Oracle ERP Partner Days – among like-minded people in the Think-Tank

Packaged Business Software implemented efficiently with process-oriented reference models

Ettlingen, May 3, 2010 – How process-oriented reference models can be sensible when implementing packaged business software, is what was made clear by Thomas Karle from PROMATIS software GmbH in his speech at the Oracle ERP Partner Days. The event took place from April 29th through 30th in Dreieich near Frankfurt and offered the participating Oracle partners an opportunity to find out more about trends, to test product innovations in practice workshops and to exchange best practices.

With an example from practice, Thomas Karle pointed out that reference models with preset business processes can decisively accelerate the implementation of business software. The models, based on Petri nets, are used e.g. for industry-specific standard processes to map processes for IT systems that are typical for a certain branch. As procedure models they are also suitable to complete projects. Karle demonstrated how PROMATIS uses the reference models to efficiently implement the Oracle E-Business Suite. In the framework of a requirement analysis, modeling the business processes that have to be permuted makes the basis for building up the software architecture. The scope of challenges in this context however is very widely spread: from unclearly defined requirements over a too high level of abstraction, which makes the description of processes demanding, up to not having enough time to draw up the documentation. Therefore, process-oriented reference models are especially sensible. They reduce the complexity and enable for a clear hierarchic structure for the processes, from rough procedures from the economic point of view to detailed functionalities and SOP for special user roles. They are structured according to the core processes of a business, e.g. Order2Cash. This process makes the interaction of involved business services transparent.

“In diverse projects, preset processes and structures have contributed in mapping complex requirements and drawing up a detailed documentation for the implementation,” said Karle. This enables for fast implementation and optimal alignment to industry-specific requirements.