The future of workflow and case management - A Study Initiative
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The document explores the evolving landscape of workflow and case management in the context of modern IT infrastructure, specifically examining the impact of technologies like Gen AI, cloud computing, and microservices. It discusses the necessity for harmonization and transparency in business automation while addressing how traditional concepts of end-to-end processes are being adapted to a more modular, domain-driven approach. The study aims to identify the valuable role of workflow in contemporary architecture and outlines various strategies for organizational and application-level processes.
![Mining Business State Events
Event Design Pattern
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Filtered Business State Event
Correlated Business State Event
delivery address = […]
Order status = 1
Order created
Delivery delayed
Item delivery date = […]
Order status = 1
Item reserved = true
Event
Command
BE Delivery delayed
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BE Order created
CDE_2_BSE
Filter change-data-event streams
for business state events or
correlate CDEs to detect
situations and generated
related BSEs.
EVENT_2_COMMAND
React to business state events and coordinate their processing.
When needed create command calls to systems and services and
orchestrate flows.
setReservationTime (…)
createReservation (…)
IBM Technology Expert Labs | Automation Summit 2023](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/thefutureofworkflowandcasemanagement-studyinitiativefinal-231109155635-5cbfe1bb/85/The-future-of-workflow-and-case-management-A-Study-Initiative-15-320.jpg)
The future of workflow and case management - A Study Initiative
- 1. IBM Technology Expert Labs The future of workflow in times of gen.AI, cloud, container, open-source and open architecture. — A study —
- 2. in times of gen.AI, cloud, container, open-source and open architecture. 2 Inspiration Workflow and Case Management technologies are cornerstones of business automation for more than 20 years. Their key elements of harmonization, standardization, (end-to-end) control and transparency are rooted in historically centralized (IT-) architecture approaches. Microservices, containerization, domain- driven-design (DDD), business capability mapping, hybrid cloud architecture and open architecture all seem to contradict the traditional approaches of Workflow and Case Management. The goal of this study is putting these into the context of the current state of IT without any fixed expectations and prejudging and answer questions like: ▪ Is there a valuable role for Workflow and Case Management in the context of cloud, Microservices, Gen.AI, etc.? If yes… ▪ Where in the overall system architecture of modern IT landscapes is WF and Case? ▪ What are the tasks / functions implemented? ▪ What is the context? ▪ Reference architecture? IBM Technology Expert Labs | Automation Summit 2023
- 3. With you today 3 IBM Technology Expert Labs | Automation Summit 2023 Business Automation Consultant Christoph ist seit über 10 Jahren im Bereich Business Automation tätig und verwirklicht Lösungen im Bereich Geschäftsprozesse und Geschäftsregelmanagement. christoph.schmitt@de.ibm.com Tech Practice Leader Business Automation Thomas arbeitet seit über 20 Jahren mit Kunden verschiedener Branchen an allen Facetten der Verbesserung ihrer betriebswirtschaftlichen Prozesse und Abläufe mit Hilfe digitaler Werkzeuge. tbohn@de.ibm.com
- 4. Contributors 4 IBM 3rd party IT vendor Partner Customer other Senior IT Architect Solution Architect IT Architect Vorstand CTO Distinguished Engineer & CTO Business Automation Workflow Product Manager IT Architect YOU? IBM Technology Expert Labs | Automation Summit 2023
- 5. The paradigms for our projections What defines next gen software development: ▪ Application of Cloud-practices: − discrete functional components ... − that encourage re-use and composition − with Technology Autonomy − based on Open Technology and open Architecture − Linked to business and organization by application of domain-driven thinking ▪ Uses Containers ▪ Based on hybrid system landscapes: fluid use of SaaS, public and private cloud, on prem 5 Mobile Customer Portals Chat Platform to Platform Open APIs Core Systems Data Fabric Packaged Business Capabilities Composed Business Applications Customer Positions Account Services Customer Positions Documents & Archive Customer Mgmt. Party Ref. Data KYC By 2023, 60% of mainstream organizations will list composable enterprise as a strategic objective and will use an increasing number of packaged business capabilities. Gartner, Innovation Insight for Composable Modularity of Packaged Business Capabilities, 16.03.2021 Desired target state: A capability-based, layered solution architecture optimized for open co-creation Domain IBM Technology Expert Labs | Automation Summit 2023
