Adaptive Case Management

With

Alfresco and Activiti

Short Intro

• Jörg Sauer• Allianz Life Indonesia• Head of Application Development • Jakarta / Indonesia

• Community:• Alfresco Community Jakarta• Blog Posts (none in past 12 month )

• Twitter: @joergsauer• Blog: blogs.ecmconcepts.org

AlfrescoCertified Instructor

Agenda

• Introduction into Knowledge Work

• Challenges with BPM

• Adaptive Case Management

• What Alfresco Provides Out of the Box

• What Activiti Provides Out of the Box

• What Needs to be Done / Customized

• Conclusion

Introduction to Knowledge Work

• What does a knowledge worker look like?

Knowledge Worker?

• University Professors

Knowledge Worker?

• Librarian?

Maybe…

Knowledge Worker!

Definitely!

People who figure out what they have

to do

Knowledge Worker!

People who assess a situation and determine the course of action

Knowledge Worker

People whose actions are based on many

sources of information

Knowledge Worker

People who gather clues, follow up

and discover things

Knowledge Work is Everywhere

• Rescue Work• Complex Insurance or Bank Tansactions• Police & Legal Investigation• Financial Audit• Coordinating a Meeting• Exceptions, e.g. Billing Dispute• Medical Treatment• Help Desk• Hiring• Executive Management etc.

Quality of Knowledge Work

• Non Repeated!

• Two murder investigations are not the same

• Complex insurance claims are not the same

• Endless examples to go

Quality of Knowledge Work

• Non Repeated!• Unpredictable!

• Legal case may take unexpected course

• Medical claim might not be valid due to wrong statements made in application

• Conflicting factors impact decision making

Quality of Knowledge Work

• Non Repeated!• Unpredictable!• Emergent!

• A doctor runs a test on a patientLeading to a treatment plan

Which is monitored and additional testWhich leads to a modified treatment

Which is monitored

Quality of Knowledge Work

• Non Repeated!• Unpredictable!• Emergent!• Robustness (in face of variable conditions)

• High velocity and High reliable organizations run on knowledge work.

Industrial Development

• 1840-1920: Industrialization: Mass Production /Routine Work• Define exact process• Run 1000’s times• Distribute initial cost over many identical copies• Research: Frederick Winslow Taylor

• 1940-1980: Just in Time Kanban• Mass customization• Excess production is waste• Lean & Pull Based• Responsive to change• Research: Taiichi Ohno (Toyota)

• 1980-2005: Knowledge Work• Knowledge Worker: Someone who knows more about her job than

anybody else in the organization• Research: Peter F. Drucker

Manufacturing

Office Work

Unpredictable

PredictableMass

Production

Routine Work

Knowledge Work

Just in Time

Knowledge Work Facts

• 30%-50% off all Workers = Knowledge Workers

• The number is increasing

• High pay

• Key area of economical growth in economies

• Key factor for developed countries to stay compitetive

• Research: Tom Davenport

Cost & Complexity of Implementation

Knowledge Worker Processes

Routine Human

ProcessesSystem to

System Processe

s€

€€

€€€

More Predictable

Less Predictable value

Routine Work

Knowledge Work

Business Process Spectrum

Easier to implement

Difficult to

Implement

Business Process Management (BPM)

• Mature • Good Tools• Lots of Experts

• However:• High upfront investment in process analysis• ROI = process to be run thousands of times

BPM = Mass Production!

• Works only for routine work!

BPM Real Life Issues

• Business processes not well understood

• Users = just see what they do

• Scope?

• Management: just cares about results, KPIs, SLAs, head count

• Internal resources most times not sufficiently skilled to do process analysis

•External consultants = Project = Solve all problems approach = PROBLEM!

BPM Real Life Issues

• Conflicts among stakeholders how process should look like

• Scope issues

• Goals not defined

• End to end process = multiple department = multiple interests

BPM Real Life Issues

• Misconception that BPM implementation will solve business problems.

• Business Problem != Human Error != Solvable with BPM

• Automation = Change = Unknown Results how it will work•Try and Error

BPM Real Life Issues

• Focus on end to end processes

• End to End is overly complex

• 3m x 5m process diagrams

• Not all things can be foreseen

• Huge effort gather requirements

• Huge effort to get sign off.

• Always too many compromises

• Once implemented will remain as is for ever

BPM Real Life Issues

• Optimistic Flow

• Tendency to include the optimistic flows only

• Error handling on process level missing

• Exception / alternate flows incomplete

New Approach Needed

• BPM = assumption that• Process is predictable• Implementable as an automated process• ROI comes from scaling up and repeatability

• BPM = Process is center

Adaptive Case Management (ACM)

Adaptive Case Management

• Enable Knowledge Worker

• Case Data is Center not Process

• Process not carved in stone

• Worker decides on steps• SOP as guidance / frame for work

• Holistic View on Data / Information

• Routine Work • Knowledge Work

BPM vs. ACM modelling

Knowledge Work

• Requires• Guidance & Rules: SOP & Business Rules• Adaptable approach•Templates: Filing structure

Check lists• Small Workflows•Customizable elements•Collaboration

• Holistic Data / Information•Visibility of •documents•structured information•communication•Historical data•Related cases

Statement

• “Knowledge worker productivity is the biggest of the 21st century management challenges.

