- Obtaining a holistic picture of the organization’s activities, coordinating different points of view on a constantly developing and changing business.
- Ensuring mutual understanding at all levels of the organization, bridging the gap between the management and executing parties.
- Ensuring reduction of production costs and increasing the level of quality and service.
In the process of business modeling, there is a transition from the concept of “what” should be done to the concept of “how” it should be done. The result of the modeling should be a document that gives the development team a clear understanding of the project boundaries, as well as the customer's software and hardware. The data obtained is reflected in the project specification, which may include the following sections:
- description of the main application data entities;
- formal description of the application specification;
- business logic and business rules;
- functional requirements;
- non-functional requirements;
- application form/page templates;
- glossary or list of abbreviations;
- auxiliary diagrams.
Business modeling tools and their evolution
To create business models, information system design tools and corresponding description languages are used (the most famous among them is UML - Unified Modeling Language). With the help of such languages, graphical models and diagrams are built that demonstrate the structure of an organization’s business processes, the organization of interaction between people and the necessary changes to improve the performance of the organization as a whole. Business modeling tools are under constant development. Initially, with the help of such tools it was possible to describe only the business functions (work) of the company and the movement of data in the process of their implementation. Moreover, if the same business function was used when executing various types work, it was difficult to understand whether the same business function was meant or a different one. The inability to explicitly define the hierarchy of business processes (e.g., “value chain,” “business process,” “subprocess,” “job,” “function”) created problems when using such descriptions. The descriptions themselves were simply a set of pictures. Later, tools began to appear that made it possible to describe the organization not only from the side of business functions, but also from other sides. Thus, it became possible to create separate diagrams reflecting the organizational structure of the company, data flows in the organization, the sequence of execution of business functions that make up a single business process, with the ability to use logic symbols, etc. Due to the continuously increasing requirements for business modeling tools, it has become More and more diagrams were appearing to describe various aspects of an organization's activities, making model creation increasingly complex. In this regard, the next important stage in the development of business modeling tools is associated with the idea of using a single repository (storage) of objects and the idea of possibly reusing objects in different diagrams. Whatever tool is chosen, it is necessary to ensure the interaction of local information systems with each other. Today, the most modern and at the same time generally accepted standard for organizing business process management is BPEL (Business Process Execution Language). Based on this product, you can create a single integration platform for all used applications. After modeling the processes, special translators are used in one of the modeling tools to bring the model to the BPEL standard.
Examples of business modeling and its results
- Cost reduction. The business model will give you an idea of where you can avoid extra costs and how to optimize the use of resources. Based on the business model, a functional cost analysis is carried out to calculate the cost of a product or service and a budget management system is built that allows you to control the costs of the enterprise.
- Increased efficiency. Possibility to reduce costs for adaptation and training of personnel. Regulatory documentation based on the prepared business model corresponds to the current state of affairs of the organization, distributes responsibilities, and builds a hierarchical system of career growth.
- Expanding the sphere of influence, increasing the network, organizing branches. The presence of a business model will reduce costs and make it possible to describe the structure of the arrangement of new branches of the enterprise.
- Adequacy of investment. Using business modeling, you can determine the amount of capital investment with a sufficient degree of accuracy, reduce risks and financial losses at the start-up stage of a new project.
- Implementation of EDMS. The business model of an enterprise standardizes the composition of enterprise documents and establishes the routes for the movement of documents.
- Automation and implementation of ERP, SCM, CRM or other software class systems. Based on the business model, you can formulate better requirements for the system and select the optimal solution in terms of cost and functionality.
- Quality management system certification. Development business models enterprise allows you to significantly reduce the time and costs for the development, implementation and certification of a quality management system and obtain a set necessary documents to successfully complete certification, reduce the cost of maintaining a quality management system.
Features of business modeling
Creating, implementing and maintaining a business model is an expensive investment project. And like any project, the creation of a business model must be preceded by an analysis of the feasibility and possibility of its implementation. Large projects require powerful business modeling tools with well-developed functionality: with the ability to store information in a single repository, collaborate on a modeling project and check the created model for integrity, semi-automatic generation of diagrams, integration with other software, analysis and documentation of the model - while In smaller projects, for cost reasons, it might make more sense to use less capable tools. To analyze activities, development existing structure you should initially build an adequate business model. That is, initially the theory, and only then its implementation.
Solutions
Today there are a large number of software products that are designed to describe the architecture of an organization. According to reports from the analytical company Gartner, the following companies can be classified as leaders in this segment.
Business process modeling has become the classic work of many business analysts as part of optimizing business processes and standardizing the activities of Russian companies. There are many notations that are used in certain cases. This article is devoted to a review of business process modeling notations.
VAD (value added chain diagram)
VAD notation, introduced by Michael Porter in his work on corporate strategy, focuses on modeling business processes that “create value” in the form of services or products for the consumer. A business process model built in VAD notation provides a general, non-detailed view of business processes.
Using the VAD notation, you can describe the list and relationship of business processes at the top level, since this notation allows you to display all the company’s business processes on one model. In VAD notation, you can use relationships that show the relationship of business processes relative to each other, while the process flow in this notation is overwhelmingly directed from left to right.
There are many variants of the VAD notation implemented in various tools, and each with its own set of symbols, but they all look approximately the same - a set of business processes, often interconnected by “predecessor-successor” links.
For example, expanding this notation in the ARIS toolkit allows you to show performers, risks, documents, data and much, much more on a business process model.
In addition to modeling an organization's business process map, the VAD notation allows you to model end-to-end business processes when they are initially defined. But you need to understand that VAD is not intended to model logical conditions in a process, and therefore it is perfectly perceived by management. In practice, after modeling business processes at the top level in the VAD notation, more detailed modeling of business processes follows in other notations, which we will consider in detail below.
The VAD notation model can be drawn in a variety of tools, such as MS Visio, and many other business process modeling tools.
Business process modeling – EPC (event-driven process chain)
The EPC notation was developed by Professor August Wilhelm Scheer within the framework of the ARIS toolkit methodology. Using a business process, it is modeled as a list of process steps triggered by events. The notation is convenient for subsequent regulation of a business process, as well as for analyzing the information flow of a business process (incoming/outgoing documents).
The freedom of EPC notation allows you to describe additional objects within the framework of business process modeling, such as operational risks, control procedures, screen forms, information systems, indicators and much more.
