=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-1408/paper11
|storemode=property
|title=Collaborative BPM Based on Industry-specific Reference Models
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1408/paper4-xoc-bpm.pdf
|volume=Vol-1408
}}
==Collaborative BPM Based on Industry-specific Reference Models
==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1408/paper4-xoc-bpm.pdf
Collaborative BPM Based on
Industry-specific Reference Models
Thomas Karle
Research and Development
Horus software GmbH
Ettlingen, Germany
thomas.karle@horus.biz
Abstract Industry specific reference models, as for instance business processes together, each assigned person virtually
the SCOR Model (Supply Chain Operations Reference Model) or working via a web 2.0-based social network. This collaborative
the eTOM (Enhanced Telecom Operations Map Reference work takes place in a so-called Social BPM Lab, a conjoint
Model) are providing a basis to define and align cross-company workshop. The participants operate as a team to accomplish the
business processes between different organizations, providing assignment of consolidating business processes or constructing
standardizing criteria for certain business process structures and a global supply chain. Amongst creating a common
the corresponding industry. In order to reconcile the cooperation understanding for the task, the associated processes, and the
and the common processes between the organizations, the use of required organizational structures – even going beyond
Social BPM mechanisms has proved to be very suitable. All
geographical, cultural and linguistic barriers – the participants
involved parties communicate globally through a social BPM
infrastructure. This BPM infrastructure with its underlying BPM
often develop sensible compromises and present creative
repository provides predefined process descriptions based on results.
these industry reference models integrated with social media This contribution depicts an approach, combining the
components. advantages of predefined, industry-specific reference models
with those of Social BPM.
Keywords: Business Process Management, Collaboration,
Industry-specific Reference Models, SCOR, eTOM, Social Media
II. SUPPLY-CHAIN OPERATIONS REFERENCE MODEL
(SCOR)
I. INTRODUCTION
The Supply Chain Operations Reference Model (SCOR)
In the field of supply chain management globalization and
was developed with the aim of analyzing and describing all
the resulting competitive pressure are enforcing the
corporate and cross-company supply chain processes with the
transformation of business-centered supply chains to global
same standardized method [1]. The supply chain council
supply networks. Local vendors and exporters are going to be
(SCC), an independent American non-profit organization
replaced by company networks offering a much higher
created this reference model.
flexibility. Previously used push-strategies with lineal supply
chains optimized to bulk business need to be substituted by The SCOR model is based on the following five essential
pull-strategies based on globally integrated supply networks. supply chain management processes:
Planning on enterprise level, which would have been sufficient
up until then, now needs to be supplemented with collaborative 1. Plan:
optimization and comprehensive supply network planning. Analysis of future plans and conditions in terms of
Whereas the telecommunication market is currently specific aims and definition of required measures.
dominated by acquisitions and mergers. In this area, the use of 2. Source:
industry-specific, pre-defined process structures is reasonable
in order to apply them when merging different processes of two Procurement of products and services.
Telco-businesses. Such undertakings are challenging and 3. Make:
require the consolidation of potentially deviating business
processes and combining various implementations with Production of end- or intermediate products for
individually distinctive system components. delivery to customer.
In both cases different parties, which may be allocated Make-to-stock-production, make-to-order-production
globally, need to coordinate and define aims, strategies, and and engineer-to-order-production.
processes or joint services. The complementary use of Social
BPM when applying respective reference models is advisable.
The general idea of Social BPM is to enable a collaboration of
different parties for the definition of aims, strategies and
Copyright © 2015 for the individual papers by the paper’s authors.
Copying permitted for private and academic purposes. This volume is published and copyrighted by its editors.
In: W. Schmidt, A. Fleischmann, L. Heuser, A. Oberweis, F. Schönthaler, C. Stary, and G. Vossen (Eds.):
Proceedings of the Workshop on Cross-organizational and Cross-company BPM (XOC-BPM) co-located with the
17th IEEE Conference on Business Informatics (CBI 2015), Lisbon, Portugal, July 13, 2015.