In developed countries it is their first survival requirement”

Peter F. Drucker

Case Management with Alfresco

• Does Alfresco provide case management out of the Box?• Not really – at least not as a solution

• Can Alfresco do case management?• Off course if you implement the required things

• Who is doing case management with Alfresco?• Many companies

• Who is implementing case management in Alfresco?• You• Partners• Community

Case Management Support in Alfresco

• Case management based on folder (structures)

• Small Workflows

• Rules and Actions

• Simple Workfows

• Tags

Alfresco Functionality for Case Management Implementations• Custom Content Models• Document & Folder types• Metadata

• Custom Workflows

• Web Scripts• Integration with 3rd party systems•Filing structure initiation – create case structure•Metadata synchronization•Status updates

• Extending Alfresco & Share functionality

• Freemarker• Templates• Components • Reports

Alfresco Functionality for Case Management Implementations• Custom Actions:• Automation of manual tasks•Create case•Start workflow•Synch information•Generate status report

• Transformations• Generate Status Reports• Full text index on holistic data

• Synchronization• Share documents with (external) stakeholders

Alfresco Functionality for Case Management Implementations• Data Lists• Check Lists• Todo’s

• Policies• Events in Repository trigger actions•Start configured workflow if data list entry is created

•Update status on workflow completion

Activiti Case Management out of the Box

• Standard Workflows• Ad Hoc Workflow• Review Approve Workflow• Etc.

Adaptive Case Management With Alfresco & Activiti• Basic Repository Customizations• Case Metadata Model Foundation•Case Group Container•Case Folder•Case File•Aspects•Case Check List (Data List)

• Basic Workflows• Activiti Workflow to run on Folder chains •User configurable sequential workflow, with full support for task list, escalation,

task assignment etc.• Basic Case Workflows•Main Case Status workflow•Identify expert workflow•Assessment workflow•Request additional document workflow

Adaptive Case Management With Alfresco & Activiti• Share Customizations• Additional Folder Views•Case Status

•Including workflows running

•Case Information Aggregation View •Template components for extensibility

•Data lists on case folders•List entry can initiate workflow•Workflow updates list entry on completion or status updates.

• Just a foundation!

Adaptive Case Management Version Chart

Version Functionality Extensibility

Alfresco 3.4 Core functionalityReplication

EasyNot existant

Alfresco 4.0 Core functionalityReplication

EasySupported

Alfresco 4.2 Core functionalityReplication

EasyBetter as in 4.0?

Share 3.4 Components Modules

Complicatednot existing

Share 4.0 ComponentsModulesMarkers

EasyBasicNot yet

Share 4.2 ComponentsModulesMarkers

EasygoodYes

Activiti 5.7 (Alfresco <4.2)

Call Activiti expressionSignalsCompensationMessagesOther cool stuff

NoNoNoNoNo

Activiti 5.10 (Alfresco 4.2)

Call Activiti expressionSignalsCompensationMessagesOther cool stuff

yesyesyesyesyes

Activiti Adaptive Case Management

Implementation

• Initiated two month ago as Jakarta Alfresco Community project

• Goal• Learn about Alfresco by doing something useful and which is fun

• Delivery Date 1st release• Missed

• When to be expected?• November 2012

• Where to be found• http://code.google.com/p/alfresco-adaptive-case-management-toolkit

Q & A

References• Presentations: • Keith Swenson:

The Nature of Knowledge Workhttp://www.slideshare.net/kswenson/the-nature-of-knowledge-work

• Books:• Keith Swenson: Mastering the Unpredictable• Keith Swenson: Taming the Unpredictable• Jakob Freund, Bernd Ruecker: Real Life BPMN• Jakob Freund, Bernd Ruecker: Praxis Handbuch BPMN

• Web:• Activiti User Guide:

http://www.activiti.org/userguide/index.html• Alfresco Wiki:

http://wiki.alfresco.com/wiki/Main_Page

• Blogs: http://blogs.alfresco.com/wp/• David Draper: http://blogs.alfresco.com/wp/ddraper/• Will Abson: http://blogs.alfresco.com/wp/wabson/

References…

• Training:• Alfresco Share Configuration• Alfresco Share Development• Alfresco Activiti Workflow• Alfresco API Developer• Customized Training Alfresco: Averi• BPMN and Process Analysis: Camunda

• Adaptive Case Management Toolkit• http://code.google.com/p/alfresco-adaptive-case-management-toolkit

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• Stay tuned for the first code to be posted shortly