- 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
Design tools are used to create business models information systems and their corresponding description languages (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 organizational structure companies, data flows in an organization, the sequence of execution of business functions that make up a single business process, with the possibility of using logic symbols, etc. Due to the continuously increasing requirements for business modeling tools, more and more diagrams began to appear to describe various aspects of activity organization, which made the creation of the model 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 unnecessary 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 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.
As promised several months ago, we are returning to the topic of business process modeling, bringing to your attention a series of articles devoted to the tools with which this type of activity is carried out. In this series, we will consider tools from leading manufacturers that Russian companies can use to solve problems of modeling and improving business processes without significant risks. But before we begin to consider the first of the tools, I would like to clarify what exactly the phrase “without significant risks” means (and therefore, what are the criteria for including certain tools in this series of articles).
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 Gartner Group as one of the leading modeling vendors 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 of 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 ProccessGuide allows you to expand the library of symbols - elements of business processes, so any graphic notation can be formally observed, 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, 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 simulation 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 s x costs, expenses Money and resources.
Publishing models on the corporate intranet portal
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
Balanced Scorecard (BSC), or system balanced scorecards(BSC) is a management tool developed in 1992 by Harvard University professors Robert Kaplan and David Norton that allows you to transform strategic goals company 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. The use of a balanced scorecard 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 quite large companies - after all, they are the ones who primarily require 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 of this cycle we will talk about modeling tools from other manufacturers.
The VRM offer on the Russian market today is quite complete - both domestic and major foreign developments are presented here, including subsystems of “heavy” complex products from large vendors. While Russian software is still more focused on describing processes, foreigners gravitate toward execution. Before choosing a product, you must immediately clarify what needs to be described, to what extent and how execution will be controlled. Next, the system is selected based on a very different set of criteria - from ergonomics, hardware requirements, software to technical support and cost.
As an enterprise grows, its management system becomes more complex. In organizations, a description of this system and ongoing business processes, if it exists, is presented in most cases in disparate and disparate formats and is out of date. As a result, employees do not understand what processes generally take place in the organization, and the degree of staff participation in these processes decreases. The gap between the actual actions of employees and overall strategy companies. This leads to a slow response to changes in external conditions, which affects the efficiency of the business and, as a result, its profit. In the current economic situation, this is an unforgivable luxury.
Optimization of such costs is an obvious internal reserve for increasing the efficiency of the organization. And here modern technologies for describing the organization’s activities, the result of which is an information model, can come to the aid of companies. As a rule, the development of an organization's information model is carried out "from top to bottom", starting with the formation of the company's mission, corporate goals, and the development of a strategy that determines the necessary set of functions to achieve the goals. A complete information model becomes a management system for an enterprise.
“BPM offers a methodology and tools that connect the constructed process models with the company’s operational activities, provide mechanisms for controlling and monitoring processes,” notes Liana Meliksetyan, Director of Business Development, Software AG in Russia and the CIS (the company recently announced the acquisition of IDS Scheer AG). - The latter is especially valuable when building a quality management system or when improving business processes based on quantitative indicators significantly affects business efficiency.
Niche offer
Today on the Russian market you can find a certain number of software products that help simplify the process of describing the activities of an organization. Among the Russian developments here we can highlight Business Studio (Modern Management Technologies), Business Engineer (Bitek), Intalev: Corporate Navigator (Intalev), ORG-Master Pro (Business Engineering Group "). Among the most popular foreign software products, it is necessary to note ARIS Business Performance Edition (IDS Scheer AG), CA ERWin Process Modeler, formerly BPWin (CA), Hyperion Performance Scorecard (Oracle), IBM WebSphere Business Modeler (IBM), SAP Strategic Enterprise Management (SAP ).
“You should pay attention to the fact that Russian developments are primarily intended for describing/designing the company’s activities. They, as a rule, provide the opportunity to describe almost any subject area. Foreign manufacturers are more focused on execution. In most cases, their products are one or more modules in a line of software provided by the manufacturer,” comments Alexey Fedoseev, CEO group of companies "Intalev".
