Digitizing Business OperationsSequence Case Management

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Sequence Case Management May 19, 2015. By Eli Stutz and James Luxford

Overview The goal of this white paper is to outline PNMsoft’s SCM (Sequence Case Management),

which is based on PNMsoft’s Sequence iBPMS (intelligent Business Process Management

suite). SCM is helping numerous PNMsoft customers to better achieve their goals and

transform their business.

Why Case Management?

As we enter the age of Digital Business, organizations are changing the way they work. Less

serial, “unskilled” processes are being performed by people, as systems take over automated

tasks. In 2015, 60% of occupations are classified as Non-routine as opposed to 40% Routine,

a complete reversal from the status in 19751.

As human work becomes more unstructured and specialized, experts are required to make

knowledge-based decisions in an ad hoc manner based on moment-to-moment conditions.

Increasingly, teams are adopting Case Management techniques which provide better

business outcomes for such scenarios. Case Management puts the focus on an entity called a

‘Case’, a logically connected construct which can be brought to a successful conclusion

based on a set of goals. Examples include a bank investigating a client, a highway

maintenance job, or remediation of a stuck order.

In Case Management, it is a Knowledge Worker who handles each case. The Knowledge

Worker is an intelligent subject matter expert who can make dynamic decisions based on his

1 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey.

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judgement and experience. These decisions cannot be predicted beforehand and vary with

each case, and thus, the Knowledge Worker requires a system which assists and facilitates his

decision-making in the handling of each Case.

Case Management Solutions

A Case Management solution provides the Knowledge Worker with the following elements

to assist him in his work:

Case data and metadata

Processes, Tasks or Actions that can be applied to the case

Case Analytics and Charts

Communications with other stakeholders

Documentation and other files related to the case

An effective Case Management solution surfaces all the relevant case data, and gives the

Knowledge Worker the ability to manage the case smoothly using the elements above. This

framework maximizes the unique qualities of both the human and the system. The system

provides all the data and operational assistance required, and frees up the human to do what

he does best – making intelligent judgements based on expertise. The result for the business

is clear – the ability to handle each case in the optimal manner, which in turn results in

quality, profitability, time savings and the ability to excel in a highly competitive and rapidly

changing market.

Case Management Based on an iBPMS Platform

According to Gartner, a CMF (Case Management Framework) based on an iBPMS platform

has excellent potential to provide an organization with a solution that can maximize the

potential of Case Management. In particular, iBPMS-based CMFs channel the power of the

intelligent process and enable frequent changes to the system which are invariably required

in a fluctuating business environment.

At PNMsoft, our client base has begun to realize this potential. Using SCM our customers

create agile solutions can that easily be modified over time. This is possible due to Sequence

iBPMS’s model-driven, declarative architecture, and its unique HotChange® technology,

which provides an easy-to-use platform for citizen developers and IT teams to build and

change intelligent Case Management applications.

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SCM In this section, we’ll describe how organizations can achieve effective Case Management

solutions using PNMsoft SCM. We’ll describe the PNMsoft approach to Case Management

and highlight SCM’s features.

The PNMsoft Approach to Case Management

PNMsoft aims to provide its customers with Case Management solutions which provide the

most relevant information and tools to their Knowledge Workers, enabling them to handle

each case in an optimal manner and achieve their case goals quickly. This a Machine-Human

partnership, where the system assists and guides the human toward improved work and

results. In addition, the solution should be:

Easy to build

Easy to use

Easy to change

PNMsoft technology, architecture and methodology support building Case Management

solutions which meet and exceed the above criteria.

Case Technology that Works with Human Nature

Before a Case Management solution is introduced, styles of work may vary widely between

workers. Not every style may correspond with the way the organization believes work ought

to be done. As such, there are two types of approaches

that could be adopted:

1. Enable people to work the way they want to work

OR

2. Force people to work the way the organization

thinks they ought to work

The weakness with each of these approaches is obvious. In

1., users may be happy, but may continue to use non-ideal

work practises and miss business goals. In 2. the

organization may feel self-righteous, but its users will likely

reject the system as diverging too much from their comfort

zone.

To address this challenge, PNMsoft takes a third, more balanced approach:

3. Begin with the way people want to work, then guide them toward better work

practises.

This is a “Small Steps, Big Change” approach that progresses and improves over time. It is

made possible using PNMsoft’s HotChange® technology and Evolutionary BPM

methodology. See this article by PNMsoft CEO Gal Horvitz for more on this topic.

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In a Case Management solution, designing a solution that fits the Knowledge Worker’s work

style, but also guides him toward ever-improving work practises is of prime importance to

the business outcome. It is an approach which governs our entire project strategy, from

planning through implementation, and onward toward incremental improvement.

