Reexamining the Limitations, Expectations, Capabilities and Misunderstandings of BPEL, as well as Executing BPMN Directly

It seems that conventional wisdom has been for a while that "Business Process Execution Language" or "WS-BPEL4WS" is the standard for execution in the BPM space. At the same time, the majority of BPM and workflow products on the market today work successfully without using BPEL. Some say that those products that don't implement BPEL are simply dragging their feet in the mud. Others say it is not possible to do what their product does in BPEL. Whom are we to believe? It is after all, a complex subject. Recently an article was written on InfoQ which took a particular process scenario drawn in Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN), and investigated in detail why it can not be implemented using BPEL. That process can, however, be run on a system that directly executes BPMN. This article explores exactly how this is possible, giving a step by step example of a running system executing the process in question. Since you can execute the BPMN directly, it begs the question: why translate to BPEL at all?

Written by Derek Miers, CEO of BPM Focus, this white paper explores the disruptive capability delivered by the combination of BPM and Software as a Service. It discusses the strategic and organizational challenges associated with traditional ways of doing things, contrasted with how the “on-demand” Appian Anywhere platform enables dynamic collaboration between participants both within the organization, as well as its customers and trading partners.

Click Here to Download the White Paper

In recent years, use of BPM systems as a platform for custom business application development has accelerated.  Many organizations have achieved significant benefits in efficiency, consistency and transparency of their business operations.  Unfortunately, other organizations have achieved less than expected.  In some respects this is not surprising.  Developing applications on a BPM platform is a new development paradigm, and in some aspects it requires a new mindset to ensure a successful outcome.  A key element is re-thinking the approach to initial process design. 

The process model is a directly executable manifestation of the business activity.  Developers trained in traditional programming methodologies need to make a significant adjustment in their thought processes to fully take advantage of the new tools.  Because BPM systems model the application at a very high level of abstraction, it is easy to get something working, but it is much more difficult to design processes which support the full range and flexibility of most actual business needs.  Experienced process designers, just as experts in any development methodology, instinctively understand how to approach new processes.  They have many “rules of thumb” and other empirical guidelines learned from experience which help them avoid problems.  If these rules of good process design could be codified and widely disseminated, more organizations could more quickly reap the benefits of process automation.

Savvion BRMS Enables Users to Define, Modify and Change their Business Rules with Minimal IT Intervention
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Savvion®, the trailblazing business process management (BPM)
company, today announced the availability of Savvion Business Rules Management System (BRMS) software that enables business users as well as application developers to define, monitor and manage business rules used in business applications. Once created, business rules can be stored in a repository for re-use in other applications. Savvion BRMS is integrated seamlessly with Savvion BusinessManager™ and uses common business objects and development environment. It can also be used independently. Savvion BRMS is standards-based and easy to use, allowing business managers to describe, modify, and change the rules of their operations as required—with minimal IT assistance.