Prince Mendix and the Trial of the Workflow App
(A fairy-tale allegory of how workflows tend to grow in complexity ;-)
Once upon a time in far-away Candy land, there lived a young and valiant Prince called Mendix, gifted with the ability to create unimaginably powerful and beautiful applications. While learning this trade, he had already created a lavish mobile bike-repair app for the town smithy, and a privacy-first confessional messaging app for the wise pastor of the town. It seemed his talents were great beyond his years.
As the Prince was about to turn twenty-one, King Mendix the 9th, his father, deemed him ready to marry, but the Prince first had to pass a trial. As per family tradition, Prince Mendix had to build an app for the grand herbal remedy company, Mansonta, to prove his worthiness. Once completed, Prince Mendix would present it during the ball of a thousand apps. If indeed he managed to deliver the perfect app at the ball, he would pass the trial successfully and be allowed to finally marry his beloved Princess Java.
Enthusiastic and undaunted, Prince Mendix ventured to and talked to Mr Mansonta himself to find out what the app needed to do. During the ensuing refinement talks, he arduously captured all requirements in a wondrous BPMN flow, seemingly simple at first glance. In fact, this is what he drew.
Prince Mendix also noted: “Mansonta Secretary receives Supplier Change Notification and starts Production-Chain analysis to see if any changes have to be made to ensure Mansonta keeps producing herbal tea. First global quality managers inspect. If they decide there is impact, depending on the type (global/local), the quality managers adapt production processes to ensure production continues.”
It seemed development would be fraught with challenges too! Since the Mendix Kingdom meticulously regulated the production of herbal teas, a comprehensive audit trail was vital. Mr Mansonta also stipulated that this process could currently take a very long time, sometimes stretching to over a year.
Prince Mendix was relieved when he’d finally been able to capture all requirements after two weeks of arduous work. Then, he valiantly set forth to craft the new app. Using his family-forged software tool (Mendix), he managed to quickly churn out a mesmerisingly beautiful application.
Finally, the eve of the ball of a thousand apps had arrived. People from all over the country had flocked to see what magical app their charming Prince Mendix had managed to create this time. Prince Mendix proudly presented the app, walking Mr Mansonta and everyone in the large ballroom through the workflow app he had built. Confident that he had been able to deliver what was intended, he asked Mansonta if he had passed the trial. Perhaps now he could finally marry his beloved Princess, who was standing in the corner, watching him lovingly.
A hushed silence fell over the ballroom as everyone hung on the elderly Mr. Mansonta’s lips… with an inflection somewhat like Master Yoda, he started:
“A marvel, this app is to behold, indeed. However! Not exactly what is required, it is too! More work, it needs. The PreAssessment should be able to be done by four global quality managers at the same time!”
Mendix’s heart sank as the audience cried out in anguish. Crushed by this public defeat, he wondered if he’d ever be able to marry his sweet Princess Java. Changing the app to cater to multiple concurrent (sub) workflows would surely be extremely hard!
Mansonta, in the meantime, added that the Prince deserved another chance. In exactly 7 days, another ball would be held, and if the Prince managed to redeem himself, he would pass the trial and gain his beloved’s hand. Could the Prince ever get this done within just seven days?
Undeterred, he went to work once again, with even greater fervor. This time, he consulted the Wisemen and nobles of Candy Land, verifying that the workflow app would match Mansonta’s requirements. He was positive it would.
Seven days after the initial rejection, everyone had gathered in the ballroom once more. King Mendix the 9th looked upon the scene from their dias. Prince Mendix showcased his modified app and awaited Mansonta’s judgment. A silence as not had been heard before rung in the ballroom, so that mice’ feet could even be heard shuffling under the food-laden tables to gather some scraps. Mansonta started:
“Even more delightful, this app is, indeed. Now multiple PreAssessments the quality managers can partake in concurrently! However, not exactly what is required, the app is! More work, it needs. The Local Execution should be able to be done in stages: Inspection — Execution — Closure — Sign Off!”
Yet again, the Prince fell on his knees by the rejection; the audience cried along with him. Surely, this would mark the end of his time as Prince, and he would be cast out of the Mendix family forever. Yet, before anyone was able to say anything, Mansonta offered him a final chance for redemption: if he were to present these modifications at the third and final ball in exactly seven days, he would still be able to gain the hand of his cherished Princess Java.
Stressed and agitated, Prince Mendix worked harder than ever before during the days after that second rejection. Extending the workflow app to cater to sub-processes was more complicated than anything he’d ever encountered. He made sure that the local execution was turned into a subprocess, and he checked his newly revised app with five of the brightest minds in Candy Land. They were all enthusiastic about what the Prince had wrought and told the Prince they were sure that the app would now match Mr Mansonta’s requirements.
Then, the day of the final ball of a thousand apps dawned. Thousands of people had flocked once more to support their Prince. King Mendix smiled at the prince from his dias once more. As the Prince started out his demo presentation on trembling legs, he even included song and dance, causing joy and good spirits to reverberate like an ethereal aura of magic, permeating the ballroom. Surely, Mr Mansonta would finally be impressed this time, and Prince Mendix would be able to marry his beloved Princess, and maybe even become King Mendix 10 in time.
After the demo had been completed, Mr Mansonta started yet again…
The moral of this story, if ever you’re wondering
Lies in the difficult nature of capturing
Knowledge of workflows — tacit, complex
The larger the biz, the harder the specsTo capture; a company’s size is aligned
with the possible size of a flow to unwind
As companies grow, so do processes with it,
so few to no employees will fully know itKing Mendix, at sixty, looked back on his days
And realised the trial had prepared him to face
Any project with multi-dimensional workflows
And now so are you, to face trials like those
Want to know if Prince Mendix prevailed? Why not ask ChatGPT?
Did you enjoy this story?
Leave a comment, or feel free to clap as many times as you want ;-)
#About: Wouter Penris
Wouter is a (lead) Mendix Software Engineer (Expert/MVP/Trainer) with a background in education (English & Music) and in music (Jazz Vocals & piano); a multi-potentialite. Where as a teacher he spent years perfecting the art of instructing his students as simply and understandably as possible, he now immensely enjoys using this same skill to build high-tech products with an intuitive and easily-understandably UX. He is a highly creative problem solver, in which he blends research, technology and aesthetics into actual business value and advice. Wouter is a communicator at heart and especially enjoys working with international clients due to his background in English. Wouter currently works as Senior Principal Expert in Mendix at Ordina.
Ordina promo, July 2023 — www.ordina.nl
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