Business Process Implementation: Building Workflow Systems (Acm Press) [Hardcover]

Michael Jackson (Author), Graham Twaddle (Author)

Book Description

Series: Acm Press | Publication Date: July 16, 1997

The speed with which today's businesses have to adapt to ever-changing circumstances and the complexity required to remain ahead in a competitive environment have forced the development of automated business process systems. Business Process Implementation describes a new method for designing and implementing office workflow systems. This method was developed by Graham Twaddle and his colleagues, and has been analysed and described by Michael Jackson, one of the pre-eminent contributors to current software development practices. It has been tried and tested by Sherwood International UK who have incorporated it into their award-winning Logicware software support system. The method consists of a carefully crafted combination of data and process modelling that permits highly parallel, and therefore highly efficient and flexible workflow. Moreover, it embodies a novel approach to database design and implementation that gives many of the benefits usually ascribed to object orientation but requires only a conventional relational database environment. Key Features of the book include: * A clear and insightful description of the method, its range of applicability and its use. * Innovative diagram and textual notations for data and process modelling. * A thorough description of the Logicware software support system which provides insight into implementation issues and shows how to mechanize and simplify development. * Questions at the end of each chapter, providing readers with an opportunity to check their understanding of the concepts involved. This book will be invaluable for anyone who has to develop and use business systems for information and administration and especially to those working in an environment where office workflow is an important concern. It will provide the reader with a way of clearly documenting the processes and process-related knowledge that are the end result of a Business Process Reengineering study. It also provides an approach to implementing the reengineered processes that has been tried and tested successfully in large systems for critical business applications.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The speed with which today's businesses have to adapt to ever-changing circumstances and the complexity required to remain ahead in a competitive environment have forced the development of automated business process systems. Business Process Implementation describes a new method for designing and implementingoffice workflow systems.This method was developed by Graham Twaddle and his colleagues, and has been analysed and described by Michael Jackson, one of the pre-eminent contributors to current software development practices. It has been tried and tested by Sherwood International UK who have incorporated it into their award-winning Logicware software support system. The method consists of a carefully crafted combination of data and process modelling that permits highly parallel, and therefore highly efficient and flexible workflow. Moreover, it embodies a novel approach to database design and implementation that gives many of the benefits usually ascribed to object orientation but requires only a conventional relational database environment.Key Features of the book include:· A clear and insightful description of the method, its range of applicability and its use.· Innovative diagram and textual notations for data and process modelling.· A thorough description of the Logicware software support system which provides insight into implementation issues and shows how to mechanize and simplify development.· Questions at the end of each chapter, providing readers with an opportunity to check their understanding of the concepts involved. This book will be invaluable for anyone who has to develop and use business systems for information and administration and especially to those working in an environment where office workflow is an important concern. It will provide the reader with a way of clearly documenting the processes and process-related knowledge that are the end result of a Business Process Reengineering study. It also provides an approach to implementing the reengineered processes that has been tried and tested successfully in large systems for critical business applications.Michael Jackson has worked in software for thirty five years during which time he has been involved in all aspects of program and system development. In 1971 he started his own company offering courses, project support and tools for software developers. He now works as an independent consultant in London and works part-time in software development research at AT&T Research in New Jersey. He played the leading role in developing the JSP and JSD methods of program and system development, and described them in his previous books Principles of Program Design and System Development. His most recent book Software Requirements and Specifications was published by Addison Wesley in June 1995.Graham Twaddle is technical Director of Sherwood International a company specialising in the design and production of computer systems for the insurance industry. Prior to this Graham was the founding director of Beta Computers a company specialising in tools for assisting rapid application development in many industry areas.Shelf category: Software Engineering Design / Business Systems

About the Author

Michael Jackson has worked in software for over thirty years, during which time he has been involved in all aspects of program and system development. In 1971 he started his own company offering courses, project support and tools for software developers. He now works as an independent consultant in London, and works part time in software development at AT&T Research in New Jersey. He played the leading role in developing the JSP and JSD methods of program and system develpment.

Graham Twaddle is Technical Director of Sherwood International, a company specializing in the design and production of computer systems for the insurance industry. Prior to this Graham was the founding director of Beta Computers, a company specializing in tools for assisting rapid application development in industry areas.

