bpm conference portugal 2013 - ivo velichkov "reasoning with taskless bpmn"
DESCRIPTION
Ivo VelitchkovIndependent Management Consultant at KvistgaardIvo Velitchkov is an independent management consultant, working in the areas of BPM and Enterprise Architecture. He’s been involved in these and other management areas for 16 years in various capacities: as CEO of a software company, university professor, project manager, consultant and researcher. Currently he is helping the BPM practice in the European Commission. Dr. Velitchkov has several publications, he is the author of the blog strategicstructures.com, and co-author of the book "Enterprise Architecture for Connected E-Government: Practices and Innovations. "Reasoning with Taskless BPMN" BPMN has so many drawbacks both for analysis and execution and yet, that's the first notation that achieved remarkable consensus between BPM communities. Although a vendors-led effort, and criticized all the way, it showed viability and in fact a remarkable adoption rate. Is there a way to use this consensus and the availability of so many tools that support BPMN in a way that would solve, or rather dissolve part of the problems of the notation? This presentation will suggest, instead of furnishing BPMN with what’s missing, taking out some elements that are not just excessive but in fact restrict the usage of BPMN. How about taking out the core element – the task? In fact all types of tasks. The presentation will try to show how this would enlarge the application of BPMN, making it a better communication medium by lowering the cognitive load for non-specialists. Furthermore such a subset of BPMN could be used for describing less predictable processes which is one area of justified criticism. Additionally, the befits for analysis and process improvement will be discussed, and last but not least – execution aspects. Inspired by cybernetics and semantic technologies, the presentation would hopefully provide some insights that would support further application of this approach, different parts of which have been already applied successfully in some organisations.TRANSCRIPT
Reasoning with Taskless BPMN
Ivo Velitchkov | 18 April 2013
@kvistgaard
Transformation
State
Why BPMN?
Cybernetics
Semantic technologies
BPMN
Variety Execution EA
Why ST?
@kvistgaardImage source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/renespitz/3383392840/sizes/o/in/photostream/
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- State
- Transformation
- Variety
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Transformation
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Transformation
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Transformation (pre-defined)
rules
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Transformations (pre-defined)
rules
Objective: green circle
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Transformations (pre-defined)Objective: green circle
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I know shapes
I know colours
I can change colours
We can change shapes
Transformation (knowledge-based)
capabilities
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- State
- Transformation
- Variety
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horse
walk -> trot -> canter -> gallop
image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Muybridge_race_horse_gallop.jpg
“By a state of a system is meant any well-defined condition or property
that can be recognised if it occurs again.” (R. Ashby)
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transition
transformation
relative
State
also dynamicvariety
12:30 = 06:03
walk -> trot -> canter -> gallop
example: horse
complexity
control
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tablet tablet
handheld handheld
read read*
write write*
clay {many}
V1 < V2
Image source: http://www.katapi.org.uk/BibleMSS/ElAmarnaT.htm
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P
P
P
P
M
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P
P
P
P
M
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Transformation
State
Why BPMN?
Cybernetics
Semantic technologies
BPMN
Variety Execution EA
Why ST?
Why BPMN?
• 76 implementers
• Increasing adoption
• Problems with semantics of
many elements (lanes, tasks,
some gateways and events)
• Very weak on data and rules
• Can’t express many common
situations, yet has enormous
number of elements
• Missing time dimension
• Not suitable for knowledge
processes
• ….
@kvistgaard
consensus
coherence
A
C
D
G
B
Why BPMN?
Based on Consensus/Coherence model of D. Snowden. Source: http://cognitive-edge.com
@kvistgaard
“A Task is an atomic Activity within a Process flow. A
Task is used when the work in the Process cannot be
broken down to a finer level of detail. “
BPMN2.0, p. 156
…so you can’t
Tasks are atomic
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Tasks try to restrict what should be done
during run time with what is known during
design time
… and that’s often not much
Tasks are restrictive
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Let’s see what will happen
without BPMN tasks
Task-free
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BPMNWithout tasks, we’ll have…
… a leaner BPMN
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Without tasks, our models can…
...absorb more variety
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“The definition of these states, e.g., possible
values and any specific semantic are out of
scope of this specification. Therefore, BPMN
adopters can use the State element and the
BPMN extensibility capabilities to define their
states.”
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START C1 C2 C3 C4 END
A B
C
1. A in START
2. C1=true for A; B in START
3. A waiting for C3; C1=true for B
4. C3=true for A; C2=true for B; C in START
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[ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ]
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Job Application example
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…with interruption
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…using only conditional events
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Two types of use cases so far:
• Process improvement
– Derive to-be models
• But not from as-is, from ideal process (inspired by
Ackoff ideal design) + constraints
• Case management with some degree of
uncertainty
The first results
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Transformation
State
Why BPMN?
Cybernetics
Semantic technologies
BPMN
Variety Execution EA
Why ST?
@kvistgaard
• OPEN – Open world assumption
– Open-source data
• NATURAL– Descriptions are close to the natural language, yet
understandable by machines
– Rules are a natural part of the semantic web ecosystem
Why using Semantic Technologies?
@kvistgaardSource: http://leirdal.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/semanticcake2.jpg`
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[ ]
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A
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COREONTOLOGY
DOMAINONTOLOGY
DOMAINONTOLOGY
DOMAINONTOLOGYDOMAIN
ONTOLOGY
AONTOLOGY
AONTOLOGY
AONTOLOGY
AONTOLOGY
AONTOLOGY
AONTOLOGY
AONTOLOGY
AONTOLOGY
AONTOLOGY
AONTOLOGY
AONTOLOGY
AONTOLOGY
AONTOLOGY
AONTOLOGYA
ONTOLOGY
AONTOLOGY
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CLASSES PROPERTIES
Core Civil Service Ontology
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Leaner and easier BPMN
Can deal with more uncertainty
Execution through inference
Open Enterprise Architecture