Business modeling systems in Russia
Product |
Provider |
Functionality |
Tools |
Price* |
| Foreign software products | ||||
| IBM WebSphere Business Modeler | IBM | Modeling, simulation, analysis of business processes. Allows you to create a list of KPI indicators, link them to business process elements and predict them. Supports more than 40 types of analysis, both static (the structure of the model is analyzed) and dynamic (the model is analyzed during and after simulation). |
BPMN standard diagrams; Crystal Report – creation of any types of reporting on model objects and regulatory reporting, which can be uploaded to MS Word, Excel, pdf, etc. | Cost of one Basic license ~ 1 500 $ , Advanced – ~ 11 500 $ . IBM WebSphere Business Modeler Publishing Server ~ 650 $ . |
| ARIS Business Performance Edition | IDS Scheer | Full cycle of business process management: from strategy description to controlling. The products of the ARIS Design Platform module (ARIS Business Architect, ARIS Business Designer, ARIS Business Publisher, etc.) allow you to model, optimize and publish business processes. The products of the ARIS Strategy Platform module (ARIS BSC, ARIS BSC Portal) allow you to develop a balanced scorecard, link it with the organizational and process structure or other information about the activities of the enterprise. The products of the ARIS Controlling Platform module (ARIS Process Performance Manager, ARIS Risk & Compliance Manager) allow you to monitor the execution of business processes and analyze the causes of deviations from planned indicators, as well as check the developed process models for compliance with the requirements of standards and regulations. |
Designing business process diagrams in IDEF, Basic Flowchart, Cross Functional Flowchart, EPC, BPMN, BPEL notations, as well as creating your own diagram types. Obtaining a large set of reports on developed models. All reports can be downloaded to MS Word, Excel, html files, text files, etc. Supports integration with 1C, SAP, Oracle, MS BizTalk Server, DMS (Lotus, Documentum, Web Sphera), Ultimis, as well as other business process modeling and analysis tools - AllFusion, ERStudio, Power Designer, OracleDesigner, Rational Rose, etc. . Multi-user access to models with different levels of data access, distributed databases data. |
Cost of one license - 2600 €. Technical support is paid additionally and amounts to 22% of the product cost + VAT (18%). |
| CA ERWin Process Modeler | C.A. | Analysis, documentation and reorganization of complex business processes | Development of business processes in IDEF0 notations (recommendations of the State Standard of the Russian Federation, US federal standard), IDEF3 (US federal standard) and DFD. Built-in regulatory reporting system. Report Template Builder template generator. The developed models can be imported into the Arena simulation environment for real-time analysis. Integrates with CA ERwin Data Modeler, CA ERWin Model Manager, Paradigm Plus, Arena systems. |
From 76 000 before 136,000 rub. |
| Hyperion Performance Scorecard | Oracle | Tools for visual analysis of indicators that allow you to simultaneously compare the company’s actual achievements with its goals, best industry indicators or any other benchmarks, as well as monitor the dynamics of changes in key indicators over time. | Allows you to organize the import of data from any external systems, including accounting systems, ERP, etc. | The maximum cost of one license for one user is 700 $ Cost of technical support – 154 $ |
| Russian software products | ||||
| INTALEV: Corporate navigator | Intalev | A platform and a set of ready-made solutions to management problems (management templates). Each of the kits is designed to solve a specific business problem: building a strategy, developing financial structure etc. The kits easily integrate with each other, allowing you to develop unified system organization management: from strategy to job description a separate manager. The presence of a separate Configurator module allows you to develop both your own kits and arbitrarily modify standard kits to implement the specifics of a particular organization. The configurator provides the highest level of product flexibility for business modeling and enterprise management systems. | Supports data presentation in various formats (directories, diagrams), simulation modeling, cost analysis, and the ability to develop your own types of diagrams. It is possible to develop routine reports, which can later be exported to MS Word, HTML documents. Using the web module, it is possible to provide access to the developed models to all interested users. Can be used as a corporate web portal with real-time updates. Using the Security module, you can configure access to edit and view data. | The cost of a license for any Kit is 10,000 rub. License cost for the Configurator module - 48,000 rub., per Security module - 29,000 rub. |
| Org-Master Pro | Business Engineering Group | Allows you to develop systems of goals and indicators, a system of business processes, financial, information, organizational structures, etc. Supports the ability to collect and monitor key performance indicators. |
When designing, data can be presented in the form of hierarchical directories, projections (reflecting the relationships between directories), and diagrams. The development of diagrams in IDEF, Cross Functional Flowchart, EPC (Event-Driven Process Chain) notations is supported. The developed diagrams can be analyzed using cost analysis, resource load analysis, and the average execution time of processes can be calculated. All data developed in the model can be presented in the form of reports that can be downloaded to MS Word, MS Excel, html and text files. | Depending on the version, from 3 000 before 5 000 $ |
| Business engineer | Bitek | A tool for modeling enterprise activity and developing regulatory documents. Supports the full design cycle: from developing strategy, key indicators and business processes to analyzing and optimizing the organizational structure, increasing the efficiency of personnel, projects, building a quality management system, finance and information system of the enterprise. | The system allows you to develop business models and create based on them analytical reports and regulatory documentation in various areas: strategy, business processes, personnel, etc. Allows you to present data in the form of diagrams, reference books, and build responsibility matrices. Integrated with MS Office products. | License cost (Profi version 2.0) - 22,000 rub. |
*Prices are as of May 2009.
