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Five Guidelines to Better Business Process Modeling for ExecutionJonas A. Zahn, BPM Senior Consultant, ISSW

Stuart Jones, BPM Tiger Team

Session Number: TBP-1772

Outline

Introduction Definition of Terms Five Guidelines

– 1) Rule of Seven

– 2) Activity Granularity

– 3) Activity Description

– 4) Inputs/Outputs

– 5) The System Lane Conclusion Q&A

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Jonas A. ZahnBPM Senior

ConsultantLombardi Certified (Level 3)

Stuart JonesBPM Tiger Team

Definition of Terms

Business Process Definition (BPD)

Pool

Swim Lane

Milestone

Participant

Step/Activity

Flow Line

Business Event

User Story

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Business Process Definition (BPD)

A diagram that illustrates a business process

includes participants, steps, activities, and sub-processes

Business Process Definition objectives:

Universally understood by both business and technologists

Clearly and easily communicated in 5 minutes or less

– at any level of granularity

Executable in a Business Process Management System

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What is not a Business Process Definition?

Entity State Diagrams

Use Cases, Use Case Relationship Diagrams

System Relationship Diagram

Architectural Diagram

Workflow Model (Application Development), Screen Flow

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• •

• •

Dra

ft

Rev

iew

Fin

al

Pool6

Component

Default name

Description

1 Lombardi pool

The default pool to hold all lanes within the BPD. You can change the name by clicking the pool and editing its properties.

2 Participant lane

A default lane for end user activities. You can change the name by clicking the lane and editing its properties.

A container for all lanes within the BPD

(Swim) Lane7

• Highlights role oriented activities versus the flow oriented activities• A lane has a default set of participants

Milestones

A milestone in a process…

Represents

– A period of time

– Goal/transition in the process

May be expressed as a single moment in time

– e.g. graduation

– A milestone end-marker

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May characterize period of time

- e.g. adolescence

A milestone should be achieved just once in a BPD

- Looping back across a milestone is discouraged

Participant

A participant is a user of the WLE environment

Sets of users are Participant Groups

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Activity/Step

A unit of granularity in a process that…

Has a goal that can be expressed as a singular outcome

Implemented as

– Task (human or system)

– Sub-process

Can be a human task

– Single participant begins the activity

Can contain multiple steps, (e.g. screens in a screen flow)

– These steps are not process steps

Can be a sub-process

– Implemented as another BPD

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Sequence Flow Lines

A sequence flow line…

Defines the transition from one step or event to another

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Events

A business event…

Is the occurrence of a condition that triggers an activity.

Can listen to catch a condition to trigger an activity or…

…throw a result upon occurrence.

Types of events include the following:

– Start /End

– Timer

– Message

– Exception

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throw listen

User Story

Short, high-level statement of requirements

– Students can purchase monthly parking passes online

– Parking passes can be paid via credit cards

– Parking passes can be paid via PayPal™

– Professors can input student marks

Stakeholders and domain experts write user stories 

Can include both functional and non-functional requirements

Indicate the estimated size/implementation effort

Indicate the priority

Optionally include a unique identifier

– Improves traceability

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See Agile Modeling at http://www.agilemodeling.com/artifacts/userStory.htm

Five Guidelines to Better Process Modeling

Introduction

Definition of Terms

Five Guidelines

– 1) Rule of Seven

– 2) Activity Granularity

– 3) Activity Description

– 4) Inputs/Outputs

– 5) The System Lane

Conclusion

Q& A

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Example of a bad Process Model

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Click button to add a new

line item.

Select Company in dropdown

Click OK

Example of a bad Process Model

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4 System Lanes

“Constellation” Pattern

No Milestones

Defined

“String of Pearls” Pattern

(1) Rule of Seven

Limit any view to no more than 7 steps/activities for good fit.