SCM Features

Case Management solutions built using SCM are rich, powerful, easy to use and easy to

modify. Here are some common elements and features of such solutions:

Case Dashboard

A Case Dashboard is the central command hub for Case Work. This dashboard provides all

the data and tools necessary for the Knowledge Worker to manage and handle cases

optimally. It also provides managers with tools to monitor, track and assign case work to

Knowledge Workers.

Case Management Dashboard

By default, the Case Dashboard can be easily assembled using configurable web parts in a

SharePoint portal. If SharePoint is not used or required, SCM web parts can be hosted in any

online web application or company portal.

One of the great strengths of SCM is the capability to aggregate all relevant Case data and

actions into Dashboards, and to create multiple Dashboard versions that are each

customized for different user roles.

The Case Dashboard can include some or all of the following elements:

Case Data and Metadata

Case workers have access to all the relevant data and metadata related to the case. The

challenge is to surface the information that will best aid workers to resolve the case

successfully, and to filter out other noise. Choosing what data to display (and what not to) is

a critical element of the solution.

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Dynamic Workflows and Tasks

Case workers can choose to perform any number of sub-workflows, actions or tasks on each

case, in order to bring the case to a successful resolution. The ability to create sub-workflows

for cases is inherent in SCM, and will be discussed further in the Architecture section below.

Case workers can dynamically assign sub-workflows and tasks to other users and teams.

Team cooperation on Cases turns SCM into a robust and collaborative Case Management

tool, as complex cases often require several people to be resolved successfully. This is

especially true when each person on the team has different strengths and expertise.

Dynamic Task Assignment

Using a Delegation wizard, case workers can delegate cases to other workers based on their

role, expertise and availability. Case workers can also rollback changes to cases if necessary,

and start afresh from earlier stages.

Analytics

It is simple for citizen developers to set up rich, visual charts and analytics, which can

become a central part of the Case Management Dashboard. Case workers can easily track

case KPI and quickly identify problems or trends.

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SCM Analytics

SCM includes the capability to create Intelligent Analytics which aggregate real time

Case data, and can trigger dynamic changes to the case, its workflows or dashboards

depending on changing conditions.

Documents

Thanks to SCM’s strong integration with SharePoint and other Document Management tools,

Case Workers can easily manage and view all Case-related documents in one or more

document library web parts. If required, solution designers can create document-related

workflows that are run based on changes to document libraries. Users can easily attach

documents and other case-related files to cases and their sub-entities.

Communications

In addition to standard case messages and notifications, SCM includes friendly social

collaboration features, which enable case workers to communicate freely about case

handing. These features include Q&A, Comments and a Case Wall.

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Case Wall

In addition, Case workers can dynamically send messages and tasks to other users, and

delegate case work as needed.

In SCM, case communications extend beyond people-to-people interactions and into the

world of smart devices and Internet of Things (IoT). SCM enables Case Workers to

collaborate with smart machines, to listen to and respond to Business Moments2, and handle

each case optimally in within an ecosystem that includes all relevant people and devices. See

this article on pnmsoft.com for more details.

Sub-Cases

In many projects, Cases require additional entities which are related to them. For example, a

major road infrastructure project can have several types of sub-projects related to it (see the

Customer Examples section below for more details). SCM enables Case solution developers

to easily create sub-cases and other sub-entities that are related to the case. Designers can

assign relationships (such as 1:n, n:1, n:n) between entities and define their data, rules and

interactions. On the Case Dashboard, end users can quickly add sub-cases and navigate

between them.

2 Architect Your Business to Sense, Respond and Create Business Moments’ by Betsy Burton, Gartner –

17 April, 2015

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Case Management Mechanisms

Users and managers require tools to manage and control cases, particularly in systems with a

high volume of cases. SCM enables case workers, managers and administrators to perform

the following type of actions to manage cases within the system:

Automated and manual case allocation

Batch import/upload

Prioritization of cases

Tracking individual cases through each stage of resolution

Provision of MI over entire case population

Manage assigning cases and case tasks per role and availability

Export of cases to external applications

Removal of abandoned cases

Advanced search, filtering and views

Portals

As mentioned above, SCM enables organizations to integrate their Case Management end

user interface within SharePoint or any other web application. In complex scenarios, the

solution can be set up across multiple portals internal and external to the organization, and

involve both vendor and customer-facing interactions.

Organizational Synchronization

SCM can be quickly synchronized with your organization’s structure (e.g. Active Directory),

enabling you to assign case roles and permissions, and take employee calendars and

availability into account. SCM includes multi-lingual and multi-time zone and currencies

support, enabling synchronized work across multiple geographies.

