Creating a Join in Blueprint

This post will demonstrate how one can create a join when diagramming a process in Blueprint.

One can also see an example with in Blueprint using the Template library. To find this example

1. Click on Template Library grouping on the left side
2. In the drop down select Process Patterns
3. Click on Parallel Flow with a Simple Split

This shows an example of a join.

Look at the following video to show how one can create a join when diagramming in Blueprint.

Announcing the Blueprint June 2010 Release

The June 2010 update is now live on blueprint.lombardi.com! In this release, we’ve made it easier than ever to focus in on the parts of your processes and your business that matter the most to you. We’ve added the ability to follow any object in Blueprint, whether it is an entire project or process, an individual input or output, or role associated with a particular activity.

Let’s take a look at the enhancements in detail:

• Follow Me: Unfortunately, our responsibilities usually don’t fall neatly within the bounds of a single process. If you’re the owner of a critical IT system, how do you know what are all the processes that depend on you? How do you know when they change? Similarly, if you’re in a role that often has cross functional responsibilities, how do you know when there’s a process change that requires your attention?

  The solution: follow the items that you’re responsible for or interested in inside Blueprint.

  Let’s take a look at how it works:
  

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Blueprint Best Practices – Import From Visio

Check out the latest edition of the Blueprint Best Practices Webinar Series on Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 10:00 am, CST (Chicago, GMT-06:00).

Some of the topics we will cover include:
· What to do before you import the Visio file
· What to do during the file transfer
· What to do after importing the file to ensure quick and successful importing of processes

Blueprint is the most simple and intuitive way for your team to map and collaborate on business processes. Click here to register for the webinar.

Live from Forrester!

This week, Lombardi has been at the Forrester IT Forum 2010 – The Business Technology Transformation: Making it Real.  The conference is taking place at the Palazzo Hotel Resort Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

So far it has been great, in fact, we just wrapped up our Guest Executive Forum where we had Lincoln Trust Company speak on our behalf about their successful implementation of Lombardi BPM.  Speakers included Bonnie Lewis, VP of Business Operations and Bill Garner, Senior IT Director of Solutions and Innovation.

Lincoln Trust Company (LTC) took advantage of our BPM capabilities to go beyond their main challenges of standardizing their document management and workflow processes,  to bridging the gap between their IT and Business side of the house.  Session attendees learned not only about the great results achieved by LTC (120% ROI in year 1 and 90% reduction in customer complaints),  but also about the lessons learned by LTC throughout their BPM journey (don’t over analyze, build the right team capabilities), along with tips on how to get started on the BPM journey.

As you have heard from us time and again – the success of our customers is what drives us to innovate and deliver products that can help solve crucial business problems.  Special thanks to Bonnie and Bill for a wonderful presentation as well as to the session attendees for the insightful questions!

Lombardi: Driven to Impact 2010

We are extremely excited to have had such a tremendous presence at Impact 2010.  The impressive conference of more than 6,000 registrants took place at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada May 2-7, 2010.

Welcome Keynote

We kicked off the week with Lombardi Day, a special Lombardi Driven event specifically for Lombardi customers and partners. Lombardi and IBM leaders  were on-site to provide an executive update on the state of Lombardi as well as a status on the acquisition and how Lombardi will fit within the IBM WebSphere portfolio.

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The May 2010 Update: IBM BPM Blueprint

Kicking It Off … Lombardi Style!

Kickoff 2010 was hosted by Lombardi February 22nd-26th.  Kickoff is an annual, company-wide conference in Austin, Texas that has been a wonderful tradition at Lombardi since 2004.  This year, not only did we have all world-wide Lombardians come to downtown Austin, but we also had a large number of IBMers attend.  This week-long conference was definitely valuable for the successful integration of Lombardi into the IBM family – we were able to meet, enjoy each other’s company and learn about one another throughout the different meetings and events.

