Bernard,

your task sounds fun and my sort of breakfast (except there is no fruit juice...).

However, given that what you are trying to achieve (I think?) is to show by example that what BAs do is involved and tough, then to make it easier "because the head of dept was scared by it" is to make the task easy to do by PMs who will then have more 'evidence' that what BAs do is not so hard - strengthening the argument that BAs are not needed!

Of course if they can't even do that simple model then you will be in an axcellent position to say "and you think that was hard: when working on real projects..." - but you are running the risk of making it too easy and so shooting yourself in the proverbial foot.

By the way, the head of WHICH dept is scared? If it is the head of the dept that includes PMs then my point about not making it unrealistically easy is stregthened...

Guy

Bernard, I worry about the integrity of the person 'scared' by the BA exercise...isn't that admission enough from them that BAs do a hard job? You are obviously aware of the way the card are being stacked and I admire your tenacity.

Having said that, there is another exercise I have used called which is similar to your breakfast idea but you have to option of making it more and more complicated: You divide in to groups as for the breakfasst exercise and the scenario they have to process model is

Bernard’s Great Coffee House is a Starbucks styled coffee house but with waiters who take orders for those who don’t want to queue at the counter.
The process a waiter is meant to follow is
-Wait until they observe a customer who appears to want serving.
-Take the customer order.
-Give the order to counter staff who make the coffee.
-Collect the order from the counter staff and give to the customer.
-When any customer leaves they pay at the counter, and the waiter should clear and clean the table.
There are variations at almost every stage: the customer can change or cancel their order for example.

Draw a process model for processes the waiter should follow.
Make sure you identify all the events in scope.
Make sure you name the process steps as Verb+Noun.
The coffee shop owner is available to answer any scope or requirements questions.
If you need to make any assumptions document them.
Time: 30 minutes.
Deliverable: flipchart model.

You - as the coffee shop owner - can introduce as many complications as you like (a customer just leaves the shop after ordering without telling the waiter,or when the order is delivered, the customer changes their mind about the order, the waiter should when taking the order suggest today's specials, etc etc etc - its up to you how complex you make it).

Common mistakes:
a flow chart is drawn rather than a process model that can handle all these events.
The process for fullfilling the order is modelled (which is out of scope as we are only interested in the waiter).
My favourite: the process is drawn such that the waiter gives the order to the counter staff and then does nothing else until the order is ready! Perhaps they could be taking other orders??

For this reason the models are best drawn using an event driven process model like BPMN for example.

If the groups are up for it, then it is more fun to have groups present back another group's process model as an awful lot is in people's heads and not in the model (usually). This demonstrates how important rigorous models are.

Guy