EMC Documentum BPM Breaking New Ground with Collaboration, Content Awareness

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1 Bruce Silver Associates Industry Trend Reports Content and Process Management Advisors March 2005 EMC Documentum BPM Breaking New Ground with Collaboration, Content Awareness What is Business Process Management? Improving operational efficiency, integrating the business across traditional stovepipe boundaries, increasing agility in the face of rapidly changing demands, empowering collaboration without loss of control These are all key goals of IT investment today. Not coincidentally, they are also the central objectives of business process management (BPM) software, a new type of solution platform that automates, integrates, and optimizes crossfunctional business processes. BPM evolved out of workflow technology, which focused on improving efficiency by automating flows of human tasks rather than promoting agility and integration. While workflow began in the 1980s as an embedded feature of document management systems, the technology of BPM long ago split away from document workflow and has evolved since then on a data-centric track. As a result, most content management platforms have not kept pace with BPM improvements such as standards-based application integration, business rule engines, and process performance management the keys to achieving agility, cross-functional integration, and end-to-end visibility and control. On the other hand, because BPM platforms are typically not content-aware, they are not well suited to tackle the many content-centric business processes critical in manufacturing, insurance, financial services, publishing, and government. EMC Documentum Business Process Management software breaks the mold, providing true BPM that is content-aware and ideally suited for content-centric processes. It also extends the BPM paradigm by embracing ad hoc team collaboration, uniting structured and unstructured activities within an end-to-end business process. True BPM : Beyond Document Workflow On the surface, traditional workflow technology and BPM have much in common. For example, both employ process models, designed as graphical flowcharts, which automatically generate the code that, when deployed to a process engine, executes and tracks the process. Over the past couple years, a lot of traditional workflow software has been simply rebranded as BPM, but true BPM adds important new capabilities and architectural innovations: Standards-Based Integration When the process needs to interact with external business systems to look up customer information in the CRM system or create an invoice in the billing system workflow typically relies on custom API code in a workflow task. This code, which is external to the process model, is dependent on the platform, programming language, and version of both the workflow system and the external business system. Such integration is called brittle, since the code may need to be rewritten whenever any of those systems is upgraded. BPM, on the other hand, embraces integration middleware designed to interconnect business systems regardless of differences in platform, language, or version, without custom code. Moreover, interaction with those business systems is included in the process model, where it can be easily changed, again without custom code. Integration in BPM is designed to be flexible. In addition to traditional integration platforms such as IBM WebSphere MQSeries or Tibco, widely deployed but proprietary, newer standards-based middleware has recently emerged. Bruce Silver Associates Download free reports from Bear Valley Road, Aptos CA Tel: Fax: [email protected]

2 Components based on integration standards such as the Java Messaging Service (JMS), J2EE Connector Architecture (JCA), and web services are compatible with a wide choice of server platforms, and support third party integration adapters to connect to virtually any application system. EMC Documentum BPM provides such a standards-based framework for agile integration, called EMC Documentum Business Process Services. Business Rules Workflow vendors have long tried to fudge the distinction between workflow routing rules and true business rules. A workflow routing rule is defined in the process model, typically at a branch point, as part of the flow logic. For example, if the purchase amount is over $5000, route to a manager for approval. True business rules are different. They can be extremely complex, dependent on dozens of other rules, yet can change at any time. Composed by business analysts and managed centrally in the organization, true business rules require a special design tool and business rule engine, which works in conjunction with the process engine. EMC Documentum BPM supports true business rules through integration with ILOG, the leader in business rule engine technology applied to BPM. Process Monitoring and Optimization BPM embraces the concept of continual process improvement. Before implementation, various alternative flows and resource loadings can be analyzed using a simulation model, based on assumed process parameters. The best result is chosen as the process model compiled and deployed to the process engine. During operation, actual data from running processes is captured and analyzed in database tables specially configured for online analytical processing (OLAP). From this data, actual values of key performance indicators, conformance with service level agreements, and other process metrics are aggregated and displayed graphically in management dashboards. Trouble spots can be addressed through special intervention, and process designs can be iteratively improved and deployed. EMC Documentum BPM supports this continuous optimization cycle with simulation software from IDS Scheer and analytics reporting from Cognos, both leading providers of process optimization technology. Content-Aware BPM In addition to the features that set it apart from the workflow capabilities offered by most Enterprise Content Management (ECM) vendors, EMC Documentum BPM stands apart from other BPM providers because it is content-aware. While other BPM offerings can handle file attachments in a business process, or perhaps even communicate to an ECM repository through integration middleware, their process models have no native concept of even the most basic content methods, such as check-in/check-out, indexing, search, or renditions. Nor can they respond automatically to events in the ECM repository, such as when a content item is added to a folder or updated. Content awareness is key in the many content-centric processes critical in financial services, healthcare, and manufacturing, but typically ignored by BPM vendors. Content-Centric Processes Content-centric processes are those in which enterprise content either drives the process or is the output of the process. Loan origination, for example, is a content-centric process. The application for a loan is received as a document, as are credit reports, appraisals, and other supporting information requested from third parties. Additional documents, such as the note itself, are created once the loan is approved. While most BPM tools focus on the data extracted Bruce Silver Associates

