https://modernanalyst.com RSS feeds for Business Analyst Community & Resources | Modern Analyst 60 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/6324/AI-Citizen-Development-Fueling-Business-Transformation-beyond-Cost-Cutting.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=6324 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=6324&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/6324/AI-Citizen-Development-Fueling-Business-Transformation-beyond-Cost-Cutting.aspx During a recent open roundtable, industry experts gathered to discuss the advantages of integrating AI and citizen development during times of inflation. These discussions shed light on how AI-powered automation, in the hands of business analysts turned citizen developers, can revolutionize resource management, uncover cost-saving potentials, and foster operational efficiency. The panel also emphasized the significance of citizen development in fostering innovation, agility, and a sense of ownership within the workforce, empowering business analysts to spearhead transformative changes within their organizations. adrian Sun, 16 Jul 2023 22:15:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:6324 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/6048/4-Diagrams-every-Analyst-should-Master.aspx#Comments 1 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=6048 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=6048&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/6048/4-Diagrams-every-Analyst-should-Master.aspx A picture is worth a thousand words. Charts offer visualization and help to understand and comprehend things that would be more painful and time consuming to understand by reading free text. Diagrams help us design systems and processes, organize our screens, while facilitating a common understanding of the big picture. They help us make visible the invisible. Αs a BA you can exploit a big variety of diagrams to help you communicate better and more accurate information concerning the requirements and the solution. Diagrams leverages the effective use of visuals and modeling techniques in helping organizations and individuals work from the 30,000 foot view down to the level of detail that is needed by those who are actually going to perform the process activities. Moreover a diagram can serve as a single point of truth navigating what should be done and saving time from questions deriving from ambiguous point may found in a text. Transform VA Sun, 05 Jun 2022 04:32:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:6048 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/6006/Enhancing-Operational-Excellence-with-Augmented-Business-Process-Management.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=6006 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=6006&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/6006/Enhancing-Operational-Excellence-with-Augmented-Business-Process-Management.aspx Recent years have brought a stream of exciting developments in the field of Business Process Management (BPM). The maturation of advanced analytics and AI technology have given way to a new approach to BPM called Augmented BPM. This article explores the trends driving the emergence of Augmented BPM and how organizations can start benefitting from these trends. Transform VA Mon, 21 Feb 2022 23:12:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:6006 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/5908/Then-and-Now-BPM-to-Low-codeNo-code.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=5908 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=5908&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/5908/Then-and-Now-BPM-to-Low-codeNo-code.aspx BPMS has evolved and has come a long way over the past one or two decades. It's quite interesting to take a peek into the BPMS journey then and now. Business needs and technology, both have gone through a huge change in the meantime. Right since the earlier days of BPMS, I always found working in this space quite an intriguing thing. The very capability of BPM to model, design, automate, run and track any process seemed to be extremely useful. Transform VA Mon, 06 Sep 2021 05:42:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:5908 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/5874/Models-And-Diagrams-What-Is-The-Difference.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=5874 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=5874&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/5874/Models-And-Diagrams-What-Is-The-Difference.aspx A diagram is a 2-dimensional representation of a story, which shows elements and their relationships on a single canvas. An element is shown on a single diagram. (To show the same element information on a 2 diagrams, the element is duplicated.) When the properties of a diagram element are changed, the change is reflected only on that diagram. A model is a 3-dimensional representation of a collection of related stories, which captures diagram elements as model components. A component includes all element properties and relationships between different elements on all diagrams. A single model component can be shown as elements on several diagrams. A change to the properties of a diagram element or model component is reflected on every diagram where that component is displayed. A model does not necessarily need to include any diagrams. Diagramming is the most common method for creating and maintaining model components, but the diagrams can be deleted without changing the model. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a diagram converts those words into a story. A model organizes those stories into a book. Transform VA Mon, 05 Jul 2021 17:54:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:5874 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/5620/10-Tips-for-Business-Process-Mapping.aspx#Comments 1 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=5620 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=5620&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/5620/10-Tips-for-Business-Process-Mapping.aspx Business process mapping is the most indispensable technique for performance improvement and technology innovation initiatives. More than just boxes and arrows, the process map reveals the “magic” and wisdom of how and why work gets done. Sadly, too many professionals give process mapping short shrift. Here are 10 tips that will ensure process mapping helps you achieve full potential from your improvement/innovation project. adrian Sun, 14 Jun 2020 04:49:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:5620 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/5585/Use-Cases--The-New-School.aspx#Comments 5 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=5585 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=5585&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/5585/Use-Cases--The-New-School.aspx In the world of software development Use Cases are one of many very powerful techniques often used these days.  