I saw a link a couple days ago for a BPMN self-test, and thought I'd try it out. The test, available to anyone, is "part of a research project by Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Technische Universiteit Eindhoven on the understanding of BPMN Process Models." It's harmless I suppose, but - to my way of thinking, anyway - a bit off target, and in typical academic fashion. It is composed of …
Today Robert Shapiro of XPDL 2.x fame, also a member of the BPMN 2.0 Finalization Task Force in OMG, delivered an update on progress toward completing both XPDL 2.2 and BPMN 2.0. Here is the link to the unedited replay. Also, Sandy Kemsley does her usual fine job of summarizing the high points here. I would just add a couple points to the discussion. The first regards an explicit sorting of BPMN …
Next month I will be delivering my BPMessentials "BPMN Method and Style" training in Rotterdam. These are public 2-day classes, and include a 60-day license to itp commerce Process Modeler for Visio and individual post-class certification. The content and unique approach of the class is described on the BPMessentials website. We not only show you what the BPMN 2.0 shapes and symbols mean, but …
Because BPMN 2.0 is a standard and defines an XML serialization, you can create a model in tool A and import it into tool B. Right? Umm, actually no. Well, isn't that what a standard is supposed to do? Yes. And isn't that what OMG has been claiming for years that BPMN 2.0 will do? Yes again. So once BPMN 2.0 is finalized in June, we still won't have tool interoperability? Well, there is a chance, …
Not a lot of BPM news out of IBM at Impact this week. The most surprising thing for me about it is how thoroughly Lombardi - acquired just a few months ago - has enthralled the WebSphere executives. At the opening keynote, WebSphere GM Craig Heyman called Lombardi Teamworks, rebranded IBM WebSphere BPM Lombardi Edition, "the core BPM product." Really? And at today's keynote session, Beth Smith, …
A year ago around this time IBM launched BPM BlueWorks, a collaborative BPM learning environment in the cloud where users could read about BPM, set up their own private workspaces, and use free IBM tools for "process discovery." Since then it has pretty much stayed below the radar, but with the recent introduction of a new BPMN 2.0 modeling widget in both BlueWorks and WebSphere Business Compass …
Scott Francis takes me to task a bit for not completely buying IBM's public mass ingestion of the Lombardi Kool-Aid in Las Vegas a couple weeks back. I have to admit, however, that I did come away from the event with a different notion of how Lombardi will ultimately be incorporated into the WebSphere BPM family. At Impact, IBM ran an analyst mini-conference featuring small roundtables and …
[This post describes an approach to integrating the Decsion model of von Halle and Goldberg with process modeling in BPMN. For Part 1, click here.] Before describing the integration of decision modeling with BPMN, I need to summarize the Decision Model approach described by Barb von Halle and Larry Goldberg in their excellent book. I can?t do it justice in a simple post; if you want to find out …
There has been a good response to the BPMN self-test. The scores have been lower than I expected, but I have gotten nice feedback from the answer sheet and expanations I send out afterward. It's fair to say that while the diagram patterns in question describe common business scenarios, they probably represent the part of BPMN that goes beyond traditional flowcharting. BPMN's appeal is its basic …
This morning Progress Software announced the acquisition of Savvion for $49 Million. On the heels of last month's acquisition of Lombardi by IBM, I think it's safe to say this marks a real turning point in the market for BPMS. To me it is a disquieting one, as it suggests the failure of BPM's "business empowerment" promise to translate into sustainable revenue for the platform vendor. The …