3 from these documents and their processing by automated business rules in the underwriting decision, they provide no direct support for the underlying content, including access control, annotation, and archiving for non-repudiation, customer service, audit, and compliance. Even though most BPM software ignores content management functionality, the spectrum of content-centric processes in business is actually quite broad, and their business impact is significant. These processes can be divided into two basic types: content lifecycle processes, focused on creation, revision, approval, and distribution of content, and fixed content processes, in which non-revisable documents such as claims, orders, loan applications, or invoices drive a business transaction. Figure 1. BPM can automate and track any type of content lifecycle process. Source: EMC Content Lifecycle Processes Content lifecycle processes are those involving the creation, aggregation, revision, approval, publishing, distribution, and archival retention of content. The essential purpose of the process is to produce and deploy the content. Examples include web site maintenance, technical and compliance documentation such as new drug approvals or SOPs, and marketing content management. These are the processes emphasized by traditional content management workflow, and EMC Documentum software has built its reputation largely on the automation and management of such processes. EMC Documentum Business Process Manager and Business Process Services now enhance those capabilities with standards-based integration to external business systems and enterprise business processes, and incorporation of collaboration via Documentum eroom. Fixed Content Processes Processes as diverse as order management, accounts payable, underwriting, and customer service are frequently triggered by the receipt of a document, such as an order, inquiry, invoice, claim, application form, or service request. These documents all represent fixed content. Fixed content is not edited or revised, but it contains information that drives the process flow, and it often must be preserved in support of customer service, audit, or regulatory compliance. High volume document imaging is an example of this type of workflow, supporting fixed content arriving as paper or fax. But fixed content is also increasingly arriving as an electronic form, EDI, an XML message, or . While EMC Documentum software is best known for content lifecycle processes, its BPM offering now extends into the world of production workflow, high-volume transaction processes driven by fixed content, such as claims, loan origination, and customer service. The software goes beyond data-centric BPM tools in its ability to combine automated methods on EMC Documentum repository objects with operations on external business systems. It also provides event listeners that allow EMC Documentum BPM to respond immediately to both new or modified content objects and messages from external systems. While other BPM tools allow data in a received XML document to drive a transaction process, they lack EMC s ability to Bruce Silver Associates

4 EMC Documentum BPM manage that XML document as a long-lived corporate record. And while other content management vendors provide embedded fixed content workflow, they typically lack EMC s framework of event-triggered actions critical in fixed content processes. Structured and Unstructured Activities Historically, BPM and team collaboration have lived in separate worlds. BPM assumes structured processes, in which the sequence of steps is predefined in the model, and each step is assigned to a specific person or role. Collaboration software, such EMC Documentum eroom and EMC Documentum Collaboration Services, provides shared online workspaces or rooms that can be initiated quickly on an ad hoc basis in applications such as new product launch, bids and proposals, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, and billing dispute resolution. For example, with eroom, participants can freely interact and share content objects such as documents, threaded discussions, polls, and an issues database. There is a process but it is unstructured, with no predefined steps or rules. But many real-world business processes require both structured and unstructured activities to handle exceptions, collaborative development, negotiation, etc. EMC Documentum BPM now brings these separate worlds together. A room can participate as a collaborative activity or subprocess within a larger BPM process, and conversely a structured workflow can be launched from a room. EMC Documentum BPM provides preconfigured activity templates to create a room (or update an existing one), invite participants, add content or update the issues database, and receive an event when a task in the room is complete.? Send Alert Add Members Create Room Add Tools Check-in Document Set Next Review Add Documents EMC Documentum Repository Figure 2. EMC Documentum business processes include unstructured activities performed in a collaborative online workspace or room, to review and approve documents, resolve issues, and perform other collaborative tasks. Source: EMC A Closer Look at EMC Documentum BPM EMC Documentum Business Process Management offerings go beyond document workflow, extending it to true BPM. At the same time, it goes beyond other BPM offerings by adding Bruce Silver Associates

