Business process interoperability
Encyclopedia
Business process interoperability (BPI) is a property referring to the ability of diverse business process
es to work together, to so called "inter-operate".
It is a state that exists when a business process
can meet a specific objective automatically
utilizing essential human labor only. Typically, BPI is present when a process conforms to standards
that enable it to achieve its objective regardless of ownership, location, make, version or design of the computer systems used.
computing. BPI's twin criteria of specific objective and essential human labor are both subjective.
Currently, business process interoperability
is limited to enterprise software system
s in which functions are designed to work together, such as a payroll module and a general ledger module that are part of the same program suite, and in controlled software environments that use EDI
. Interoperability is also present between incompatible systems where middleware
has been applied. In each of these cases, however, the processes seldom meet the test of BPI because they are constrained by information silo
s and the systems' inability to freely communicate among each other.
The objectives of BPI vary, but tend to fall into the following categories:
in electronic commerce
. BPI has been utilized in promotional materials by various companies, and appears as a subject of research at organizations concerned with computer science ontologies
. Yet despite the attention it has received, business process interoperability has not been applied outside of limited information system environments. A possible reason is that BPI requires universal conformance to standards so that a business process can start and finish at any point worldwide. The standards themselves are fairly straightforward—organizations use a finite set of shared processes to manage most of their operations. Bringing enterprises together to create and adopt the standards is another matter entirely. The world of management systems is, after all, characterized by information silo
s. Moving away from silos requires organizations to deal with cultural issues such as ownership and sharing of processes and data, competitive forces and security, not to mention the effect of automation on their work forces.
While the timetable or adoption of BPI cannot be predicted, it remains a subject of interest in organizations and think tank
s alike.
The specific objective must be clearly defined from start to finish. Start and finish are highly subjective, however. In one organization, a process may start when a customer orders a product and finish when the product is delivered to the customer. In another organization, the same process may be preceded with product manufacture and distribution, and may be followed by management of after-sale warranty and repairs.
Essential human labor includes:
To qualify for BPI, every process task must be taken into account from start to finish, including the labor that falls between the cracks created by incompatible software applications, such as gathering data from one system and re-inputting it in another, and preparing reports that include data from disparate systems. The process must flow uninterrupted regardless of the underlying computerized systems used. If non-essential human labor exists at any point, the process fails the test of BPI.
es can meet their specific objectives automatically
utilizing essential human labor only, BPI takes a “service-oriented architecture“ (SOA
) approach, which focuses on the processes rather than on the technologies required to automate them. A widely-used SOA is an effective way to address the problems caused by information silo
s.
SOA makes practical sense because organizations cannot be expected to replace or modify their current enterprise software to achieve BPI, regardless of the benefits involved. Many workers' jobs are built around the applications they use, and most organizations have sizable investments in their current information infrastructures which are so complex that even the smallest modification can be very costly, time-consuming and disruptive. Even if software makers were to unite and conform their products to a single set of standards, the problem would not be solved. Besides software from well-known manufacturers, organizations use a great many legacy software systems, custom applications, manual procedures and paper forms. Without SOA, streamlining such a huge number of disparate internal processes so that they interoperate across the entire global enterprise spectrum is simply out of the question.
To create an SOA for widespread use, BPI relies on a centralized database repository containing shared data and procedures common to applications in every industry and geographical area. In essence, the repository serves as a top application layer, enabling organizations to export their data to its distributed database and obtain the programs they need by simply logging on via a portal
. To assure security
and commercial neutrality, the repository conforms to standards promulgated by the community of BPI stakeholders.
Organizations and interest groups that wish to achieve business process interoperability begin by establishing one or more BPI initiatives.
Business process
A business process or business method is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a specific service or product for a particular customer or customers...
es to work together, to so called "inter-operate".
It is a state that exists when a business process
Business process
A business process or business method is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a specific service or product for a particular customer or customers...
can meet a specific objective automatically
Automation
Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. In the scope of industrialization, automation is a step beyond mechanization...
utilizing essential human labor only. Typically, BPI is present when a process conforms to standards
Standardization
Standardization is the process of developing and implementing technical standards.The goals of standardization can be to help with independence of single suppliers , compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, or quality....
that enable it to achieve its objective regardless of ownership, location, make, version or design of the computer systems used.
Overview
The main attraction of BPI is that a business process can start and finish at any point worldwide regardless of the types of hardware and software required to automate it. Because of its capacity to offload human "mind" labor, BPI is considered by many as the final stage in the evolution of businessBusiness
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
computing. BPI's twin criteria of specific objective and essential human labor are both subjective.
