BPI - Terminology Flashcards
Business function
an activity that a company performs (order management, marketing, finances, product design)
Terms used by business people
KPI, Budget, ROI, CSAT, Usability
Terms used by IT people
Functionality, Use cases, release, bugs, scalability
Business process
Set of collaborative activities that respond to a business requirement and that delivers value to the customer.
Drivers for integration
Employees, legacy applications, Supply chain, internet, partners
Business process integration
The techniques and mechanisms for managing the movement of data and execution of processes to support management and execution of common business functions
Three historical integration waves
- Legacy Integration
- Enterprise Application Integration (A2A)
- Business process integration (B2B)
Business Process Redesign
The retooling of organizational processes. Begins with the design of a business process model
Business Process Integration
Goes beyond retooling of organizational processes:
- Integration in- & external processes
- Process models specify cross-org. process requirements
Business Process Modelling
A methodology for modelling business data and -processes Includes:
- Business Activities
- Collaborative activities
- Collaborative processes
Collaborative (business) process
Two business processes in separate organizations that rely on each other to execute the orgs. respective business function
Collaborative activity
Actions performed by the participating orgs. in response to messages they receive from other orgs.
e-Commerce
The buying and selling of information, products and services via the internet (electronic transactions). Four types: B2C, B2B, B2A, C2A.
e-Business
The conduct of automated business processes through electronic communication. It is about the integration of external processes (partners, suppliers, customers) with internal processes
Characteristics of e-Business (it enables)
- Collaborative product development
- Collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment
- Procurement and order mgngmnt
- Operations and logistics
e-Business - buy side
Organizations use e-Business facilities for buying needs, spot-purchasing, enterprise-wide procurement
e-Business - sell side
- Managing multiple selling channels
- Ability to take multiple types of orders from customers
- Ability to differentiate and customise products and services (from others)
- Ability to adapt and grow without dramatic technology changes, org restructuring and business process re-engineering
e-Business requirements
- Identify/measure business objectives
- Organisational flexibility
- Rethink supply chain
- Transform org. to be process centric
- Understand security
- Align Business/IT
- Establish standards (in process and integration)
e-Business advantages
- Efficiency, effectiveness
- Cost reduction of goods and services
- Competitive position
- Market penetration
- Harmonisation & standardisation
- Relationships
e-Business inhibitors
- Management support and strategy
- Cost and financing (cost & ROI)
- Insufficient trust
- Legal issues
- Technology concerns (interoperability)
e-Business integration
Coordinating the flow of information and processes among multiple enterprises. Combines automated services from multiple providers. Facilitate between partners:
- Supply
- Distributuion
- Cust. information
- Coordination & Collaboration
e-Business critical elements
- Integrated b. processes
- Information-exchange infra
- Syntax & Semantics
- Reliability & Security
e-Business integration objectives
- Integrate proces & data
- Non-intrusive
- Re-use existing systems
- Real-time, little end-user involvement
- End-user can integrate
- Common agreements
- Uniform process & data models
- Advanced security
System Dynamics
Mathematical modelling technique to frame, understand and discuss complex issues and problems. Consists of Stocks and Flows
Stock
Accumulation of things in a specific location. Can increase or decrease over time.
Flow
Movement of things between stocks within a system boundary
Value chain
Combination of primary & secondary activities used by an organization to make money. An organization can have multiple value chains (typically 10-15).
Value chain analysis
- Define the strategic business unit
- Identify critical activities
- Define products
- Define the value of activity
What does a Business process do?
- Defines results, context of-, and relationships between activities
- May receive & produce events
- May invoke application and post assignments to humans
Value Chain-to-Step decomposition
Value chain Business process Subprocess Activity (Simple or compound) Step
Workflow
A sequence of (logical) steps processing physical and information objects. Links technology and tools to automate events & tasks. Depicts various aspects of a BP, including:
- (manual+auto) activities
- decisions points
- parallel & sequential routines
- exceptions
Process-oriented workflows
Automate processes whose structure is well defined and stable over time. Often multiple machines/applications, Little user involvement
Business process characteristics
- Exists within an environment
- Has a customer and is initiated by it
- Implies processing (series of activities)
- Communication within process and with environment
- Has inventories and queues
- Has decision points
- Delivers a product
Types of Business Processes & Workflows
- Processes that support a physical process (product-oriented)
- Processes where information processing itself is the process (service-oriented)
Types of e-Business relationships
- Strategic level
- Tactical (inter-firm) level
- Operational level
Strategic level relationship
Collaborative effort in a specific market with specific product. Suppliers develops, designs and produces specific components (not off-the-shelf). Also called Value Added Partnerships.
