Practical Process Automation

Orchestration and Integration in Microservices and Cloud Native Architectures

I remember very clearly when I first decided to use a small open source workflow engine, implemented in Java, to write a piece of business software for a friend 20 years ago. This decision changed my life. I got very enthusiastic about process auto‐ mation and engaged in the community of that open source project. Ultimately this experience pushed me toward cofounding my own company, which went on to become the leading vendor of source-available process automation tooling (I could never, ever have dreamed of the big names now using our software!). My aim with this book is not only to share my excitement about process automation, but also to explain how to apply process automation technology in real life, in a pragmatic and developer-friendly way. But first, an anecdote. During high school a good friend of mine started their own business; a specialized retail store for graphics cards. You may remember these cards if you’ve assembled a computer—they could be “modded” to get more power out of the chip, which allowed gamers to buy cheaper cards and achieve better performance. The business model required handling each physical graphic card as an individual item and establishing very specific procedures around sales and distribution. My friend was successful with this business model. Actually, very successful. So successful that the process, which was based on manual handling and emails, broke down. Orders were delayed, and piles of graphics cards, as well as unprocessed returned parcels, started filling the rooms.