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they are not limited to a specific business application - as, say, accounting systems are
- and so are widely used. Thanks to widespread distribution, this software is of high
quality but relatively cheap. (In fact, accounting systems are widely usable, but not as
extensively as word processors.)
Partly because of this development, the impact made by information technology has
increased enormously, which in turn has led to many more people studying the
possibilities presented by it. And this has resulted in the "BPR wave". BPR stands for
Business Process Redesign (or Business Process Re-engineering) and is a method for
improving the effectiveness and efficiency of business processes. BPR is based upon
the notion that, if full use is made of information technology, business processes could
be entirely different than at present. It is therefore wise to completely redesign the
current processes, in the way described above. How business processes are organized
is thus no longer the sole prerogative of the organizational or business expert: the
information technologist now also has a major role to play! This is a good thing, because
the information technologist is a developer of processes par excellence. After all, every
algorithm defines a process. Until recently, however, the information technologist was
limited to the processing of information in computer systems - whereas, in fact, the main
task of many other business processes is information processing.
In the past, it was the functional structure of an organization which played the most
important role in how it was organized. Now it is the business processes which are
crucial. For this, a good frame of reference is required so that processes can be clearly
defined and analyzed. Definition is important when preparing a (re)design, and before
deciding whether to actually implement a new process it is very important to first
establish whether it will work properly. To do this, one must be able to analyze the
process defined. This can be done in a number of ways. For example, formal methods
can be used to identify processes' properties, or lack of them. Another analytical method
uses simulation techniques, sometimes supported by computer animation. Supporting
software tools are essential to this.
This book presents a reference framework for defining processes, and discusses
analytical methods. In so doing, extensive use is made of Petri nets, a formal concept
which has been developing since the 1960s and which made particularly significant
leaps forward during the 1980s. Petri nets are ideally suited for defining and analyzing
complex processes. Another useful property is that they make the definitions easy to
understand for non-experts. This eases communication between designers and users.
There also exist software tools which support the definition and analysis of processes.
Once new business processes have been developed, they then have to be
implemented. The management and, in part, the execution of processes are carried by
people, with the help of information systems. As already mentioned, during recent years
a new class of generic software has been evolving: workflow management systems.
This software supports business processes by taking on their information logistics. In
other words, workflow management systems ensure that the right information reaches