Tactical inter-firm relationship
Agreement for a set period about amount and type of procurement (or selling). Agreements include capacity, moment of delivery, inventory to be kept. Is usually more stable than operational. In case of regular need for specific product
Operational level relationship
Internal decision to buy off-the-shelf product from any supplier. No information sharing, except concerning the order. Direct, spot, ordering. Problems:
- Independence
- Uncertainty
- No future opportunities
e-Business technology stack
- Collaborative technologies
- Web-based technologies & Applications
- Basic infrastructure
- Networking facilities
Networking facilities layer
The internet and protocols such as TCP/IP
Basic infrastructure layer
Contains the client/server and tiered architectures
Web-based technologies & applications layer
Technologies required to develop web-based applications
Collaborative technologies layer
Contains systems such as workflow systems and EDI
Client/server
Distributed computing. Is the classical paradigm in support of e-Business proces * applications. Allows both centralized data control and widespread accessibility. Allows both thin and thick clients
Client/Server features
- Clients and servers are functional modules
- Each relation is established between two functional modules
- Information exchange between modules through messages
- Message exchange is interactive
- Clients and servers may run on separate dedicated machines
Two-tier client/server architecture
Tiers refers to the number of logical elements in the network (not the number of physical hardware)
Two-tier client/server architecture drawback
- Scalability problems
- Difficult business logic sharing
- Client reliance on database structure
- Limited interoperability
- Maintenance cost
Three-tier architecture
Overcomes limitations of two-tier, decouples business logic from presentation AND database. Extra (middle) tier between client and server:
- Presentation tier
- Processing tier
- Data tier
Web-based applications
Requires: webserver, content files and/or gateways (that access databases)
Web server
An application (technically a server process) that receives calls from Web clients and retrieves Web pages and/or information from gateways
Types of web documents
- Static = delivered from harddrive
- Dynamic = generated at request-time
Multi-tier architecture
Has: client-, presentation-, processing-, and data-tier. Client is webbrowser. Presentation is Web server generating pages (including dynamic content). Processing performs calculations, validations, managing according to business logic based on input from presentation-tier. Data-tier manages data
Workflow system
Is a form of collaborative technology. Automates a business process, and usually interacts with several application servers.
Workflow technology
Enables workflow developers to describe full intra- and inter-organizational business processes, with dependencies, sequence selection and iteration. Can depict complex rules for processing
Electronic Data Interchange
A form of collaborative technology (but does not run internet). Is the transfer of structured data by agreed message standards. In use since 1970 on private non-internet networks. Has since been upgraded to run via internet.
EDI enables:
- A network for transmitting standard transactions
- A paperless commerce environment
- Transfer of routine documents (PO, billing, shipping slip)
- A standard business language
Key elements in basic EDI
- Electronic documents (called transaction sets, these replace paper counterpart)
- Document exchange in a standardized format
EDI trade cycle
Pre-sale (Search & Negotiate)
Execution (Order & Deliver)
Settlement (Invoice & Payment)
After sale support (After sales)
EDI Problems
- Fixed transaction sets (individual organisation can’t make new doc. types)
- Resilient to change
- Relies on proprietary comm. networks
- Encapsulation of business rules in transaction sets
What is a network?
A structure of ties among actors
Corporate network
Long-term arrangement among related for-profit organizations. Operate as a hyper-organization, but retain own authority.
Fluid organization
A networked enterprise that allows re-organization on-the-fly, when needed for the innovation challenge at hand
Desirable features of inter-company networks
- Varies with respect to goals, boundaries structures, processes and other attributes
- Consist of nodes and relations
- Manage interdependence between companies
Characteristics networked organizations
- Links are various types of exchange (goods, money, information, knowledge)
- Networks have distinct boundary with environment
- Network participants pursue common goal
- nodes also have own, diverse, specific goals
- Business collaboration in outsouring, insourcing, rightsourcing
- Mutual investments and interdependencies (not just transactional)
Network type bases
- Stability (Stable / Dynamic)
- Network structure (Tight/Loose)
Stable Networks
Long term, limited participants, predictable market, partial outsourcing
Dynamic Networks
Temporary alliances in response to current market focus. More than just a single project or product.
Tightly coupled Networks
Relatively stable, shared planning and control cycles. Nodes follow shared goal. Might involve predefined interaction patterns (e.g. trading protocols)
Loosely coupled Networks
Independent trading partners. Can unilaterally decide to change internal processes and systems (without influencing other nodes)
Network Structures
Hierarchical
Flat
Networked
Hierarchical network
Bureaucratic, with defined levels of management. Centralized power structure. For stable & certain environments
Flat network
Decision-making pushed to lower level. Informal roles, planning and control. SME and young orgs.
Networked network
Formal and informal communication networks connect all nodes. Flexible and adaptable.
Advantages Networked organizations
- Lower cost & inventory.
- Better fullfillment time.
- Increased productivity & capacity.
- Deduplication of effort.
- Diversify business.
- Improve competitive advantage
- Penetrate new market
- Increased speed & efficiency
Supply chain manages
- Enterprise information systems
- Sourcing & procurement
- Production scheduling
- Order processing
- Inventory & warehouse
- Cust. service
- Aftermarket
Integrated supply chain
- Multiple enterprises within a shared market segment
- Collaborative plan, implement and monitor flow of goods, services & information
- Increase cust. perceived value & efficinecy
Integrated supply chain features
- Process transcends boundaries, not controlled by 1 firm
- Production processes are flexible (different parties at diff times)
- Geographically dispersed
- Depends on IT infra and telecomm.
