Business Process Modeling

and

BPMN Training
Topics

1) Business Process Modeling

1) An Introduction

2) Getting Started

2) BPMN Overview
1) Graphical Elements

2) Diagram views with BPMN

2
 Business Process Modeling

3
Business Processes

A set of related tasks or activities which produce

a specific service or product for a customer or
group of customers

The field of Business Process Management (BPM)

attempts to optimize business processes

4
What is a Business Process?

A collection of related, structured activities--a chain of events--that produce a specific service

or product for a particular customer or customers.
www.gao.gov/policy/itguide/glossary.htm

The complete response that a business makes to an event. A business process entails the
execution of a sequence of one or more process steps. It has a clearly defined deliverable or
outcome. ...
www.georgetown.edu/uis/ia/dw/GLOSSARY0816.html

A business process is a recipe for achieving a commercial result. Each business process has
inputs, method and outputs. The inputs are a pre-requisite that must be in place before the
method can be put into practice. When the method is applied to the inputs then certain
outputs will be created.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_process

What PEOPLE do to meet the needs and expectations of their

CUSTOMERS, whether they be internal or external consumers of
a product or service.

5
 A Brief History of Business Process

Early 1900’s: Early 90’s: Mid 90’s: 90’s & 00’s: Future Trends:
Breaking a job Reorganize the Our business Pull many of the Maturation of
into individual business and processes need previous modeling & workflow
tasks. business processes to be techniques into a tools into full process
to cut across completely comprehensive management
Fredrick Taylor, traditional corporate documented, framework systems.
Principles of silos and deliver on consistently focused on
Scientific customer value followed and quantitative Integration of
Management chain. regularly measures and business process
audited. process improvement and
Champy & Hammer, improvement. measurements into
Reengineering the ISO9000 corporate strategic
Corporation certification Six Sigma goals.

Additional emphasis
on the human side of
business change.

Mid 90’s: 90’s & 00’s: Integration of process

70’s & 80’s: Radical reengineering Application-centric management systems
Focus on quality is hard, maybe we workflow tools with business rules
management and statistical should focus on used to automate engines and
measures. (Total Quality incrementally business application
Management: TQM) improving our processes. Some development tools.
processes. include integrated
W. Edwards Deming, process modeling
Fourteen Points of Harrington, Business & metric reporting.
Management for Quality Process Improvement

6
What is a Business Process Model?

Documentation of a business process using a

combination of text and graphical notation.

Depicts the Process that People employ to

provide value to their Customer with a strong
emphasis on how the work is done.

Defines a process as a specific ordering of work

activities across time and place with a beginning,
an end, and clearly defined inputs and outputs.

A component of the overall Business Architecture

that serves as a reference for Business Analysis
activities.

7
Why Business Process Modeling?

(1) Align Operations with Business Strategy

 Implementing a business strategy or a new business model requires changes in the operations and in how
people perform their work. This can be affected only by operationalizing the business changes to the actual
business processes, business rules and decisions that are made on a day to day basis by all the people in the
organization.

(2) Clear Communication of Processes and Procedures

 One area that distinguishes successful businesses and teams is that they have a very clear idea of what they are
supposed to do, how they are supposed to do it and what is the exact role of every team member. Clear
communication of the operational processes is critical to facilitate a smooth functioning of a team.

(3) Control and Consistency

 Organizations and companies that succeed are ones that ensure their business processes and rules are well
designed and that they are consistently applied the same way every single time. This process control and
consistency is key for success in organizations ranging from fast-food chains to hospitals to NASA Space Shuttle
operations.

(4) Operational Efficiencies

 In today's business environment, every business and every manager wants to ensure that they are achieving the
best possible results with the resources available to them. There is no room for inefficiencies and wastage.

(5) Gain Competitive Advantage

 All the benefits mentioned above lead to a significant competitive advantage for an organization that has
invested the time and effort to document, simulate and improve its business processes. A business that has
aligned its operations to its strategy, is agile, that has control over its processes, is running efficiently and has
well trained staff is indeed at the top of its game.

8
 Business Process Methodology – The Basics

The most basic approach consists of developing an As-Is

model and using it to build the desired To-Be model
 Here are a few of examples…

Evaluate Develop the

Planning Perform Develop
the Current Future
And GAP Findings and
Environment Vision
Preparation Analysis Path Forward
(AS IS) (TO BE)

Streamline the Define

Organize for Understand the Streamline the Define Continually
Organize for Understand the Process Measurements Continually
Improvement Process (As-Is) Process Measurements Improve
Improvement Process (As-Is) (To-Be) and Controls Improve
(To-Be) and Controls

9
Business Process Modeling – 3 Steps

Process Design & Mapping

 Create a visual diagram representing
the flow.