5 content awareness and support for team collaboration. Let s look more closely at the features of EMC Documentum BPM that set it apart. Process Without Programming The key to agility in BPM is to eliminate the need for custom programming, defining the entire executable process through simple dialog boxes and graphical drag-and-drop assembly. Ideally this applies to the process flow, task user interfaces, and even complex business rules. Where custom development is required, the resulting components should be available for reuse in other processes without additional custom code. EMC Documentum Business Process Manager achieves this, through the inclusion of activity templates, a process-aware forms designer, and a user-friendly business rules designer. Activity Templates In Business Process Manager, prebuilt workstep components expose the full range of EMC Documentum content management services to the process, and allow the process to integrate with external systems through industry-standard connectors. A new visual design tool enables automation of complex business processes without programming, featuring flexible component assembly and reuse. Process designers compose flows from a palette of activity templates representing distinct workstep types. EMC provides prebuilt activity templates for common content processing tasks, such as document review and approval, as well as fully automated content methods such as check-out, check-in, modify metadata, transform, or file as record. BPM also provides prebuilt activity templates for application integration that invoke services of external business systems or wait for external events. In addition to the prebuilt activity templates, users can design custom activity templates, and save them in palettes for reuse by others. Figure 3. Business Process Manager allows composition of flows from reusable activity templates. Source: EMC Bruce Silver Associates

6 Figure 3 illustrates the design component of Business Process Manager. Activity templates can be selected from a tabbed palette in the left pane and assembled into flows in the right pane. Each activity in the flow is then configured using a simple visual dialog or wizard (Figure 4). These allow non-programmers to define all details of an activity: its assigned performer, the notification message to the performer, the web form displayed or automated content method executed, trigger conditions or events enabling the activity, conditional routing following completion, etc. In addition to activity templates, EMC provides the designer with a palette of workflow templates supporting reuse and complex process assembly. End-to-end processes can be composed by chaining workflow templates together, or by combining them in a nested hierarchy. Figure 4. Conditional routing rules are configured using simple point-click wizards. Source: EMC Forms Builder In many BPM tools, creating customized web user interfaces to support interactive tasks involving data and documents requires complex programming, and can be a major cost of BPM solution development. EMC provides Forms Builder, a new visual form designer based on the W3C XForms standard. EMC Documentum Forms Builder allows rich web user interfaces called formlets to be designed without programming and integrated with the process engine. The design tool links form layout elements with process data, and at runtime generates the HTML pages automatically. Figure 5 illustrates EMC Documentum Forms Builder. The left pane lists elements of both the form user interface and their corresponding data objects in the EMC Documentum repository. The forms include tables, text input boxes, checkboxes, dropdown lists, and action buttons all configurable without programming and linked automatically to the workflow. Using forms created with Forms Builder, a process participant can enter or display data, view or edit content, or integrate with external applications all as part of a business process. Bruce Silver Associates

7 Figure 5. XForms-based Forms Builder (left) builds formlets providing rich task user interfaces (right) without coding. Source: EMC Business Rules Business rules go far beyond the workflow routing rules found in most BPM tools. 1. Unlike routing rules, which are defined as properties of particular steps in a process diagram, business rule definitions are typically centralized in a common repository, and may be applied globally in the process or across all processes not just at one point in the flow. The ability to aggregate and manage rules across the organization is a key benefit over workflow routing rules. Also, business rules are intended to be defined and managed by the line of business, unlike workflow routing rules part of the process model typically the province of IT. 2. Business rules may be complex and involve information not known to the process engine. For example, orders over $5000 from Gold customers receive special handling. The process engine knows the order is over $5000, but is it from a Gold customer? That is determined by other business rules. A business rule engine (BRE) separate from the process engine resolves such rules by chaining the other rules it needs. 3. Business rules can change independently of the process model, and the changes take effect immediately. To change purchase amount threshold in the workflow routing rule above to $10,000 typically requires a new version of the process model, recompilation and redeployment, upon which it acts on newly started workflows but not those already in flight no code, but significant operational hassle. On the other hand, changing the order threshold in the business rule above to $10,000 requires no change to the process model at all, and it takes place immediately. Bruce Silver Associates