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Select Candidate

Inform recruiter

Establish compensation

package

Establish start date

Background Check

Criminal record check

Drug screen

Release Candidate from Process

Review results

Offer

Create offer letter

Transmit offer letter

Accept offer

Add Candidate To HR Records

Input employee information into

database

Request equipment

Request workspace

Request access badge

Set employee status to active

Orientation

New hire orientation class

Benefits overview class

Provide orientation cd

Watch orientation cd

Complete forms

Begin Work

Meet manager

Obtain access badge

Obtain equipment

Go to workspace

(2) Activity Granularity

Activities should be Similar in Scope at each level

Look for the String of Pearls pattern.

Look for the Constellation pattern.

Look for Flow Line Patterns

Remember that an Activity

– Is a step in a process that can be implemented as a sub-process or a task.

– Definition in a Process Model should stop at task granularity.

– A task activity is a unit of work that a single participant (human or system) starts with the intent to complete.

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Purchase Groceries

(2) Activity Granularity – Scope

Overloaded Milestone (Rule of Seven)

Dissimilar in Scope

Too Granular in Detail

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Plan Party

Invite Guests

Prepare Menu

Get Veggies

Get Cake

Get Ice Cream

Get Chips & Dip

Checkout

Pay with AMEX

Drive Home

Put Veggies in Fridge

Put Ice Cream in Freezer

Host Party

Welcome Guests

Serve Snacks

Serve Cake & Ice Cream

Play Games

Open Gifts

Play Games

Clean Up

Clean the House

Send Thank You Cards

Get Veggies

Get Cake

Get Ice Cream

Get Chips & Dip

Checkout

Pay with AMEX

Drive Home

Put Veggies in Fridge

Put Ice Cream in Freezer

Open Door

Set Ice Cream on

Shelf

Close Door

Where do we stop?

(2) Activity Granularity – Scope

Activities should be similar in scope at each level.

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Plan Party

Invite Guests

Prepare Menu

Host Party

Welcome Guests

Serve Snacks

Serve Cake & Ice Cream

Play Games

Open Gifts

Play Games

Clean Up

Clean the House

Send Thank You Cards

Purchase Groceries

Will a single person complete the activity?

Will the activity be started with the intent to finish?

Is the duration similar to others at this level?

Is the goal or outcome an input for the next activity?

(2) Activity Granularity – String of Pearls Pattern

Series of two or more activities in the same swim lane

May indicate missing participant details

May indicate too much detail at a low level of granularity

May indicate misalignment in scope

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(2) Activity Granularity – String of Pearls Pattern

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Combine into a single Activity: Send Offer Letter

Before3 serial activities for Hiring Manager

• Review Results• Create Offer Letter• Transmit Offer Letter

After1 activity for Hiring Manger

(2) Activity Granularity – Constellation Pattern

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Factor constellations to a sub-process. Look for…

• Tight groups of activities across 2-3 swim lanes

• Single flow line in & out of the group

• Lane participant may be limited to activities in the group

(2) Activity Granularity – Flow Line Patterns

Generally should not flow backward to a previous milestone.

Generally should not skip a Milestone.

Should avoid looping back to a previous step to repeat an activity (or sub-process) later in the process—repeat/re-use the activity instead.

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(3) Activity Description – Activity Naming

Activity Name = Action + Entity

[action verb] + [business object]

Avoid vague action verbs such as Process and Perform [Step]

Use action verbs that indicate a result/output

Use specific terms recognizable by the business users (even if they might be vague to others) and describe/define the terms in the description if necessary.

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Perform Review

Approve Contract Terms

(3) Activity Description – User Story

Capture a 2-5 sentence description for each activity.

– As a [participant] I need to [do something] so that I can [create business value].

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(4) Inputs/Outputs

Define with business entities from the business object model

Avoid specifying state for the entity (eg. signed contract)

Avoid specifying other qualifiers that are properties of the entity

Candidate

Job Description

Comp. Details

Offer Letter

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(5) The System Lane

Define only one system lane.

Contains activities performed by the BPMS or orchestrated by the BPMS to be performed by an external system.

Should not contain human activities.

Avoid the string of pearls pattern.

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Conclusion

Introduction

Definition of Terms

Five Guidelines

– 1) Rule of Seven

– 2) Activity Granularity

– 3) Activity Description

– 4) Inputs/Outputs

– 5) The System Lane

Q&A

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QA&

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