Process Documentation
 Capture the business rules, routing
rules and errors.

Process Analysis
 Analyze and improve the process
using simulation.

10
Step 1: Process Design & Mapping – Using BPMN

11
Step 2: Process Documentation

12
Step 3: Process Analysis and Simulation

13
How to get started with Process Modeling?

Start with a Plan – What am I going to do?

Identify what tangible value (product or service) is being
produced that you need to understand
 Start at the top of the value chain and work downward and work downward to
identify the People and Entities involved in the Process
 Start at the bottom of the value chain and work upward and work upward to fully
understand the accomplishments of each step that lead to the desired results

Setup and complete Interviews of the People (or a fair

representation of large groups)
 Interviews may also uncover new People or peripheral Processes that you had
previously not detected

Set a course and work methodically

 Don’t set out to boil the ocean from the outset
 Work in a progression that makes sense to you and/or your project
End with a Plan – what am I going to do now?

14
Start Simple

Even when a “basic” BPM

format is used, if the
information from this example
is included, it is likely a
successful format!

15
Process Modeling Layers

Vision & Strategy

Start at the Top, and work Down! Subscripti
Subscription Customer on
Ad Sales
Marketing Care Maintenan
ce

Enterprise Value Chain Layer

 The highest level describing the overall
Identify Build Ad Process New
functions of the organization Prospects Partners Subscriptions

 Great for management “overview” for Acquire New Process

everyone, too vague for much use Customers Renewals

Enterprise Processes Layer Customers

Partners
Secure
Consumer
Website
Delivery

HMC, Banker
Customer
receives
Documents

receives Docs Notification

Signed Docs
Returned
Doc Prep Process

 Describes the major processes within a part Delivery &

Fulfillment
Electronic
Doc Delivery
Document
Fulfillment
Docs Folllow
Up Queue
Audit/Review
Docs
(Barcode or
Input)
Doc Review
Queue
Docs OK?

of the value chain and how they relate to

Yes No
Presentations

Timer
Final Generate No Docs
E-Close? Deliver Docs

each other
Validation Docs Received
Process
Manager Yes Funding Doc Redraw
Work States Process Process

Electronic
Closing
Process

Note Doc Redraw reasons

Change Document/ Loan Account Electronic so we can identify root
Analysis Disclosure Number Document causes for minimizing future

Ideal for understanding overall Business

Internal Data redraws
Engine System Servicing Sys Delivery
Systems

 3rd Party
Services

Architecture, Strategy and Goals/Vision but

too broad for requirements
Print Procedures

1. Open MS Word
2. Open the document
3. Select File | Print
4. Select a printer
5. Press the OK button

Business Processes & Tasks

16
Process Modeling Layers

Vision & Strategy

Subscripti
Subscription Customer on
Ad Sales
Marketing Care Maintenan
ce

Start at the Bottom, and work Up! Identify

Prospects
Build Ad
Partners
Process New
Subscriptions

Acquire New Process

Business Processes/Activities Customers Renewals

Layer Secure

Describes the main activities, decisions and

Customer
Consumer Signed Docs Doc Prep Process
receives
Customers Website Returned
Documents
Delivery

 HMC, Banker

variations with a process

Partners receives Docs Notification

Audit/Review
Electronic Document Docs Folllow Docs Doc Review
Delivery & Docs OK?
Fulfillment Doc Delivery Fulfillment Up Queue (Barcode or Queue
Input)

 Critical to defining areas of improvement, Presentations

Yes No

feature statements and Use Cases but too

Timer
Final Generate No Docs
E-Close? Deliver Docs
Validation Docs Received
Process
Manager Yes Funding Doc Redraw
Work States Process Process

Electronic

detailed for strategic planning and too open

Closing
Process

Note Doc Redraw reasons

Change Document/ Loan Account Electronic so we can identify root
Analysis Disclosure Number Document causes for minimizing future
Internal Data redraws
Engine System Servicing Sys Delivery
Systems

to interpretation for requirements steps 3rd Party

Services

Procedural/Tasks Layer Print Procedures

1. Open MS Word
 Describes the detailed steps done to 2.
3.
Open the document
Select File | Print

complete an activity (can be many layers 4.

5.
Select a printer
Press the OK button

deep)
 Necessary for detailed Use Case Steps,
Business Rules, Validation Criteria, etc. but Business Processes & Tasks
loses the attention of management at
Strategic level
17
Conduct Interviews

Schedule enough time to ask questions about what a

Person does but to also watch them perform their
duties for a period of time

Document everything that is said and pay special

attention to the specific order of events, pre-requisites,
inputs and outputs, constraints, things that work well vs.
things that need improvement

Ask Questions and begin Analyzing on the spot

18
Analyze!

The deliverable of a Business Analyst conducting

Business Process Modeling is rarely to document
the “status quo” process. Do something with
the knowledge, you may be the only person in
an organization with both the big picture and
details!