Use cases describe how a person or a system interacts with the solution being modeled/built to achieve a goal. Basically, it’s a step by step explanation of what a user can do and how the solution must respond. As any other business analysis technique, use cases have their advantages and disadvantages. One of the main disadvantages of use cases is that this technique is not graphical – a use case diagram is but use case descriptions are not, and use case descriptions really lack of visualization especially if there are multiple alternative flows and exception flows that branch out and then loop back into the main one. adrian Mon, 20 Apr 2020 02:03:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:5585 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/5499/Time-to-Clean-the-Garage-Again-and-Use-Lean-5S.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=5499 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=5499&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/5499/Time-to-Clean-the-Garage-Again-and-Use-Lean-5S.aspx Five S can be applied in any work environment and prepares a work area for a follow-on Lean process improvement effort. In this case, 5S prepares my garage for Lean process improvement in doing home activities like automobile maintenance, appliance repair, and hobbies like gardening and woodworking. But, remember the preparation benefit is only realized if 5S is sustained. As I said I am the worst (ugly) in keeping the “new world order” in my garage. Transform VA Sun, 15 Dec 2019 21:19:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:5499 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/5247/7-Powerful-Analysis-Techniques-to-Boost-Value-from-Your-Models.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=5247 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=5247&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/5247/7-Powerful-Analysis-Techniques-to-Boost-Value-from-Your-Models.aspx Strategists, architects, process experts, software developers, data managers and other professionals involved in changing the enterprise often put substantial effort in creating all kinds of useful models of their designs. In many cases, such business models, enterprise architecture models, business process models, software models, or data models are only used to specify some design, i.e. to describe what should be built.  But there is much more value to be had from these models, by using powerful analysis techniques to elicit new insights. In the following pages I will cover 7 of these analyses, discussing the business outcomes you can achieve with their help. Transform VA Sun, 13 Jan 2019 19:30:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:5247 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/3658/Use-cases-or-business-process-maps-what-technique-to-use.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=3658 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3658&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/3658/Use-cases-or-business-process-maps-what-technique-to-use.aspx A list of business analysis techniques is pretty extensive and from year to year new techniques appear, or become more formalised, and are adopted by business analysts all over the world. Some techniques become more popular and are widely used and some are used rare or only when a specific need arises. But definitely there are techniques that became very popular and are used on a daily basis and even become buzz words for some people. These techniques are mainly used to create solution design and they are business process maps, use cases, user stories, wireframes and business rules. Sometimes even business analysts are confused how they should create solution design and what techniques they should use. Transform VA Mon, 07 Nov 2016 01:50:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3658 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/3208/Follow-up-on-processes-When-money-is-not-enough--a-public-sector-example.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=3208 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3208&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/3208/Follow-up-on-processes-When-money-is-not-enough--a-public-sector-example.aspx As of this writing, the city of Houston is still struggling with their pothole process. The point of this article is not to recommend a solution, but a path to resolution and a profound lesson learned. Not all problems are resolved by just “throwing money” at it. In fact, the lack of a budget being used is an indication of a process problem. Transform VA Mon, 04 May 2015 04:55:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3208 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/3178/Redesigning-Business-Processes-using-Product-Based-Design.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=3178 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3178&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/3178/Redesigning-Business-Processes-using-Product-Based-Design.aspx The PBD starts with examining the end-product data elements and associated business rules. The BA team then uses this information to redesign a process that produces the end-product. Special note about the team. The lead BA should remind the team members that this is a redesign effort. This is a real challenge especially for the team members who are knowledgeable with the existing process. It may be best to recruit team members with a “fresh pair of eyes.” Note that there is no doubt that the BA team will consider automation in the redesign. In this effort, the BA team should keep in mind a quote attributed to Bill Gates [3] on BPM. “The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency. [7] In my experience, all benefits come from redesigning or improving existing processes, not by applying automation through software. Software only facilitates the process improvement. Transform VA Mon, 23 Mar 2015 02:47:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3178 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/3189/Integrating-BPMN-and-DMN.aspx#Comments 2 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=3189 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3189&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/3189/Integrating-BPMN-and-DMN.aspx A combination of process modeling (BPMN) and decision modeling  (DMN) simplifies business processes by eliminating and replacing entire sections of the model with a decision model—the decision logic of the process model is precisely captured by decision modeling a separate yet linked model. Transform VA Mon, 09 Feb 2015 13:03:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3189 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/3153/Expanding-black-box-pools-on-an-existing-BPMN-model.