There are 2 fundamental kinds of business process:
- Task-Oriented: Work that can be understood as a set of related tasks, where the structure is based around SIPOC – Suppliers use Inputs to Produce Outputs for Customers. Examples of these processes include manufacturing, order fulfilment, logistics, finance, HR and so on.
- Information-Oriented: Work that can be understood in terms of individual and shared goals, where the structure is based around the 5 principles of Human Interaction Management (HIM) – effective teams, structured communication, use of knowledge, time management and dynamic planning. Examples of these processes include R&D, marketing, complex sales, project management, M&A, and organizational change generally.
Role Modellers provides techniques and tools for Information-Oriented Processes, which focus on Goals and Knowledge Creation/Use/Maintenance.
In Information-Oriented processes:
- A Plan has an overall Goal and multiple, possibly concurrent Stages with separate sub-Goals.
- In each Stage people play Roles with separate responsibilities, resulting in the provision of Deliverables.
- Plan members negotiate via Stage-specific communication channels to evolve the Plan during usage.
- A Deliverable may be produced via sub-Plans and used as an Input by other Roles.
- A Plan is made either ad-hoc or from a template. Any Plan can be turned into a template for future Plans, thus enabling re-use and improvement of collaborative work.
- Enterprise resources are included in a Plan by defining a Task that invokes a Web service, URL, or workflow in a BPMS that orchestrates multiple Web service calls.
- The Plan owner manages the work in a Plan, adjusting use of Deliverables and approving Stage/Deliverable statuses as necessary.
- The resulting network of Plans may cross any organizational boundaries.
The business change required to implement support for Information-Oriented Processes can be managed using the methodology Goal-Oriented Organization Design (GOOD).