Modelling of business processes

1. Management of IT Environment (3) Riadenie IT prostredia Modellingofbusinessprocesses Karol Furdík Department of Cybernetics and AI, FEI TU Košice

2. Lecturecontent • Definitions of basic terms • processs, business process, a model, modelling,... • Ways of BP modelling • hierarchical process diagram, process threads diagram • approaches, formalisms: UML, BPMN • BPMN • characteristics, history • BPMN elements: activities, events, gateways, connectors, ... • Examples • References

3. Strategic planning Top management planning Managerial control Middle management control Operationalmanagement Control of actions actions/ services feedback Def.: Process, businessprocess and itstypes Process - an unifying principle that acts in various systemic contexts. (K. L. von Bertalanffy, philosophical-cybernetic def. Example: process of feedback) Business process (BP): • A set of structured and temporally connected activities or tasks that are employed in an organisation/enterprise for producing a certain service or product (i.e., activities are goal-oriented) for a particular customer. Types of business processes: • 1. Management processes • 2. Operational processes • 3. Supporting processes Information flow in an enterprise. Ref: Mihók, Révészová: IS pre ekonómov. EkF TU Košice, 2006

4. Def.: Model, BP modelling Model: • a (formal) representation of a domain, part of reality, or a system, which enables investigating relevant events, relationships, and processes ongoing in the domain/system more easily - in comparison with investigation these events in a real world environment. • Consequence:model does not match the reality; it expresses just our view of the reality in a particular context, from certain perspective.(cf. L. Wittgenstein, W. V. O. Quine, W. Sellars, ...) BP modelling: • a set of activities for representing business processes in a formal way enabling analysis and further improvement of these processes. • IT perspective: BP modelling is required as a presumption for creating and/or modifying information systems in an enterprise.

5. BP models and levels of modelling BP models: • serve for presenting a structured flow of business activities togehter with all related information. • interpreted models enable to determine the level of fulfilling business goals by an organisation/enterprise. Levels of BP modelling: • Process maps – simple schemas of activity sequences. • Process descriptions – schemas extended on additional descriptive information (however, not complete enough for executing the modelled processes). • Process models – schemas extended on all information required for modelled process execution.

6. Ways of BP modelling BP model formalisms: • Older – data/control flow diagrams, block schemas of functions, Gantt diagrams, PERT diagrams, etc. • UML – general modelling formalism, primarily in software engineering area, but applicable on BP modelling as well. • Various types of process models, for example: • Hierarchical process diagram, • Process threads diagram • Use case diagram • Interaction overview diagram • Object diagram • BPMN – standardised graphical notation of abstract (i.e., not executable) BP, suitable for all levels of modelling (process maps, descriptions, models) and control (planning, design, implementation, transition, operation, ...).

7. Hierarchical process diagram Taxonomyof business processes: • proces on a higher level is composed of sub-processes modelled on lower levels.

8. Process threads diagram Dynamic description of business processes: • describes events that are launching particular sub-processes, as well as results of these sub-processes.

9. UML - Unified Modeling Language UML: a modelling language for specification, visualization, development and documenting of software systems. Can be applied on business processes as well. • A set of diagrams enabling an object-oriented design • Diagrams: • Use-case diagram • Class diagram • State diagram • Activity diagram • Sequence diagram • Interaction diagram • Component diagram • Deployment diagram

10. BPMN - Business Process Modeling Notation • Formalism for graphical representation of business processes by means of a diagram of ordered/structured flow of activities and related information - Business Process Diagram. • BPMN is a set of graphical objects and rules defining available connections between the objects. • BPMN provides a mechanism for generating executable business processes - BPEL (Business Process Execution Language).

11. History & versions of BPMN • Business Process Management Institute (BPMI, nowadays a part of OMG consortium, www.omg.org) developed the BPML language (XML-based, representation of executable BPs). It implied a necessity of a general and easily understandable graphical notation - BPMN. • BPML was later replaced by BPEL (currently a standard). • August 2001: group Notation Working Group, consisting of 35 members, organisations and individuals. • BPMN 1.0 • May 2004: BPMN 1.0 specification published. • February 2006: BPMN 1.0 accepted as OMG standard. • BPMN 1.1: OMG specification, February 2008. • BPMN 1.2: OMG specification, January 2009. The last non-executable notation • BPMN 2.0: released in January 2011: http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/2.0/

12. Basic elements of BPMN Flow objects

13. BPMN: Poster

14. BPMN: Examples (1)

15. BPMN: Examples (2)

16. BPMN: Examples (3)

17. BPMN: Examples (4a)

18. BPMN: Examples (4b)

19. BPMN: Examples (4c) Choreography - BPMN 2.0 notation

20. BPMN: References • http://www.bpmn.org, the web of Object Management Group/Business Process Management Initiative • tutorials, guidelines, best practices, ... • http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/, specifications • http://bpm-sme.blogspot.com/2008/03/3-uvod-do-bpmn.html, short tutorial in Czech • http://www.defm.fmph.uniba.sk/ludia/odrobina/Process_modeling.htm, brief intro to BPMN in Slovak

21. Questions?