Information systems have become a critical part of the infrastructure of most, if not all, businesses, government organizations, and even individual households. To be useful, an information system must integrate and align with the way the business conducts its operations. By necessity this means that information systems construction requires an understanding of the organization"s procedures, operations, and processes. Articulating, modeling, and managing business processes and workflows are pre-conditions to successful automation. Business processes are part of the fabric of the business and represent a strategic and critical intellectual asset that needs to be understood and proactively managed. Processes are often cross-functional and involve multiple systems, software applications, and human assets - including employees, customers, partners, and vendors. Processes must be formally defined and documented so that they can be practiced uniformly and consistently across the...