8 EMC Documentum BPM supports ILOG s industry-leading business rule engine and associated JRules design tool. In addition to process data, all EMC Documentum objects are available for use in business rules, which themselves are deployed to the EMC Documentum repository for version control and lifecycle support. Using out-of-the-box activity templates, business rules can be executed as automated steps in a business process. When configuring this type of step, the Activity Inspector lets the user select one of the rules defined in the JRules designer. In the example illustrated in Figure 6, a rule is used to perform complex validation of a purchase request. If the rule is violated, the purchase request is rerouted back to the previous step for rework. Figure 6. Complex business rules can be invoked as automated steps in a business process. Source: EMC Integrating External Business Systems Perhaps the biggest advantage of BPM technology over traditional workflow is the ability to leverage integration middleware to connect the process with external business systems in an agile, cost-effective way. While most content management suppliers are stuck in the older integration-averse workflow paradigm, EMC Documentum Business Process Services (BPS) provides EMC Documentum BPM with an advanced, standards-based integration layer. BPS is based on the J2EE architecture and runs on major application servers, allowing it to scale to high volume and leverage native app server integration features such as the Java Messaging Service (JMS) and SOAP/web services. BPS also lets Documentum customers leverage existing investments in Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) infrastructure such as Tibco or MQ. With BPS, EMC Documentum processes can exchange data with ERP and financial systems, CRM systems, PLM and even legacy mainframe systems, using industry standard protocols and greatly reduced custom code. Moreover, BPS allows EMC Documentum BPM to automate a Bruce Silver Associates

9 content-centric subprocess within an enterprise BPM solution managed by a third party EAIoriented BPM engine such as Tibco or BEA WebLogic Integration. BPS dramatically lowers the cost of integration, increases the maintainability, and extends the reach of EMC Documentum BPM into end-to-end enterprise BPM. Siebel SAP Oracle Enterprise Applications Inbound Firewall Listeners HTTP JMS SMTP Message Handlers Content Methods Content Events Activity Templates Start Workflow Wait for Event EMC Documentum Repository JCA JCA Method Tibco IBM BEA Outbound Message Services SOAP Web Service Request Send to JMS Queue EAI JMS Publish to JMS Topic Web Services External Systems EMC Documentum BPS HTTP SMTP Post to HTTP Send EMC Documentum BPM Figure 7. EMC Documentum Business Process Services provides a standards-based integration layer for BPM. Source: Bruce Silver Associates Outbound and Inbound Integration EMC Documentum BPS goes beyond the offerings of most content-centric BPM providers by supporting both inbound and outbound integration in the process engine (Figure 7). On the outbound side when the process sends information to or requests services from an external resource prebuilt activity templates in BPM invoke specific BPS message services, which convert process information to the appropriate message format and send it via the selected communication channel, either JMS, HTTP, SOAP (for web services), or SMTP ( ). In the case of synchronous integration requests, such as J2EE Connection Architecture (JCA) or web services, the message service also returns the response to the process. The process designer in BPM does not need to think about the details of the communications, and can focus strictly on the business logic. On the inbound side when the process receives messages or events from external systems BPS provides listeners for inbound integration messages received over HTTP, JMS, and SMTP communications channels. These listeners, which can be outside the firewall for security, pass received messages to the appropriate BPS message handler. Message handlers translate the message into either a content method on a repository object, or a BPM event that can start a Bruce Silver Associates