Currently, business process interoperability
Interoperability
Interoperability is a property referring to the ability of diverse systems and organizations to work together . The term is often used in a technical systems engineering sense, or alternatively in a broad sense, taking into account social, political, and organizational factors that impact system to...
is limited to enterprise software system
System
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
s in which functions are designed to work together, such as a payroll module and a general ledger module that are part of the same program suite, and in controlled software environments that use EDI
Electronic Data Interchange
Electronic data interchange is the structured transmission of data between organizations by electronic means. It is used to transfer electronic documents or business data from one computer system to another computer system, i.e...
. Interoperability is also present between incompatible systems where middleware
Middleware
Middleware is computer software that connects software components or people and their applications. The software consists of a set of services that allows multiple processes running on one or more machines to interact...
has been applied. In each of these cases, however, the processes seldom meet the test of BPI because they are constrained by information silo
Information silo
An information silo is a management system incapable of reciprocal operation with other, related management systems. A bank's management system, for example, is considered a silo if it cannot exchange information with other related systems within its own organization, or with the management systems...
s and the systems' inability to freely communicate among each other.
The objectives of BPI vary, but tend to fall into the following categories:
- Enable end-to-end straight-through processing ("STP")Straight Through ProcessingStraight-through processing enables the entire trade process for capital markets and payment transactions to be conducted electronically without the need for re-keying or manual intervention, subject to legal and regulatory restrictions...
by interconnecting data and procedures trapped in information siloInformation siloAn information silo is a management system incapable of reciprocal operation with other, related management systems. A bank's management system, for example, is considered a silo if it cannot exchange information with other related systems within its own organization, or with the management systems...
s - Let systems and products work with other systems or products without special effort on the part of the customer
- Increase productivity by automating human labor
- Eliminate redundant business processBusiness processA business process or business method is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a specific service or product for a particular customer or customers...
es and data replications - Minimize errors inherent in manual processes
- Introduce mainstream enterprise software-as-a-serviceSoftware as a ServiceSoftware as a service , sometimes referred to as "on-demand software," is a software delivery model in which software and its associated data are hosted centrally and are typically accessed by users using a thin client, normally using a web browser over the Internet.SaaS has become a common...
- Give top managers a practical means of overseeingOversightOversight may refer to:*Oversight , a French Thoroughbred racehorse*Regulation – rulemaking*Separation of powers - the concept of separate branches of government or agencies exercising authority over one another...
processes used to run business operationsBusiness operationsBusiness operations are those ongoing recurring activities involved in the running of a business for the purpose of producing value for the stakeholders... - Encourage development of innovativeInnovationInnovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...
Internet-based business processes - Place emphasis on business processes rather than on the systems required to operate them
- Strengthen securitySecuritySecurity is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
by eliminating gaps among proprietaryProprietary softwareProprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
software systems - Improve privacyPrivacyPrivacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
by giving users complete control over their data - Enable realtime enterprise scenarioScenarioA scenario is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the Commedia dell'arte it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play that was literally pinned to the back of the scenery...
s and forecastForecastingForecasting is the process of making statements about events whose actual outcomes have not yet been observed. A commonplace example might be estimation for some variable of interest at some specified future date. Prediction is a similar, but more general term...
s
History
The term "Business process interoperability" (BPI) is coined in the 1990s, mostly in connection with the value chainValue chain
The value chain, is a concept from business management that was first described and popularized by Michael Porter in his 1985 best-seller, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance.-Firm Level:...
in electronic commerce
Electronic commerce
Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, eCommerce or e-comm, refers to the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. However, the term may refer to more than just buying and selling products online...
. BPI has been utilized in promotional materials by various companies, and appears as a subject of research at organizations concerned with computer science ontologies
Ontology (computer science)
In computer science and information science, an ontology formally represents knowledge as a set of concepts within a domain, and the relationships between those concepts. It can be used to reason about the entities within that domain and may be used to describe the domain.In theory, an ontology is...
