Automating Business Processes through Composite Business Applications As a Service Oriented Architecture approach to application development becomes mainstream, the notion of assembling low-level services into business services which in turn are used to build working applications is becoming increasingly popular.  This presentation will explore the relationship between SOA and Business Process Management as well as the benefits of assembling business services into Composite Business Applications (CBAs) to automate business processes.

Bill Fay IBM

Bill Fay is a Business Process Management Specialist in the WebSphere software brand at IBM working with customers in and around the Great Lakes area.  Prior to taking on this role, Mr. Fay held various technical roles with IBM and Rational Software dating back to 1994, including Software Engineering Specialist and Technical Sales Manager.  Prior to joining Rational Software in 1994, Mr. Fay held software development positions with several companies in the military/aerospace field.  Mr. Fay holds a B.S. Electrical Engineering degree from Michigan State University and a M.S. Software Engineering degree from the University of Houston, Clear Lake.

The Challenges with Maturing Start-ups Microsoft has burgeoned since its start in 1975 and incorporation in 1981. Products, services, employee numbers, revenues, campus size, and international presence have all flourished, making the company more complex and challenging to understand. Microsoft’s IT Quality and Business Excellence (QBE) organization is dealing with evolving from “Start-up” mode to a more mature corporation, responsible to its stockholders for shareholder value and profitability. This evolution comes with several key challenges as evidenced through the following themes:   ·         Implementing Quality Programs in non-distressed organizations ·         Funding Models – Project initiation and funding in organizations where the main business is IT ·         Portfolio Management – The challenges of aligning business and IT technology strategies ·         Implementing enterprise-wide architectural standards in a technology driven business ·         Enforcing IT Lifecycle standards and processes in a complex, creative environment

Don Warner     Microsoft

Don Warner’s career in IT began with the Eastman Kodak Company, where he was a CICS Systems Analyst. From there Don quickly moved to the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan, where he enjoyed a long career (29+ years) in a variety of IT management capacities.  Don joined Microsoft in May of 2008, and is currently the Senior Quality Program Manager within the Quality and Business Excellence (QBE) organization, responsible for directing quality efforts across the entire worldwide Microsoft IT organization. He is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and Master Black Belt, and was responsible for the development of Ford’s Design For Six Sigma (DFSS) training. Don completed a Doctoral degree in IT Management from Lawrence Technological University in 2007. Prior to this, Don earned a Master of Science degree in Information Systems from the University of Michigan, an MBA from Rochester Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Michigan, where he also earned All-Big Ten Scholastic and Scholar/Athlete awards.

Managing Process Components of Strategy and Architecture Large organizations have hundreds of business processes they must manage, optimize and automate.  When the scope of this effort increases from a few business processes to the entire enterprise, the business processes must be managed within the context of the enterprise's strategy and architecture.  An enterprise’s strategy encompasses its external environment, its internal capabilities and its on-going direction.  Enterprise Architecture structures the people, processes, products and goals of the business.  This presentation will take a brief look at both the components of strategy and architecture, and an approach for managing processes within this context.  All of which is necessary for the successful automation of processes by IT.

Brian James   Metastorm

Brian James is Director of Product Management at Metastorm. Brian is charged with setting product direction for the Metastorm ProVision® and Metastorm Knowledge Exchange™ product set. Prior to the acquisition of Proforma Corporation, he was Chief Methodologist and Vice President of Product Management for Proforma. He also served as the Director of Proforma’s Training organization for a number of years. Brian is an international conference speaker on Enterprise Architecture, Business Process Analysis and Business Object modeling. Brian worked with the BPMI, which developed the original specification for the BPMN modeling language. In addition, he has extensive experience implementing best practices and methodologies in many Fortune 500 organizations. Brian has over 30 years of industry experience. He has been developing business application systems since 1976, and has applied model-based approaches as a consultant since 1985

Lean Information Systems Lean rules are a guide, helping in the design, operation, and improvement of organizations. They help organizations understand which direction to go when looking at their processes. This presentation will highlight the lean rules and principles that apply to information systems and services, and will introduce the 10 hurdles that information should clear to be considered lean.

Ron Holcomb Lean Learning Center

Ron Holcomb is a partner, consultant and trainer with the Lean Learning Center. Previously, Ron spent thirty years working to improve the automotive manufacturing processes at the Ford Motor Company and Visteon Automotive Systems. He was the Quality and Information Systems Manager on the launch team of the Romeo Engine Plant which produces the world class Modular Engine for Ford Motor Company.   Ron Holcomb has worked with hundreds of manufacturing sites in automotive tier 1, 2 and 3 plants. While personally managing the axle assembly operations at the Sterling Axle Plant, he introduced lean concepts and won national acclaim. He was published as a competitor in the Franz Edlehman Award for excellence in Industrial Operations Engineering as a result of productivity improvements in the Front Axle Assembly Department at Sterling. He has taught SPC, TQM, FPS and Lean Systems to thousands of students and manufacturing professionals. He is a regular guest lecturer at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Detroit Mercy and has been very active in research and teaching programs at Michigan Technological University. Mr. Holcomb has a B.S. in Computer Science and an MBA in Manufacturing Planning and Control Systems.