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=3153 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=3153&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/3153/Expanding-black-box-pools-on-an-existing-BPMN-model.aspx The purpose of this article is to show the expansion of an existing Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) model due to an increased interest in a partner’s processes.  In a previous article, I developed a BPMN model on a home medical process associated with peritoneal dialysis. In that article, I modeled a process, Ship Dialysis Equipment, as a black box pool; Transform VA Mon, 19 Jan 2015 02:20:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:3153 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/2924/3-Visual-Models-a-New-BA-Should-Know-How-to-Use.aspx#Comments 7 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=2924 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=2924&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/2924/3-Visual-Models-a-New-BA-Should-Know-How-to-Use.aspx Visual models don’t have to be complicated. Unless your organization uses formal UML or BPMN standards, focus on learning to create simple visual models. In this article, we’ll explore 3 simple visual models that a new business analyst should be skilled in creating because they add a lot of value to projects and generally improve your requirements documentation.  Transform VA Mon, 07 Apr 2014 09:43:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:2924 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/2650/Home-Peritoneal-Dialysis-a-BPMN-model-and-use-of-5S-principles.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=2650 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=2650&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/2650/Home-Peritoneal-Dialysis-a-BPMN-model-and-use-of-5S-principles.aspx The purpose of this article is to show an example of using Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) to document the home medical process of peritoneal dialysis plus using 5S principles in the treatment workspace. Transform VA Mon, 16 Sep 2013 06:32:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:2650 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/2438/Efficient-BPMN-from-Anti-Patterns-to-Best-Practices.aspx#Comments 4 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=2438 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=2438&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/2438/Efficient-BPMN-from-Anti-Patterns-to-Best-Practices.aspx Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) is already acknowledged as a de facto standard for business process modeling. However, it still takes a long journey to increase the maturity of business process modeling practice. In practice most business analysts do a lot of mistakes that make their BPMN models over complex, difficult to understand and maintain. Transform VA Wed, 02 Jan 2013 07:35:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:2438 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/2368/Bridging-the-Gap-between-Business-and-Software-Architectures.aspx#Comments 3 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=2368 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=2368&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/2368/Bridging-the-Gap-between-Business-and-Software-Architectures.aspx We are frequently asked about connecting and tracing software architecture elements to business processes by integrating BPMN business models and software models in UML (Unified Modeling Language)... Now we will explore how to supplement business architecture with software architecture.  Transform VA Mon, 01 Oct 2012 00:30:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:2368 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/2343/How-to-Analyze-a-Business-Process-and-Close-Your-BA-Experience-Gap.aspx#Comments 3 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=2343 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=2343&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/2343/How-to-Analyze-a-Business-Process-and-Close-Your-BA-Experience-Gap.aspx What comes first, the business analyst or the business analyst experience? If you’ve looked at BA job postings lately, you’d probably say the experience, as most BA jobs require experience. From one perspective, you’d be correct. But from another perspective, you’d be wrong.  For if every BA role requires experience, how is it that there are hundreds of thousands of practicing business analysts across the world? Transform VA Sun, 09 Sep 2012 08:31:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:2343 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/2273/An-Example-of-Choosing-a-Hybrid-SDLC-using-BPMN-and-the-Decision-Model.aspx#Comments 1 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=2273 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=2273&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/2273/An-Example-of-Choosing-a-Hybrid-SDLC-using-BPMN-and-the-Decision-Model.aspx The purpose of this article is to provide project managers and business analysts an example of choosing a hybrid solution development life cycle (i.e., combination of agile and waterfall). Much discussion has transpired on the virtues of agile and waterfall approaches.   Transform VA Mon, 30 Jul 2012 11:55:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:2273 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/2269/Powerful-Business-Modeling-With-No-Magics-Cameo-Business-Modeler.