Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
“process” has now become “a set of operations done for achieving
something.” There is an important underlying notion of some “advance-
ment” with respect to time. Process includes all that is involved, or that
drives a transformation. It is a description of what is happening, at some
level of detail, in terms of the changes taking place. Hovering around
processes are similar sounding terms such as procedures, methodologies,
best practices, checklists, etc. Some of these terms, such as “best practices,”
are recent, emerging out of management consulting domains. Another
frequently encountered term is “procedure.” Procedures are rules with
expectations of compliance, and penalties if not followed. There is a
degree of formality associated with procedures. For example, one needs
procedures for conducting national elections — one does not need them
for a casual hiking trip.
Because “process” is loosely defined, it has led to loose usage, espe-
cially when used as “business processes.” For example, Thomas (1994)
cites the case of one large bank, which estimated that it had three core
processes, while another manager reckoned it had seventeen. In software
too, we encounter “process” in many places. Information systems and
computing are built on a simple model: input-process-output. COBOL
programmers turned to it whenever they could not give a meaningful
name to their piece of code: 1234-Process-Data came to the rescue.
Programs in execution are also called processes. This chapter uses the
term in the context of either business processes or processes related to
software development.
Process and Entropy
The human body can be considered an almost perfect system: it behaves
in a predictable manner, has seemingly innumerable processes that work
in sync with each other, and constantly endeavors to be frugal in con-
suming resources. The laws of thermodynamics and entropy (a measure
of the disorder in a system) explain most enzymatic processes in the
human body — from diffusing oxygen into the blood, to the deterioration,
decay, wear and tear, breakdown, and failure of cells in this perfect system.
There is a lot to learn from a study of the processes within the human
body and how that relates to the wax processes help maintain software
systems.
Processes are built to bring order to chaos. Situations will tend to
migrate a system from an ideal stable state of equilibrium to a state of
chaos. This is common in software projects, as in other projects. Project
management processes are used to restore equilibrium states. Multiple
processes are required and are at play at any time: processes for escalation,
