Decisions without processes?

If you ask folks in the process world how decisions fit in they will answer without question that they are just tasks in a process and with BPMN and CMMN being the dominant standard for processes and case, naturally, they assume a decision is simply some DMN or code in a BPMN process or CMMN compliant case tool. Reality is very different.

In my experience, the vast majority of larger real-world decision automation implementations are not orchestrated by BPM workflow tools or case tools and should be built to be fully independent of any BPM or case specifications and vendors tools.

Decisions can be executed in numerous ways:

• As batch jobs,

• As web services,

• As microservices,

• From streaming,

• In grid computing,

• As API’s,

• Orchestrated directly by integration busses,

• End-user applications,

• Embedded in mobile applications, and more.

Workflow and case tools are seldom used to orchestrate larger decision automation problems.

In fact, it is quite the opposite, the process or case tooling is there to support the decision that the organization is trying to make. It is the decision that is central, processes are simply orchestrating the collection of data from various actors in order for the decisions to have sufficient data at the right times.