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=2269 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=2269&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/2269/Powerful-Business-Modeling-With-No-Magics-Cameo-Business-Modeler.aspx CBM Analyst is a simple and inexpensive way to implement business modeling. Business analysts may also choose to upgrade their business modeling solution to No Magic’s Cameo Business Modeler Plugin. The No Magic professional services team is ready to assist you in building and deploying a consistent business modeling solution. Transform VA Tue, 26 Jun 2012 11:40:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:2269 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/1728/5-Key-Benefits-of-Business-Process-Modeling.aspx#Comments 1 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=1728 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1728&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/1728/5-Key-Benefits-of-Business-Process-Modeling.aspx Business Process Modeling is becoming a higher priority for business managers and analysts as there is an increasing emphasis in organizations to document, understand and improve their business processes. Although Business process modeling provides many important benefits to companies and organizations, however, these five are the most critical and high impact. ds42 Thu, 24 Feb 2011 05:01:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1728 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/864/Why-How-Business-Process-Modelling.aspx#Comments 6 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=864 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=864&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/864/Why-How-Business-Process-Modelling.aspx Processes are the user interface to a solution – as such they are highly visible and a lot of project effort is focussed on process modelling. In fact, there is a perception in some quarters that Business Analysts just draw process models and this is all they do. However, process models (the drawings of processes) are only one facet of the specification of a process. adrian Fri, 27 Mar 2009 04:01:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:864 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/570/Integrating-iGrafx-FlowCharter-and-Rational-Requisite-Pro.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=570 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=570&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/570/Integrating-iGrafx-FlowCharter-and-Rational-Requisite-Pro.aspx While working on a Business Architecture effort several years ago, I collaborated on developing a new internal standard for business process and business capability description. From my perspective, a business capability is the required function or desired service that a business unit performs and the business process is the set of methods employed to realize the business capability. Business capabilities and business processes can be described as current or future state. Their description can also be scaled for strategic or tactical objectives. This article will present an approach for documenting and aligning business capabilities, business processes, and functional requirements by integrating two distinct tools that leverage robust repositories and object metadata. adrian Sun, 05 Oct 2008 07:20:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:570 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/433/Process-Component-Models-The-Next-Generation-In-Workflow-.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=433 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=433&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/433/Process-Component-Models-The-Next-Generation-In-Workflow-.aspx Tony Bear says the BPM-folks are from Venus and the WS-folks from Mars. That exactly summarizes a big division in the BPM industry that might not be obvious. The term BPM-folks refers to the people that focus on process modelling. Their starting point is the analysis of procedures that describe how people and systems work together in an organisation. In the modeller's view, the initial focus is not on technology, but on non-technical business analysts that documents how people and systems work together. For many of BPM projects in that category, automation of the processes is not even considered. The final goal is actually to create more insight in how an organisation works by documenting the core business processes. The pure play BPM products that come from this background aim to ease the automation of software support for such business process descriptions. I'll refer to this camp as the BPM modellers. The WS-folks refers to the people that focus on creating executable processes. Executable processes are software artifacts that serve as input for Business Process Management Systems (BPMS). Executable processes usually have graphical diagram representation. Currently, there is only one executable process language with adoption by big vendors and that is BPEL. BPEL is based on WS-* standards, that's why the people focussed on automation are termed WS-folks above. Service orchestration recently got a boost with the growing consensus around BPEL. I'll refer to this camp as the orchestration developers. The thing that both movements have in common is the focus on a graphical diagram and inclusion of wait states. The diagram is an important instrument for both the BPM modellers and the orchestration developers. Diagrams have the ability to provide a very quick overview of a certain process. While this is a powerful instrument, be careful with that perceived simplicity. As diagrams that might look similar can have a very different meaning depending of the notation or of the underlying executable process language. Also the purpose of a diagram is a very important consideration. In case of the business analyst, the purpose of a process diagram is to help the explanation to another human. They help to bring the overview across and some level of vagueness is allowed. In case of the executable process languages, the diagrams are part of a process that specifies how a computer system must behave. So those types of processes are exact and have a very precise interpretation. Inclusion of wait states is more technical in nature, but it is also found in both movements. If a business analyst draws a business process, different activities might relate to different resources. Some activities might translate into tasks for human people and other activities might translate into a piece of software that is executed on a computer system. When such a process is automated, the process engine drives the