0201177684AB04062001

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (July 16, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201177684
• ISBN-13: 978-0201177688
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,136,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Specifications perhaps, but not enough to build with, September 5, 2000

By 

Yves Chaix (Managua, Nicaragua) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Business Process Implementation: Building Workflow Systems (Acm Press) (Hardcover)

My assignment was to evaluate a certain number of production type workflow engines for my client and, if the bill was too high, estimate what it would take to develop a custom engine. Since I knew - and still do - very little about workflow engines, obviously I had to turn to the existing bibliography. As a reference though, I think that 90% of what I learnt, I actually picked from studying the excellent documents produced by the Workflow Manufacturers Coalition (www.wfmc.com).

Anyway, my initial impression, when I went through my first diagonal reading of this book was "what a total waste of time". However, going over it more thoroughly, I did find a few chapters that brought interesting insights.

To sum it up, I find the title misleading "Business Process Implementation: Building Workflow Systems" transmits the idea that after reading the book, you will be able to BUILD a workflow (engine). Well, forget it. The content can only qualify as a basic description of requirements, at the initial step of the life cycle: analysis. What I feel was a wrong initial decision by the authors, is that a book offering to help you build workflow systems should assume that its readers will not be knowledgeable in data structure as a minimum. But the book dedicates fully 2/3 to 3/4 of its content teaching entities, relationships and a few basic concepts about object orientation, as if the reader started out without any knowledge about Information Technology.

All in all, chapters 4, 6, part of 7, and part of 8 actually deal specifically with worflow concepts. About 65 pages out of 227 are relevant to the field (Unless you accept the authors'premise that you also need to be taught how to design your ERD).

As for the relevant part, I liked the scope of the definitions given by the authors for what should be expected of a workflow engine. The relationships between the lifecycle, stages and tasks states are clear enough so you can start sweating over writing your own algorithms. There is a much too short mention about rules, enough to let you detect a black hole there, but not enough to know what to do about it. The treatment of backtracking is useful as well as that of relevant stages for a task (have not found it mentionned in any wkf engine) and so are the general ideas of when to start and end a task to minimize the cost of backtracking.

On the down side, don't look for block diagrams, structured map, component diagrams, UML definitions, state transition diagrams, sample source code, etc. that you would need to actually build a workflow system.

But then, the question becomes more general: "Can you expect to find in a $45 book enough information and specifications to start building what it took others $100,000 or a $1,000,000?". After all, the book is based on the acquired knowledge of developping a real commercial engine, so maybe I was a little ingenuous in thinking I would find it all ready to take home. I really don't know the answer to that one. Still, as an example among many, I have a book (Simulation Modeling and Analysis, by Law and Kelton) that give you the source code for a basic simulation engine in Fortran, Pascal and C. You really know what simulation is about after reading it. Maybe MM.Jackson and Twaddle could have been slightly more detailed with their experience!

So, if you are a manager and want to understand what the salesmen from FileNet or Oak Grove, are talking about or you are suddenly developping an interest in the subject but never heard of System Architecture I, then this book is for you. To be fair, I am still looking for the right book for what I need!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Business Process Implementation : Building Workflow Systems, September 18, 2000

By 

Layna Fischer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Business Process Implementation: Building Workflow Systems (Acm Press) (Hardcover)

To clarify something that Reviewer Yves Chaix said... "As a reference though, I think that 90% of what I learnt, I actually picked from studying the excellent documents produced by the Workflow Manufacturers Coalition (www.wfmc.com)."

Readers should know that the organization in question is the Workflow Management Coalition, and the website is www.wfmc.org. The WfMC is releasing the Workflow Handbook 2001 in October 2000, by the way. This is the new definitive reference to workflow management, with particular attention to e-business and B2B integration. It includes the full Wf-XML specification and glossary.

4.0 out of 5 stars Read this before re-engineering your business processes, May 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Business Process Implementation: Building Workflow Systems (Acm Press) (Hardcover)

This book discusses a method by which workflow based systems can be developed. It focuses on delivering a clear roadmap for the business person who wants to be able to carry out process re-engineering in his/her organisation.

The discussion is at an architectural level and is kept independent of any particular implementation platform or specific software solution.

I liked the detailed coverage of the way in which high volume, parallel workflow can be modelled (including a diagrammatic notation). It is good to see that these concepts are proven to produce actual working systems (via the toolset which Twaddle has developed in his role as Technical Director at Beta Computers and Sherwood International).

This approach is particularly relevant when looking to move to web-based solutions (especially because of the careful attention given to the design of the workflow). At the end of each chapter there is a set of questions which helps the reader to check his/her understanding of the material. Some of these questions are quite challenging and thought provoking.

Business Process Implementation isn't a quick (or simple) read, but is a detailed and thorough coverage by two experts in the field. A 'must have' text for practitioners in this area of business.