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Enhancing Efficiency: Workflow Systems at APNIC

This document discusses the concept of workflow and workflow systems, emphasizing their significance in improving operations at APNIC. It covers the definition of workflows, workflow models, and the API that enables execution. The benefits of adopting structured workflows include modular code, improved response times, and enhanced automation of tasks. The workflows at APNIC demonstrate both external and internal processes, highlighting areas like membership management and expense claims. The summary concludes with future directions and the potential for further development of workflow systems.

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Enhancing Efficiency: Workflow Systems at APNIC

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  1. Workflow Systems at APNICHow they help everyone Robert Loomans <robertl@apnic.net> February 2, 2007

  2. Contents • What is a “workflow”? • What is a “workflow system”? • Why care? • Workflows at APNIC • Workflow systems at APNIC • Where to from here? • Summary • Resources

  3. What is a “workflow”? • Data • State or Context • Process …or Business Process

  4. Process

  5. What is a “workflow system”? • Workflow model • Data store • Workflow definition • Programming API • Workflow engine • Execution • Remote API? • Modeling and analysis tools

  6. Why care? • Structured development • Decouple different layers • More modular, reusable code • More definition and declaration • More manageable operations • Less random cronjobs • Less scary direct poking in databases or files • Potential for better logging, stats and audit trails • Privileged code running in one place • Access control

  7. Really, why care? • Faster responses from APNIC and much better worst case • Quicker fixes to broken processes • More automation of common tasks

  8. Hype Source: The State of Workflow by Tom Baeyens

  9. Workflows at APNIC • External • New membership • Resource application • Help! • Membership renewal • Lame DNS delegations • Policy drafting • Internal • Travel and leave requests • Expense claims • Purchasing • Software feature requests and bugs

  10. Workflow systems at APNIC • Web forms  Email • No structure • Request Tracker • Ad-hoc applications • Workflow.pm

  11. Email • Trail of email messages • Spam • Little or no metadata

  12. Request Tracker • Email gateway • Spam • Limited metadata • Difficult to impose business processes

  13. Ad-hoc applications • Slow development cycle • Duplicated bugs • Proliferation of cronjobs on multiple servers • Difficult to change

  14. Workflow.pm • Simple Perl module on CPAN • Not a separate WFE • XML workflow definition • States • Actions • Conditions • Works but immature

  15. Billing renewal notifications • Notices to members asking them to pay up • Were done manually from an Excel spreadsheet

  16. Very Happy finance staff Happy software staff Happy ops staff Found problems with existing data and processes How successful?

  17. Where to from here? • Extend member workflow • More workflows • Workflow engine • Java, .NET or PHP • jBPM http://www.jboss.com/products/jbpm • OpenWFE http://www.openwfe.org/ • con:cern http://con-cern.org/

  18. Resources • The State of Workflow - Tom Baeyens http://www.jboss.com/products/jbpm/stateofworkflow • Process Management Standards Overview - Michael zur Muehlen http://www.wfmc.org/standards/docs/Process_Management_Standards_files/frame.htm • Open Source Workflow Engines in Java http://www.java-source.net/open-source/workflow-engines

  19. Summary • Useful? Yes! • Lots more to do, but definitely worthwhile even in a simple form

  20. Questions?

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