BPM Tool Study WHITEPAPER, MARCH 2015

Transcription

1 BPM Tool Study WHITEPAPER, MARCH 2015 Sama Sahid, Shweta Sinha, Calogero La Greca, and Dr. Jochen König BUSINESS PROCESS EXPERTS GMBH STEFFENSTRASSE 26, DÜSSELDORF

2 Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION SCOPE WHY THE RIGHT TOOL? LATEST TRENDS IN BPM TOOLS EVALUATION FRAMEWORK... 4 Usability... 4 Smartness... 5 Readiness to use TOOL EVALUATION... 5 ADONIS... 7 Aeneis... 8 ARIS... 9 ARIS Cloud Basic BPMN Visio Modeler DHC Vision Innovator Signavio Symbio USE CASE BASED POSITIONING OF BPM TOOLS Business Process Analysis SAP integration Governance, Risk and Compliance and Quality Management CONCLUSION APPENDIX Usability Smartness Readiness to use Tool versions and websites BIBLIOGRAPHY COPYRIGHT

3 1. INTRODUCTION Business Process Management (BPM) is an approach to align the strategic objective of an organization with the operational goal of increasing effectiveness, efficiency and making them adaptive to a dynamic business environment. The objectives are achieved by a set of business processes, which need to be continually improved and optimized. There are various BPM tools available in the market today. Despite this fact it is a non-trivial task to select an appropriate tool for modeling an orgaizatios proesses. The ause ould e traed to to ajor attriutes: (1) Increasing diversity of offerings that fall under the BPM technology umbrella and (2) the associated complexity of reconciling the needs of an organization and the capabilities of available products. With this white paper study, we aim at evaluating popular BPM tools for business process modeling and analysis in the German market. Our evaluation criteria are based on three different objectives: (1) Usability, (2) Smartness and (3) Readiness to use. Some tools can also be used for business process workflow design and implementation in conjunction BPM workflow and orchestration tools as part of a business process management suite (BPMS). However, this aspect is not considered central for this particular study. 2. SCOPE A large number of software vendors provides BPM tools to support organizations with the implementation and management of their business processes. These vendors follow different philosophies and technical approaches. The market in general is very mature and potential buyers have a hard time prioritizing the offers. In this whitepaper, we compare nine BPM tools. The main selection criterion was the application and usage in the manufacturing industry in the German market. In chapter 5 we outline the reference framework we have used for evaluating the different tools. In chapter 6, we present detailed evaluation for all the shortlisted tools. In the beginning of the chapter, we have consolidated the results in tabular format followed by a summarized view of our findings for each of the shortlisted BPM tools. Chapter 7 provides a mapping to specific use scenarios. 3. WHY THE RIGHT TOOL? Choosing the right BPM tool that aligns with the organizational requirements is critical to the success of a BPM project. A survey undertaken by BPTrends provides the statistical view of tool based process modeling by different industries and organizations. Their survey indicated that basically any organization with active BPM projects is also using software tools to create process models. What is interesting to us is that one in three respondents indicated that a tool mostly restricted to stand alone graphical models served them best for their projects. (Wolf & Harmon, 2014). This may well be the result of previous, misguided tool selection experiences and the subsequent disappointment. In addition to strictly functional aspects BPM tools also differ in terms of the size of the organization that they can support. In an organization seriously engaged in Business Process Management BPM tools become a part of daily operations not only for individual niche experts but broader teams involved in operational excellence, continual improvement and process management. According to classical project management theories People, 2

4 Process and Tools are the three pillars to the success of a project. Having the right people struggling with the wrong tool will not always cause a project to fail but it can result in delays and budget issues. Saves time wasted on lengthy evaluations if objective of BPM implementation is clear Timely completion of project Cost reduction A wrong tool chosen in the beginning is a risk to project and it can be mitigated and saves cost spent on it. Choice of tool should be a part of cost effect analysis of project Standardisation Resource comfort Opportunity to introduce standard convention, terminology and language Fosters communications More support and ease for resources Encourages innovative solutions initiated by resources Figure 1: Why the right tool? 4. LATEST TRENDS IN BPM TOOLS In the last few years organizations have been going more and more digital. There have been phenomenal technological developments embracing the possibilities of the internet. BPM tool providers and the industries have just started to tap into the benefits of these technologies. The combination with these technologies has increased the scope of usage of BPM tools as well as it has made them faster, cheaper and more accessible. There 4 most significant technological trends are: Cloud Computing Portability Social Collaboration Data Analytics We have taken these trends into account when setting up the evaluation framework. 3

