WXGE6402 ENTERPRISE REENGINEERING

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WXGE6402ENTERPRISE REENGINEERING RESTRUCTURING
LECTURE 8 IT Integration Options for e-Business
Processes
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Objectives

• Examine the different options for IT software
  platforms
• Describes the evolving spectrum of IT platforms
  for process integration in e-business context
• Describes a new approach to B2B EC

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Planning Process Integration Preamble to
Implementation

• With the modeling, analysis, and redesign phases
  completed, the to-be BP is ready to be integrated
  into the organizational structure
• Software process model is completed, alternative
  designs have been evaluated, process impact
  reports have been generated
• Need to examine the IT software platforms through
  which the new process will be integrated into the
  enterprise architecture

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Phases of business process redesign when BPR
software is used
Modeling, analysis and redesign
Model as-is baseline process
Scoping
Integration
Select to-be design
Analysis
Redesign to-be process alternatives
Share process knowledge
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• Prepared a preliminary process integration plan
• Outlines the IT integration options for the new
  BP
• May suggest adjustments to process design to suit
  the realities of existing software platforms

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• In a well-managed BP redesign initiative, the IT
  infrastructure and IS design involved as early as
  the process scoping phase
• To help examine the fit of the process
  implementation with IT infrastructure
• Need multiple business partners to get involved
  as well as for IT solution providers to help
  integrate of IT infrastructure

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The evolving spectrum of IT platforms for process
integration

• Number of trends and pressures have influenced
  the evolution and development of IT software
  platforms
• The desire for high-speed and low cost process
  execution that can scale up for business
  processes that are highly repeatable
• Has triggered the development of workflow
  software that automates process on execution
• Early 1990s, an increased push toward trying to
  increase the extent of process automation by
  trying to encode business rules and routing for
  the process into the software

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• Mid 1990s, an increased use of large-scale
  enterprise resource planning system from software
  vendors
• Created a way a demand for integrating business
  processes into IT architecture through these
  standard application software packages
• Late 1990s, when e-business started taking off,
  there was a push toward web-enabled process
  integration platforms
• Could execute process through the internet across
  multiple enterprises

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The evolution of IT platforms for process
integration 1990 - 2000
Suitability for e-business
XML-based process integration suites
Specialized e-process automation software
Enterprise application integration
Workflow engines
Custom application development
Supply chain focus
Cost effectiveness in multi-enterprise
heterogeneous IT environments
1990
2000
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Custom Application Development

• Possible to integrate new processes into
  enterprise IT architecture through customized
  application software
• Enterprise can develop their own piece of
  application software that can be used to execute
  the new BP
• Still common in application integration in general

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Workflow engines

• BP can be executed semiautomatically through
  workflow application software that is run through
  a workflow management software engine
• Workflow management engines instantiates the BP
  and ensures that data and documents are routed to
  the right employee based on business rules, so
  employee can perform the task

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• Workflow application software maintains all the
  BP info regarding routing, databases used,
  activities performed, employee authorization
  levels, sequence activities and business rules
  for branching the process flow

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The operation of a workflow engine
Business process model
Workflow management software
Database
Automated business process execution
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Enterprise application integration

• Many BP are integrated into enterprise
  architectures through standardized ERP software
  packages
• That support process flows spanning several
  functions such as finance, manufacturing, sales,
  etc
• Some BP are integrated into enterprise
  architectures through CRM enterprise software
  focuses on front-office processes

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• ERP CRM packages are very good at integrating
  an enterprises internal BP, but they are not as
  well geared to cross-enterprise integration
• Often need to integrate across different
  enterprise application boundaries
• Rise to a new breed of business integration
  software that focuses on enterprise integration
  across enterprises and disparate software packages

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Enterprise application integration software
ERP for supplier 1 (SAP software)
Manufacturer
ERP for enterprise (Baan software)
Enterprise application integration software
ERP for supplier 2 (Oracle software)
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Specialized e-process automation software

• It is evolving that it can be used to
  automatically execute processes over the internet
  (e-process) across enterprise
• Focused in depth on processes around niche areas

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Specialized e-process automation software
Supplier portal (catalog server)
Corporate intranet
ERP
E-process automation engine User interface
internet
Logistic provide (tracking system)
Email security
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XML-based process integration suites for
e-business

• With the B2B EC boom in 1999. it became
  increasingly apparent that there was a need for
  off-the-shelf general-purpose process integration
  platforms
• That could electronically execute supply chain
  processes through the internet across multiple
  enterprise while linking to heterogeneous
  software packages
• A need for more sophisticated functionality in
  terms of process monitoring. Security and
  exception handling
• A new document formatting language (XML) provided
  the vehicle to make plug-and-play seamless
  connectivity between the processes of various
  enterprises in reality

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• XML(extensible markup language)- a new document
  and data formatting languages that makes the
  information on a structured document
  self-describing when it is passed from 1 computer
  to another through the internet
• Solves the problem by using embedded tags with
  identifying codes that describes what the info is
  in a particular part of the documents (such as
  price, quantity, color)
• Thus, XML marks up a document with user-defined
  tags

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Keeping BPR in perspective The challenge of
organizational transformation for e-business

• IT integration phase is the last phase of BP
  redesign with BPR software
• Phase comes after the process redesign is the
  implementation and organization transformation
  phase
• organization transformation stage is the most
  challenging and tough phase to execute
• Includes designing the IS and modifying the IT
  infrastructure
• Includes instituting the new BP with their
  accompanying organizational changes, reskilling
  and reassigning people and dealing with all the
  human issues

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3 additional challenges

• Challenge of scale
• Organizational transformation to e0business is
  typically a huge undertaking for an enterprise as
  many BPs throughout the enterprise have to be
  simultaneously restructured to go online
• Need a new skills to operate in such a
  technology-intensive environment are many
• The extent of organizational restructuring is
  typically very large

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• Challenge of scope
• Not only the enterprise processes that are being
  redesigned for online business but also the many
  supply chains that the enterprise participates in
• Requires coordination and collaboration with many
  other enterprises in order to enable an effective
  organizational transformation to e-business

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• Challenge of speed
• A traditional enterprise must compete with new
  online enterprises that appeared because of the
  internet
• Online enterprise move very quickly and are
  unencumbered by the legacy of the past

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• These 3 challenges add to the demands of
  organizational transformation that accompany BPR
  for e-business
• Some traditional enterprises have found the
  magnitude of the organizational transformation to
  be so extensive

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• Final stage of BPR-in-theBIG is monitoring and
  maintaining
• BP need to be reevaluated and possibly redesigned
• In e-business, likely to occur very often due to
  competitive pressures and technological change