- 6. The Spectrum of Process Applications 6 Integrated, single-package Business Applications based on low-code Human-intensive Workload Straight through processing Coordination in an open, cross-domain, cross- ecosystem world IBM Technology Expert Labs | Automation Summit 2023
- 7. Domain A P1 S² S1 Team A e2e Prcs X The Role of Business Process changes: From being the overarching, defining element to being a team player among equals – Process scope boxed to domain – Domain-scoped process design is easier to define and maintain over e2e design – Discrete functional design encourages simple interface and self-contained state model – Error and exception handling remains inside the domain where specific action can take place Business System 1 Business System 2 Process Layer Business Layer Integration Layer Integration Team Create discrete functional components Domain B P2 I2 S4 S³ Team B Business System 1 Business System 2 I1 Prcs Team SME1 SME2 SME1 SME2 7 IBM Technology Expert Labs | Automation Summit 2023
- 8. The approaches for process logic at hand today Orchestrated, coordinator- driven process An active, “central” coordinator acting on a concrete model of the process, orchestrating all process tasks. Pros: ▪ Explicit model creates clarity across stakeholders ▪ Simple and easy switch between technical coordination and human interaction ▪ Transparency, completeness insurance and supervision OOTB Cons: ▪ State needs management when process changes ▪ Effort for design and alignment among stakeholders Choreographed, event- driven process A group of independent actors each individually reacting upon event(s) raised by the other actors with n the swarm. Pros: ▪ Flexible re-configuration and change without state management ▪ “Build-in” parallelization and scale Cons: ▪ No explicit model for all stakeholders, rather a loose and not transparent event chain ▪ History, human interaction all need custom solutions, no OOTB support ▪ State Transparency, completeness solution require additional components 8 IBM Technology Expert Labs | Automation Summit 2023
- 9. The Role of Business Process changes: End-to-End Processes are dissolved into Domain Processes 9 e2e process ? + + x x What are the benefits of e2e processes? • Transparency across the whole process • Centralized exception handling possible • Integration technology provided by the tool How do we move to a more open architecture that avoids the drawbacks without losing these benefits? x x What are the pains of e2e processes? • Building consensus across multiple business units and functions • Prevent “local optimization” • Enable change – prevent “process petrification” IBM Technology Expert Labs | Automation Summit 2023
- 10. e2e process ? + + x x x x 10 ? ? Orchestrated, coordinator-driven domain process Pros: ▪ Domain SMEs design and share an explicit graphical model ▪ Simple and easy integration of system and human tasks ▪ Build-in support for process state management, transparency, history, etc. Cons: ▪ Process change requires migration of stateful process instances Choreographed, event-driven domain process Pros: ▪ Simple “change” of process logic Cons: ▪ All supporting functionality for process state management, history, transparency needs to be built. ▪ Any functionality to route work to humans needs to be build explicitly. The Role of Business Process changes: End- to-End Processes are dissolved into chains of interconnected Domain Processes Domain processes typically cover a wide range of coordination scenarios from pure services across hybrid to human-centric coordination. When scoped and isolated to a specific domain, explicit process definition is typically easier to complete for a team. On domain level, process scenarios often cover human centric coordination, incl. regulatory requirements for human approvals, human- required error and exception handling. Having an explicit process model, build-in human task support, history, transparency, etc. makes a workflow engine often a good fit for orchestrating domain-level processes. Domain A P1 Domain B P2 Domain C P3
- 11. Event Bus 11 The Role of Business Process changes: End- to-End Processes are dissolved into chains of interconnected Domain Processes Domain processes typically cover a wide range of coordination scenarios from pure services across hybrid to human-centric coordination. When scoped and isolated to a specific domain, explicit process definition is typically easier to complete for a team. On domain level, process scenarios often cover human centric coordination, incl. regulatory requirements for human approvals, human- required error and exception handling. Having an explicit process model, build-in human task support, history, transparency, etc. makes a workflow engine often a good fit for orchestrating domain-level processes. BE1 BE2 BE2 BE3 order created item reserved BE3 BE4 billing completed Domain A P1 Domain B P2 Domain C P3 11 IBM Technology Expert Labs | Automation Summit 2023 (State- / Business-) Event-driven, Event bus – based “coupling” of domains became to state- of-the art approach across domains and bounded contexts. Experience with and acceptance of the technologies and architectural pattern around event sourcing and event buses extends to coupling business domains. Definition of Business Events To allow flexibility and dynamicity, attention needs to be paid to business events: ▪ Define states, not commands ▪ The right granularity and semantic is key ▪ Managed sharing across domains and contexts is key (e.g. registry)
