(Business Process Management) A structured approach that models an enterprise's human and machine tasks and the interactions between them as processes. BPM software provides users with a dashboard interface that offers a high-level view of the operation that typically crosses departmental boundaries. The dashboard integrates with all the applications that perform processes as well as related databases. It can be used to trigger the start of a unit of work, and it provides a single interface to the end user.
Evolving from document management, workflow and enterprise application integration (EAI), a BPM system can monitor and analyze tasks in real time and set off alerts when specified limits are exceeded or a response is not received within a specified time. It can also automate the often ad hoc, human-centric processes associated with responding to these alerts.
Management for People/Machine Systems
For decades, systems that are entirely automated have more or less taken care of themselves. However, operations requiring a mix of people and machine procedures employ BPM as a higher-level management system that keeps track of them both.
Over time, a BPM system can provide historical data of human-machine interactions that might be extremely difficult to obtain from information systems, especially disparate systems from several departments or systems running on different platforms.
The BPM Suite (BPMS)
A BPM system may comprise a variety of independent packages or a comprehensive business process management suite (BPMS), which includes tools for modeling and analysis, application integration, business rules, business intelligence (BI), activity monitoring and optimization. Advanced BPMSs provide a development tool for creating forms-based applications, which are often the start of many business processes. The most leading-edge BPMSs provide enterprise architecture and full-scale enterprise modeling capabilities that help align strategy with process execution. See BPML, BAM, BRE and EAI. See also BMP.
A Metastorm Model
Sophisticated BMP suites provide a graphical tool for designing the processes and workflow as in this example from Metastorm. Underlying the icons are the details, which include the actions, interfaces and triggers. In this illustration, only the model is shown. The window border, icons and menus from the Metastorm software were eliminated to enlarge the model. (Image courtesy of Metastorm Inc., www.metastorm.com)
Evolving from document management, workflow and enterprise application integration (EAI), a BPM system can monitor and analyze tasks in real time and set off alerts when specified limits are exceeded or a response is not received within a specified time. It can also automate the often ad hoc, human-centric processes associated with responding to these alerts.
Management for People/Machine Systems
For decades, systems that are entirely automated have more or less taken care of themselves. However, operations requiring a mix of people and machine procedures employ BPM as a higher-level management system that keeps track of them both.
Over time, a BPM system can provide historical data of human-machine interactions that might be extremely difficult to obtain from information systems, especially disparate systems from several departments or systems running on different platforms.
The BPM Suite (BPMS)
A BPM system may comprise a variety of independent packages or a comprehensive business process management suite (BPMS), which includes tools for modeling and analysis, application integration, business rules, business intelligence (BI), activity monitoring and optimization. Advanced BPMSs provide a development tool for creating forms-based applications, which are often the start of many business processes. The most leading-edge BPMSs provide enterprise architecture and full-scale enterprise modeling capabilities that help align strategy with process execution. See BPML, BAM, BRE and EAI. See also BMP.
A Metastorm Model
Sophisticated BMP suites provide a graphical tool for designing the processes and workflow as in this example from Metastorm. Underlying the icons are the details, which include the actions, interfaces and triggers. In this illustration, only the model is shown. The window border, icons and menus from the Metastorm software were eliminated to enlarge the model. (Image courtesy of Metastorm Inc., www.metastorm.com)
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
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- How well organized is your iTunes Library? Are your artists always spelled the same way? Any R.E.M. vs REM? beaTunes can easily fix this and other problems with its unique inspection feature (license required to apply one-click solutions). Could your last mix CD's song order use some improvement? Let beaTunes...
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- Beat Runner 145 bpm for iPhone 1.0 (Mobile)
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- BlueWorks: The easy on-ramp to Business Process Management (BPM).
- With BPM BlueWorks from IBM®, it's never been easier to get started with BPM. Using cloud-based processes and strategy tools, BPM BlueWorks allows you to capture and collaborate on BPM Business Designs, discover and contribute industry-specific BPM content and participate easily in the community. See how today.
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- DJ Mix Pro is designed to let you choose the songs while it performs by itself quality cross fading, beat matching mixes between songs. DJ Mix Pro has built in Beatlock Technology, that makes it beat-aware. This technology does not alter your sound files, it just analyses them to find...
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- What we may/may not hear @ Oracle Open World this week
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- Tangerine! 1.3.8 (Mac)
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- IBM Web Seminar: Dynamic Process Change to Optimize Cost and Agility.
- Tune into this Web Seminar to hear BPM industry analysts, Dr. Bruce Silver and Amy Lipton share how dynamic BPM powered by the IBM® Smart SOATM approach can help you react quickly and drive ROI. After the seminar you'll receive a complimentary IBM BPM assessment for a targeted analysis of...
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