execution. This means that the engine internally might execute some of the activities automatically. Otherwise, in case the activity is performed outside the scope of the process engine, the process engine will need to keep track of the current state and wait until a signal is received from the external entity. For example, such an external trigger might be a user that clicks a button in a web application to indicate that a certain task is completed. Similarly, an ERP system might notify the process engine that the processing of a certain invoice is completed. The concept of wait states might seem a bit abstract and you might wonder why this is relevant in a discussion about workflow or process languages. It is an important aspect because traditional programming languages like Java don't have support for persistable wait states. This article arguments that the gap between the analysis and the implementation of business processes is far bigger then the marketing of today's workflow tools might suggest. Also it will propose a much more realistic way of dealing with this situation. The current standards and initiatives will be explained with enough depth so that you can see how they relate to the movements and why. In the discussions, I'll identify the strengths and weaknesses of each discussed technology and describe the proper and improper ways of using them. At the end, a new type of workflow technology is introduced called process component model. This type of framework can handle multiple process languages and it can support process languages that better support the transition from analysis process diagrams to executable processes.   Read the full article... Author: Tom Baeyens adrian Wed, 04 Jun 2008 04:08:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:433 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/201/BPMN-and-the-Business-Process-Expert-Part-3-The-Art-of-Process-Modeling.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=201 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=201&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/201/BPMN-and-the-Business-Process-Expert-Part-3-The-Art-of-Process-Modeling.aspx In the first two installments of this series, we saw why BPMN is important to the Business Process Expert and got an overview of the notation. In this part, we’ll look beyond the spec to suggest some best practices for making your BPMN models most effective. The art of effective process modeling depends on what you are trying to do. Unlike traditional notations, which presuppose a particular methodology, BPMN is methodologyneutral, and can be used for multiple purposes. The first, which I call Level 1, is simply qualitative description, a diagram of the as-is (or proposed to-be) business process that stakeholders can gather around, discuss, and improve. Level 1 models may ignore exceptions and show only the “happy path,” and may not include every step, just those significant for discussion and qualitative analysis. The second, which I call Level 2, describes all the activities and flows in the process, including exceptions, and pays particular attention to their sequential and concurrent relationships. The goal of Level 2 modeling is a complete business-intelligible description of the process sufficient for quantitative analysis. Level 2 models contain all the detail required for accurate simulation, but are not by themselves executable. Level 2 modeling is still a business – or BPX – function. It does not require technical knowledge of the implementation of each activity, essentially just the activity’s name, performer, and possible exceptions. The rules embodied in the BPMN spec mostly apply to modeling at Level 2. Level 3 modeling refers to using BPMN in executable process design, typically in a BPM Suite. It is similar to Level 2 modeling, but most tools that leverage BPMN as part of their executable design environment diverge here and there from the spec, since not everything that can be drawn in BPMN may be executable on the BPMS’s process engine, and even when the engine can implement the BPMN semantics, the executable design may not describe it in accordance with BPMN. Thus BPMN at Level 3 is, today at least, vendorspecific in its details. So in this article, when I talk about the art of effective process modeling, I really mean at Level 2. Author: Bruce Silver adrian Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:53:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:201 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/200/BPMN-and-the-Business-Process-Expert-Part-2-Mastering-the-Notation.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=200 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=200&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/200/BPMN-and-the-Business-Process-Expert-Part-2-Mastering-the-Notation.aspx In the first installment of this series, we saw why BPMN is important to the Business Process Expert. In this part, we’ll look at the notation itself. In BPMN there are only three first-class diagram elements, or flow objects:  Activity, a rounded rectangle, representing work performed in the process  Gateway, a diamond, representing flow control logic, such as branching, splits, and joins  Event, a circle, representing a signal that something has happened, either outside the process or inside. Each of these shapes has various subtypes indicated by an icon or symbol inside, or occasionally by border style. The color of a diagram element has no significance in BPMN.  Author: Bruce Silver adrian Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:46:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:200 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/199/BPMN-and-the-Business-Process-Expert.