Source: Abis Soft, CNews Analytics, 2009
How to choose a business modeling system
Before you start choosing a software product, you need to understand three main points: what needs to be described; to what extent; how execution will be monitored. When answering the first question, it is necessary to determine which areas of the control system are to be described and whether a comprehensive description of the entire system is necessary. The answer to the second question should give an idea of whether the management system will be described for an individual business, a division, or for the entire organization as a whole. The third question will determine the restrictions that may be imposed on the software product so that its integration with the executive system can be carried out in the future.
Having answers to these questions, you can significantly narrow the range of possible software products. Next, you should choose a product based on criteria such as the possibility of multi-user work, methods of presenting results, interface and ergonomics, availability of documentation and technical support, hardware and software requirements, and cost.
Review of the capabilities of some business modeling systems*
* - The table below indicates only the presence/absence of a particular functionality. It must be taken into account that the declared functionality is implemented in different products with varying degrees of elaboration.
Opportunity |
ARIS BUSINESS PERFORMANCE EDITION |
CA ERWIN PROCESS MODELER |
HYPERION PERFORMANCE SCORECARD |
INTALEV: CORPORATE NAVIGATOR |
ORG-MASTER PRO |
BUSINESS ENGINEER |
|
| Modeled domains | |||||||
|
No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Data presentation methods | |||||||
|
Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
|
Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | |
|
No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
|
No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
|
No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
|
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | |
|
No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
|
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Opportunities for obtaining regulatory reporting | |||||||
|
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
|
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
|
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
|
Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
|
Yes | ||||||
02/14/2017, Tue, 16:00, Moscow time , Text: Andrey Koptelov
There are many tools for describing a company’s business processes; you just need to choose the right one. How they differ from each other and how not to make a mistake with the choice is described in this article.The implementation of process management in companies, as a rule, is accompanied by the identification of key business processes and their subsequent description, analysis and optimization. Business processes involve many performers from different departments, many documents are created, and most importantly, there is a complex logic of interaction between performers, which requires displaying the process in a format convenient for perception and analysis.
Description of the existing state of a business process in the “as is” status allows not only to record the state of affairs, but also to conduct a primary analysis of the business process. Whereas the description of a business process in the “as it should be” status makes it possible to formalize and, most importantly, regulate the new state of the business process for its subsequent implementation in the company’s practice.
Text format for describing a business process
There are many examples of business process regulations that reach hundreds of pages, however, the larger the document, the less likely it is to be read, and even less likely to be followed. That is why it is necessary to describe business processes in extremely short documents in structured text format, focusing on who is doing what and when.
At the initial stages of business process management
a text description allows for a primary analysis of business processes in the company,
and also fix their target state in the form of approved regulations
The secret to describing business processes in the form of structured text is to follow a clear structure: first, it is recorded who performs the operation and when, and then in a subsection, a level lower, the actions themselves are described, after which it is indicated to whom and in what case the result is transferred.
In this way, the entire business process is described step by step, indicating the list of documents that are transferred through the process, and the information systems that are used to perform a particular operation.
In practice, even very “large-scale” business processes can be easily described in such a structure, while the advantage of the textual approach is its simplicity and accessibility not only to business analysts, but also to any employee of the company. Using these simple rules for structuring text in a company, you can easily create a system of regulations that standardize key business processes.
The disadvantage of a text description is the ability to “hide” in it omissions and inaccuracies in the business process, which can only be detected by carefully reading the resulting document. However, despite the shortcomings, at the initial stages of business process management, a structured text description allows for an initial analysis of business processes in the company, as well as consolidating their target state in the form of approved regulations.
Tabular format for describing a business process
Regarding the option of describing processes in text format, the use of a tabular form adds “structure” to the created description of the business process.
