Businesses rarely operate at peak efficiency. To make sure that an organization is doing as well as it potentially can be, you’d need to constantly re-evaluate, improve, and sometimes even completely re-work your processes. Business process modeling is a good start for that.
A brief tutorial showing how to model a simple BPMN workflow for a job application process. The tutorial uses the free personal edition of Innovator for Business Analysts - for more information.
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Many consultants see BPMN as the “Rolls Royce” of business process modeling techniques because most other forms of business process modeling were developed for other purposes and then adapted. In fact, BPMN is the culmination of a process in which businesses sought a best practice method for business process modeling.
Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) is a standard for business process modeling that provides graphical notation for specifying business processes in a Business Process Diagram (BPD),2 based on traditional flowcharting techniques. The objective of BPMN is to support business process modeling for both technical. But business professionals have adapted it as a powerful business process modeling technique. With 14 different UML diagram types, it offers a flexible and powerful way to visualize almost any business process. They are typically used for modeling the detailed logic of a business process. 10 BPMN PDF books, articles and brochures May 13, 2016 Pierre Veyrat BPM If you are looking for more information about BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation ) in handouts, or even articles and BPMN pdf tutorials, know that here are 10 excellent materials to download, read, study and consult when needed!
What is Business Process Modeling, Anyway?
Business process modeling is the graphical representation of a company’s business processes or workflows, as a means of identifying potential improvements. This is usually done through different graphing methods, such as the flowchart, data-flow diagram, etc.
BP modeling is used to map 2 different states of the process: As-is, the state of the process as it is right now, without making any changes or improvements, and To-be, the future state, after making the changes or improvements.
Business process modeling is usually used interchangeably with business process mapping – and they can be pretty much the same, depending on who you ask. They’re both used to graphically represent processes as a means of identifying potential weaknesses or improvements. The popular distinction between the two, however, is…
Want to learn how to do process improvement with as-is and to-be processes? Read up our guide.
Business Process Mapping – dealings with both high-level and low-level mapping. i.e, it can be a very generic representation of a process, without getting into too much detail, or pretty much the exact opposite.
Business Process Modeling – deals specifically with low-level process maps, with the main purpose being process improvement.
While business process modeling, as a concept, is extremely useful, it’s not usually used as a stand-alone. Having a graphical representation of a process is good, but without the right implementation, you won’t go too far.
The KPIs you picked to benchmark, for example, could be wrong. In that case, you wouldn’t have a realistic way to benchmark the new process to the old.
To get the implementation part right, BP modeling is usually used as a part of a larger initiative…
Business Process Management (BPM) – A methodology of constant process re-evaluation and improvement. Just about the same thing as BPI and BPR, with the main difference being that BPM is continuous. That is, it’s not just a single process improvement initiative, it’s something you do constantly.
Business Process Improvement (BPI) – Usually part of BPM, BPI means the mapping, analysis, and improvement of a single process.
Business Process Reengineering (BPR) – Essentially the same thing as BPI, with the main difference being how you’d change the process. BPR tends to deal with more major changes to the process, such as incorporating technology to completely change the way a process works.
Why Use Business Process Modeling: Top 5 Benefits
At it’s most basic, business process modeling helps with introspection. You get a deeper understanding of how your processes work & the way your business functions. Other than that, however, there are several other benefits…
Improving Efficiency – The main function of BP modeling is to improve the way the processes are done. As a given, you’ll find different ways to improve the way the process works, which leads to higher efficiency, productivity, output, and finally, profits.
Enforce Best-Practices & Standardization – If you’re running a big organization, there’s a good chance that different teams do the same process differently. Creating the best-practice design ensures that everyone knows how to do the process.
Process Agility – If BP analysis is a norm within an organization, they will eventually develop a culture of innovation and change. By being able to constantly tweak business operations, you’ll be able to evolve in the face of technological change.
Transparency – Everyone within your organization will be, more or less, aware of how your processes work: what’s the goal, how it operates, etc. This leads to accountability; who owns what process becomes transparent.
Beat the Competition – As a result of all the other benefits we’ve mentioned, you’ll be able to beat and outlast your competition in the long-run.
Business Process Modeling Techniques
There are a lot of ways to do BP modeling, over 12 different techniques to be even more specific! Here are 3 of the most popular techniques…
Process Flowcharts
Process flowcharts are the easiest and most widely used BP modeling techniques. The way this works is pretty self-explanatory – you map your processes step by step.
The exact way you’d do this is up to you; the main idea, however, is to make it simple enough to understand at a glance. There are 3 ways to create flowcharts: pen & paper, flowchart software, or workflow management software.
Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN)
BPMN is an open-industry standard for BP modeling and was developed by the BPMI (Business Process Management Initiative). It’s essentially a standardized method for flowchart mapping; meaning, the objects used are defined by the methodology, not the individual doing the mapping.
BPMN can be carried out exactly the same way as flowcharts, with the only difference being that you’d be using the elements within the graph as defined by BPMN methodology, not your own preference.
Data Flow Diagrams (DFD)
Data flow diagrams are designed to show the flow of data from one source to another. It describes how these processes relate to each other and to the people who use them.
It should be noted, though, that DFD isn’t about the technicalities of data storage. Rather, how the data flows through different processes.
Other helpful business process modeling techniques include Gantt charts, role activity diagrams, simulation models, and several others.
How to do Business Process Modeling
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for business process modeling. At the end of the day, it really depends on what you’re trying to achieve. Typically, however, if you’re going for process improvement or re-engineering, there are 3 steps you’d take…
Model Existing Process – Use one of the BP modeling techniques to put the process you’re working with down on paper (or software).
Identify Inefficiencies & Potential Improvements – How well is the process performing? Is it reasonable efficient? Is it meeting operational goals? Are there any steps in the process that’s overly wasteful?
Design To-Be Process – Design the new and improved process depending on your findings in step #2, and finally put it into practice.
As we’ve mentioned before, though, the implementation of the new process is as important as the modeling. So, it’s highly recommended to use BP modeling as a part of Business Process Management (BPM).
Have you personally used business process modeling for your organization? Was it successful? Let us know down in the comments!
While you could probably sum up what your business does in just a few sentences, you know that it’s much more complicated than that. To achieve your business’ outputs, your staff completes a series of tasks that get passed from one person or department to the next until voila! You have tangible results. When you dig down, it’s amazing just how many little things need to be done. Business process modeling techniques allow you to capture all these steps in a format that allows you to visualize just how workflows function.
You may be asking yourself why it’s necessary to do this if you aren’t trying something new. After all, your team knows what to do. But there are several very strong arguments in favor of using business process modeling techniques:
You can spot tasks that are redundant and eliminate them.
You can improve process efficiency by looking for areas where work gets held up because of bottlenecks in the process.
You can ensure that efficient processes are repeated in the same way every time, even when a new staffer must perform part of the process.
Over the years, a variety of business process modeling techniques have been developed. Let’s examine your options.
1. Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN)
BPMN consists of a series of symbols or “standard objects” to represent tasks and workflows. Of course, there’s nothing to stop you from developing your own set of symbols. However, using standardized ones makes collaboration with outside analysts easier and saves you from having to dream up a visual language of your own.
Many consultants see BPMN as the “Rolls Royce” of business process modeling techniques because most other forms of business process modeling were developed for other purposes and then adapted. In fact, BPMN is the culmination of a process in which businesses sought a best practice method for business process modeling. Nevertheless, there are analysts and consultants who prefer other methods.
BPMN symbols fall into the following categories:
Flow objects: Events are represented by circles, activities fit into rectangular boxes with rounded corners, and gateways or control points are represented with diamond shapes.
Connecting objects: Since tasks are interconnected, we join them up to show their sequence. Solid lines indicate task transfers, and dashed ones indicate messages.
Swim lanes: A single sub-process in your workflow could require the sharing of responsibility. Swim lanes detail how these shared responsibilities are distributed and how they interact. The sub-task is the “pool” and the “lanes” represent people or departments.
Artifacts: If you need to add extra information that isn’t a sequence flow or message flow but that helps to explain a process, you can use artifacts. Dotted lines point to the flow object the extra information expands on. Squares outlined with dots and dashes group elements in the diagram, and text annotations are added with a square bracket.
2. UML Diagrams
UML (Unified Modeling Language) diagrams offer an alternative business process modeling technique. The modeling language was developed by software developers, but it can be adapted to business process modeling. There’s just one problem with UML Diagrams, or rather, we should say that there are no fewer than fourteen problems! There are no less than 14 UML diagram types. As you can imagine, this limits UML Diagrams’ usefulness because understanding this type of diagram is a whole lot more difficult than interpreting BPMN-based representations.
Although there’s some debate about which approach is best for business process modeling, most experts agree that BPMN is process oriented while UML is object-oriented and that this makes BPMN better for business process representation.
BPMN is really an evolution of UML, but while UML was initially intended for software developers, BPMN was specifically developed for capturing business processes. Nevertheless, it there are those who prefer it as a means of capturing business processes.
Want to learn the uses for each type of UML diagram? We’ve got a guide for that!
