Adam Boczek | codecentric | 19.09.12Mainz, Germany

Process Intelligence with Windows Workflow Foundation

Adam Boczek• Management Consultant @codecentric• Architect and Project Manager• Business Process Intelligence

Specialist• Cultures: Polish, Brazilian & German• Hobbies: his job is his hobby…• …ok :), he loves rugby and collects

historical typewriters.

Process Intelligence

Process Intelligence (what)*• Is a form of (near) real-time dynamic,

business analytics that delivers visibility and insight into business operations.

• Event-centric approach to delivering information that empowers people to make better decisions.

• Is not BI, BAM, CEP or BPM.* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_intelligence

Process Intelligence (why)*• PI helps quantify:

– the efficiency of the business activities– how the IT infrastructure and unexpected

events affect the business activities (resource bottlenecks, system failures, events external to the company, etc.)

– how the execution of the business activities contribute to revenue gains or losses.

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_intelligence

Process Intelligence Alignment• Near real-time data• Between BI and Operations

Long TermInformation

Business IntelligenceDepartment

Real TimeInformation

OperationsDepartment

Information

Organisation

batch data

strategic

Business Intelligence

real time

operational

Operating

tactical

near real time

Process Intelligence

Process Intelligence is based on Empiricism

Transparency Inspection Adaptation

Step 1: Process Transparency

Status Quo• We have:

– a “Send SMS”-Process– a web application + some services– no documentation– no developers we can ask about– source code without comments– some “overloaded” business analysts…

• We want “to see” the Process Model

Demo 1

Status Quo• Send SMS Process

Status Quo• Implicit processes in an application

Presentation Layer

Service Layer

Infrastructure Layer

Problems with Implicit Processes• Difficult to explain• Difficult to change• Difficult to maintain• Difficult to monitor and operate• Difficult, difficult, difficult…• Solution:

introduction of the Orchestration Layer

Process Transparency with WF• Introduction of the Orchestration Layer

Presentation Layer

Service Layer

Infrastructure Layer

Orchestration Layer

Demo 2

Step 2: Process Inspection

Process Inspection with WF• Instrumentation with measure points (MP)• Process model id, MP name

Process instance id, occurrence time• Core part of the measurement model

Process Inspection with WF

Process Control Center (PCC)

Inpu

t C

hann

elProcessing

EngineDashboard

http://localhost/Basta.ProcessIntelligenceWithWF.PCCInputChannel/SendSmsWorkflow/MP_01_Start/4147da11-8bdd-440e-8da2-1c248694d50e

Demo 3

Step 3: Process Adaptation

Process Indicators (KPIs)• Based on measure point values• Calculated by the processing engine • Evaluated against thresholds with alerts• Presented in a dashboard• Examples:

– Number of new started process instances– Number of active process instances– Processing time of an active process instance– Average processing time of finished process

instances

Processing Engine & Dashboard• Build a self-made solution (high risk)

– Complex design– Input channels– Processing engine– Dashboard

• Use an APM tool like e.g. AppDynamics

Demo 4

Final Thoughts• High management attention• “Green light management”• Proactive instead of reactive• Required by any Agile Organization

Thank You!• Adam.Boczek@codecentric.de• @nativeagile• nativeagile.com• More questions?

Visit the AppDynamics booth @BASTA