A business process is described in the form of a table, where lines describe operations in the business process, and each line contains not only the number and name of the operation, but also incoming and outgoing documents, time standards for execution, the performer, the information systems used and the logic of further actions. In fact, when describing a business process in tabular form, process maps are created that describe in detail all the necessary actions, indicating their environment.
Depending on the tasks assigned, the table description can display various elements of the business process environment; for example, if the company is working with operational risks, you can add an additional column in which you can indicate the existing operational risks with their link to the operations of the process.
Using a single table template and simple instructions for filling it out, it is quite easy to describe key business processes in a company by employees of business units, and the quality of the resulting description will certainly be higher than in text format, but the result will have insufficient visualization in relation to the process description in the form of a graphical model.
The only drawback of the tabular form is the complexity of displaying the logic of the business process, since for each operation in the table it is necessary to describe in what case which action is performed, for example, “if the document is approved, then operation 5 is performed, and if not agreed, then operation 6 is performed ", which is not always convenient for understanding the features of a business process and its analysis.
Graphical model of a business process
Recently, many companies describe business processes in the format of graphic models. This could be a diagram drawn on a flipchart, or it could be a model created in a special tool in accordance with the notation approved by the company.
For most companies that describe processes in graphical form, the business process modeling toolkit is MS Visio or MS PowerPoint. These tools are included in the standard office suite, which allows a wide range of people to create business process models.
In addition to existing tools, cloud-based free business process modeling tools have recently appeared, in which you can draw a model in a browser and save the result either on disk or in cloud storage.
Considering how free and easy it is to start using cloud-based business process modeling tools, they are quickly gaining fans among business analysts and IT specialists, as well as among company employees and managers.
Using a graphical model, a business process can be described in the most qualitative way, because it can reflect not only all the necessary environment of operations, but also visualize the very logic of the business process using logical operators and events.
True, in the case of using a graphical form of business process modeling, the number of employees in a company creating business process models can be seriously reduced, since some of them will be put off by the complexity of the tools and the additional labor costs for creating graphic models, relative to text and tabular descriptions.
In order to be among those who model business processes in the company. There were as many representatives of business units as possible, it was necessary to choose modeling tools with a convenient and simple interface, and also use the simplest notations to display processes.
Business process modeling system
Some companies with a large number of employees and high maturity in the field of business process management are moving from simple business process modeling tools to Business Process Analysis class systems, which allow modeling business processes in a single repository, which allows not only to create a holistic, mutually consistent model descriptions of the organization’s activities, but also receive regulatory documents based on it using custom reporting.
As a rule, if the number of business process models drawn in a company begins to exceed several thousand, there is a need to ensure their integration with each other, as well as to be able to create regulatory documentation based on the created models; it is in this case that the use of Business Process Analysis tools is justified.
Working in Business Process Analysis tools requires strict discipline in modeling business processes, which is achieved through the normalization of organizational structure directories, documents and information systems, as well as approval of the business process modeling notation and audit of the compliance of the created models with the approved notation either at the tool level, or with using approval procedures.
The use of Business Process Analysis tools also has certain risks associated precisely with the need for strict discipline when creating models and with the complexity of the toolkit interface. This leads to a decrease in the number of business process modeling among representatives of business units. As a result, quite often work in the Business Process Analysis toolkit becomes the prerogative of business analysts and IT specialists, which narrows the possible resources for modeling business processes in the company, and leads either to an expansion of the staff of business analysts or to the involvement of external consultants. At the same time, businesses often do not want to work with the resulting models and return to a text or tabular format for describing business processes obtained using reports from the Business Process Analysis toolkit.
From modeling to automation
It is no secret that despite the established regulations for business processes, company employees often work according to their own rules, because monitoring the correct implementation of the regulations is quite difficult, and the audits carried out require additional labor costs.
It is completely logical to shift control over the correct execution of business processes to automated system, which contains all the necessary logic for its execution. When using specialized systems of the Business Process Management Suite class, the business process model becomes executable, and the information system itself manages the business process in accordance with the rules described in the model, assigning performers of operations and routing applications in accordance with the logic of the business process.
In this case, the model becomes a necessary condition to automate a business process, however, this business process model requires much more detailed elaboration, because it must be “understandable” to the information system that automates the process.
Such a specific “consumer” of a business process model makes its development a difficult task, for which, as a rule, a system analyst or even an IT developer who knows the automation system well is involved. Business representatives or business analysts in this case can only present a prototype of such a model, after which the agreed prototype must be seriously modified taking into account the features of the BPMS system.