. Yet despite the attention it has received, business process interoperability has not been applied outside of limited information system environments. A possible reason is that BPI requires universal conformance to standards so that a business process can start and finish at any point worldwide. The standards themselves are fairly straightforward—organizations use a finite set of shared processes to manage most of their operations. Bringing enterprises together to create and adopt the standards is another matter entirely. The world of management systems is, after all, characterized by information silo
Information silo
An information silo is a management system incapable of reciprocal operation with other, related management systems. A bank's management system, for example, is considered a silo if it cannot exchange information with other related systems within its own organization, or with the management systems...
s. Moving away from silos requires organizations to deal with cultural issues such as ownership and sharing of processes and data, competitive forces and security, not to mention the effect of automation on their work forces.
While the timetable or adoption of BPI cannot be predicted, it remains a subject of interest in organizations and think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
s alike.
Testing for BPI
To test for BPI, an organization analyzes a business process to determine if it can meet its specific objective utilizing essential human labor only.The specific objective must be clearly defined from start to finish. Start and finish are highly subjective, however. In one organization, a process may start when a customer orders a product and finish when the product is delivered to the customer. In another organization, the same process may be preceded with product manufacture and distribution, and may be followed by management of after-sale warranty and repairs.
Essential human labor includes:
- Tasks that must be performed by people because no practical means of automation is available. Examples include fighting a fire, driving a bus and preparing a meal.
- Tasks that, in the opinion of management, are more effectively performed by people. Examples include answering a telephone call with a human voice and offering investment advice in person.
- Tasks where the cost of automation is greater than the cost of human labor.
To qualify for BPI, every process task must be taken into account from start to finish, including the labor that falls between the cracks created by incompatible software applications, such as gathering data from one system and re-inputting it in another, and preparing reports that include data from disparate systems. The process must flow uninterrupted regardless of the underlying computerized systems used. If non-essential human labor exists at any point, the process fails the test of BPI.
Achieving BPI
To assure that business processBusiness process
A business process or business method is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a specific service or product for a particular customer or customers...
es can meet their specific objectives automatically
Automation
Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. In the scope of industrialization, automation is a step beyond mechanization...
utilizing essential human labor only, BPI takes a “service-oriented architecture“ (SOA
Service-oriented architecture
In software engineering, a Service-Oriented Architecture is a set of principles and methodologies for designing and developing software in the form of interoperable services. These services are well-defined business functionalities that are built as software components that can be reused for...
) approach, which focuses on the processes rather than on the technologies required to automate them. A widely-used SOA is an effective way to address the problems caused by information silo
Information silo
An information silo is a management system incapable of reciprocal operation with other, related management systems. A bank's management system, for example, is considered a silo if it cannot exchange information with other related systems within its own organization, or with the management systems...
s.
SOA makes practical sense because organizations cannot be expected to replace or modify their current enterprise software to achieve BPI, regardless of the benefits involved. Many workers' jobs are built around the applications they use, and most organizations have sizable investments in their current information infrastructures which are so complex that even the smallest modification can be very costly, time-consuming and disruptive. Even if software makers were to unite and conform their products to a single set of standards, the problem would not be solved. Besides software from well-known manufacturers, organizations use a great many legacy software systems, custom applications, manual procedures and paper forms. Without SOA, streamlining such a huge number of disparate internal processes so that they interoperate across the entire global enterprise spectrum is simply out of the question.
To create an SOA for widespread use, BPI relies on a centralized database repository containing shared data and procedures common to applications in every industry and geographical area. In essence, the repository serves as a top application layer, enabling organizations to export their data to its distributed database and obtain the programs they need by simply logging on via a portal
Web portal
A web portal or links page is a web site that functions as a point of access to information in the World Wide Web. A portal presents information from diverse sources in a unified way....
. To assure security
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
and commercial neutrality, the repository conforms to standards promulgated by the community of BPI stakeholders.
Organizations and interest groups that wish to achieve business process interoperability begin by establishing one or more BPI initiatives.
Further reading
- Khalid Belhajjame, Marco Brambilla. Ontology-Based Description and Discovery of Business Processes. In Proceedings of the 10th Workshop on Business Process Modeling, Development, and Support (BPMDS) at CAiSE 2009, Amsterdam, June 2009, Springer LNBIP, vol. 29, pp. 85–98.
- O. Adam et al. (2005). A Collaboration Framework for Cross-enterprise Business Process Management. Paper First International Conference on Interoperability of Enterprise Software and Applications, INTEROP-ESA'2005.
- K. Kosanke (2005). "INTEROP-ESA’2005, Summary of Papers"
- Richard A. Martin (2004). "A Standards’ Foundation for Interoperability" Paper 2004 International Conference on Enterprise Integration and Modelling Technology. 9–11 October 2004. University of Toronto, Canada.