10 workflow or complete a waiting workflow activity, just like a content event generated within the repository. Such a unified framework for external events and content events goes beyond the capabilities of other content-centric BPM providers. Figure 8. Activity templates allow integration operations to be configured in a workflow with little or no code. Source: Documentum Example: Web Services Figure 8 illustrates how BPS enables code-free integration in EMC Documentum BPM. Here a currency conversion web service is invoked as part of a purchase request workflow. The output of the web service becomes process data used in subsequent steps in the flow. In order for a web service to be accessible to a workflow, its WSDL the XML definition of the service must be stored in the repository. The WSDL specifies the schemas (data structure) of XML documents used for the web service request and response. Each web service activity template specifies the parameters for a particular integration operation, including the WSDL filename, the specific service operation, and port for the request. To use the currency conversion service in a workflow (Figure 8), the designer starts by dragging its activity template from the palette on the left into the flow diagram on the right. Configuring the activity simply requires specifying the request package and how to save the response. The request document is typically the workflow data specified as the input package for the activity in the flow. Here the response from the web service activity an XML document is attached to the package routed to the next task, which uses the data to verify the purchase request total. In this way, EMC Documentum BPM allows rapid design of business processes that invoke integration operations without having to write code. Advanced Work Management The workflow embedded in most content management software provides a primitive level of work distribution and management. While process designs may specify performers of workflow activities in terms of roles such as author or approver, at runtime those roles are usually assigned to specific named users selected by either the person who initiated the process or the user in a previous activity. While this meets the requirements of most content lifecycle Bruce Silver Associates

11 processes, many high-volume processes require more advanced work distribution and management. Queue Management For example, high-volume production workflow applications such as claims processing require the ability to direct work to shared queues manned by flexibly assigned work teams (Figure 9). Incoming Content Scanned Images Create roles Monitor queues View task progress Reassign tasks Create reports EMC Documentum Process Engine Supervisor Next task manually pulled down or or automatically pushed Task Processing Queues Assigned members of of the queue Faxes e-forms Enterprise Reports Why Use Queues? Balance workloads Manage high volume of tasks Respond rapidly to high-value requests Maintain service level agreements Ensure compliance Figure 9. Administrators can assign users or groups to shared queues, a feature critical in many high-volume BPM applications. Source: EMC EMC Documentum BPM provides this, and augments it with advanced queue management services, including: User-configurable work management policies, including intelligent work distribution, task rework, suspend and auto-resume tasks Policy-based task priority escalation and aging Automated monitoring of queue levels, supporting thresholds and alerts Work queue reports Alias Sets EMC also provides a powerful form of work distribution based on alias sets. An alias set is a list of roles (aliases) mapped to a list of named users or groups, and linked to a particular process, activity, or user. When an activity performer is specified as an alias, the process designer provides rules that allow the process engine to dynamically select at runtime the particular alias set to apply one associated with the workflow initiator, the performer of the previous activity, the process default, etc. An assigned performer may delegate the activity to another user, or extend the activity to a second round of performers. All EMC Documentum activities can be configured with timers that automatically send notifications if either the activity has not started within a specified Bruce Silver Associates

12 deadline relative to the start of the process, or the activity has not completed within a deadline relative to the start of the activity. Advanced Deadline Processing EMC Documentum BPM has recently been enhanced to provide enhanced deadline and escalation functionality on process tasks. Beyond the simple deadline-triggered alerts of most workflow systems, EMC Documentum BPM supports repeated and escalating timers and deadlines, with flexible user-configurable triggered actions, including auto-completion of the task, launch of an exception flow, automatic delegation to another user, invocation of an EMC Documentum service or other automated activity. Figure 10. Users can perform tasks either from the EMC Documentum Webtop (left), Microsoft Outlook (right), or from a portlet in their enterprise information portal. Source: EMC Task Completion from or Portal Today, most office users live in one of two application environments or an enterprise information portal and would prefer to do all routine tasks from within that environment. EMC Documentum BPM provides this in a unique way. While many BPM products send notifications to users about new task assignments, completing the task requires entering a separate web application. EMC Documentum BPM, in contrast, allows users to perform and complete tasks without leaving their (Figure 10) or their favorite portal environment. For Microsoft Outlook users, the notification message contains the task instructions, data and attachments, and action links to complete the task, delegate it to another user, or reject it back to the previous workstep. For portal compatibility, EMC Documentum BPM supports the JSR168 portal interface standard, allowing the BPM inbox, interactive forms, and content management functions to run in a portlet compatible with leading portal servers including IBM, BEA, SAP, Plumtree, Sun and, through use of.net developer tools for EMC Documentum, Microsoft. Simulation and Performance Management EMC Documentum BPM enables a cycle of continuous process improvement with the inclusion of new tools for analysis and simulation before deployment and advanced analytics supporting performance monitoring of deployed business processes. Bruce Silver Associates

