RE: 16 Mar. Conference Call notice

[Bob Haugen <linkage@interaccess.com>]

I am concerned that there is no agreement on what we mean
by "business process" or "metamodel" and thus no idea what
we are proposing to do in Seattle April 3-7.

In preparation for the conference call tomorrow, let me suggest
some definitions - or at least some ideas that might lead to
an agreed definition.

I intend this as a straw-man:  not as an edict, but something
to get the participants at least discussing the issues.
If you think I am missing some critical issues, you are
probably correct.  Help?

1. The focus of the ebXML business process metamodel
should be the external relationships of trading partners,
not the internal processes of individual companies.

2. The external relationships we should focus on first
are those involved with purchasing, or exchanges of
resources between parties.

3. B2B purchasing happens in two main contexts:
production components or supply chain relationships,
and non-production purchasing (office supplies, MRO,
etc.)  The processes differ dramatically between those
two purchasing contexts.
An ebXML business process metamodel must handle
both of those contexts - not just non-production purchasing.

4. Production component purchasing is characterized
by multi-stage agreements, for example:
Yearly contracts with detailed product specifications
Long-range forecasts
Short-range forecasts
    authorizations to procure materials
    authorizations to fabricate 
Changes to all of the above
Shipping authorizations
Sometimes demand-pull signals like electronic Kanbans
   (EDIFACT DELJIT)
The ebXML business process metamodel must handle
all stages of procurement relationships between trading
parties.

"Business process metamodel" cannot be so general
that it loses all business content.  For example, 
"Process", "Step", "Participant", or some other
very general process model is too abstract;
it could describe anything, and so yet another
project would be required to define *business* processes.

The business process metamodel should be at least
as concrete as the production component purchasing
agreement stages outlined above.

Okay, please shoot me...

Respectfully,
Bob Haugen