It all started Monday evening at the Austin Music Hall with an interesting presentation by Phil Gilbert at the Opening Reception.  This was followed by the 2010 Lombardi Science Fair, an event that has been at Lombardi for 5 years now and is something we hope IBM will continue well into the future.

Phil's presentation during Science Fair

Science Fair Passport and Program

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3 Lombardi Customers at Gartner London BPM Summit

Next week at the Gartner Business Process Management Summit in London, three Lombardi customers will be on hand to share their BPM success stories. The two-day conference is being held at the Lancaster Hotel from March 1-2, 2010.

• First, Paul Swinson, CREWS Programme Manager, Homeloan Management Ltd. (HML) will present a solution provider session detailing how the Company used BPM to improve the control and efficiency across its customer’s Credit Management Processes.  Attendees will discover how organisations can get the most BPM value from the 2009 ‘Global Excellence in BPM & Workflow’ award winner.

 Time: Monday, March 1, 14:30 – 15:00 in Westbourne 3

•  Next, Tukka Heinonen, Head of Business Process Management, Business Services Finland(part of TeliaSonera) will share his BPM experiences in an end-user case study – “Implementing BPM to Streamline Sales Process in TeliaSonera Finland.”

 Time: Monday, March 1, 15:25 – 16:05 in Westbourne 1

• Also,  Neil Francis, Head of Business Operations Support Services, Euler Hermes UK, will present an end-user case study entitled: “Beware – BPM Tools Are Very Seductive!” 

Time: Tuesday, March 2, 11:50 – 12:30 in Westbourne 1

Additionally, Jim Rudden, our global VP of marketing, will be participating in a Premier Sponsor panel discussion on the main stage. That panel, entitled “Speed Predicting,” is being moderated by Daryl Plummer, Managing VP and Gartner Fellow & Jim Sinur, Research VP, Gartner. The panel format is guaranteed to be unlike any you’ve seen in the past, so you won’t want to miss it.

Time: Monday March 1, 11:30 – 12:00 in Wesbourne 3. 

While you are at the conference, come by to meet the Lombardi team as well as our new IBM brethren in the Solution Showcase located in the Nine Kings Suite on the ground floor of the hotel.  As an added treat, we will be serving a sampling of Champagne, Chocolate and Strawberries on Monday night.

We hope to see you there!

Blueprint and WebSphere Business Modeler: A Great Match

Earlier today, we announced the completion of the deal that makes Lombardi a part of IBM. Now I’m very excited to share with you the first fruits of the merger: Blueprint now integrates with WebSphere Business Modeler.

WebSphere Business Modeler has some of the most advanced simulation capabilities on the market, so it’s a great option for taking the analysis of your process to the next level. Blueprint’s speed and simplicity combined with WBM’s deep capabilities make a great match.

You’ll find the new option for WebSphere Business Modeler on the Export Data screen. Try it out and let us know what you think!

A BPM Point of View – Lombardi’s Wes Chung Explains

RecentlyBPM:redux posted an interview with our very own Wes Chung. Wes is one of Lombardi’s Alliances Managers. In the post, Theo Priestley discusses various topics with Wes about Lombardi’s vision for BPM, its evolution to date and more.  There are some really great comments worth summarizing here in Process People.

Expectations for 2010 After a Fairly Turbulent 2009

We saw companies strategically select BPM as a means to improve their operating efficiency and also to position themselves competitively for eventual market condition improvements. In 2010, we are expecting that there will be an increased oversight and due diligence on how money actually gets spent.

Training and Education Services

We have expanded our offerings for both on-site and virtual classroom-style skills enhancement. Lombardi University covers all of the roles needed in a BPM program and at all of the skill levels for different responsibilities that exist.

Blueprint

Our customers are using the tool to improve their understanding of their processes and to drive process changes.  Blueprint has the ability to:

• Identify differences between operating branches or geographical units
• Standardize best practices and operating procedures
• Manage candidate projects across the portfolio of BPM initiatives

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