Within the EPC notation, the process is modeled top-down, and the order of execution of steps/functions/actions/operations of a business process is determined through a system of events and logical conditions. Events in EPC notation are considered to be the beginning and completion of process steps, as well as external events requiring a response from the organization.
The business process model consists of “event-function-event” sequences and logical operators “AND”, “OR”, “exclusive OR” that display decisions, condition checking, parallelization and convergence of flows of the modeled business process.
There are many options for EPC notation, in column, row format, as well as with different lists of objects used, however, all these options are available only in the ARIS toolkit, while in other tools, for example, MS Visio or Business Studio, EPC business process modeling is only available in a classic format.
Modeling a business process in the EPC notation allows you to subsequently obtain a text or tabular regulation of business processes, since a correctly drawn EPC model can be converted into a sequence of sentences in ordinary language, which becomes the basis for the regulation. That is why this notation is considered the most convenient for modeling business processes for the purpose of subsequent analysis and regulation.
Modeling business— processes– BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation 2.0)
The BPMN notation was created by the Object Management Group (OMG) consortium and is intended for modeling business processes for the purpose of their subsequent automation. The BPMN notation is used for detailed modeling of a business process, and the number of objects in this notation exceeds 100, which allows you to describe all the nuances of the behavior of business processes so that the information system can convert the created model into executable code.
The openness of the BPMN notation and support by most business process modeling and automation tools have made this notation a leader in business process modeling.
In BPMN notation, in addition to the steps of a business process, you can model the starting, intermediate and final events of the process, information flows and message flows. Among the features of the notation, one can highlight the default use of the Swim Lane modeling style, when the performer is shown as a vertical or horizontal stripe, reminiscent of the lanes in a swimming pool, and it is on this lane that the actions/operations performed by this performer are located.
Streamlining a business process in the Swim Lane format makes it possible to clearly transfer responsibility and the flow of work between participants in the process, but, at the same time, makes it difficult to model in the case of several co-executors in one operation.
Models drawn in BPMN notation are often difficult to assemble into a coherent hierarchy, since the methodology was originally created to automate “end-to-end” business processes.
Applying BPMN notation requires some experience, which often limits the number of creators of these models to systems and business analysts. Representatives of business units model business processes in BPMN notation quite rarely.
Despite the graphical differences, the BPMN and EPC notations are very similar to each other, and in the ARIS toolkit they can already be converted into each other, albeit with certain methodological limitations.
Business Process Modeling - Flow Charting
The name of the notation Flow Charting is most easily translated as flowcharts. This notation originally appeared in the ANSI standard in 1970, and contains a very simple set of characters.
Over the years of the existence of the Flow Charting notation, many variants of flowcharts have been drawn containing symbols for solving various problems, for example, for describing material flows, roles and jobs, equipment, for analyzing the inputs and outputs of functions.
In fact, flowcharts were the predecessors of modern business process modeling notations, and until now they were taught in most educational institutions within disciplines dedicated to information technology.
Flow Charting notation does not have a rigid standard, which allows you to model business processes from different points of view, adding certain objects to the model as needed. In this way, this notation is very similar to EPC, but has even more freedom in application. The freedom of application options for Flow Charting and the support of most inexpensive and even free business process modeling tools have made this notation applicable to many companies.
One of the disadvantages of Flow Charting is the lack of a standard list of objects and attributes, which is reverse side"freedom" of this notation. This allows you to model the same business process in this notation so that the models will be significantly different from each other.
Despite the fact that business process models in Flow Charting notation can be found quite often, most likely it will become a thing of the past, giving way to more “strict notations”
Modeling business— processes– IDEF (Integrated Definition Language)
The IDEF notation emerged in the 70s as a US government standard that focuses on the inputs, outputs, mechanisms and controls of a business process and links an organization's processes into a hierarchy. The key element of this notation is the function, while all other objects and interactions are modeled using relationships.
The notation uses a very simple set of symbols: process rectangles and arrows depicting inputs, outputs, controls and mechanisms, this notation is distinguished by a “built-in” numbering system for business process steps, which allows you to track the relationships between parent and child processes.
Considering the history of this standard and its fairly widespread use, it is implemented in many modeling tools, but still this notation can be attributed to the outgoing generation, since it has fewer and fewer supporters, and business representatives often treat these “chips” with skepticism.
UML (Unified Modeling Languages)
The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a set of notations and modeling methods designed to describe requirements for information systems, but among the UML notations there is also a specialized notation designed specifically for modeling business processes. UML is supported by the Object Management Group (OMG), which has made this methodology quite common among IT professionals.
This notation is very similar to EPC and BPMN, the only difference is in the display of logical operators and events, and although there are many books on the UML notation, and it is supported by many modeling tools, the UML Activiti Diagram is used mainly for systems analysis and design, and only minor number of companies use UML to model business processes
VSM (Value Stream Mapping)
The name of the VSM notation can be translated into Russian as customer value stream mapping. The original name of this notation was at the Toyota Corporation, where it is believed that it was invented - Material and Information Flow Map.
VSM notation was developed as part of the methodology lean manufacturing, and uses a set of specific symbols to display elements of resource and time costs for analyzing the effectiveness of a business process in Lean 6Sigma projects. A value stream map depicts the physical environment and flow of materials and products in production and is used to associate resource and time inputs to a process and thus provide insight into productivity
The purpose of this notation is to involve its participants in the analysis of a business process in order to encourage them to independently search for optimization opportunities. As a rule, VSM models are drawn in projects on Flip Chart and do not require serious tools for modeling business processes, because decisions are made on its basis, and the model itself does not become the basis for either regulations or IT solutions.
The main thing when creating a model in the VSM notation is filling in temporary attributes for the process to search for “bottlenecks” and places of excessive inventory storage.
This notation has a limited circle of followers, and it will not be widespread among the general public of business analysts in the near future due to the specificity of the problems solved with its help. But at the same time, many business process modeling tools, for example, ARIS, have already developed extensions to support business process modeling in this notation.
SIPOC
The abbreviation SIPOC stands for: Supplier, Input, Process, Output, Customer. This is a process documentation template adopted in the Six Sigma methodology; in fact, it is not even a model notation, but a table format that allows you to describe a business process at the top level. The SIPOC model is most effectively used when defining the boundaries of a business process, interacting parties and process inputs/outputs.