3. Flowcharts
Even if BPMN and UML are new to you, you probably know what a flowchart looks like. In fact, you may be wondering how BPMN differs from a regular flowchart. BPMN is really an evolution of the flowchart. So why not just use regular flowcharts?
The drawback of old-fashioned flowcharts is that they rely on sequential flows and don’t support parallel activities that form part of a process. Because you can’t capture as much information with this type of representation, it is best used for very simple and predictable processes that don’t require much elaboration.
Basic flowcharts were used to capture processes long before BPMN was conceived, and we can see BPMN as being an innovation that makes flowcharts much more informative and useful. This having been said, some consultants find that understanding BPMN isn’t easy for beginners and prefer to use a series of interrelated flowcharts since they don’t require as much of a learning curve.
If you’re mapping relatively straightforward business processes, the flow chart might be just the tool you need to capture your business processes quickly, simply and effectively.
Want to know how and why you should use flowcharts for process mapping? Check out our guide to process flowcharts.
4. Yourdon’s Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs)
Data flow diagrams were developed back in the seventies and their purpose is to represent data flows rather than activities.
While business process analysts give the nod to data flow diagrams, they generally agree that Yourdon’s technique is dated and has one big limitation: it focuses on information rather than action. Data flow diagrams are, by definition, data-focused and don’t provide a clear way to include all stakeholders in the process whereas BPMN can.
Nevertheless, if your workflows are largely data-driven or based on information flows, this form of business process notation could suit your needs.
5. Gantt Charts
In the late nineteenth century, Gantt charts were the gold standard, and they’re sometimes still used. For example, a student preparing a dissertation will often be called on to provide a Gantt chart that breaks the task down into sub-tasks, each of which has a specific time-frame.
It’s still a useful tool, but in the BPM context, it is a little too simplistic to accommodate the many subtasks involved in completing some business processes. However, when preparing for projects with distinct timelines, businesses still find Gantt charts helpful.
Whereas Yourdon’s notation focuses on data, Gantt charts are time-focused, so time-sensitive processes can easily be captured and tracked. It’s easy for the people in charge of different parts of the process to see when they are meant to begin work and by when each task should be complete. Managers can use their Gantt charts to check whether all the subprocesses are running according to schedule.
6. PERT Diagrams
The early twentieth century saw the introduction of Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) diagrams, which seek to break business process flows into timelines by estimating the shortest, longest, and likeliest times for the completion of each step in a business process.
The value of the PERT diagram is that it not only shows the critical path that must be followed towards outcomes but also helps to determine realistic time-frames for the process. That makes it particularly helpful in setting goals and targets and in comparing different process approaches to determine which will be more efficient.
7. Functional Flow Block Diagrams
Functional Flow Block Diagrams may have been around for a few decades, but they still have their uses in business process mapping. Their focus is the order of execution of tasks or functions in a sequence of ordered blocks.
Each functional block can be further broken down in a separate diagram showing the sub-tasks within each functional block. Of course, this results in a whole lot of diagrams representing a single process, but it’s easy to cross-reference them in relation to the first-level diagram.
Some businesses prefer FFDs because, despite the need for several diagrams, they’re relatively easy to follow – even when the process is rather complex.
8. Integrated Definition for Function Modeling (IDEF)
Like functional Flow Block Diagrams. Parent activities give rise to child diagrams. There are various forms of IDEF, but for enterprise modeling, IDEF0 is the permutation to use. It’s certainly a sophisticated system, but its limitation lies in in its complexity.
There are 15 forms of IDEF and each addresses a different type of flow. Thus, there are different forms of IDEF for functions, information, data, simulation model design, process description capture, and so on.
9. Petri Nets and Colored Petri Nets (CPNs)
Business Process Modeling Pdf Template
You may need a course of study before you can effectively use them, but Petri Nets, and their Colored Petri net cousins are worth noting as one of the possible ways in which business processes can be mapped. Unlike flow charts, which struggle with parallel processes, Petri Nets are helpful in mapping processes in which several sub-processes must happen simultaneously or must be synchronized.
The CPN consists of places, transitions, and arcs, and although the mathematical language used to express them is complex, a person who is well-versed in their use can deploy them, and the related math, to test processes out.
BPM Software: Best Use of Business Process Modeling Techniques
While BPM modeling techniques are useful on their own, they’re best used through BPM software.
The software allows you to create process models online, as well as letting you digitize your processes. Meaning, the processes are enforced by the software, making sure that your employees follow the best practices.
Business Process Modeling Free Software
To get the most out of your processes, give our BPM software a try.
Mega Business Processes
Not sure which BPM tool to go for? These 5 are some of the very best.