5 5. EVALUATION FRAMEWORK The framework we use for evaluating the different BPM Tools is structured into three different aspects namely: Usability: This deals with functionality (easy to use features) aspect of the tool and its ability to handle interoperability within different devices. Smartness: The tools ailit to support process analytics to enable business decisions and security aspects as well as capability of a tool to support different modeling standards. Readiness to use: Aspects covering required investment in time, cost and effort onboarding the tool for usage by business users. Figure 2 provides an overview of the main criteria assessed under each of the main aspects. Figure 2: Summarized view of the evaluation criteria reference framework Usability Following on from the scope outlined in chapter 2, when we talk about Usailit of a BPM tool we focus not only on the basic features the tool offers. We rather focus on the ease with which regular users both on business level and users leaning more towards an advanced or technical level can work with these features. On business level, BPM tools should provide users with a standard auto-mini tool, swim-lanes stencils, drag and drop functionality, and model element grouping. Additionally supporting features come in form of active help while modeling, an intuitive user interface, and Smart Design wizards. Such features pave the way for a business user to easily manage business flows without additional explanation and contributes the comprehensibility and accessibility aspects of usability. The user Interface is one of the most important parts of any modeling tool, as this aspect determines how easily a user can interact with the tool and use its functionalities. In short, the user interface criterion includes the total "user experience", which may include the aesthetic appearance of the device, response time, and the content that is presented to the user within the context of the user interface. Another criterion which is of prie iportae, is the tools apailit to support idustr stadard modeling notations (e.g.: BPMN 2.0, UML). 4

6 Aeneis Aeneis ii is developed by Intellior AG. The look and feel of the GUI can be customized. The product is offered as different packages basic, standard and professional. In addition there is a differentiation between single user or multi user set-ups. (Intellior AG, 2014). USABILITY The tool is a multilingual tool. Content can be displayed in German, English and French. Models can be created by drag and drop and by using context menu. There is a separate module Shape Editor that facilitates user defined shape templates for model objects. The design, layout and information content of the template can be customized for each database. The Aeneis BPM portal is a web based portal which allows publishing and personalized process management. Every user has a secured access to the BPM portal and then can access processes, documents, tasks and responsibilities. Editing model content through the portal is also possible. Aeneis supports BPMN, value chain diagrams, process chain diagrams, freehand diagrams, hierarchy diagrams, function trees etc. The tool can only be accessed through conventional devices like notebooks. It cannot be accessed through mobile devices. The BPM portal which is web based can be accessed through a browser. SMARTNESS The processes can be modeled and then evaluated based on some KPIs. Reports can be generated in a Microsoft Excel file or directly into the BPM portal. Using the additional add-on for activity based costing it is possible to conduct extensive analysis of activity based costing and workload of organizational units based on input parameters provided by the users. It is also possible to execute some predefined queries and export the results in excel files. The Aeneis databases can be exported and imported in the proprietary database format, XML format or raw data format from the same version of the tool. Models can be exported in image and pdf formats. Furthermore a BPMN interface is available. Versioning can be done for models and objects. The versioning is well organized to support complete release management for objects and models. The objects that are created in database can be reused consistently. There are options to delete object only from the model or from the database. In multi user environment Aeneis automatically locks the object that is being edited by a user. The objects can be searched or its usage can be checked in database. With some add-ons the portal supports sharing ideas, comments and suggestions on particular models. READINESS TO USE Aeneis requires client licenses and dedicated installation on the client system. Depending on the single user or multi-user the installation have some changes. It is a time taking process. The tool itself is an efficient tool but is not very intuitive. One needs to go through the documents to be able to work with the tool. The online help and tutorials also have language and content limitation. 8