Versioning

SCM includes advanced versioning capabilities. Case Solution designers and administrators

can create and manage multiple versions of the application and determine which version is

active (live) at any point in time. Designers can make changes to live or inactive versions and

deploy versions from one environment to another using an import/export wizard. All of the

versioning capabilities are available within easy-to-use wizards and dashboards.

HotChange®

SCM is powered by a unique HotChange® technology which

provides the ultimate flexibility for both case application

designers and end users. Designers can quickly modify solutions

without derailing in-flight cases, and end users can make ad hoc

changes as they use the system. HotChange® means that the

Case Management solution can quickly adapt to changing

business requirements, improve over time, and enable the business to compete in a rapidly

changing market.

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Integration

SCM solutions can be quickly integrated with and involve a wide range of external systems

and protocols such as:

SharePoint

CRM (Dynamics CRM, Salesforce)

ERP (SAP, JD Edwards, Dynamics)

Oracle

Databases

Office 365

Web Services, WCF, OData

Smart Devices, IoT

Social Media Networks

…and more.

SCM Integration Connectors

Rapid integration is made possible with out-of-the-box wizard-based connectors, which

form an integral part of the SCM design interface. This means that Cases do not live in a

vacuum. Rather, Case Managers can view data from and interact with other organizational

(and extra-organizational) systems to best handle each case.

Mobility

Case Managers can handle cases on-the-go using SCM’s mobile end user portal, on tablets

and smartphone devices. This ground-breaking Case Management capability enables case

work in the field such as on-site inspection and investigation. SCM uses HTML5 technology

and is supported on all leading mobile devices.

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Cloud

SCM can be deployed in the Cloud or On-Premises according to customer needs. Our Cloud

Solution facilitates automatic software updates and quick deployments for clients and is the

primary choice for new projects as of last year. Case Management in the Cloud is a powerful

capability and we expect the demand for it to increase heading into the future.

Harmony

Harmony is a brand new PNMsoft module for collaboration between Business and IT teams

on Business Application development. Harmony can be use both for BPM and Case

Management applications, and it promotes rapid, coordinated development that keeps

stakeholders involved in the process.

Harmony is especially effective in designing Case Management solutions, since by nature,

case work is less structured and more complex than straight-forward process management.

As such, it requires a high level of collaboration between business stakeholders and IT teams

to create a solution which fits the need of the Case Management team and achieves the

business’s goals.

SCM Architecture This section describes SCM architecture, and the horizontal and vertical Case Management

frameworks provided by PNMsoft.

SCM Architecture

App Studio

PNMsoft SCM enables the rapid creation of intelligent business applications within a

powerful, user-friendly App Studio.

The App Studio includes out-of-the-box tools for both business users and advanced

developers to quickly assembly application components.

Case Solution designers can create case entities and sub-entities easily within the Visual App

Studio canvas, and define each entity’s data, metadata, business rules and relationships with

other entities.

UX Studio

The UX Studio is a powerful form building environment, which enables rapid creation of Case

forms and tasks by both citizen developers and advanced .NET programmers.

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UX Studio

Flowtime

SCM’s Flowtime is an out-of-the-box SharePoint end user portal that can be quickly

configured to meet the solution requirements using customizable web parts, lists, grids and

dashboards. Flowtime enables the rapid creation and modification of an effective Case

Dashboard.

Architecture

SCM’s modelling environment enables the creation of the case platform. This environment

incorporates a UX designer which is business-user friendly yet includes powerful IT tools, and

an intuitive flow designer that includes source control, debugging and validation.

SCM relies on Sequence’s Rule Engine and unique in-memory execution to drive complex

applications and dynamic execution.

SCM incorporates Sequence’s Form platform which built based on the MVVM pattern,

enabling a 360 degree view on the case. Instead of a single, static view, SCM provides a data-

driven and context-driven view, which enables the user to find the relevant information

needed to handle each case.

SCM applications are fully declarative which enables quick deployment of case management

solutions and speedy reaction to change.

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Horizontal Frameworks

SCM enables the creation of horizontal CMFs (Case Management Frameworks), providing a

base application which can be further customized for specific customer scenarios. These

frameworks are applicable to the following industries:

Customer Services

Financial Services

Telecommunications

Manufacturing

…and more

Vertical Frameworks

PNMsoft has built several vertical frameworks for its customers. These can be further

customized to meet client needs within the same industry. These frameworks are described

in the Customer Examples below.