4. Deliver: Ideally, the parties concerned have already constructed the
processes in question in the same standard. eTOM offers
Dispatching and delivery of products or services to process structures for the telecommunication sector
customer including stock, order and delivery accordingly. Nevertheless, businesses do not need to fully
management. implement all eTOM-processes to benefit from them, but can
5. Return: also just convert certain processes into eTOM-standard.
Return and receipt of defective products and In comparison to other process frameworks as for instance
organizational management of return of goods to ITIL, eTOM focusses on transparent service delivery
supplier. throughout multiple businesses and organizations, though ITIL
can complement eTOM. Thus, detailed ITIL processes can be
Figure 1 shows the hierarchical structure of SCOR with the used within the eTOM framework. Besides process structures
different layers. The structure and processes are defined until eTOM also provides descriptions of the object structures,
Level 3. For Level 4 the processes have to be provided based which supports the data exchange’s definitions between
on the specific requirements of a corresponding project. participants.
Fig. 2. Process Structure of eTOM [2]
Figure 2 depicts the framework’s rough process range of
Level 0 and Level 1. The top Level 0 distinguishes the
following three sections:
1. Strategy, Infrastructure & Product:
Fig. 1. Process Structure of SCOR [1] Describes the planning and the life-cycle management
based on the strategic planning activities up to a
III. ETOM
products and its infrastructures roll-out.
The enhanced Telecom Operations Map (eTOM) is a 2. Operations:
framework for business processes in the field of Describes the operative core processes from the
telecommunication [2]. The framework is published by TM provision of according services up to accounting and
Forum (previously known as TeleManagement Forum and booking.
Network Management Forum), an association of more than 700
telecommunication and IT businesses from more than 70 3. Enterprise Management:
countries. The mutual goal is the provision of predefined Describes the management and support processes of
guidelines, process structures and basic solutions for the the business.
improvement of management and business process operations
in the telecommunication sector. The Level 1 processes are illustrated in white boxes within
the areas (for instance: Marketing & Offer Management). The
The eTOM-approach is based upon the idea of L1-processes describe each end-to-end process within the
telecommunication businesses and their constant data exchange process realm given on Level 0.
with other corporations and organizations to transact across a
process chain. To ensure both execution and quality of the The framework contains seven vertical L1-process
future performance the parties involved need to develop a alignments. Those divide the L1-processes into logical process
common understanding. Therefore, the businesses processes’ blocks (Strategy & Commit, Infrastructure Lifecycle
transparency is a core requirement for the successful Management, Product Lifecycle Management, Operations
implementation. Support & Readiness, Fulfillment, Assurance and Billing &
Revenue Management) and help to structure the end-to-end The difference to traditional process integration is the
process and then to define process segments in detail. efficient way to utilize the knowledge of all involved parties
(business, process owners and IT) in corresponding projects.
IV. SOCIAL BPM AND REFERENCE MODELS The comparison, design and implementation of business
The new possibilities of Web 2.0 have opened doors for processes is supported by Web 2.0 features in a collaborative
collaboration in social networks in various areas of life [3]. It environment with specific views for business, process owner
enables an efficient access to experience-based knowledge, and IT shown in Figure 4. Here, the definition of new business
creative solution management and Best Practices. Social BPM processes to be implemented is done by process owners and IT
describes the combination of procedures and technologies of in the modeling tool, while the key users are working on the
Web 2.0 with methods of Business Process Management. process models via Wikis. This can be provided by using a
Wiki environment linked with the business process modeling
Starting point for Social BPM is the socialization of tool via a bidirectional synchronization mechanism.
business requirements engineering. The business members of
involved companies and organizations are granted for access to
a Social BPM environment for modeling, simulation, analyses
and evaluation of business processes to be discussed. In a Web
2.0-based social network, they can then exchange
requirements, business use cases, process models and other
artifacts that require a more detailed definition in order to find
a solution.
The next step consists of collaboratively producing designs
that are to be implemented based on the previously defined
requirements. This can either be the design of process
consolidations or cross-organizational processes. For the
collaborative design, both people from the business-side and IT
experts are needed.
