"The results are remarkable. They can get a complete, unambiguous representation of business activities using a simple methodology that business people take to." - Bill Rosser, Distinguished Analyst, Gartner "xBML has helped enable Wachovia's IT Division to move toward a high performing, top quartile, service provider. All corporate initiatives should be driven by a consistent description of the business that xBML provides." - Amy Nichols, SVP, Wachovia "The missing language to bridge the perennial chasm between the business and IT. Utilizing xBML allowed IT and the business that xBML provides." - Pete Fischer, Corporate Express "The level of detail it captures and illustrates is commendable. I was also impressed by xBML's ability to obtain a thorough understanding of a large volume of complex material." - Kathy Budrawich, Pitney Bowes "In an IT organization of some 170 people, the ability of xBML to move quickly to a solution has been the major advantage for us. We no longer start with a room full of expensive people and a blank white board." - Rick Malinowski, Dept. of Personnel and Administration, State of Colorado "A unique methodology that combines project management, process improvement and business operations concepts and presents a graphical representation which is easy to understand. xBML models make sense and can be used to take your business to the next level." - Chris Lewis, Director, Qwest Communications

Cedric G. Tyler is President of BusinessGenetics, principle inventor of the xBML methodology, and a leading expert in the fields of Business Modeling, Business Process and Information Technology. He began his career with IBM in the UK and subsequently co-founded INFOMET and Infolab, two international companies specializing in the business-to-information technology interface which were acquired by IBM in the 1990's. He has advised many leading organizations in the private and public sectors and served as an adjunct professor at the Daniels College of Business at Denver University.

Steve Baker is CEO of BusinessGenetics and has over twenty-five years of experience in the IT, Healthcare, and Real Estate industries. He has held management positions in Fortune organizations including Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). For the past decade he has focused on improving the communication within and among businesses as well as improving their operational efficiencies. He sits on the boards of several private and nonprofit corporations, and has been an Adjunct Professor at the Daniels School of Business.

BusinessGenetics, owner of the eXtended Business Modeling Language (xBML), was co-founded in 2000 by Cedric and Steve. Based in Denver, USA, it provides xBML training and professional services. Its sister company, xBML Innovations, provides a comprehensive xBML software solution suite.

Acknowledgements. Preface. 1 What's the issue and why should I care? 2 Why are tools to understand business so inadequate? 2.1 How did we get here? 2.2 Business definition à la 20th century. 2.3 But we have had some (limited) success. 3 OK (enough already), so What must be done? 3.1 Purpose-based thinking. 3.2 How we answer the W5 questions. 4 What do genetic business models (XBML) look like? W1: the What dimension. W2: the Who dimension. W3: the Where dimension. W4: the Which dimension. W5: the When model. W5I (integrated): the How model. 5 How do we (quickly) create xBML models (aka Business Co-Formulation). 6 The 'So what' (where's my darn ROI?). 6.1 Some quantifi able types of business gain. 6.2 Some more very real but less quantifi able types of business gain. 7 How do I implement this? 7.1 Enterprise deployment? 7.2 But how do I implement or manage my xBML projects? 8 What about BPM (Business Process Management)? 9 What the heck is the difference between BPEL, BPMN, UML, IDEF and xBML? 9.1 BPEL. 9.2 BPMN. 9.3 UML. 9.4 IDEF. 9.5 xBML. 10 Based on (anticipated) popular demand, more on auto-business requirements generation. 11 COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) software selection. 12 An added big, big takeaway. 13 A quick last summary. Appendices. Appendix A: xBML example - Fill 'a vacant job position'. Appendix B: Potential knowledge sources. Appendix C: Some government laws governing commerce. Appendix D: Sample enterprise deployment what model. Appendix E: BRD. Appendix F: Can xBML be automated? Glossary. Bibliography. Index.