Case Styles and Customer Examples

Case Styles

SCM supports all four types of Case Management styles:

Investigative

Incident Management

Service-request

Process-to-decision

These styles are referred to in the customer examples below.

Examples

Banking – Remediation

A global banking institution is using a SCM solution to enable bank analysts to facilitate the

remediation of a population of over 5000 entities. This solution includes a Case Management

dashboard where financial analysts can manage each case, view case data, perform ad hoc

workflows and additional operations on the case, and prioritize their work. Managers have

access to MI and reports on case work, and can track and reallocate work as needed. In some

cases, emerging information requires case workers to roll back previous actions. The system

facilitates the ‘turning back of the clock’ on the case, in order to handle it in the optimal

fashion, according to changing conditions and fresh data. The solution has resulted in better

management of a large volume of cases, 35% reduction in administration costs, and 40%

better accuracy on a case-per-case basis.

Case Styles: Investigative, Service-request

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Case Management - Banking

Financial Services – KYC

A leading IT systems provider for the financial services industry is using SCM to enable

Analysts to perform KYC (Know Your Customer) work on financial entities. The system

supports three different roles (Ops Manager, Team Leader, and Analysts) to handle entities

and tasks related to KYC. The Ops Manager decides what the teams will focus on each

day/week. The Team Leader manages and assigns work. Analysts initiate and manage KYC

tasks and requests. SCM enables the organization to create a rich Case Management portal

including a view of all cases in the system, and a Case Dashboard including case data,

metadata, analytics and sub-workflows that can be performed on each case, all within

SharePoint. This solution has enabled the client Analysts to save on average of 25 hours per

month and concentrate on improving efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Case Styles: Investigative, Process-to-decision

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Case Management – Financial Services

Road Infrastructure Project Management

A national Highways Agency is a government organization responsible for roads

infrastructure. The Agency is responsible for the planning, development and maintenance of

the national roads and motorways network. Construction of a new road or interchange is a

long term project consisting of sub-tasks based on multiple processes.

To meet the challenges of such a complex project, PNMsoft implemented a Case

Management solution. Project managers plan and execute major road projects using the

Project (case) entity. Using their discretion and experience, a project manager can add

various sub-entities to the main case including: road work, alternative routes, public

announcements of road detours, and project stages. Each of these sub-entities includes a

dashboard which enables the project manager to perform tasks and view data for the sub-

entity. In addition, road workers and contractors can perform their work by accessing the

system in the field on their mobile devices.

This solution has resulted in 25% reduction in time and money spent on road projects, 30%

less annual commuter hours lost, and 20% less safety incidents.

Case Styles: Incident Management, Process-to-decision

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Road Infrastructure – Mobile Case Management

Telecom – Order Resolution

A global Telecom is using SCM to resolve stuck orders. Resolution of a stuck order is non-

standard work which often requires expert decision-making and operations by knowledge

workers. The solution PNMsoft designed for the customer enables three different roles to

collaborate on and solve stuck orders. Each role, according to his expertise, can select from a

set of workflows to run on the stuck order in order to resolve it. Managers can easily track

and manage work, and allocate work to teams as necessary. The portal was quickly

customized to include all Case management elements necessary to assist these teams to

optimally handle their case work. Since going live, the client has seen 25% improvement in

time-to-resolution and 30% improved accuracy, and has opted to deploy the solution to

additional major global accounts.

Case Styles: Service Request, Incident Management

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Case Management – Global Telecom

Summary and Benefits In this white paper, you’ve seen how Case Management is an effective tool for Knowledge

Workers to dynamically handle unstructured work. We’ve demonstrated how a Case

Management Solution based on an iBPMS has the greatest potential to cope with changing

conditions. And we’ve shown how SCM, powered by unique HotChange® technology and

Evolutionary BPM methodology, provides the following benefits to PNMsoft customers:

Optimizes handing of complex cases

Maximizes the expertise and time of Knowledge Workers

Enables extreme flexibility and control of real time changes

Rapid to build, and easy to change to meet changing conditions

Encourages collaboration between teams (both on design and operation)

Surfaces relevant data and operations for case managers

Consolidates and harmonizes work between systems and teams

These benefits combine to help our customers to achieve a true business transformation. We

look forward to helping you transform your business. Here are your next steps:

Get a Demo of SCM at:

http://www.pnmsoft.com/technology/case-management-bpm/

Contact us for more information: info@pnmsoft.com

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Business Processes in Motion™, PNMsoft™, PNMsoft Sequence™, PNMsoft SCE™, and HotChange® are trademarks of PNMsoft Ltd. All other trademarks are acknowledged to their respective owners.

PNMsoft at work - Sequence drives the mission critical business processes that power organizations including:

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