There is no notation for SIPOC, because it is a simple table with appropriate headings that allows you to structure the selected business process for subsequent analysis and optimization.
The usefulness of SIPOC, unlike other diagrams, lies in the possibility of its use by employees of business units, since it does not contain complex logic and many objects, like EPC or BPMN notations.
Business process modeling - conclusions
So, I looked at some business process modeling notations that can be found on the Russian market (they are described in more detail in the BPM CBOK chapter dedicated to business process modeling). Which notation to choose for use is an open question, for example, to model an organization’s business processes at the top level, I use the VAD notation; for the primary modeling of a business process selected for optimization, it is easier to use SIPOC or VAD. To create detailed models of business processes - simplified BPMN for modeling cross-functional interaction or EPC for detailed modeling in order to formalize the information flow and many objects associated with a business process. Well, if you need to automate a business process in a BPMS system, then you can’t do without BPMN notation.
business process modeling tools
In Russia, the following modeling tools are widely used to model and analyze business processes: Rational Rose, Oracle Designer, AllFusion Process Modeler (B.P.Win) And AllFusion ERwin Data Modeler (ERWin), ARIS, Power Designer. Abroad, in addition to those mentioned, such tools as System Architect, Ithink Analyst, ReThink, etc. are actively used. Table 1 presents a list of tools involved in the consideration. Information provided includes:
- name of the tool;
- information about the supplier and representative in Russia;
- brief description of the tool.
| № | Name | Provider | Main representative in Russia | a brief description of |
| 1 | BPWin and ERWin | Computer Associates Company (formerly Platinum Company) http://www.ca.com | Interface Ltd http://www.interface.ru | BPWin is a tool for visual modeling of business processes. ERWin is a tool used for modeling and creating databases of arbitrary complexity based on entity-relationship diagrams. |
| 2 | Oracle Designer | Oracle Company http://www.oracle.com | Oracle Representative Office in Russia http://www.oracle.com/global/ru/index.html | Functional Description Tool subject area. Included in the Oracle9i Developer Suite set of tools for designing software systems and databases that implement CASE technology and Oracle's own IS development methodology - "CDM", allowing the development team to carry out a project, starting from business process analysis through modeling to code generation and obtaining prototype, and subsequently the final product. This tool makes sense when targeting the entire Oracle product line that is used to design, develop, and implement a complex software system. Participant of the Russian market. Localized. Sales, support, training in Russia. |
| 3 | Rational Rose | IBM (formerly Rational Software, now a division of IBM) http://www.ibm.com | IBM Representative Office in Russia http://www.ibm.com/ru | Tool for modeling object-oriented information systems. Allows you to solve almost any problem in the design of information systems: from business process analysis to code generation in a specific programming language. Allows you to develop both high-level and low-level models, thereby performing either abstract or logical design. One of the leaders of the Russian market. Localized. Sales, support, training in Russia. |
| 4 | ARIS | IDS Scheer AG http://www.ids-scheer.com | Company Business Logic http://www.blogic.ru | An integrated business process modeling tool that combines a variety of systems modeling and analysis methods. First of all, it is a means of describing, analyzing, optimizing and documenting business processes rather than a software design tool. Leader in the global market. Localized. Sales, support, training in Russia. |
| 5 | System Architect | Telelogic Company (formerly Popkin Software, currently a division of Telelogic) http://www.telelogic.com | Telelogic company in Russia http://www.telelogic.com | System Architect is a universal CASE tool that allows you to carry out not only data design, but also structural modeling. The data design and ER diagramming tool is one of the components of this product. One of the world leaders, not yet represented on the Russian market. Localization approximately by July 2006. Sales and support from the Netherlands for now. |
| 6 | Power Designer | Sybase Company http://www.sybase.com | Sybase Company http://www.sybase.ru | PowerDesigner is a business process modeling, database design and object modeling tool. A participant in the Russian market, a pursuer of leaders in the world market. There is support, sales, training in Russia. There is no information on the number of licenses sold or the number of users, so it is quite difficult to assess the prevalence in Russia. |
| 7 | Re-Think | Gensym Company http://www.gensym.com | A graphical object-oriented environment for creating and maintaining intelligent applications for monitoring, diagnosing and controlling complex dynamic systems in real and simulated situations. One of the pursuers of world leaders. |
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| 8 | Ithink Analyst | High Performance Systems Company http://www.hps-inc.com | Tora-center company http://www.tora-centre.ru | Package for situational modeling. Allows you to build visual and accurate models of the most complex political and economic situations using a library of basic models and system dynamics methods. Also used in analysis investment projects and reengineering. One of the participants in the global market. The package is not distributed on the Russian market. There is no Russian interface. Sales, support and training in Russia are carried out by only one company. There are educational materials in Russian. |
| 9 | Workflow Modeler(formerly Design/IDEF) | Meta Software Company http://www.metasoftware.com | Information on Russian companies, representing this product, was not found. | A package for functional and information modeling, analysis and design of business processes. Used as component in some well-known packages such as CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing) and CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) and adopted as a standard for projects funded by American and European sponsors. One of the participants in the global market. |
Let us highlight the main criteria that allow us to select from the presented modeling tools those whose use in Russia would be more likely to justify itself. These criteria are:
- stable position of the product on the market(its lifespan, product development program, problem reporting system, set of applications, etc.);
- product prevalence(number of licenses sold, availability, size and level of activity of the user group);
- Availability of vendor support. Such services may include telephone hotline", technical and consulting support through the supplier’s representative in Russia;
- accessibility of training. Training can be carried out on the premises of the supplier's representative in Russia, the user or elsewhere;
- availability of product materials. These may include computer training materials, tutorials, books, articles, Internet information, and demos.
From the list of tools given in the table, for a more detailed analysis, we will select those software products that meet the specified criteria. In this case, the scope of our further consideration includes BPWIn/ERWin, Oracle Designer, Rational Rose, Power Designer, ARIS, for which more information is presented below detailed description.
BPWin and ERWin from Computer Associates. Computer Associates International, Inc. (CA) is one of the five leading software manufacturers, offering modeling, backup, enterprise infrastructure management tools (networks, servers, etc.), information security, business intelligence, etc. The BPWin package is based on the IDEF methodology and is intended for functional modeling and analysis of enterprise activities. The IDEF methodology, which is an official US federal standard, is a set of methods, rules and procedures designed to build a functional model of an object in a particular subject area. The IDEF functional model displays the functional structure of an object, i.e. the actions it performs and the connections between these actions.
