procedure.

A Conditional Action is used where the folder has to be sent to a different Stagedepending on values stored in a form or on the results of an inquiry of anexternal system.

A Rendezvous Action is always used in conjunction with a sub-procedure

Stage. It holds a parent folder at the sub-procedure Stage until one or all of itschild folders have completed their sub-maps and arrived at an archive Stage.

When an Action is completed, an alert message can be sent to each user who has the e-work folder ontheir To Do or Watch list. The designer defines this message. For a User Action the designer can alsodefine what form the user will see when they invoke the Action, which users are permitted to undertakethe Action and whether the Action should raise a Flag when it is completed.

e-work Forms

e-work also includes an electronic form Designer. One or more forms may be added to a procedure.When a new form is added to a procedure, e-work will use its Autoprompt technology to add it to therelevant lists in the Property Editor where it can be selected and be placed into an e-work folder.

The designer has control over all aspects of the form. He or she can set the size, background color,default font size and color and use a bitmap for the form background. The designer can add the followingelements to a form: fields, text labels, grids, buttons or lines.


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Documents

Anew Approach