Rob Davis – författare

At the end of the 1980s, Professor August-Wilhelm Scheer developed ARIS as a meta-model for organisational modelling and to provide a procedural model for recording, analysis and optimisation of business processes and their implemen- tion in software systems. In 1993, IDS Scheer released ARIS Toolset; the first version of the ARIS modelling software based upon the ARIS methodology. Today, the ARIS Platform is confirmed by the Gartner Group (2001) and Forrester Research (2006) as the worldwide market leader in business process modelling and BPM software. The Platform consists of more than 20 different products covering the whole BPM lifecycle from business process strategy, to process design and through process implementation to process controlling. The ARIS products and the ARIS method are also delivered through strong partn- ships with companies such as SAP or Oracle. This success shows that IDS Scheer is always aligned to the wishes and requirements of our customers and partners.

Following on from Rob Davis’ successful introductory book, ARIS Design Platform: Getting Started with BPM, Rob now covers in detail some of the more advanced concepts of using ARIS Business Architect.This is a practical ‘how-to’ guide and contains tips, techniques and short cuts gained from practical experience and explains clearly how to use ARIS and why ARIS is a powerful tool for process modeling. Advanced concepts such as the following are presented in this reader-friendly and concise guide: - Matrix editor, - Find and query, - Model generation, - Method filters and method changes, - Templates and fonts, - Reports and semantic checks, - Macros, - Transformations, - Database administration, - User management.This easy-to-follow advanced text is a must have guide and reference for all users who want to increase their ARIS skills, and for those who need to undertake advanced model and database management.

This practical 'how-to'book describes all the key operations of ARIS Toolset - the market leading Business Process Modelling Tool. Using lots of screen shots and plenty of practical examples, Rob Davis shows how ARIS can be used to model 'your' business processes. Based on his experience of using ARIS in British Telecommunications plc, the author describes practical ways of using ARIS Toolset:- Explaining the models and techniques that will enable new users to start modelling quickly and effectively. - Introducing tips and short cuts which make using the tool much easier. - Giving insights into the ARIS concepts. - Explaining the rationale behind alternative ways of using the tool, their benefits and the trade-offs involved. - Tackling issues found in real projects (e.g. complex model structures, handling variety, etc), as opposed to the simple examples given in many books. In addition to describing how to use the tool, Rob Davis discusses how to create standards for using ARIS as well as giving guidance on how to use ARIS for process capture and design. Business Process Modelling with ARIS is a 'must have'for every user of ARIS.

The second volume of Don Quixote is much darker than the first, picking up the story where Volume I left off and taking us to Don Quixote's death. Don Quixote battles cats, puppets and the famous Knight of the Mirrors. He plunges head first into the legendary Cave of Montesinos and seeks to disenchant his imaginary truelove Dulcinea del Toboso, who is imprisoned there. Meanwhile Sancho Panza is finally given an island to rule over by the Duke and Duchess who, like many characters Quixote and Sancho meet in Vol II, have read Vol I. The Duke and Duchess play endless cruel tricks on our heroes and slowly our heroes’ madness and foolishness becomes painfully apparent. On his deathbed Quixote becomes Alonso once more, he finally denies the existence of Giants, Knights, Damsels and to Sancho’s horror he denies there ever was a Don Quixote de la Mancha. Sancho begs that they should ride out one more time, but it is too late Alonso Quixana is dead.

In the British Comic Award-winning The Motherless Oven, Scarper Lee asked: “Who the hell is Vera Pike?” In the second part of Rob Davis’ trilogy, we get a chance to find out. This is Vera’s story. Grave Acre is a cruel world of opportunity and control. Vera’s mother is the Weather Clock, the omnipotent and megalomaniacal Prime Minister of Chance. Her father is a can opener. Charting Vera’s unsettling childhood, the book takes us from her home in Parliament to suicide school, and from the Bear Park to the black woods that lie beyond. In the present day, Vera and Castro Smith are determined to see their friend Scarper again – but is he still alive? And if so, can they save him? Can anyone outlive their deathday? Both a sequel and a darkly inventive standalone graphic novel, The Can Opener’s Daughter answers many of the questions posed in The Motherless Oven, while asking plenty more of its own.

The Motherless Oven and The Can Opener’s Daughter may have raised more questions than they answered. But The Book of Forks explains everything. Castro Smith finds himself imprisoned within the mysterious Power Station, writing his Book of Forks while navigating baffling daily meetings with Poly, a troubled young woman who may be his teacher, his doctor, his prison guard… or something else entirely. Meanwhile, back home, Vera and Scarper’s search for their missing friend takes them through the chaotic warzone of the Bear Park and into new and terrifying worlds. With The Book of Forks, Rob Davis completes his abstract adventure trilogy by stepping inside Castro’s disintegrating mind, to reveal the truth about the history of the world, the meaning of existence and the purpose of kitchen scales.