Business Process Modeling

Owned by Gunjan Tulwani (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Dec 09, 2016 by Saurabh Gupta (Unlicensed)Version comment
2 min read

The use of a business process modeling tool is highly critical and essential to an organization. The most important issues for an organization are increasing efficiency, reducing costs, and improving process effectiveness, as well as standardizing and harmonizing business processes. These issues can be resolved using a business process modeling tool.

A business process can be decomposed into several sub-processes, comprising of their own attributes, but simultaneously contributing in achieving the goal of a super business process. It defines the ways in which operations are carried out to accomplish the intended objectives of an organization. Such a model remains an abstraction and depends on the intended use of the model.

The modeling of a business process involves the following steps:

  1. Business process is divided into different levels and lanes are created for each level.
  2. Elements and activities involved in the business process are identified and dragged in the respective lanes.
  3. Documentation is added for all activities and the business process.
  4. Flow of execution of activities is defined. Possibly it can have some decision point.

Once done, process model is saved. This process model can now be used to create the workflow for a business process. The modeling of a business process involves the following steps:

  1. A high level abstraction is first defined with the key steps of the process flow specified as the main building blocks.

  2. Now a further level of detail is added by breaking up the high level steps into more granular activities and tasks separated by decision nodes. For larger "building blocks", a separate sub-process may be created.

     

  3. Typically "lanes" are created in the process model for each participant or department so steps and tasks belonging to a specific participant are all placed in their lanes.
  4. Flow of execution of activities are defined. Decision nodes may be placed at appropriate locations to route and direct tasks.
  5. Detailed information such as process participants, task priorities, business rules, input and output data elements, etc. are documented for each of the steps in the process flow.
  6. Documentation is automatically generated from the designed process model.
  7. Once done, process model is saved. This process model can now be emailed or shared with other users so they can review and refine it further.
  8. Process Model may then be simulated for improvements.

See also:

Process Modeler