13 For simulation, Documentum can export process models to IDS Scheer ARIS Toolset. From the simulation results, process designs can be analyzed and configured for optimum throughput, cycle time, least cost, or other metrics before actual deployment. All activity in running processes can generate data that is used to track, monitor, and optimize key metrics. This data is essentially a consolidation of the execution audit trail, updated on a customer-determined basis, optimized for reporting with target Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). EMC Documentum BPM provides a range of performance management reporting capabilities, from prebuilt browser- and Microsoft Excel-based reports to customizable OLAP visualization. Out-of-the-box process and user performance reports allow drilldown analysis in Excel. Richer analytics and graphical reporting is provided through integration to Cognos ReportNet. These reports allow user-defined KPIs to be aggregated by process, activity, and user, and displayed graphically with detailed drilldown (Figure 11). The Cognos reports provide a business view of OLAP data, featuring business-friendly names, reorganized fields and crosstable joins, enabling easier and faster development of ad hoc reports. Figure 11. EMC Documentum BPM provides rich performance management analytics, including dashboards with drilldown, in conjunction with Cognos ReportNet. Source: EMC Content-Aware BPM Increasingly, business processes interact with a combination of structured data and content, which are typically managed in separate repositories. Most BPM software integrates content management as just another external business system. Even simple content operations like search and retrieval requires extensive custom programming that can be difficult to maintain. In contrast, EMC Documentum BPM is content-aware. It provides native support for the full range of EMC Documentum Enterprise Content Management services, including document management, collaboration, records management, content transformation, and content distribution. Content awareness means that common operations on content objects are provided as prebuilt activity templates that can be selected from a palette in the EMC Documentum BPM Designer. It also means that events generated by changes to a content object in the EMC Documentum repository can be automatically monitored by a business process. Bruce Silver Associates

14 Built-in Content Methods In the EMC Documentum architecture, each piece of content in the repository is an object, with defined attributes (metadata) used to identify and classify it, and methods, or operations on it that can be executed by EMC Documentum content management clients, content applications, or BPM activities. Content methods expose the full range of EMC Documentum content services check-in, check-out, link to folder/cabinet, copy to folder/cabinet, delete, etc. to a process activity, which can execute any selected method on a content object. Modeling this requires no code. The process designer simply selects the desired method from a dropdown list when configuring the activity (Figure 12). Figure 12. An automated activity can execute any selected content method on a repository object. Source: EMC Content Events Content events are the flip side of content methods. Whenever the state of a repository object changes when it is created, checked out, checked in, etc. an event is automatically issued to signal that the state has changed. EMC Documentum BPM provides a built-in event broker that allows actions to be triggered automatically upon detection of a particular event. For example, a workflow can be started automatically when an or fax is added to the repository, or when a document is checked in as a new version. No programming is required to link the action to the event. In addition to starting a workflow, a process can pause at a workstep and wait for a particular event to occur for example, receipt of a turnaround document before continuing. While a few other BPM products can start a workflow upon detection of a content event, only EMC Documentum supports this wait-for-event functionality with content events. Bruce Silver Associates

