As we enter 2014, it is always good to take stock of our accomplishments as well as lay out new goals for the New Year. There is so much activity in the SOA/BPM space that it can be challenging to focus on the key activities that will best help you reach your business and IT goals.
Below are some ideas to get you started for your 2014 SOA and BPM New Year’s resolutions:
1. Investigate the Oracle BPM 11.1.1.7 upgrade (Patch Set 6). Many of our clients have implemented this key upgrade already and many others are looking at it closely. As we head into 2014, spend time investigating the benefits and lay out an implementation plan and timeline. A great overview of the features is available in pdf format and the detailed info can be found on Oracle Support.
2. Automate More of Your Development and Testing. This is an area we can all improve and the benefits will be immediately visible to both to the time you spend in development/deployment and the quality of the system delivered to users. AVIO has published several blogs on testing and one on automated build.
3. Follow some blogs to stay current. With all of the new trends in both process management, SOA, BPM, cloud, mobile, etc, etc – spend a few minutes each week reading blogs. This will not only help you ensure you stay current, but also will give you items to discuss with your internal IT or business partners. It might also challenge your thinking a bit and bring some new ideas into your approach on SOA, BPM and delivering project value. Here are a few to get you started:
- RedStack – Great Oracle Fusion Middleware (SOA, BPM, ADF, etc) posts from a broad set of technical minds from Oracle and outside.
- End to End BPM – Both BPM and general IT topics are covered here
- Column2 – A great blog from an independent analyst in the BPM space
- Antony Reynolds – Technical blogs on Fusion Middleware and SOA
4. Focus on KPIs and Reporting. As you look at embarking on new initiative or extending existing projects, be sure to focus on your key performance indicators (KPIs) and reporting as a top priority. Too often, these are left to the end of an implementation, meaning you risk not achieving the goals that the project was set out to achieve. Focusing on the KPIs at the beginning and along the way will ensure a tighter Business and IT partnership and will keep the project’s goals front and center.
What are your SOA and BPM resolutions for 2014? I would love to hear your comments below!