After the implementation of the processes, they will be
monitored according to the monitoring component acquired
during the implementation. The monitoring refers to both the Fig. 4. Social BPM Process [3]
supervision of functional key figures and the controlling of
technical process instances. This means, that this step too needs As a technical IT view the executable processes which have
the input from Business and IT of all involved companies and to be integrated or implemented are documented and linked
organizations. with the processes from the business view. In that way the
three aspects of a business process will be created in a
Figure 3 shows the mentioned steps of this overall Social
collaborative manner. The process owner is responsible for the
BPM approach. This contains Social BPE (Social Business
process view and communicates with business and the
Process Engineering) for the steps requirements engineering,
technical IT experts.
design and implementation and Social BPX (Social Business
Process Execution) for the deployment and operation. Involved
Persons and roles will change during this process. Key Users
from the business are usually involved during all steps. During
the phase of design and implementation the developers are
more involved, while in the operation phase the administrators
are playing the active role from IT side.
Business Business
Social Org1, Org2, … Org1, Org2, …
Social
BPE Modeling & BPE IT
Org1, Org2, …
Analysis
Process
Implementation Monitoring
Requirements
Engineering Social Business
Org1, Org2, …
BPX
IT
Org1, Org2, … Fig. 5. Synchronization between Wiki and Modeling Tool
Design &
Implementation
Figure 5 shows the wiki access for the business people in
Deployment & which the key users can easily make textual adjustments, add
Operation comments about changes to be made. Via the wiki
synchronization which can be processed by the process owner
that is the responsible role for the design and implementation
of a business process during all phases of a project. Changes
Fig. 3. Social BPM Process [cf. 4]
are reconciled and conflicts can be resolved if changes were model. Processes on Level 4 are not included in the delivery
made on both sides. and need to be modeled individually for each business use
case.
Specific industry reference models like SCOR or eTOM
could have additional accelerator effects for mergers,
acquisitions and projects to implement complex cross-
organizational processes. They provide a neutral base for
discussion and can be delivered directly in a Social BPM
environment.
The following requirements accruing from cross-
organizational cooperation in the course of joint definition of
business processes have to be covered by the Social BPM
environment:
• The probability for conflicts in such projects is very
high. A big advantage of such an approach is that Social
BPM platform and neutral reference models force
working on concrete business and IT problems. If
nevertheless conflicts occur they can be documented in
the social environment. To handle such incidences also Fig. 6. Project-specific Process in SCOR Structure
project management functionalities have to be included
in the Social BPM environment. This particular case describes the goods-receipt process.
• As a base for such projects objectives and strategies Beginning with the delivery of goods from a supplier different
have to be defined and published in the environment for control steps are being run. Hereby, the incoming goods are
all involved parties. identified and checked, before comparing the received to the
ordered quantity. If both control steps are successful, the goods
• For the coordination of future business processes receipt slip is issued and the goods are classified, in which step
relating to mergers and ERP rollouts, in a first step a four cases may occur: Commodity, Returned Good, Asset, and
rough mapping of business use cases to be integrated Warehouse Good. The Outcome of this control step is reported
has to be prepared. Afterwards the detailed process to the supplier or the carrier, both in case of acceptance or
levels for the specific implementation of the business denial of the received good.
use cases has to be compared. Based on the predefined
process description of the reference models changes for The process segment depicts an example for a sub-process,
the common processes will be identified. If changes or which needs to be coordinated between several supply chain
extensions are identified in the analysis, they will be involved companies. The basis for this collaboration is
marked in the process. In this context, a standard provided by the SCOR process structure, supplied in a common
activity in a process means that they are part of the Social BPM repository. Supplier, carrier, and retailer then
documented process in the reference model. define for instance the end-to-end-process from the supplier’s
Modification or extension activities indicate that the dispatching, to the transports executed by a logistic company,
relevant process steps have to be changed or added. up to the retailer’s stock. To remain in this example, all three
parties need to determine which information is sent back to the
• To align the technical integration the communication supplier and the carrier in the last step. Beyond that, they
between the IT professionals from all involved parties should communicate, how the technical implementation of the
on a technical level is required. Detailed technical steps data transfer is supposed to be concluded.
and data structures of the lower process levels have to
be discussed. Many of these technical integration
processes have to be analyzed in the context of
corporate mergers or ERP rollouts by appropriate IT
professionals and possibly changed or extended. Often
it is sufficient to adjust the individual technical
components to the specific requirements of the
processed data structures. The associated data structures
should also be part of the provided documentation in the
Social BPM environment.