15 Managing XML Data as Enterprise Content XML is an important new information format, based on tagged text, that blurs traditional distinctions between content and data. XML has the attributes of both, and can be used as both. EMC Documentum BPM supports this dual nature of XML, managing it as both a content object in the repository and as data in a business process. An XML document can be stored and managed as a repository object, with metadata, versions, renditions, content methods and content events. Treated as content, XML messages in EMC Documentum BPM can be processed through workflows, audited, filed as records, or reassembled into content that can be delivered to web sites, portals, or other content applications. The EMC Documentum Process Engine can even chunk a complex XML message into different parts and route each part through separate parallel workflows, while preserving the integrity of the message as a whole. At the same time, EMC Documentum BPM provides out-of-the-box activity templates to parse and validate XML data, transform it using XSLT and XPath, convert it into web service requests integrating an external business system or process, or chunk it into multiple objects routed in different workflows. For example, in one customer implementation an XML bill of materials is converted into multiple content objects that drive independent pricing and ordering workflows. Automated XML processing activity templates can be assembled in complex flows involving interactive activities, content methods and events, and integration actions, all executed on the BPM engine. Extending BPM with Collaboration A unique capability of EMC Documentum BPM is its ability to embrace unstructured team collaboration within a managed business process. EMC offers web-based team environments that can be set up on the fly, with zero administrator involvement, either as collaborative workspaces or collaboration capability integrated within the EMC Documentum Webtop repository interface. EMC refers to these workspaces and capabilities as rooms. Only invited members have access to shared objects in a room, which include documents, discussion threads, polls, votes, and data tables. Using these shared objects, participants can collaborate on projects such as a product launch, budget preparation, bids and proposals, billing dispute or material shortage resolution, or contract negotiation. In an external room, set up outside the firewall, participants can include customers, suppliers, external legal or advertising teams, as well as company employees. Most BPM products try to force-fit inherently unstructured team activities into a structured sequential process. A good example might be publication of an official document, such as a specification, policy or procedure, contract, or financial disclosure. The usual BPM approach is to describe the content lifecycle process as a formal sequence of draft, review, revision, approval and publication steps. However, in many cases, some of those steps are more effectively modeled as unstructured team room activities, in which members can freely interact to discuss, collaboratively revise, or even vote on the final resolution. EMC lets you do this as part of a structured business process. Figure 13 provides an example. Here a normal structured workflow results in a complete internal draft of a document by the product team. Two levels of signoff are required, and these are implemented in separate rooms. In the first one, Marketing, Legal, and the Division Manager join the product team in an internal room. EMC Documentum BPM creates the room, invites the participants, adds the document to it, and sets up the sign-off task. If there is an issue, resolving it might require more than simply editing the document. The room provides a collaborative workspace in which all the issues can be worked through to resolution. When sign-off is complete, the room notifies EMC Documentum BPM, which then routes the task for Bruce Silver Associates

16 final review in an external room, which might include the ad agency, external counsel, investor relations firm, and the CEO traveling overseas. Figure 13. EMC Documentum BPM can include unstructured activities performed in a collaborative room environment. Source: EMC This type of activity within a business process is impossible with conventional BPM. Figure 14. EMC Documentum room environments support cabinets and contextual folders containing documents, discussions, notes, and other collaborative content objects. Source: EMC. The Collaborative Environment If you are unfamiliar with collaborative workspaces like EMC Documentum eroom or Webtop Collaborative Edition, Figure 14 illustrates the basic features. EMC Documentum rooms are flexible web-based workspaces designed to let ad hoc work teams collaborate toward common goals, deliverables, and decisions, both inside the enterprise and out. Based on customizable Bruce Silver Associates

17 templates, rooms can be set up on the fly, without administrative intervention, to plan and build new products, engage customers and partners, or resolve exceptions in a business process. Within a room, contextual folders (Figure 15) organize the content objects needed for a particular purpose, along with a description of the folder s purpose and context. In addition to ordinary documents, content objects specifically oriented to collaboration are present: tasks, polls, discussion threads, notes, Gantt-style project plans, and an issues database. All of these objects can leverage Enterprise Content Management features of the EMC Documentum repository, including archival retention, and participation in a structured business process. Figure 15. Contextual folders organize content with a common purpose and context. Source: EMC Room participants receive tasks assigned by BPM through a Workflow Activity Inbox or via e- mail. Inside the room, BPM creates objects corresponding to the data and documents routed to the BPM activity. These objects are actually links back to the repository, and leverage its security, versioning, renditions, and other management features. By the same token, a room can also send its own collaboration objects, such as polls and discussion threads, through an EMC Documentum workflow, after which they can be returned to the room by a BPM template-based activity. Collaboration-Aware BPM EMC Documentum BPM works in concert with these room environments to bring unstructured collaborative activity within the scope of true business process management. A typical use case is handling exceptions in a business process. Often, these are better resolved in an unstructured collaborative activity than through a predefined sequence of structured activities, decisions, and approvals. Using the standard tools of EMC Documentum BPM, process designers can configure a room, add and invite participants, prepopulate it with content, and trigger its automatic creation at a particular point in the process model. Alternatively, the process can access an existing room, for example, simply adding a new issue to the issues database in an ongoing collaboration. Bruce Silver Associates

