Business Process Management Standards

by Paul Allen

Executive Summary
Business process management (BPM) is gaining in momentum, receiving serious attention from many vendors and catching the attention of senior end-user management. Web services and BPM languages, coupled with good techniques and strategies, have the potential to break the cycle of inflated vendor promises and failed customer projects that is all too prevalent in our industry. In last month's CDS, I provided an overview of BPM and summed up the strategic issues and opportunities. This month, I continue our discussion by drilling down into the key area of standards. We'll look in some detail at Web services and the associated standards bodies before moving on to BPM languages. In researching these standards and languages, I have been amazed at the sheer proliferation of initiatives and three- and four-letter acronyms in my journeys across the Internet. Obtaining a clear picture of what is complex and difficult terrain has not been an easy task. My main aim can be summed up very easily: to make some sense of what is going on! Above all, vendors and end users alike must achieve consensus in a way that balances the need for standards with the reality of gaining competitive edge.