- 12. Event Bus 12 The Role of Business Process changes: End- to-End Processes are dissolved into chains of interconnected Domain Processes For the interconnection of domain processes, event- driven-architecture is the dominant approach. EDA offers build-in scalability and flexibility. However, EDA is the “communication layer”. For controlling the flow, three approaches are in use with specific features: ▪ Direct event chaining with no actual coordinator ▪ Orchestrator based flow control ▪ Situational evaluation and State Machine based “next best action” order created item reserved billing completed Domain Level Process (L2) Direct Chaining / No Coordinator Orchestrator Situation Detection / State Machine ? + + x No active component at all – successors consume directly events published by predecessors. Events are correlated to a process instance in an orchestrator. The process model in the orchestrator generates and publishes subsequent events. Events are put into contexts, event correlations and situations are detected, and subsequent events are published. Domain A Domain B Domain C P1 P2 P3 BE1 BE2 BE2 BE3 BE3 BE4 Organization/ Application Level Process (L1) 12 IBM Technology Expert Labs | Automation Summit 2023
- 13. 13 Patterns of Organizational / Application-Level Processes #1: Mixed mode automation Systems supporting and isolating human-centric work on domain level. As workflow engines are well equipped to support human- centric work next to technical coordination, the use of workflow engines is a good fit. The consequence of autonomy for technical implementation is the potential of multiple different workflow engines which subsequently leads to the need to provide technical solutions for consolidated tasklists, in order to provide a single, unified experience for business users. Domain Level Process (L2) Domain A P1 S² S1 Domain B P2 I2 S4 S³ I1 Coordination Domain Strictly technical coordination processing Support Domain History Transp arency Task List Organization/ Application Level Process (L1) 13 IBM Technology Expert Labs | Automation Summit 2023
- 14. 14 Patterns of Organizational / Application-Level Processes #2: Strict technical automation with subsequent, central human-centric processing Systems focusing on strict automated processing of requests. Any human-centric work is pushed towards the end of any request handling. Human-centric work covers: ▪ Error and exception handling ▪ Long-tail human-based completion of request handling This pattern favors generalists SMEs. At least the human-centric processing part is a typical suspect for a workflow engine. The location in the central L1 Process Level suggests a single, central workflow engine thus reducing complexity and effort for providing unified perspectives on task lists and – execution. Domain Level Process (L2) Domain A P1 S² S1 Domain B P2 I2 S4 S³ I1 Coordination Domain Strictly technical coordination processing Support Domain History Transp arency Organization/ Application Level Process (L1) Domain C Human-centric processing 14 IBM Technology Expert Labs | Automation Summit 2023
- 15. Mining Business State Events Event Design Pattern 15 E7 E6 E5 E8 E9 E11 E10 E12 E13 E² E3 E4 E1 BE BE Filtered Business State Event Correlated Business State Event delivery address = […] Order status = 1 Order created Delivery delayed Item delivery date = […] Order status = 1 Item reserved = true Event Command BE Delivery delayed System BE Order created CDE_2_BSE Filter change-data-event streams for business state events or correlate CDEs to detect situations and generated related BSEs. EVENT_2_COMMAND React to business state events and coordinate their processing. When needed create command calls to systems and services and orchestrate flows. setReservationTime (…) createReservation (…) IBM Technology Expert Labs | Automation Summit 2023
- 16. 16 IBM Technology Expert Labs | Automation Summit 2023 How IBM Process Management evolves to support the next generation of process applications IBM Business Automation Tech Foundation Native support for event driven messaging. Smaller footprint and better Container runtime. Dev-Ops Better pipeline support and integration into existing environments. Interaction Models Conversational models let user interact in a more natural way with tasks. A situational approach allows for more autonomy on lower levels where teams can design their tasks by themselves. GenAI AI can help during creation of process definitions, user interfaces or data models. It could decide which steps have to be executed for any given process instance and modify the models on the fly.