- Katharina Bozem
We were looking forward to the release of ARIS 9 with great expectations. What are the new features? What are the improvements in process design and analysis? How is the usability, the look and feel?
ARIS 9 (software AG) promised to combine 20 years of experience with the latest technology. And yes, ARIS 9 is a major leap forward right into what one would call 'modern' Software UI. A slight disappointment is that some of the new features influenced by trends such as Cloud and social collaboration are tied to the new ARIS Connect module which translates to significantly higher license costs for most customers. The good news, however, is that even within ARIS Architect you will find much enhanced features like queries and ad-hoc analyses that may save you quite a it of custom database report development.
This comes about without neglecting it's legacy of being a leading Business Process Modelling tool. The SmartDesign functionality, tested first within the ARIS Express community tool is a great response to all "modeling is difficult" complaints. Especially as it does not come at the cost of over-simplifying or cubistic model graphics.
Of course switching between major software versions is never welcomed by everybody and experienced ARIS 7 users may need some time to adapt and find all the buttons again but to us it was clearly worth the effort.
If you want to take a peak at ARIS 9 and to form your own opinion or if you need a quick start in using ARIS 9 efficiently bpE University presents a crisp Delta Training for Process Designers. The course will help you to a smooth transition to the current ARIS version. You will be introduced to the new features, based on your knowledge of older ARIS versions.
Let's meet in class or let us know what you like best - or least - about the new ARIS!