BPwin features:
- supports three standard notations at once - IDEF0 (functional modeling), DFD (data flow modeling) and IDEF3 (work flow modeling). These three main perspectives allow us to describe the subject area in the most comprehensive manner;
- allows you to optimize procedures in the company;
- fully supports methods for calculating costs based on the volume of economic activity (functional cost analysis, ABC);
- facilitates certification for compliance with ISO9000 quality standards;
- integrated with ERwin (for database modeling), Paradigm Plus (for modeling software components), etc.;
- integrated with Arena simulation tool;
- contains its own report generator;
- allows you to effectively manipulate models - merge and split them;
- has a wide range of tools for documenting models and projects.
The ERWin package is a conceptual database modeling tool. Used in modeling and creating databases of arbitrary complexity based on entity-relationship diagrams. Currently, ERWin is the most popular data modeling package due to its support for a wide range of DBMS of various classes. ERWin features:
- supports the SADT structural modeling methodology and the following notations: standard IDEF1x notation for ER diagrams of data models, IE notation and a special notation intended for designing data warehouses - Dimensional;
- supports direct (creating a database based on a model) and reverse (generating a model from an existing database) design for 20 types of DBMS: desktop, relational and specialized DBMS designed for creating data warehouses;
- integrated with the Computer Associates product line to support all stages of IS development, CASE tools Oracle Designer, Rational Rose, development tools, etc.;
- allows you to reuse components of previously created models, as well as use the developments of other developers;
- it is possible for a group of designers to work together with the same models (using AllFusion Model Manager);
- allows you to transfer the database structure (not the data itself!) from a DBMS of one type of DBMS to another;
- allows you to document the structure of the database.
Oracle Designer by Oracle. The Oracle Designer toolkit offers an integrated solution for enterprise application development for Web and client/server applications. Oracle Designer is involved in every phase of the software development life cycle - from business process modeling to implementation. The use of a single repository makes it possible to use any of its components for the rapid development of scalable, cross-platform distributed applications. The purpose of Oracle Designer is to collect data about user needs and automate the construction of flexible graphical applications. Oracle Designer is used not only to create applications, but also to keep track of changes that inevitably occur during system operation. Graphical project definition models integrated with a multi-user repository make working with Oracle Designer much easier. The tools are built on the basis of generally accepted techniques covering the entire life cycle development and enabling users in a way familiar to their organization. This provides a flexible and open approach to software development by using only those parts of the product that are required for a given task. The development process supports RAD, JAD, information design, waterfall, iterative, and other methods. Using these principles, you can successfully balance organizational needs and technological capabilities, and even effectively manage the risk associated with frequent unavoidable and important changes both in one and in another area. Oracle Designer conceptual modeling tools include:
- ER diagrams (diagrams of the information structure of a subject area, represented in the form of objects and their relationships);
- functional hierarchy diagrams that describe the functions that the system performs;
- diagrams of data flows circulating in the enterprise.
Such models present information needs in a convenient and visually perceptible form, which makes them good remedy communication between designers and users in the process of clarifying problem statements. Any developer is interested in the description of the conceptual model being used to create specifications that describe the structure and main components of the future system. In Oracle Designer, all system design specifications are developed based on conceptual level models and ensure that all requirements and constraints contained therein are met. The resulting system components can be converted into real database objects, screen forms and reports. The final part of project development - automatic generation of server components - is possible not only for the Oracle database server, but also for Microsoft SQL Server, DB/2, Sybase and a number of others. Any changes to business processes can be made to the models and a modified application is immediately generated, based on new business schemes. In this case, everything developed previously will be saved and included in new project. Oxle Designer automatically creates reports that contain all the information about the project and can be used as a set of documents reflecting the current state of the project.
IBM's Rational Rose. IBM Rational Rose is part of the IBM Rational Suite and is designed for modeling software systems using a wide range of tools and platforms. Rational Rose is one of the leading visual modeling tools in the software industry, with full UML support and multi-language team development support. The tool fully supports the component-oriented IP creation process. Any project participants - analysts, modelers, developers and others - can use models built in Rational Rose to create the final product more efficiently. For business analysts, Rational Rose makes it possible to describe and analyze in detail the business processes of a given subject area. System analysts, using the specified descriptions, will be able to develop the necessary IS functionality that will best satisfy the customer’s needs. Architects will find Rational Rose useful in creating powerful and flexible system architectures. For analysts specializing in database development, Rational Rose provides the ability to visually design and generate databases of any size. Thus, you can create databases Microsoft data SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, SQL Anywhere, IBM DB2 and any others that support the ability to run ANSI SQL standard scripts. Any models created using this tool are interrelated: business model, functional model, analysis model, design model, database model, component model, and physical system deployment model. It is possible to create templates for architectural solutions that allow you to use the experience accumulated in previous projects. There are Rational Rose extensions that allow you to perform skeletal (round-trip) development of IS created based on the languages C/C++, Java, Smalltalk, Ada, Object Pascal (Borland Delphi), etc. Thus, you can generate a program code framework in any from the specified languages or perform a reverse engineering procedure, which allows you to create a model based on existing code. It is possible to publish the model on the Internet, which serves as the basis for combining the work of remote development teams. Integration of Rational Rose with Rational RequisitePro allows, based on a visual model, to develop a complete set of requirements that must be implemented when creating the final product. Rational Rose integration with Rational TestManager allows you to create test scenarios based on a visual model. Integration of Rational Rose with Rational ClearCase allows you to put the model in whole or in parts under version control. Integration of Rational Rose with Rational SoDA allows you to automate the process of creating documents and reports based on a visual model.
