By Rashid N. Khan
In business process management (BPM), user steps represent tasks in a business process that are performed by people using electronic forms or documents. This article explains the basic properties of user steps.
A user step can be assigned to one user or a group of users. In the latter case, all members of the group may be required to perform the task in applications that require polling. For example, in a quality control process that is partially shown in the figure, the QA audit step is assigned to the group QA Auditors. All QA auditors will receive the same electronic forms that they can use to input the results of their audits. The following step, labeled Final Approval, is assigned to one person who will review the results of the individual audits.
Figure 1: Parts of a quality audit process using groups.
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Properties of User Steps
User steps have properties designed to make the BPM solution flexible. Some common properties include the following.
Recipient
This property specifies the user or group that will perform the task represented by the step. The ability to route the task to the right individual is one of the most important characteristics of a BPM solution. There are numerous ways of specifying and determining the recipient of a step. Because of the importance of routing workflow, I'll discuss this further in a future column.
Time Limits
Modern BPM solutions allow process designers to define time limits for each step in the process. The solution ensures that if a time limit is exceeded, appropriate notifications or warnings are sent to the recipients or their supervisors (most commonly by e-mail). Advanced solutions also allow tasks to be escalated and re-routed to others when they become overdue. The purpose of a BPM solution is to ensure timely completion of processes. The ability to specify time limits ensures that tasks are performed on a timely basis.
Time limits can either be relative or absolute. Relative time limits specify the acceptable time for a task to be performed before it is escalated. For example, the relative time limit for a step may be specified as two days. When the step is activated, the software calculates the time when the step will become late by adding two days to the time when the step was activated. On the other hand, absolute time limits allow the process to be designed such that the time limit can be changed dynamically for each instance for meeting customer expectations. As an example, the initiator of a customer order process can enter the delivery requirements of the customer placing the order. The software can then calculate and assign absolute times for each step in the process so that the overall process can be completed in time to meet the customer's delivery requirement. This feature enables the step completion times to be established on the fly and change dynamically.
Advanced BPM solutions offer multiple levels of late notifications and escalations. The first level may be a warning to the recipient that the task will become late after a specified grace period. The second level could be the actual escalation.
Delay Time
In many business processes it's necessary to delay a step by a specific time interval or hold it until an absolute time. This is typically used when a process activity has to be synchronized with delays that are external to the process. For example, in a loan application process, after a credit report is requested, it might take an external credit agency several days to generate the credit report. Therefore, the application review activities may need to be suspended for several days pending the arrival of the credit report. A BPM solution can enable this by providing a "delay time" property that can be used to specify an absolute or relative time that the step is delayed before it is activated.
Conditions
Every business process has special conditions or exceptions that dictate the behavior of the process. Step conditions allow process designers to incorporate the rules governing these conditions and exceptions. Because of the importance of step conditions, I'll cover them in my next column.
Useful Links
This article is an excerpt from Rashid Khan's Business Process Management: A Practical Guide. Order your copy here:
http://www.bpmenterprise.com/yDQ
Ultimus
http://www.ultimus.com/
Rashid N. Khan is the founder and Chief Technical and Strategy Officer of Ultimus Inc., a pioneer in business process management and workflow automation. Prior to establishing Ultimus, founded Sintech Inc., a leader in advanced software for mechanical testing. Rashid sold Sintech to MTS Systems in 1989, where he worked for a five years as a vice president and general manager. During this period he took the company through ISO 9000 certification. This experience made him aware of the need for business process management and workflow automation. Rashid obtained two undergraduate degrees from MIT in computer science and political science. Khan is the author of Business Process Management: A Practical Guide, has published numerous articles and spoken at a number of events. Contact Rashid N. Khan at info (at) ultimus.com or visit http://www.ultimus.com.
