What is meant by Process Orchestration?
The term "process orchestration" refers to the coordinated control and monitoring of multiple interlinked business processes within or across organizations. The aim of process orchestration is to ensure that all involved systems, applications, and stakeholders work together at the right time and in the right sequence to enable seamless process execution. It involves aligning both manual and automated activities.
Typical software functions in the area of "process orchestration":
- Business Process Modeling: Visual design and definition of workflows using standardized notations (e.g., BPMN).
- Workflow Management: Execution and control of predefined workflows through automated task assignment.
- System and Application Integration: Linking different IT systems to ensure seamless data flow.
- Rule-Based Process Control: Automated decision-making based on predefined rules or events.
- Monitoring and Real-Time Tracking: Supervising process execution via live dashboards to detect deviations early.
- Notification and Escalation Management: Automated alerts to relevant stakeholders in case of delays or errors.
- Auditing and Traceability: Comprehensive logging of all process steps to ensure transparency and compliance.
- Scalability and Reusability: Use of reusable process components for various workflows and scalability with increasing process volume.
Examples of "process orchestration":
- Automated handling of an online order including inventory check, invoicing, and shipping release.
- Cross-site coordination of a production process involving suppliers, manufacturing, and logistics.
- System-supported processing of a loan application including credit check, risk assessment, and contract approval.
- Digital case handling in a public authority involving review and approval steps across multiple departments.
- End-to-end orchestration of an IT service workflow from ticket intake to resolution across various support levels.