Sybase PowerDesigner. Sybase has traditionally been a leading supplier since its founding. information technologies to the global market of financial institutions: Sybase technologies are used by 90% of companies on the global market valuable papers, 60% of the world's banks and 68% of Wall Street companies. Since 1996, when an office opened in Moscow, Sybase has been actively working in Russia and other CIS countries. In April 2002, the company's offices were opened in St. Petersburg and Kyiv. Sybase offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kyiv provide comprehensive customer service, including the supply of technology, equipment, development of complete solutions, user training, full-featured technical support and consulting services. PowerDesigner is a comprehensive solution for modeling and designing applications and business processes for organizations that need to quickly, consistently and cost-effectively create or re-engineer business applications. PowerDesigner removes the following barriers to effective project development: differences in vocational training project participants, heterogeneous platforms and an abundance of development languages - what is typical for the majority modern companies. This allows you to focus on the business needs of creating applications throughout the entire development process - from system analysis and design, right through to the actual code generation for the application. Latest version product, PowerDesigner, provides new capabilities for business process modeling, UML-based object modeling, and supports both traditional and emerging modeling technologies within one advanced graphical environment. This allows you to significantly reduce the costs and time of project implementation, which must function on various platforms and tool environments. One of the main benefits of PowerDesigner is also the use of an enterprise-wide repository to store and manage all information related to application modeling and design at all levels of business in the company. This allows you to properly organize the workflow and radically increase the developer’s work efficiency. Key Features of PowerDesigner:
- Business Process Modeling: PowerDesigner allows a company's non-technical team to design and model business processes based on business objectives and terms they know, using a simple and intuitive graphical non-technical model.
- Data Modeling: PowerDesigner allows you to design and generate a database schema through two-level (conceptual and physical) relational database modeling that supports classic database design techniques. It also has built-in data warehouse modeling tools.
- Object Modeling: PowerDesigner offers a complete system analysis and design technology using the UML standard (business process, flow, class and component diagrams). Based on the class diagram, PowerDesigner automatically generates and reverse-engineers code for popular frameworks such as JavaTM (including EJB 2.0), XML, Web Services, C++, PowerBuilder, Visual Basic and others through a custom generator.
- Enterprise Repository: The Enterprise version of PowerDesigner contains enterprise class repository functionality. The repository allows everyone on your team to easily view and share models and other information. The repository is highly scalable and supports user role-based security, version control, search, and reporting capabilities.
ARIS from IDS Scheer AG. Currently, there is a tendency to integrate a variety of methods for modeling and analyzing systems, manifested in the form of creating integrated modeling tools. One such product is a product called ARIS, developed by the German company IDS Scheer. IDS Sheer AG was founded in 1984. Its main focus is software and consulting. Currently, the company serves 4,000 clients in 50 countries through a network of its representative offices and partners. The quality of IDS Scheer solutions was confirmed in June 2005 by the gold medal of the International Poznań Fair, where only the best products are awarded. And also in July 2005, when ARIS 7 software products with completely new web products were introduced to the world market - they all have a common feature - an intuitive and expressive interface. The ARIS system is a set of tools for analyzing and modeling enterprise activities. Its methodological basis is a combination of different modeling methods, reflecting different views on the system under study. The same model can be developed using several methods, which allows ARIS to be used by specialists with different theoretical knowledge and configured to work with systems that have their own specifics. The ARIS modeling methodology is based on the theory of integrated information systems developed by Professor August Scher, which defines the principles of visual display of all aspects of the functioning of the analyzed companies. ARIS supports four types of models, reflecting different aspects of the system under study:
- organizational models representing the structure of the system - the hierarchy of organizational units, positions and specific individuals, connections between them, as well as the territorial location of structural units;
- functional models containing a hierarchy of goals facing the management apparatus, with a set of function trees necessary to achieve the goals;
- information models reflecting the structure of information necessary to implement the entire set of system functions;
- management models that represent a comprehensive view of the implementation of business processes within the system.
To build the listed types of models, both ARIS’s own modeling methods and various well-known modeling methods and languages, in particular ER and UML, are used. In the modeling process, each aspect of the enterprise’s activities is first considered separately, and after a detailed study of all aspects, an integrated model is built that reflects all the connections between the various aspects. ARIS does not impose restrictions on the sequence of construction of the above types of models. The modeling process can begin with any of them, depending on the specific conditions and goals pursued by the developers. Models in ARIS are diagrams, the elements of which are various objects - “function”, “event”, “structural unit”, “document”, etc. Various connections are established between objects. Each object has a specific set of attributes that allow you to enter Additional information about a specific object. Attribute values can be used in simulation modeling or cost analysis. Thus, based on the results of this stage, a set of interconnected models arises, which represent the source material for further analysis. It is worth noting several features of the ARIS system. The first is the ARIS family of software products focused on process description. The main business model of ARIS is eEPC (extended Event-driven Process Chain - an extended model of a chain of event-driven processes). Essentially, the eEPC model extends the capabilities of IDEF0, IDEF3 and DFD, with all their advantages and disadvantages. The second feature is that the ARIS system has an internal database that allows you to check the model for consistency, integrity, and verify the model. This is not available in other products. Third feature: ARIS is the only system focused on describing a business, where there are different views on the business system, which we can evaluate and consider from different angles, which is not available in other software products. Over the past five years, ARIS has been a confident leader among modeling tools.
Let us indicate the main purpose of each product under consideration from its many applications:
- Erwin, Power Designer and Rational Rose tools are more suitable for database modeling;
- Oracle Designer, Power Designer and Rational Rose are more suitable for modeling components of developed applications;
- BPwin, ARIS and Rational Rose are more suitable for business process modeling.
Table 2 below provides a comparison of the functionality and properties of tooling environments designed for modeling business processes.
Table 2. Comparative analysis by basic functions
| Comparative functional analysis | ||||
| Functionality, environment | ARIS | B.P.Win | Rational Rose | |
| 1 | Supported standard | eEPS (IDEF3 extension), ERD, UML, own methods in a different notation, which implement the main meaning of the IDEF, DFD methods | IDEF0, IDEF3, DFD | UML |
| 2 | Availability expressive means graphic display of models | The representativeness of the models is high | The representativeness of the models is low | |
| 3 | Modeling different types of diagrams | + | +/- | +/- |
| 4 | Functional cost analysis | + | + | +/- |
| 5 | Simulation modeling | + | +/- | - |
| 6 | Possibility of object decomposition | + | + | + |
| 7 | Decor project documentation: generation of technological and work instructions | + | +/- | + |
| 8 | Storing business activity models | + | +/- | +/- |
| 9 | Monitoring and ensuring the integrity of design data | + | +/- | + |
| 10 | Maintaining a library of typical business models | + | +/- | +/- |
| 11 | Possibility of group work | + | + | + |
| 12 | Easy to learn product | Difficult | Just | Difficult |
| "+" - yes "+/-" - partial implementation that requires modification by other tools "-" - No |
||||
Natalia Elmanova
ComputerPress No. 7 "2008
(www.compress.ru)
On the criteria for success of modeling tools on the global and Russian markets
On a global scale (primarily for multinational companies and in some cases for American companies), one of the most serious criteria for choosing software for a particular type of activity is the high assessment of the product by analytical companies such as Gartner Group, Forrester Research, IDC and Meta Group.
