ISA 235 CE 18

So, which is better to start developing first, business processes or the information system?

-in theory, better to start with business processes -Business processes are closer to organizations competitive strategy and other goals/objectives

4 activities dealing with real-world BPM issues

1. Define process problems 2. Designing the new process 3. Create process components 4. Implement new processes

Three important principles regarding the relationship between business processes and information systems

1. Information system elements are embedded within business processes but some activities in business processes are not part of any information system 2. A business process can use zero, one, or many information systems 3. Particular information systems may be used by one or more business processes

Real world issues dealing with definition of process problems (3)

1. Process change driven by problems and unmet needs 2. Business analysts not available 3. As-is process is unknown, partially understood, viewed differently by different people, misunderstood or hidden

Real world issues dealing with implementation of new processes (3)

1. Process migration is awkward 2. Resistance to change 3. Lack of authority (enterprise and inter-enterprise

Real world issues dealing with designing the new process (3)

1. Simulations of alternatives are expensive and often not worth it 2. Best solution not always obvious 3. Undoing process changes difficult and expensive

Two fundamental actions can be taken when designing the new process..

1. adjust role resources 2. change process structure

Adjusting role resources (6)

1. increase/decrease # of employees performing a role 2. move the role to employees in different departments 3. hire employees with different skill sets 4. give employees additional training or change employee management 5. IS can be constructed to augment employee activity or replace it 6. improve information system so to facilitate the new process

Where do process problems arise from? 3

1. process quality 2. changes in technology 3. changes in the business fundamentals

Data flows vs sequence flows

Data flows: movement of data items among activities and repositories Sequence flows: depict the logical flow from one activity to another

Relationship of business process and information systems

Many to many

Process vs Procedure

Process: refers to the overall business process Procedure: component of an IS and is embedded within a process activity

Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT)

Standard practice created by The Information Systems Audit and Control Association used in the assessment stage of the BPM cycle

Real world issues dealing with creation of process components (4 different systems development risks)

Systems development risks: 1. requirements difficult to specify or evolving 2. Scheduling and budgeting difficulties 3. Changing technology 4. Dis economies of scale

Business process management

a cyclical process for systematically creating, assessing, and altering business processes

Repositories

collections of data

as is model

documents the current situation

Business process

network of activities, actors, roles, repositories, and data and sequence flows that interact to accomplish a business form

What normally causes business process change?

-Usually stems from a problem or unmet need -Business requirements force the stages of the BPM cycle

Business process developed before information systems

-Works well for the business process that are under consideration but will cause problems later for other processes that use the same information system

Information system developed before business process

-1st development team would talk to users to determine all the needs that the IS needs to meet -Business processes can include many activities that are not part of the Information system, so these activities are unlikely to be considered when developing the information system

Focus of Personnel involved in BPM and Systems development

-Business analysts: Focus mainly on business process management and a little on systems development -Systems analysts: main focus on systems development, little focus on business process management and database, software, and hardware development -Database designers, computer programmers, test engineers, Hardware &network specialists: main focus is database, software, and hardware development, little focus on systems development -Graph CE 18-8 pg 630

Factor that overtakes all....

-Off the shelf software -Vendor knows the features most commonly needed by customers, so if organization starts w/ business process and selects application that works for those processes, it is likely that the application will also include features that will be needed by other business processes to be designed in the future

Improve process quality

-Process quality has two elements efficiency and effectiveness -Usually a problem with one of the two above

Why does the process need management?

-Processes are dynamic and often need to be changed -need can arise because of a process quality problem, change in technology, or change in business fundamental

Change in business fundamentals

-Substantial changes in the following factors will modify the business process -Market, product line, supply chain, company policy, company organization (merger/acquisition), internalization, business environment