A Step Back

I want to step back. Why do I care about BPM automation? A couple thoughts resonate as true;

• Business process is abstract; Unless made real
• Business process is not real on a Visio chart
• Business process changes; Constantly
• Business process is not effective; Unless visible
• Business process in packaged applications takes lots of time and lots of money to create; Forget changing
• Business process as a “service” changes things; Web service adoption changes things… the standardization of BPMN and BPEL changes things…

I am tired of building Visio diagrams that are not real, that become the digital equivalent of the dusty binder sitting on the shelf that no one reads and certainly isn’t how things “really” work. I am tired of simple process changes that can make a big difference to the business taking 6 months to implement. I am tired of having important business functions being under the radar. I want to partner with and drive the architecture of our business with IT. I want to build real, configurable, and executable business processes that use packaged applications as needed, but aren’t constrained by them. I also don’t have a fortune to spend.

That is how I made my way to the hope found in BPM and Intalio specifically. Now comes the challenge of separating what’s possible with hard work and determination, from the hyped impossibility.