Business Process Management

Architectural Overview

The Business Process Management (BPM) architecture is composed of five main areas:

Portal – The portal acts as the gateway, knowledge base, and application launch pad.
Function – A business function is a name or phrase used to describe a process (using business oriented terminology). Functions are typically listed in the portal as specific, role defined activities. For example, an insured customer (role) working in the portal would click on the "file claim" (function) to start the claim filing process.
Process – The Process Model or Definition describe business function by setting boundaries around one or more tasks.
Service – A service represents the implemented task. Services implement tasks through various technologies such as web-based user interfaces (forms), tracking, automation, and transaction management. The service also represents a single capability. Services are orchestrated into and deliver value towards the completion of a business process.
Integration – Integration is the result of connecting a service to one or more underlying enterprise resources.