For national markets (including Russian), the criteria for choosing enterprise software are somewhat different. In this case, when deciding on the use of a product, factors such as the availability on the national market of both the product itself and support services, technical support, training in the national language, and in the case of products intended for end users (simulation tools) come to the fore. business processes belong specifically to this category), - also the presence of a localized version. In the conditions of our country, these factors turn out to be more significant than the recognition of analysts, since, unlike relatively small European countries, we are not so closely connected with the global community as to require users to be fluent foreign languages, organizing training in the use of the tool for end users abroad and communicating with English-speaking technical support located in Europe or the USA - the costs of all of the above, even for a very successful Russian corporation from the financial, mining or energy industries may be too high. Therefore, manufacturers of modeling tools who are by no means world leaders can become very successful on the Russian market. It is with such tools that we would like to begin our review.
About QPR
The Finnish company QPR has been present on the global market for quite a long time - it was founded in 1991 with the goal of creating interactive software that significantly improves the decision-making process at any organizational level. Currently, QPR is engaged in research and development of software designed to manage organizational performance.
Several years ago, QPR was named by the analyst company Gartner Group as one of the leading manufacturers of modeling tools with a vision of the market and its development prospects, largely due to its support of the BSC (Balanced Scorecard) concept, which is very popular in the field strategic planning. However, we will talk about BSC support in QPR products a little later.
QPR ProcessGuide - modeling and documenting business processes
Supported Notations
For business process modeling, QPR supplies the market with the QPR ProcessGuide solution. This product allows you to create multi-level business process models in a notation similar to Swim Lane notation and work flow diagrams - functions (or, in other terminology, process steps) are located on so-called role tracks. Moreover, each process function can be detailed into an independent subprocess, described by a separate diagram, and the number of levels of detail is not limited in any way.
On the one hand, the presence of a multi-level system of diagrams (it is the set of diagrams in QPR terminology that is called a model) allows you to create consistent descriptions of the activities of companies and, of course, is a sign of the maturity of the modeling tool - not every tool used in this area has support for such sets of diagrams on data storage level.
Process model in QPR ProcessGuide
On the other hand, this modeling tool does not offer many different types of diagrams like those available to users of ARIS Business Architect or Microsoft Visio - in fact, this tool has the only type of models that supports the decomposition of process steps. But in fairness, we note that QPR ProcessGuide allows you to expand the library of symbols - elements of business processes, so formally comply with any graphic notation possible, for example, in the case when it is a corporate standard adopted by the company.
Documenting processes
In itself, business process modeling is of little interest to anyone. This type of work is carried out for a specific purpose, mostly in order to find the so-called bottlenecks in the company’s processes and, based on this, optimize the processes, thereby increasing the efficiency of the company’s activities, as well as ensure their documentation and regulation (the latter is often done during certification company for compliance with one of the quality standards).
The possibilities for documenting processes in QPR ProcessGuide are very wide - this product has a programming interface based on COM technology, which allows you to access absolutely any data contained in the models, and the built-in programming language is Visual Basic for Applications. The latter fact greatly simplifies the generation of reports in Microsoft Office application formats - if you have installed office applications, you can access the COM interfaces of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint from the reporting script created for QPR ProcessGuide. In addition, the presence of a software interface of this class allows you to create various application solutions based on QPR ProcessGuide, such as tools for exchanging models with other modeling tools, tools for integration with various information systems, etc.
Note that not every modeling tool has such software interfaces, although, of course, programming skills are required to use them effectively. However, the product package also includes a number of ready-made reporting scripts.
Simulation Modeling and Process Improvement
Improving business processes using QPR ProcessGuide can be done through both quantitative analysis of process characteristics and their steps, and simulation modeling of process execution - simulation tools are included in the product.
Simulation results in QPR ProcessGuide
Simulation modeling is the process of simulating the execution of different instances of the same process. Before performing simulation modeling, the process model is supplied with the data necessary to perform the simulation, for example, the frequencies of occurrence of certain events, the probabilities of one or another outcome in case of branching of the process, the laws of distribution of time for executing various steps of the process, and other characteristics. In the process of performing simulation modeling, random data is generated for each instance of the simulated process in accordance with the selected probabilities, distribution laws and frequencies. If the data for simulation modeling is selected correctly, the modeling results and statistical data obtained on their basis are the information on the basis of which decisions can be made to make changes to the process in order to increase its efficiency, optimize time costs, consumption Money and resources.
QPR ProcessGuide allows models to be published on intranet portals, allowing the user to add and view comments and create action plans related to business processes. To be fair, we note that such access is not unlimited - for those users of the portal who create presentations, a system of tasks and comments in it, it is expected to purchase licenses (albeit, they differ in cost from licenses for model developers).
Publishing models on the corporate intranet portal
QPR ScoreCard - BSC technology support
The Balanced Scorecard (BSC), or balanced scorecard (BSC), is a management tool developed in 1992 by Harvard University professors Robert Kaplan and David Norton that allows you to transform a company's strategic goals into a clear plan. operational activities divisions and key employees and evaluate the results of their activities in terms of implementing the company's strategy using key performance indicators. Application balanced system indicators allows for targeted monitoring of the enterprise’s activities, predicting and anticipating the emergence of problems, and monitoring the most significant financial and non-financial indicators of the enterprise’s activities.
The main idea of the BSC is to formulate achievable and quantifiable strategic goals of the company with their gradual detailing and distribution of these goals into groups, also called prospects, as well as taking into account the mutual influence of these goals.
This management tool is actively used by leading Western companies(namely, 402 organizations from the 500 largest in the Financial Times ranking), and in Lately attracts close attention of top managers in Russia. You can read more about BSC technology in a separate article devoted to this issue, which will be published in one of the upcoming issues of our magazine.
