CIS 4120

Business Process Management

"Process optimization process" Focuses on improving corporate performance by managing and optimizing a company's business process

Gateways

"split" or "fork" the sequential flow between activities into separate paths & bring flows back together ("merge" or "join"). Gateways do not make decisions or allow for time to pass. They simply direct traffic. Gateways should be labeled as a question.

Process for Approaching BPMN

1) Determine the process scope 2) Define high‐level map 3) Top‐level process diagram 4) Child level expansion 5) Add message flows

COMPLEX GATEWAYS (*)

AKA DISCRIMINATOR PATTERN GATEWAYS • Combinations of OR, XOR and EVENT gateway conditions • Exiting paths re-combined using a complex gateway

Parallel Multiple Intermediate Event

All events must occur before process proceeds

servitization

Basic tenet: • Every service has an underlying business process that delivers (produces) the service being sought • However ... not all arbitrarily defined business processes deliver a defined business service • Service and process are the "dual" of one another • Where there's a service, there's an underlying business process • Where there's a business process, there should be an associated, defined service (or services)

Signal End Event

Broadcasts a message to everyone when the process ends

Rules Engine

Business Rule Task Applies a business rules to make a decision or produce a result The process engine often calls a business rule management system

Data Store

Data that is stored in a database for long‐term storage. Association line out of data store represents a query. Association line in to data store represents an update.

Service‐oriented architecture (SOA)

Design pattern based on distinct pieces of software providing application functionality as services to other applications via a protocol. A service is a self‐contained unit of functionality that can be combined by other software applications to provide the complete functionality of a large software application.

Error End Event

Ends current path and throws an error.

Boundary Events

Event on activity that can be triggered if a condition is met (if taking to long, do this instead)

Event-Based Gateway

Every path has an intermediate event (timer, message, condition, etc) Each event is a condition that must be met. Sequence depends on which happens first. Merge with X gatewaay

Process Discovery

Extracting & identifying a coherent business process within an organization's collection of tasks, activities, events, and decisions Bounding the process Finding process owner(s) Defining operative metrics Discovering "happy path" & "rainy day" aspects Confirming the discovered process

Parallel gateway (+)

Follow all paths, each path executes independently Merge with + gateway unless end event Flow out of merge gate doesn't occur until all preceding paths are complete

Inclusive Gateway (O)

Follow one or more paths if conditions are true Label as a question Closed by an inclusive gateway Add default flow if no conditions are true

Exclusive Gateway (X)

Follow one path Label gateway as question, paths as answers (e.g. yes/no) Closed by an exclusive gateway

Compensation Intermediate Event

If a process requires several interconnected sequence flows, but one cannot be achieved, then all of the activities must be rolled back / undone. Boundary event

Compensation Intermediate Event

If a process requires several interconnected sequence flows, but one cannot be achieved, then all of the activities must be rolled back / undone. (ex: booking a vacation - must book airline, rental car, and hotel. Unless all are booked, then all are canceled.)

Terminate End Event

Immediately stops entire process, even if other sequence flows are in action.

Eli Whitney

Interchangeable Parts

Message Intermediate Event

Message is sent when the preceding task/activity is completed - OR the next task/activity occurs after a message is received

Ford Motor Company

Moving Assembly Line

Data object

Piece of data that is used in a process but goes away once the process is completed. Linked to connector or activity via an association line.

Non-interrupting Intermediate Events

Process continues as normal AND an exception flow is triggered as an additional process flow.

Conditional Intermediate Event

Process sequence flow continues once a condition has become true

Timer Intermediate Event

Process sequence flow continues once a period of time has elapsed - OR the process activity flow waits until a specified time

Transaction

Process that can be carried out in its entirety - or not at all If the transaction is not completed, the transaction must be rolled back / undone

Call Activities

Re-usable sub-processes Thick border

Business Process Modeling (BPM)

Representing processes of an enterprise, so that the current process may be analyzed or improved

Message End Event

Sends a message to a specific recipient when the process ends.

Signal Intermediate Event

Signal is broadcast when the preceding task/activity is completed - OR the next task/activity occurs after a signal is received

Business Rule Management System (BRMS)

Software system used to define, deploy, execute, monitor and maintain decision logic that is used by operational systems within an organization or enterprise. This includes policies, requirements, and conditional statements that are used to determine the tactical actions that take place in applications and systems

Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN)

Standard technique for documenting & communicating process models

Problem To‐Be‐Solved (PTBS)

The elemental / core reason the service is valuable to the consumer of the service. It is often not an obvious or surface‐level reason.

Process Owner

The person who initiates the request and has final approval.

Timer Start Event

Trigger is based on recurring schedule (month end, close of business, etc.)

None Start Event

Trigger is unknown, or not important subprocesses are triggered with a none start event because the subprocess is triggered by the parent process.

Conditional Start Event

Triggered by a condition becoming true (Oven temperature reaches 350 degrees, etc.)

Signal Start Event

Triggered by incoming message that is send everywhere, not specifically to start this process. (IT system goes down, emergency snow alert, etc

Message Start Event

Triggered by receipt of incoming message

Escalation Intermediate Event

Triggers an exception flow. Most often it does not interrupt the process. (ex: if the process falls behind schedule, it continues, but a corrective action process is also initiated.)

Interrupting Intermediate Events

Triggers process to move along the exception flow instead of the regular flow

Multiple Intermediate Event

Used when there are several alternative triggers or several consequences of the event

Flow Intermediate Event

Used when you run out of paper and need to refer the reader to another page (not part of the actual business process)

Service Thinking

What is the problem to be solved? What is the service? What are proper measures of service quality? 1)Who is the customer? 2)What is the PTBS? 3)Who is service owner? 4)What initiates the service? 5)What is the correct name? 6)What are value metrics? 7)What are process metrics? 8)Is service core / non‐core?

Value Metrics

measure the consumer of a service uses to judge the value of your solution / service tell you how well your process achieves its goals Effectiveness & efficiency

Process Metrics

measures by which the service provider judges the internal performance of the service delivery process tell you how well your process is aligned with customer's goals Relevance

Metric

observable & quantifiable measurement of some attribute of the process.

A business is a collection of __

processes and resources that make those processes possible

business process

• A systematic set of activities that take a "business event" to a successful outcome • A collection of business activities that create value for the customer (outside-in thinking) • A collection of interrelated tasks which accomplish a business goal (inside-out thinking)

Characteristics of a Good BPMN

• Correct • Clear • Complete • Consistent

Service Basics

• Defined customer/client • Client has a "problem‐to‐be‐solved" • The client has a set of "value" metrics • The service is initiated (triggered) and a "normal and expected" result (response) is received by the client

Choreography

• Pattern of messages between separate, distinct processes (pools) • Coordination of processes - done by message flows (dashed lines with arrows at one end and small circles at the other end)

Orchestration

• The managed flow of control within a business process • Represented by sequence (control) flows (solid lines with arrows)

Qualities of Good Metrics

• Understandable • Quantifiable • Cost‐effective • Proven • High‐impact Specific Measurable Actionable Relevant Time‐based