Collaboration
I chose collaboration as a subject because it seems to be the latest buzzword.
One white paper on Collaboration says that collaborative business processes are unique. They not only depend on people, but expect them to work collaboratively on specific activities to achieve an outcome.
They go on to say that collaborative processes need a different approach. And that the new approach is made possible by the cohesion of several technologies: portal, collaboration, search, workflow and business process management.
Our Thoughts...
The notion of collaboration is not a new concept but maybe a new buzzword. I would be surprised if most processes didn’t have a collaborative component. I know that even in our small company, we collaborate on most of our processes.
We don’t believe that collaborative business processes are unique. Looking back at ‘our’ definition of a process – A collection of related, structured activities [a chain of events] that produce a service or product - notice that this definition does not say that it excludes collaborative processes. Our expectation is that collaboration will take place in most processes.
We also take exception to their notion that collaboration is a technology - we see it as an activity. And, search is more about the activity than the technology. However, the implication that there will be some database to search against is something that we see as necessary and we provide it.
Rather than an approach, we would state that business process management uses a collection of technologies that include: portal, document management, business rules management [more than just workflow], process execution, process monitoring and analysis.
What does all this mean? If I want to automate a collaborative business process, I will need portal technology [web based application], document management, business rules and process execution. If I want to improve my collaborative business process, I will need process monitoring and analysis. And, if I am successful at managing/automating my collaborative business processes, my results should make my company more efficient.
Efficiency always shows up on a company’s bottom line.
Your Thoughts...
I chose collaboration as a subject because it seems to be the latest buzzword.
One white paper on Collaboration says that collaborative business processes are unique. They not only depend on people, but expect them to work collaboratively on specific activities to achieve an outcome.
They go on to say that collaborative processes need a different approach. And that the new approach is made possible by the cohesion of several technologies: portal, collaboration, search, workflow and business process management.
Our Thoughts...
The notion of collaboration is not a new concept but maybe a new buzzword. I would be surprised if most processes didn’t have a collaborative component. I know that even in our small company, we collaborate on most of our processes.
We don’t believe that collaborative business processes are unique. Looking back at ‘our’ definition of a process – A collection of related, structured activities [a chain of events] that produce a service or product - notice that this definition does not say that it excludes collaborative processes. Our expectation is that collaboration will take place in most processes.
We also take exception to their notion that collaboration is a technology - we see it as an activity. And, search is more about the activity than the technology. However, the implication that there will be some database to search against is something that we see as necessary and we provide it.
Rather than an approach, we would state that business process management uses a collection of technologies that include: portal, document management, business rules management [more than just workflow], process execution, process monitoring and analysis.
What does all this mean? If I want to automate a collaborative business process, I will need portal technology [web based application], document management, business rules and process execution. If I want to improve my collaborative business process, I will need process monitoring and analysis. And, if I am successful at managing/automating my collaborative business processes, my results should make my company more efficient.
Efficiency always shows up on a company’s bottom line.
Your Thoughts...
posted by Scott Cleveland at 1:23 PM
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