Integrated supply chain benefits
- Reduced inventory
- Cost saving
- Improved goods & services
- Tighter links with B. partners
Four industrial phases
- End of 18th century - water & steam power
- Beginning of 20th century - Electical power
- Early 1970s - Electronics and IT
- Today - Cyber-physical systems
Industry 4.0
Automated, integrated & optimised production flow. Increasingly individualised
Interoperability
The ability of two or more applications to pass data and services. Can be a serious impediment to develop e-Business applications
Application integration imperative
To break down software silos / corporate islands of automation
Problem of silos
That only a portion of the BP is automated. E.g. Payment is automated, but information on delivery is lagging behind.
e.g. Decoupling of accounting and payment information. Can increase credit risk and introduce discrepancies between sources of truth.
Enterprise Application Integration
A strategy that does not specify products, tools or technology. Is about achieving intra-organizational integration (within) and drive efficiency
Enterprise Application Integration characteristics
Provides infra. to re-use, connect, interface & unify information between application. Term represents the product as well as the process. Should be non-intrusice
e-Business vs. EAI
EAI is intra-organization.
e-Business is inter-organization
Messaging types
Synchronous & Asynchronous
Synchronous Messaging
Leads to tight coupling of interfaces and applications. Requires the sending party to wait for a reaction from the receiving party before continual of processing
Asynchronous Mesasging
Leads to lose coupling of apps and interfaces. Sending party does not have to wait for reply and immediately contonues
Publish/Subscribe Interaction Model
Asynchronous model. Sender doesn’t specify recipients, instead publishes to a topic repository. Receivers have to subscribe individually to each repository. Middleware maintains list of topics, subscribers and delivers message
Message-Oriented Middleware
Support Publish/Subscribe. Is back-bone infrastructure responsible for relaying data.
Message-Oriented Middleware features
- Prioritization of requests
- Load balancing
- Synchronous/asynchronous messaging
Point-to-point
Linking application directly through custom hardcoded interfaces. Requires separate interface for each connection
Point-to-point downsides
- Not scalable
- Hard to manage
- Inherently static & expensive
Shared Bus (MOM)
Publish/Subscribe Model where application can subscribe to topic repositories. Loosely couples applications. modern versions based on multicast model; publisher sends once, receiver receiver simultaneously.
Hub & Spoke
Similar to SB, but has multiple middleware servers. Central nodes manage interactions between applications. Applications only have to integrate with the hub.
Integration Brokering
A popular Hub & Spoke solution
Enterprise Application Integration Layers
Integration can happen at different layers, with different levels of coupling:
- Business process integration layer
- Data integration layer
- Transport integration layer
Data integration
Process of combining data from different data sources, and presenting a unified view of the data.
Business Data integration
The ability to share & exchange relevant business data from a variety of sources and integrate with other data, despite difference in:
- format
- structure
- intended meaning
Data integration conflict categories
Entity definition conflicts
Domain definition conflicts
Data value conflicts
Entity definition conflicts
- Naming conflicts (e.g. fname, firstname)
- DB Identifier (ID vs Name)
- Attribute equivalence (Telephone > HomeTel or WorkTek?)
- Granularity (attribute vs entity)
- Missing attributes
Domain Definition conflicts
- Data representation (int, string)
- Dimensions (volume, weight, price)
- Scaling (Km, M)
- Precision (1-100, A-Z)
- Semantic and Cultural conflicts
Data value conflicts
- Known inconsistencies
- Temporal inconsistency
- Value inconsistencies
- Value conflicts
- Range value inconsistency
Business process integration layer
Coordinates business processes that need access to data and business logic, across back-end systems. Builds on EAI to ensure BP is executed in correct order using correct data. Is non-invasive.
Business process integration middleware requirements
- Process execution engine
- Visual process definition tools
- Process monitoring tools
Enterprise Application Integration benefits
Lower development costs
Lower opportunity costs
Lower maintenance effort
Integration Broker
Hub & Spoke model that implements the middletier in 3-tier architecture. Provides tools and platform for application development.
- Contains the business logic
- Coordinates step sequence
- Intra & Inter organizational
Business Process Integration Patterns
Integrated Enterprise
Brokered Enterprise
Federated Enterprise
(All supported by EAI integration brokering and workflow infra)
Integrated enterprise
Requires strong control of whole system, to enforce service bus. Integrates business processes (and monitoring)
Integrated enterprise advantage & disadvantage
Provides enterprise-wide process management. Requires enterprise-wide process management
Brokered enterprise
Where BUs want autonomy, but benefit from hub-style integration. Processes are still managed and monitored across all BUs
Brokered enterprise advantage & disadvantage
Less relationships to manage and coordinate between BUs. However, fragmented image when looking externally to enterprise
Federated enterprise
Keeps BUs autonomous, with common message standard. Implements multiple services busses to accomplish more different functionality than brokered enterprise, at the cost of globality.
Federated enterprise advantage & disadvantage
Each BU is autonomous (can change processes). However, difficult to improve and implement enterprise-wide process changes
Difference e-Business and EAI
e-Business likely to happen over internet
e-Business more likely to use XML
e-Business requires more security
Non-repudiation only applicable to e-Business transactions
e-Business driven by protocols and standards
