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More to Applications Integration
Than Putting the Bits Together
By Joe Morray
The application world in 2005 has a very different look then just five years ago. As has been well documented, the underlying technology for integrating disparate systems has improved dramatically, and with it, the breadth of the business flows than can be supported. We can now envision support for processes that span multiple project phases, departments, and even entire companies. This is good.
The challenge is that there are literally thousands of work processes that can be addressed, which potentially redefine how a user works and how Intergraph delivers and packages its technology. In the foreseeable future, we are going to have to focus on the highest value processes, and as such, the need for a broader view of requirements. We need to explicitly define the business value of the workflows and make this a specific element of the requirements definition. Only when this happens will we able to define a logical sequence for developments and implementations.
So what is a “high value” workflow, for which integration will deliver above-average returns? These may be aggregation of individual workflow transactions or sand alone. Some of the candidate processes that emerge are:
- Work processes that are a relatively short number of transactions, but occur many times in a project’s life.
- Processes that bring together information from multiple sources in a repeatable manner
- Work steps that span across departments but are on a single activity.
- Those processes for which there is value-saved. There is a cost that can arise if you don’t have information available…value destruction.
- Management reporting and status reporting. Seamless monitoring, making the data more transparent.
- Those processes for which the workflow is critical to both upstream and downstream transactions. In particular, those processes which are pivot points for construction and procurement.
- Transactions that allow/require different information views of potential the same data.
- Those processes for which there is a substantial amount of revision associated with information. There is value in revision cycles being reduced dramatically by working with the right information, in the right place and at the right time.
The level of specificity required to get a value definition view of workflows is quite a bit greater than a simple functional definition. It is, however, an approach that will allow a logical formulation of not only development, but also the validation of investments for implementation costs. A company creates an inventory of the business processes, as defined above, and those applications that will support those processes. This then provides a coherent basis for internal planning, as well as discussions with the technology developments.
So as we move forward in defining what we would like to see Intergraph and vendors achieve related to application developments, we must think in terms of the supported business processes to be addressed and, more importantly, the business value they will deliver. It is this lexicon that will allow users and developers to prioritize strategies.
EMC/Documentum