7 SAP integration BPM tools provide a way to map processes and business concepts to an SAP implementation environment. The objective is to ensure a consistent scope and set of business requirements. This will help estimating the consequences and managing risks of implementing the processes throughout the system lifecycle (system design, implementation, roll out, test management, SAP re-design, SAP software upgrade). Criteria Tool ADONIS Aeneis ARIS ARIS Cloud Basic BPMN Visio-Modeler DHC Vision Innovator Signavio Symbio Smartness SAP Integration / / / Table 2: SAP integration specific criteria The BPM tools can be classified in three categories regarding their capabilities to integrate with SAP. First of all, BPM tools with no support at all such as the BPMN Visio Modeler. Then, BPM tools with functionalities such as the exchange or synchronization of SAP relevant process information to and from the SAP Solution Manager, usage of SAP content and the support of test case creation to various degrees. Here the tools Aeneis, ADONIS, DHC Vision, Innovator, Signavio, and Symbio need to be mentioned. The differences between them are marginal for the SAP integration itself. However, DHC Vision is special in this group as it can score through its well-developed document management that some organizations use as an alternative to the document storage in SAP Solution Manager. Signavo on the other hand plays its strengths regarding ease of use. Finally, BPM tools like ARIS that provide a complete SAP lifecycle support. Different wizards ensure consistent SAP process modeling and the reuse of existing objects within the database including SAP reference content. Beside SAP process information, organizational structure, roles, master data and documents can be exchanged. An own component for creation of process-oriented tests is available with the ARIS test designer. And the support of global template and roll out management is provided. SAP officially recommends ARIS as business process modeling tool for SAP implementation projects with their latest release of the ASAP implementation roadmap. 23

8 Figure 3: BPM tool positioning for SAP integration 24

9 9. APPENDIX Description of the grading criteria for evaluating the tools Usability Ratings Modeling support Drag and Drop, Auto prompts for objects, Smart Design, Spellchecks, Modeling element grouping, Adding comments on models, Active help while modeling and intuitive user interface. Drag and Drop, Auto prompts for objects, Modeling element grouping, and Adding comments on models. Auto prompts for objects, Spellchecks, Modeling element grouping, Adding comments on models. There is a single conventional way of modeling. Ratings User Interface (UI) Intuitive, tool tips with explanations, instant feedback, organized tab toolbar, visual hierarchal view, configurable view, (keyboard) shortcuts Tool tips with explanations, instant feedback, organized tab toolbar, visual hierarchal view, configurable view, (keyboard) shortcuts Tool tips with explanations, instant feedback, organized tab toolbar, visual hierarchal view, (keyboard) shortcuts Tool tips with explanations, instant feedback, organized tab toolbar, (keyboard) shortcuts Ratings Supported standards To be able to create, support and verify EPC, UML, BPMN 2.0, BPQL, BPEL, XML process definitions modeling standards. To be able to create, support and verify EPC, UML, BPMN 2.0 and XML process definitions. Only create but not validate different standards. Does not support multiple standard. 28

10 Tool versions and websites Adonis Aeneis ARIS ARIS CLOUD V BPMN Visio Modeler DHC Vision Innovator Signavio Symbio

11 10. BIBLIOGRAPHY AG, BOC Information Technologies Consulting, ADONIS 6.0. (2014). ADONIS 6.0. Allweyer, T. (2010). BPMN 2.0: Introduction to the Standard for Business Process Modelling. Norderstedt: Books on Demand GmbH. Craggs, S. (2011). Comparing BPM from Pegasystems, IBM and TIBCO. Lustratus Research. DHC Business Solutions GmbH & Co. KG. (2014). DHC vision. Retrieved from DHC vision: Gartner, Inc. (2013). Gartner, Inc. Retrieved from Gartner, Inc.: Intellior AG. (2014). Aeneis. Retrieved from Intellior AG. (2014). Intellior AG. Retrieved from Intellior AG: MID GmbH. (2014). MID: The modeling company. Retrieved from MID: The modeling company: MID GmbH. (2014). MID: The Modeling Company. Retrieved from MID: The Modeling Company: MID GmbH. (2014). MID: The Modeling Company. Retrieved from MID: The Modeling Company: Ploetz + Zeller GmbH. (2014). Symbioworld. Retrieved from Rudden, J. (2007, January). Making the Case for BPM: A Benefits Checklist. Retrieved from bptrends: MakingtheCaseforBPM-BenefitsChecklist-Rudden.pdf Signavio GmbH. (2014). Signavio. Retrieved from Signavio: Signavio GmbH. (2014). Signavio. Retrieved from Signavio: Software AG. (2014). ARIS 9.7. Retrieved from ARIS 9.7 overview: ult.asp Software AG. (2014). ARIS CLOUD. Retrieved from Software AG. (2014). Software AG. Retrieved from Software AG: erview/default.asp Trisotech. (2014). Business Visio Incubator. Retrieved from Business Process Incubator: Ultimus. (2005, January). A Closer look at BPM. Ultimus, Inc. Retrieved from Wolf, C., & Harmon, P. (2014). The State of Business Process Management