Business Process Analysis

Data Repository

A collection of data such as a database, a file, or a data warehouse.

Business Process

A collection of related activities that combine different resources and inputs to create an output that is of value to the organization, its stakeholders and/or its customers. These outputs may be products or services

Value Chain

A set of (primary and support) activities through which a product or service is created and delivered to customers.

Support Activities

Activities that facilitate accomplishing the primary activities.

Information Processing Event (three types)

Activities that support and document the business events. The three main categories are recording data, maintaining reference data, and reporting.

Decision/management event

Activities where management and other people make decisions about planning, controlling, and evaluating business processes

External Agent

Agents outside of the business (customers, vendors, bank personnel, credit card company employees, or shipping agents)

Event Trigger

An action that initiates or authorizes an event

Economic Event

An event that increases or decreases the quantity of a firm's economic (financial) resources

Event

Denotes a single activity within a business process

Internal Agent

Employees or machines playing the role of the employee (salespeople, cashiers, receiving dock workers, purchasing agents)

Primary Activities

Events that create customer value and provide organization distinctiveness in the marketplace

Procurement (Purchase to Payment) Business Process

Includes the activities involved in acquiring, paying for, and maintaining the goods and services needed by an organization.

Order to Cash Business Process

Includes the sequence of activities that collectively serve to attract customers, help customers select goods and services, deliver the goods and services requested, and collect payments for the goods and services.

Conversion Business Process

Involves the activities necessary to convert raw inputs into finished products or services

Workflow

Jobs or tasks performed by members of a workgroup to achieve some objective.

Outsourcing

Occurs when one organization finds another organization (or individuals) to perform some work. This practice is useful when the organization cannot complete the work or when they identify another organization that complete the task in a more cost-effective manner

Duality

One event causes resource inflows while the other event causes resource outflows.

Business Event

Operating activities performed within a business process to provide goods and services to customers

For Profit Organizations

Organizations that strive to generate a profit (revenue in excess of expenses)

Agents

People (both internal and external to the organization) who participate in a significant way in executing each event

REAL Business Process Modeling Template

REAL is an acronym for resources, events, agents, and locations. The template is a way of organizing data and describing business processes.

Business Event Risk

The answer to the question "what could go wrong when executing the event?" They result in errors and irregularities having one of many characteristics (listed on pg. 24)

Extended Enterprise Business Processes

The business processes that are not simply linked within an organization but span organization boundaries

Locations

Where the event takes place

Resources

the focuses of the event (if someone orders inventory, the inventory is the ______)

Integrated Value Chain System

Comprised of the set of value chains in an entire industry and it encompasses that value chains of tiers of suppliers, channels, and customers

Decomposition

Breaking a business event to the level organization members and leadership want to plan, execute, control, and evaluate.

Not for Profit Organizations

Businesses that strive to provide particular services to constituents (governments, educational, or charitable organizations)

Michael Porter

The creator of the value chain. He illustrated that each firm is a "collection of activities that are performed to design, produce, market, deliver, and support its product

Margin

The difference between total value and the cost of performing the activities.

Linkages

The flows of information, goods and services, as well as systems and processes for adjusting activities