Tree of company goals in QPR ScoreCard
Company strategic map in QPR ScoreCard
To support BSC technology, QPR produces a separate product, QPR ScoreCard, which allows you to build strategic maps, compare planned and actual key performance indicators and publish the results on the corporate portal.
Note that QPR ProcessGuide allows you to link business process steps with key performance indicators created in QPR ScoreCard, and thereby provides company management with the opportunity to assess the degree to which its strategic goals are being achieved at the level of individual processes.
Like QPR ProcessGuide, QPR ScoreCard has a convenient software interface based on COM technology, which allows you to create scripts for generating reports of any complexity, as well as other application solutions based on QPR ScoreCard.
QPR products in Russia
When choosing a business process modeling tool, questions technical support and localizations turn out to be one of the most significant. Unlike IT specialists, who for the most part are ready to read English documentation, write letters to European technical support services, and in general are not very capricious, business users involved in describing processes are often extremely dissatisfied when they see the English interface of the application, with which they have to deal with, and technical support for such users requires the presence of people who speak the same language as them.
Russian-language versions of QPR products are available on the Russian market. They are supplied, implemented and supported by Trodos Consulting, the exclusive distributor of QPR Software plc in Russia and the CIS. In addition, this company supplies to the Russian market a number of application solutions created on the basis of these products using data obtained from accounting systems, for example, solutions for management automation staffing table, formation of a system of personnel motivation, budgeting, planning. On this moment this company has carried out several dozen successful implementations - both QPR products and its own solutions based on them. This means that companies that decide not only to implement QPR products, but also to integrate them with their existing information systems (and modern business users, as a rule, categorically insist on such integration), will not be left with these tasks alone.
We also note that for QPR users, training in the use of the product is available in Russian, lasting from 2 to 5 days, including the joint creation, together with the customer, of a working prototype of the model of his company’s activities, which is, in essence, a consulting service.
QPR products are profitable to purchase with a large number of licenses. Thus, a package of QPR Process Guide licenses for a small number of developers (2-5) and several dozen users (20-100) with annual technical support costs from 12 to 30 thousand euros, while in the case of several dozen developers (20-40) and several hundred users (200-400) the cost of licenses and annual technical support ranges from 60 to 115 thousand euros. However, the main consumers of products of this class are precisely large companies- after all, they are the ones who primarily need specialized tools that help improve business processes.
So, today we looked at two products for modeling business processes and supporting strategic planning, which, in our opinion, have good positions and support in the Russian market. Note, however, that QPR is far from the only company with such support. Therefore, in subsequent articles in this series we will talk about modeling tools from other manufacturers.
Business Process Modeling- this is an effective means of finding ways to optimize the company’s activities, allowing you to determine how the company operates as a whole and how activities are organized at each workplace. The methodology (notation) for creating a model (description) of a business process is understood as a set of ways in which objects of the real world and the connections between them are represented in the form of a model. Each object and connections are characterized by a number of parameters, or attributes, reflecting certain characteristics real object (object number, name, description, execution duration (for functions), cost, etc.).
Description of business processes is carried out for the purpose of their further analysis and reorganization. The purpose of the reorganization may be the introduction of an information system, cost reduction, improving the quality of customer service, creating job and work instructions, etc., and a detailed description of the processes in itself is not valuable.
Reengineering Business process reengineering is a fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve maximum efficiency of production, economic and financial-economic activities, formalized by the relevant organizational, administrative and regulatory documents. Business engineering consists of modeling business processes (developing an “as is” model, analyzing it, developing a “as it should” model) and developing and implementing a plan for transition to the “as it should” state.
The basis of many modern business process modeling methodologies is the SADT methodology (Structured Analysis and Design Technique), the IDEF family of standards (Icam DEFinition, where Icam is Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing) and algorithmic languages.
The main types of methodologies for modeling and analyzing business processes:
Business process modeling ( Business Process Modeling). The most widely used methodology for describing business processes is the IDEF0 standard. Models in the IDEF0 notation are intended for a high-level description of a company's business in a functional aspect.
Description of work flows ( Work Flow Modeling). The IDEF3 standard is intended to describe work processes and is close to algorithmic methods for constructing flowcharts.
Description of data flows ( Data Flow Modeling). DFD notation ( Data Flow Diagramming), allows you to reflect the sequence of work performed during the process, and the flow of information circulating between these works.
Other methodologies.
In relation to obtaining added value of a product or service, the following classes of processes can be distinguished:
Core business processes (such as marketing, production, supply and service maintenance products).
Supporting business processes do not add value to the product, but increase its cost (for example, financial support for activities, personnel support, legal support, administration, security, supply of components, repair and maintenance, etc.).
Business management processes.
Business model is a formalized (graphical, tabular, text, symbolic) description of business processes. The main area of application of business models is business process reengineering.
The goals of business process modeling are usually formulated as follows:
Provide an understanding of the structure of the organization and the dynamics of the processes occurring in it;
Provide an understanding of the organization's current problems and opportunities to solve them;
Ensure that customers, users and developers have the same understanding of the organization's goals and objectives;
Create a basis for developing requirements for software that automates the organization’s business processes (software requirements are formed based on the business model).
An important element of the business process model is business rules or domain rules. Typical business rules are corporate policy and government laws. Business rules are usually formulated in a special document and can be reflected in models.
Decomposition in a general sense, it is a method that allows you to replace the solution of one large problem with a solution to a series of smaller problems, splitting an object into its component parts according to an established criterion. In practice, decomposition is used to detail business models.
Stages of describing business processes:
Determining the purpose of the description.
Description of the environment, determination of inputs and outputs of a business process, construction of IDEF0 diagrams.
Description of the functional structure (process actions), construction of IDEF3 diagrams.
Description of process flows (material, information, financial), construction of DFD diagrams.
Construction organizational structure process (departments, participants, responsible).
IDEF0
The model consists of diagrams, text fragments and a glossary that have links to each other. Diagrams are the main components of the model; all functions and interfaces are presented on them as blocks and arcs.
The location where the arc connects to the block determines the type of interface:
Control information enters the block at the top.
The input information is included in the block on the left.
The results come out of the block on the right.
Mechanism (person or automated system), which performs the operation, enters the block from below.
Each component of the model can be decomposed (deciphered in more detail) in another diagram. It is recommended to stop modeling when the model's level of detail satisfies its purpose. The total number of levels in the model should not exceed 5-6.
