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.

Sherry Smith discovered the indexing profession as a third career in the mid 1990s. Since then, she has worked as a freelancer who specializes in scholarly books that cover a variety of subject areas.

During her indexing career, she has served American Society of Indexers (ASI) at the regional and national level. In the Pacific Northwest Chapter of ASI, Sherry has been an officer and continues to coordinate several of the chapter's committees. At the national level, she has served on the Wilson Award Committee and written articles for Key Words.

Sherry also provides basic indexing tutorials and offers workshops for advanced indexers.

Kari Kells began indexing in 1994. She has been teaching indexing since 1998 through the Graduate School of the USDA, University of Washington's Technical Communications department, Emporia State University's Graduate School of Library and Information Management, and through Index West.

She was a founding member of the Pacific Northwest chapter of ASI and has remained active in that chapter. Kari also served ASI at the national level. She is currently a member of Indexing and Abstracting Society of Canada.

Since 1995, Kari has been on the faculty of Pierce College Library, winner of the Association of College and Research Libraries' 2005 Excellence in Academic Libraries Award.