The Office Process Redesign Language

This book describes OPRL, which is both an approach and a language for office process redesign. Adaptability and the effective use of information technology to anticipate the redesign of office process, to seize news business or re-organize an office procedure to meet new requirements, is a critical success factor for many managers. New office system implementations must be adaptable and agile to meet rapidly changing office process needs. OPRL is a tool for managers confronted with these challenges. OPRL allows 'hands on' managers and staff to communicate and approve the requirements (the deliverables) of an office, how to organize the office acceptably to the staff (who does what, who is responsible for delivery) and design internet-based office systems so that the office processes can be generated, tested, simulated, operated and adapted effectively. This book, which is the result of research projects conducted at the Swiss and European levels, describes the OPRL approach and language. It emphasizes the adabptability of OPRL in its use for clarifying the purpose of an office process or deciding how an office is to be organized (or reorganized). In more detail, the book describes what tasks have to be undertaken to deliver the required services and how OPRL can be used quite flexibly to generate the technology infrastructure to support the e-office and to take advantage of information technology. An incremental and people sensitive approach to redesign is emphasized, underscoring OPRL as a geniune communications tool to support business process management.