18 Figure 16 shows a slight variation of an earlier process scenario. Specifications prepared by engineering design teams require internal signoff by the engineering director, followed by review and approval by an external review board consisting of Marketing, Manufacturing, and Customer Support VPs. If there is a problem preventing signoff by the engineering director, the issue is posted to an ongoing Engineering room dedicated to resolving specification issues, and room members are notified. The BPM activity in Figure 16 called Issues Resolution is performed in the room environment. Once the issue is resolved, EMC Documentum BPM resubmits the specification for signoff by the engineering director. After engineering signoff, the process checks out the specification from the EMC Documentum repository on behalf of the external review board room. Check-out means it is locked from further edits except those performed from the room. Members of the external review board are notified and review, discuss, edit, and ultimately approve the document from within the room environment. After approval, EMC Documentum BPM automatically checks it back in to the repository, and the process continues. 1 Complete Requirements Document 2 Engineering Sign-off OK 6 Next 3 Prepare Room Check-out to Room Check-in from Room 4 Rejected Issues Resolution 5 External Review, Edit, Approval Engineering Room External Approval Room Figure 16. Unstructured activities are used in EMC Documentum BPM to handle exceptions, resolve issues, and review/approve content using team collaboration. Source: EMC The diagram for this process as defined in the EMC Documentum BPM designer is shown in Figure 17. For example, the Prepare Room step in Figure 16 is implemented by the activity in Figure 17 labeled Create Issue. This adds an issue to the Issues Database of the existing engineering room and links the process to that room. The Resolve Issue activity uses that link to connect users receiving that BPM task to the room. Where integrating Documentum BPM with collaborative services previously required custom development by Java programmers, EMC now provides a palette of prebuilt activity templates that make it easy, even for business users. For example, Invite to Collaboration, Create Issue, Create Discussion, Create Poll, and Link Document are activity templates for eroom integration. Bruce Silver Associates

19 Figure 17. Implementation of collaborative room integration in Documentum BPM designer. Source: EMC Key Strengths of EMC Documentum BPM Enhanced with simulation and performance management, a comprehensive integration layer, and integrated rule engine technology, EMC Documentum Business Process Manager goes well beyond the offerings of typical workflow providers to provide true BPM. For a broad set of applications, EMC Documentum BPM offers key strengths that separate it from the competition. Content-awareness. Content-centric processes both content lifecycle and fixed content-driven benefit greatly by having basic Enterprise Content Management functionality built into the BPM tools. Prebuilt activity templates support common content methods, so they can be performed in a business process with no programming. Similarly, content events generated when content is added or updated in a folder can automatically trigger process actions, without programming. In contrast, BPM tools that integrate ECM as just another external business system, require programming to do even the most basic actions on managed content. Support for unstructured activities. In real-world processes, many activities are best implemented in a shared collaborative environment, but BPM typically tries to force-fit them into a structured flow. EMC Documentum BPM doesn t, but instead allows selected activities to be implemented in a shared web workspace using EMC Documentum collaboration products such as eroom. Where once this required Java programming, today EMC offers a palette of prebuilt activity templates that can set up a Bruce Silver Associates

20 collaborative workspace, prepopulate it with documents, notify participants, and integrate the result with a structured business process all with drag-and-drop design. Built-in XML processing. EMC supports a rich array of out-of-the-box XML processing functions, which are becoming increasingly important as business documents shift to electronic messages. EMC manages XML both as enterprise content with metadata, versions, lifecycles, methods and events and as process data that can populate web forms, drive workflow routing, and invoke EAI operations. Core XML processing functions such as parsing, validation, data extraction, and transformation are provided as prebuilt activity templates that can be composed in flows without programming. These strengths make EMC Documentum BPM the obvious choice for all types of contentcentric processes, as well as any processes where unstructured activities are needed. Unlike the basic document workflow offered by most content management vendors, EMC now provides true BPM, with no apologies. Bruce Silver Bruce Silver Associates