The construction of diagrams begins with the representation of the entire system in the form of a single block and arcs depicting interfaces with functions outside the system. The block that represents the system as a single module is then detailed in another diagram using several blocks connected by interface arcs. Each detail diagram is a decomposition of a block from the previous level diagram. At each decomposition step, the diagram at the previous level is called the parent diagram for the more detailed diagram.
Such diagrams do not explicitly indicate either sequence or time. The method has a number of disadvantages: complexity of perception (a large number of arcs in diagrams and a large number of decomposition levels), difficulty in linking several processes.
IDEF3
This method is designed to simulate sequence of actions and the interdependencies between them within processes. IDEF3 models can be used to detail IDEF0 function blocks that do not have breakdown diagrams.
IDEF3 diagrams display action in the form of a rectangle. Actions are named using verbs or verbal nouns, and each action is assigned a unique identification number (the action number is usually preceded by the number of its parent, for example, 1.1.).
All connections in IDEF3 are unidirectional and are organized from left to right.
IDEF3 link types:
Temporal precedence, simple arrow. The source activity must complete before the destination activity can begin.
Object flow, double-headed arrow. The output of the initial action is the input of the final action. The source activity must complete before the destination activity can begin. The names of stream connections must clearly identify the object that is transmitted using them.
Fuzzy Relationship, dotted arrow.
The completion of one action may initiate the start of several other actions at once, or, conversely, a certain action may require the completion of several other actions before it can begin execution (process branching).
Process branching is reflected using special blocks:
- “AND”, block with & sign.
- “Exclusive OR” (“one of”), a block with an X.
- "OR", a block with the sign O.
If the actions "AND", "OR" must be performed synchronously, this is indicated by two double vertical lines inside the block, asynchronously - by one.
The IDEF3 method allows an activity to be decomposed multiple times, allowing alternative process flows to be documented in a single model.
DFD
The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate how each process transforms your input data on the weekend. It can reflect not only information flows, but also material flows. Also, as in other models, decomposition is supported.
The main components of data flow diagrams are:
External entities (material object or individual who are the source or receiver of information, for example, customers, personnel, suppliers, clients, warehouse);
Systems and subsystems (for example, a subsystem for working with individuals);
Processes (conversion of input data streams into output ones in accordance with a certain algorithm; physically this can be, for example, a division of an organization (department) that processes input documents and issues reports, a program, a hardware-implemented logical device, etc.);
Data storage devices (abstract devices for storing information);
Data flows (arrows in the diagram).
It is necessary to place on each diagram from 3 (less makes no sense) to 7 (more is not perceptible) processes, without cluttering the diagrams with details that are insignificant at this level.
The first step in constructing a DFD hierarchy is to construct context diagrams. Typically, when designing relatively simple systems, a single context diagram is constructed with a star topology, in the center of which is the so-called main process, connected to sinks and sources of information. For complex systems (ten or more external entities, distributed nature and multifunctionality of the system), a hierarchy of context diagrams is built. At the same time, the top-level context diagram contains not a single main process, but a set of subsystems connected by data flows.
Each process on a DFD can be detailed using a DFD or (if the process is elementary) a specification. Specifications are descriptions of algorithms for tasks performed by processes. Specification languages can range from structured natural language or pseudocode to visual modeling languages.
In business process modeling, data flow diagrams (DFDs) are used to build AS-IS and AS-TO-BE models, thus reflecting the existing and proposed structure of an organization's business processes.
ARIS
Currently, there is a tendency to integrate a variety of modeling methods, manifested in the form of creating integrated modeling tools. One of these tools is a software product called ARIS (Architecture of Integrated Information Systems), developed by the German company IDS Scheer.
ARIS supports four types of models (and many types of models within each type), reflecting different aspects of the system under study:
Organizational models representing the structure of the system - the hierarchy of organizational units, positions and specific individuals, connections between them, as well as the territorial location of structural units;
Functional models containing a hierarchy of goals facing the management apparatus, with a set of function trees necessary to achieve the goals;
Information models reflecting the structure of information necessary to implement the entire set of system functions;
Management models that represent a comprehensive view of the implementation of business processes within the system.
To build the listed types of models, both ARIS’s own modeling methods and various well-known modeling methods and languages, in particular UML, are used. The modeling process can begin with any type of model.
The main business model of ARIS is eEPC (extended Event-driven Process Chain, an extended model of a chain of event-driven processes). ARIS notation eEPC is an extension of the IDEF3 notation. Business process in eEPC notation represents a stream of sequentially performed work (procedures, functions), arranged in the order of their execution. The actual duration of procedures is not visually reflected in eEPC.
To obtain information about the actual duration of processes, it is necessary to use other description tools, for example, MS Project.
Models in ARIS are diagrams, the elements of which are a variety of objects- "functions", "events", " structural units", "documents", etc. Between objects of certain types can be installed communications certain types (“performs”, “makes a decision”, “must be informed about the results”, etc.). Each object has a specific set of attributes that allow you to enter additional information about a specific object.
The main objects of eEPC notation are:
Function. Serves to describe the functions (procedures, work) performed by departments/employees of the enterprise. Every function must be initiated by an event and must end with an event; each function cannot contain more than one arrow that “starts” the execution of the function, and cannot leave more than one arrow describing the completion of the function.
Event. Serves to describe real events that affect the performance of functions.
Organizational unit. For example, management or department.
Document. Reflects real media, such as paper documents.
Application system.
Information cluster. Characterizes a set of entities and connections between them.
Communication between objects. The type of relationship between objects, for example, the activation of a function by some event.
Logical operator. The operator "AND", "OR" or exclusive "OR" allows you to describe the branching of a process.
If, when creating a model in eEPC, you indicate only the sequence of procedures, without worrying about reflecting control documents and information, the resulting models will have low value in terms of analysis and further use.
An object DBMS is used to store models in ARIS, and a new database is created for each project. Various database administration functions are provided, such as access control. The database is a hierarchical storage of models.
The work of creating a model must be regulated by strict and extensive modeling agreements (standards); ARIS supports a methodological filter mechanism that allows the user to use only a certain set of schemes and objects. The development of such agreements requires considerable time and highly qualified specialists. If a project using ARIS is started without detailed development of such agreements, then the likelihood of creating business process models that do not answer the questions asked is very high.
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