Practical Process Automation

Chapter 1. Introduction

Let’s get started! This chapter discusses:

• What I mean by process automation

• Specific technical challenges when automating processes

• What a workflow engine can do and why this provides a ton of value

• How business and IT can collaborate when automating processes

• How modern tools differ very much from BPM and SOA tooling from the past

Process Automation

In essence, a process (or workflow) simply refers to a series of tasks that need to be performed to achieve a desired result.

Processes are everywhere. As a developer, I think of my personal development process as being able to manage certain tasks that go from an issue to a code change that is then rolled out to production. As an employee, I think of optimizing my process around handling emails, which involves techniques for prioritizing them quickly and keeping my inbox empty. As a business owner, I think of end-to-end business processes like fulfilling customer orders, known as “order to cash.” And as a backend developer, I might also think of remote calls in my code, as these involve a series of tasks—especially if you consider retry or cleanup tasks, because a distributed system can fail at any time.

Processes can be automated on different levels. The main distinction is if a human controls the process, if a computer controls the process, or if the process is fully automated. Here are some examples that highlight these different levels of automation.

After high school, I helped organize meals-on-wheels ...