Infoworld: Fire up a workflow engine to improve software development
Workflow engines help ensure enterprise application development stays on track -- if you know how to use them
Workflow engines are underused and underappreciated. Most companies configure or develop enterprise software so that it implicitly reflects their business processes and leave it at that -- big mistake.
Instead, workflow engine can be used to provide state diagrams for developers. They enable you to map and store the state of the system, as well as hook into state transitions that trigger events and functionality.
Using a workflow engine forces you to rethink the way you write software. It forces you to decouple business process from business software, which can help your software become more robust and componentized. You retain the atomic components of your logic -- even if the overall process changes.
Further, using a workflow engine also provides solid documentation for your business process. A new developer, for instance, can understand the whole process at a glance, rather than only after they've read through thousands of lines of code or digested what a series of remote calls mean. Sure, you could document this anyhow, but I've rarely seen hand-generated documentation kept up to date after a few releases.
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Read the rest of my article over at InfoWorld.
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Comments
Great article on Workflow
Andrew, great article, we couldn't agree more!
A clear emerging trend in Level 3 (Manufacturing Operations Management - MOM) is towards workflow automation and workflow-based systems – because they are highly modular in nature and easily integrated/extended to achieve desired functionality and changing needs. They also support modular development and deployment. This iterative implementation methodology allows companies to start small, focus efforts, meet business objectives, prove out ROI and extend.
The manufacturing environment is a complex and diverse collection of systems, equipment and people operating in concert, unified by process. Processes are developed to handle standard activities that define how goods are manufactured. They are also developed to handle exception events that define the response to situations that should not happen but all too often do. Manufacturers invest time, effort and energy in defining and continuously improving those processes that most significantly influence their ability to execute profitably.
Our workflow automation software (Catalyst Workflow) is a controlled system designed specifically for the automation of workflow in the manufacturing environment. It is capable of handling the highly concurrent nature of communications within manufacturing operations, diverse and complex integration requirements to assets on a plant floor, and significant data and event volumes present in manufacturing. Workflows can be implemented individually to meet a focused need, or architected into systems to meet higher level functional needs. Any software functionality can be implemented as a system of workflows.
Best regards,
Jay Mellen
Exec. VP, Business Development
Savigent Software • http://www.savigent.com • @Savigent
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jaymellen
http://blog.savigent.com
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