Book Review
NEW TOOLS FOR NEW TIMES:
THE WORKFLOW PARADIGM,
SECOND EDITION
The Impact of Information Technology on
Business Process Reengineering
 $34.95. Quality
softcover, 352 pages. Illustrations, charts, references, appendices,
bibliographies, recommended reading, index. ISBN 0-9640233-2-6
Our Price: $29.70 You Save: $5.24 (15%)
Published by Future Strategies Inc., Book Division
2436 N. Federal Highway #374
Lighthouse Point FL 33064
Tel: 954-782-3376, Fax: 954-782-6365.
Available from your bookstore or direct from the publisher.
Click here to order!
One benefit of an anthology is the breadth of experience and
talent that the contributing authors bring to the subject, like musicians to a
symphony. The reader is presented with a more balanced presentation than
available from a single author beating a solo drum of opinion. Here, you are
able to weigh the different ideas and approaches from leading academics,
consultants, users and vendors in the workflow and BPR community.
This second edition of New Tools for New Times: The
Workflow Paradigm enables readers to figure out how to think about workflow
and business process reengineering. It has also been "reengineered" in
keeping with the philosophy expounded by the contributing authors of this
excellent anthology. The first edition was a best-seller in its field.
Several important new chapters have been added: Process-Driven
Workflow, Workflow and Electronic Commerce, Workflow Management Standards and
Interoperability, and a Three-Step Process to Workflow Automation. Other
chapters have been updated and revised. The Vendor Directory has been verified,
expanded and updated.
Contributors include industry luminaries Dr. Peter Denning,
Prof. Nick Imparato, Amy Wohl, Ronni Marshak, Nina Burns, Dr. Stanley Soles,
Bruce Silver, Dr. Helene Roos, Keith Swenson, Torrey Byles, Susanna Opper, Dr.
Raul Medina-Mora, James Bair and more... The authors represent as many
different backgrounds and disciplines as there are BPR interpretations and
workflow methodologies.
The book characterizes the evolution of a powerful new process
paradigm. It is for managers, consultants, researchers, vendors, and academics,
providing extensive coverage of the organizational, managerial, methodological
and technological concepts and techniques necessary for successful business
process change. Several detailed case studies complete the book. It is also
excellent for use in the classroom as a text book on BPR or process change.
According to editor Layna Fischer, "The first edition was
a tremendous success - the best-seller in its field - but successes need to be
examined. I believe that both books and companies need to be reinvented on a
continual basis in order to remain successful.
"The first edition of this book was a valuable resource
and, to date, the only one of its kind available, not only for thousands of
practitioners and users in our industry, but also for hundreds of university and
graduate students around the world," said
Fischer.
Tremendous confusion still exists about business process
reengineering (BPR) however, and how to use it most effectively. Despite the
growing numbers of related titles on the bookshelves, there are still
insufficient data to meet informational needs.
Reengineering has to do with reviewing how a business works in
order to achieve dramatic performance improvement and be more responsive to the
customer. Grasping that much puts you into the right ballpark - only to discover
vast confusion about the game in progress.
Is BPR the same as business process improvement, workflow
redesign and management? How close are they, in turn, to incremental process
improvement, business transformation or core process redesign? How does workflow
automation fit into all this? What tools are at my command? So, the question
remains: What do workflow automation and BPR mean to me, the user?
To find answers, Fischer turned to people whose experience,
knowledge and insights she trusted. This anthology is the result.
Because this book is also intended to be a continuing
reference guide, the editor has included a Vendor Directory wherein most
companies provide short profiles of their product offerings. Because she
realizes that new products are constantly being developed in this area, Fischer
welcomes submissions from companies not listed here to be included in the next
edition of the book.
Layna Fischer heads up WARIA,
the Workflow And Reengineering International Association, in addition to
being President and CEO of Future Strategies Inc., a publishing and information
company specializing in BPR and workflow. Email: layna@waria.com
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