V. USE CASE FOR SOCIAL BPM AND SCOR
Figure 6 shows a project specific defined process segment
on Level 4. This example describes the receipt product process,
which outlines a refinement of the source stocked product
process, by default located on Level 3 of the SCOR reference Fig. 7. Data Structure for Transfer between Involved Parties
In this case the involved parties have to discuss and define The process fragments depicts typical examples for process
the common data structures to be transferred and the segments (business processes and technical processes) that
technologies to be used. For example they define a data needs to be coordinated in case of a telecommunication merger.
structure of the result message for the final step of the To help that coordination, a common Social BPM repository
predefined process as shown in Figure 7. Regarding the could be allocated. The two telecommunication companies can
technologies they agree for example to a SOA-based transfer then define a consolidated business process for the order
using XML files that fit to the defined data structure. handling. Among other subjects, they would need to decide
which mutual sales channels and which credit checks are to be
VI. USE CASES FOR SOCIAL BPM AND ETOM implemented in the consolidated process. In addition, there
needs to be a decision about how to handle the technical
Figure 8 shows a project specific defined process on Level implementation of interfaces (red activities).
3 of the eTOM process structure, a possible modeling example
of a fragment of the order handling process that is part of the
customer relationship management on the top level. The order VII. CONCLUSION
data from dealers and web shops are being transferred to a This paper shows the multiple possibilities how Social
credit check function and are verified. If this control check is BPM and industry reference models can be used for the
positive, the data can be sent to the ERP-system as an order. If coordination between different businesses and organizations.
it is negative, the respective dealer or web shop supplier is Typical scopes hereof are found in the supply chain and
notified. telecommunication sector, both areas presenting quite a high
complexity and degree of automation within their processes.
To manage this complexity during the coordination a
combination of predefined industry reference models and
Social BPM have proved to be very helpful. Predefined
standards for SCM via SCOR define a grid, by which means
the communication regarding cross-company processes
between parties involved in supply chain, such as suppliers,
carriers, retailers, etc., can be coordinated. Within the reference
model, process interfaces are at one’s disposal accordingly.
In the sector of telecommunication, eTOM would be
the respective reference model, a predefined grid for
telecommunication processes. In case of a merger of two
businesses in this sector, a substantial advantage will emerge,
when using eTOM, since it helps identifying and consolidating
differences and similarities.
Fig. 8. Project-specific Process in eTOM Structure The additional use of Social BPM enables a favorable
and much more effective alternative of global coordination and
In the shown example the integration with the web shop collaboration, in comparison to the classic approach of doing
and the shops of the dealers have to be extended. Such so through many face-to-face-meetings. On the base of a
adoptions and extensions occur very often in this industry repository, which contains the respective reference models, the
because usually they have different systems or other sales reconciliation is accomplished in a web 2.0-mechanism, using
channels to be taken into account. functionalities as for instance a context related chat, forums,
wikis and collaborative modelling in combination with BPM
within an integrated environment.
REFERENCES
[1] SCOR:
http://www.apics.org/sites/apics-supply-chain-council/frameworks/scor
[2] eTOM:
http://www.tmforum.org/businessprocessframework/1647/home.html
[3] Schönthaler F., Vossen G., Oberweis A., Karle T.:Business Processes
Fig. 9. Technical Integration Process for Business Communities: Modeling Languages, Methods, Tools.
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2012.
Figure 9 shows a technical integration process that has to be [4] Schönthaler F.: BPM is not for programmers – It's a business tool and
aligned during a telecommunication project with detailed makes your business processes more excellent, Collaborate 14, Las
information about the calls of specific programs. It describes Vegas, 2014.
for each process step which technical component is responsible
for the execution.