Analyze the process and INVENT ways to

improve or modify the process with a new or
modified ‘system’ (not always a computerized
system!)… even during the interview!
 What did the People like that should continue?
 What did the People dislike that could be fixed?
 Where was the Process inefficient or constrained in a way that could
be improved?
 Were any opportunities to automate repetitive functions identified?

19
 BPMN –
Business Process Modeling Notation

20
BPMN

Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN)

Defines a standard way of representing business processes in

Business Process Mapping

Goals:
 Standard graphical notation

 Intuitive and understandable

 Bridge the gap between business analysts and developers

21
Graphical Elements

Purpose:
 Symbolic
 Instant recognition
 Differentiate

Four categories:
 Flow Objects
 Connecting Objects
 Swimlanes
 Artifacts

22
Flow Objects

These are the core elements of a BPD.

Three types:
 Event
 Activity
 Gateway

23
Flow Objects - Event

What is an event?

Represented by a circle.

Three different types:

 Start Event:

 Intermediate Event:

 End Event:

Can have a trigger or a result.

Used to start, interrupt or end a flow.

24
Flow Objects - Activity

What is an activity?

Represented by a rounded edge rectangle.

Two different types:
 Task:
 Sub-Process:

Sub-Process can be included by other processes.

25
Flow Objects - Gateway

What is a gateway?

Helps diverge or converge the sequence flow.

Represented by a diamond.

Branching.

Forking.

Merging.

Joining of paths.

26
Connecting Objects

Helps connect the flow objects.

Three types:
 Sequence Flow
 Depicts the order of execution of the flow objects.

 Message Flow
 Depicts the flow of messages between two process participants.

 Associations
 Associates data, text and artifacts with flow objects.
 Used to show inputs and outputs of activities.

27
Swim Lanes

Illustrates different functional capabilities or responsibilities.

Two types:

Pool:
Lanes:

NameName
Name

Name
 Depicts different business
entities/participants.  Depicts closely related but
 Sequence flow cannot cross distinct participants.
the boundary of the pool.  Sequence flow can cross over
 Message flow used for lane boundary.
communication with another  Message flow cannot be used
pool. between two lanes.

28
Artifacts

Help specify details.

Do not alter sequence flow.

Three pre-defined types are:

 Data Objects
 Show how data is required or produced by activities.

 Group
 Grouping for better analysis/documention.

 Annotations
Annotation provides extra information.
Analogous to comments.

29
Internal Markers

Additional details can be

added to core elements.

Adds higher level of
precision to the model.

Example of internal
markers to the events.

30
Views of BPMN

Internal business processes

 Focus on the point of view of a single business organization.
 Defines activities that are not visible to the public
 Can be developed in parallel with other business elements

31
Views of BPMN

Collaborative B2B Processes

 Interaction between two or more business entities only
 Defines interactions that are public for each participant
 Shows less internal detail of the entities

32
Sub-Processes

33
BPM Best Practices

Ensure a high-level Champion or Steering Group is formed to

provide executive sponsorship and definition of goals in a large
process-modeling exercise.

Start small, demonstrate success and build on the success. Start

with a narrow scope before trying to choreograph an entire
enterprise business process model.

Ensure business persons’ expectations are set appropriately at the

outset; otherwise they will assume that this project is “just like all
of the other projects that came before” and produced few tangible
results. Make sure you deliver on those expectations!

To be successful, BPM must be a way of thinking of the enterprise

and building a process into the overall business architecture
rather just a way of documenting steps in a process that appears
to be independent of the business.

34
BPM Best Practices (continued)

Build Re-Usable Process Components when

possible
 Business Objects/Entities
 Customer (Name, Address, E-Mail address, Phone Number)
 Customer Report (Name, Date Added, Last Sale Date, Credit Rating)
 Loan (Loan Name, Loan Type, Interest Rate)
 Interfaces and Systems
 System Notation, Name, Description
 Interface Name, Description, Purpose, Input/Output formats, etc.
 Processes and Activities
 Retrieve Customer Data
 Update Address
 Organizational Structure descriptions
 Department/Division Name, Description, etc.

35
Other Resources

BPMN.org – Standards Body

Introduction to BPMN – White Paper

 http://www.bpmn.org/Documents/Introduction_to_BPMN.pdf

BPMN Fundamentals
 http://www.bpmn.org/Documents/BPMN_Fundamentals.pdf

Another Tutorial
 http://www.bpmn.org/Documents/OMG_BPMN_Tutorial.pdf

36
 Thank You!

Please also visit:

www.AccuProcess.com

37