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=199 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=199&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/199/BPMN-and-the-Business-Process-Expert.aspx Business process management (BPM) is an emerging discipline that looks at the enterprise in a radically new way. Instead of trying to automate and optimize individual functional units, like sales, supply chain, and customer service, in isolation, BPM views your company from the perspective of end-to-end cross-functional processes – exactly the way your customers and trading partners see you. At the same time, new BPM tools have emerged that let you model, automate, measure, and optimize the business from such an end-to-end process perspective. These tools straddle the traditional business/IT divide, and are elevating the importance of a new role in the organization, the Business Process Expert. The Business Process Expert is neither a traditional developer nor a traditional business analyst, but is able to apply the concepts, metrics, and performance objectives of business in the analysis, design, and optimization of IT implementations capable of executing and monitoring cross-functional processes. Such a role demands a new common language that bridges the worlds of business and IT as well, and now we have one: the Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN), a standard from OMG. BPMN is simple enough to be readily understandable by business, yet rich enough to support executable implementation – without changing the underlying metamodel! As a result, it has become the de facto standard or announced future direction of BPM Suite vendors ranging from Lombardi, Savvion, and Appian, to TIBCO, Oracle, IBM, and – yes – SAP. Thus, understanding how to model processes effectively using BPMN is becoming a must-have skill for the Business Process Expert.  Over the next several weeks, this six-part series will explain to the BPX community the unique features and benefits of BPMN; the notation and its underlying semantics; best practices for effective modeling with BPMN; understanding BPMN events; useful patterns for modeling exceptions; and more. In this first installment, we’ll look at exactly why BPMN is vital to the Business Process Expert. Author: Bruce Silver adrian Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:40:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:199 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/55/Introduction-to-BPMN.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=55 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=55&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/55/Introduction-to-BPMN.aspx This paper is intended to provide a high-level overview and introduction to the Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN). The context and general uses for BPMN will be provided as a supplement to the technical details defined the BPMN 1.0 Specification, which has been recently completed and released to the public. The basics of the BPMN notation will be discribed—that is, the types of graphical objects that comprise the notation and how they work together as part of a Business Process Diagram. Also discussed will be the different uses of BPMN, including how levels of precision affect what a modeler will include in a diagram. Finally, the value in using BPMN as a standard notation will be defined and the future of BPMN outlined. Author: Stephen A. White adrian Thu, 23 Aug 2007 02:10:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:55 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/57/BPMN-and-Business-Process-Management.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=57 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=57&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/57/BPMN-and-Business-Process-Management.aspx This paper provides an in-depth introduction to the new BPMN standard, illustrating how it is used to model business processes and web services. The paper also provides greater detail on how BPMN fits within BPM, BPEL’s, BPMS’s, UML and other new industry standards and initiatives described above. adrian Mon, 23 Jul 2007 02:21:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:57 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/56/Process-Modeling-Notations-and-Workflow-Patterns.aspx#Comments 2 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=56 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=56&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/56/Process-Modeling-Notations-and-Workflow-Patterns.aspx The research work of Wil van der Aalst, Arthur ter Hofstede, Bartek Kiepuszewski, and Alistair Barros has resulted in the identification of 21 patterns that describe the behavior of business processes. This paper reviews how two graphical process modeling notations, the BPMN Business Process Diagram from the Business Process Management Initiative (BPMI), and the UML 2.0 Activity Diagram from the Object Management Group (OMG), can represent the workflow patterns. The solutions of the two notations are compared for technical ability to represent the patterns as well as their readability. Author: Stephen A. White adrian Fri, 23 Feb 2007 03:15:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:56 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/53/Introduction-to-Business-Process-Modeling-Notation-BPMN.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=53 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=53&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/53/Introduction-to-Business-Process-Modeling-Notation-BPMN.aspx This tutorial/white paper introduces business process modeling using the BPMN process modeling standard. This session will show how BPMN can support different methodologies as well as different modeling goals (e.g., orchestration and choreography), using actual business processes as examples. Sample business models will also be presented and explored to illustrate the main concepts and notational innovations. Two short exercises (on paper) will give readers the feel of modeling with the major BPMN model elements. Author: Stephen A. White adrian Fri, 23 Feb 2007 02:52:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:53 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/54/Using-BPMN-to-Model-a-BPEL-Process.aspx#Comments 0 https://modernanalyst.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=115&ModuleID=572&ArticleID=54 https://modernanalyst.com:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=54&PortalID=0&TabID=115 https://modernanalyst.com/Resources/Articles/tabid/115/ID/54/Using-BPMN-to-Model-a-BPEL-Process.aspx The Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) has been developed to enable business user to develop readily understandable graphical representations of business processes. BPMN is also supported with appropriate graphical object properties that will enable the generation of executable BPEL. Thus, BPMN creates a standardized bridge for the gap between the business process design and process implementation. This paper presents a simple, yet instructive example of how a BPMN diagram can be used to generate a BPEL process. Author: Stephen A. White adrian Tue, 23 Jan 2007 03:04:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:54