What to choose?
To determine the formats for describing business processes, you need to analyze the size of the organization, its maturity in the field of business process management, and also determine the consumers of the created description.
In a company of 50 to 500 people, to improve and regulate business processes, a text or tabular description of the processes is quite sufficient, and the description can be carried out by employees and managers who have undergone specialized training on the topic of business process management.
In a company from 500 to 5000 people, you can also limit yourself to a text or tabular description using graphic notations for visualizing particularly “intricate” business processes with a large number of participants. In companies of this scale, in order to systematize the description being created, it is necessary to maintain a register of business processes and regulations, as well as create templates for both regulations and graphical models.
IN large companies with a workforce of 5,000 or more people, with a developed process office and high maturity in business process management, you can think about using Business Process Analysis tools for modeling business processes, within which you can create a single repository of business process models, and then create based on it business process regulations and other regulatory documentation.
BPMS systems are most effective where speed and control of the execution logic of business processes is important, so they can most often be found in those processes where client applications, orders, complaints and contracts are processed, regardless of the size of the company.
Roman Isaev
Expert in organizational development and process management
Partner of the Group of Companies "Modern Management Technologies"
Project Manager for Organizational and Corporate Development
Professional business coach and Business Studio specialist
The article is devoted to tasks and projects in the field of business modeling, business engineering and organizational and corporate development. It systematizes information that should help to better understand the meaning and characteristics of business modeling in organizations, and also shows the role of business modeling to obtain additional competitive advantages. Various examples, interviews, links to techniques and practical solutions are provided.
Business modeling is the process of developing and implementing various business models of an organization (strategy, business processes, organizational structure, quality, etc.) with the aim of formalizing and optimizing its activities. The definition of what a business model is immediately suggests itself.
Business model is a formalized description (for example, graphic) of a certain aspect or area of activity of an organization.
There are 4 main ways to develop business models. We list them in descending order of the level of efficiency of constructing and using business models.
- In the notation (rules) of a specialized business modeling software product: a combination of graphics, tables and text. For more details, see Chapter 8;
- Graphic: tree, block diagram, routing and so on. ;
- Tabular;
- Text.
Many organizations are engaged in business modeling, but each is at different stages of development in this area. Someone has already developed and is actively using a comprehensive business model (a set of models, documents and systems that describe all the activities of the organization). Some people only have graphical models and regulations for several business processes.
The main types of business models that are developed in organizations:
- tree (hierarchical list) of business processes - see Fig. 1;
- graphic models of business processes;
- organizational structure model - see Fig. 2;
- models of goals and indicators (strategic maps BSC / KPI);
- document library models (document tree), information systems models (system architecture) - see Fig. 3;
- models of products and services - see Fig. 4;
- quality management models and much more.
All these models make it possible to develop professional business modeling software products (BPBM).
For more than 10 years, the author has been using most of the solutions known on the PPBM market in projects and his own developments: Business Studio, ARIS, AllFusion Process Modeler (BPWIN), Business Engineer, Microsoft Visio. Each of them has its own functional features, limitations and advantages. You can learn more about the methodology for comparing software products developed by the author in the book Chapter 8.
Rice. 1. Bank business process tree (top level)
Rice. 2. Model of the bank’s organizational structure (top level)
Rice. 3. Bank document library model (fragment)
Rice. 4. Model of bank products and services (top level)
A “gentleman’s set” of knowledge and tools for a business analyst
Let us list a set of basic knowledge and tools that, in the author’s opinion, a modern business analyst and business modeling specialist should possess. This list can also be useful for young professionals to analyze their strengths and opportunities for development.
- Business modeling software products: Business Studio, ARIS, AllFusion Process Modeler (BPWIN), Business Engineer, Microsoft Visio;
- Notations for business modeling and descriptions of business processes: IDEF0, IDEF3, Data Flow Diagram (DFD), extended Event Driven Process Chain (eEPC), Value Added chain Diagram (VAD), Cross Functional Flowchart, etc. In each software product, business modeling has its own set of notations, and they are described in detail in the User Guide for the software product;
- Business engineering/management techniques and methods:
- Development and implementation of a balanced scorecard system BSC / KPI;
- Description of business processes;
- Analysis, optimization, improvement of the quality of business processes;
- Management of business processes on a long-term basis;
- Functional cost analysis (FCA) and simulation modeling;
- Description and optimization of the organizational structure, number of personnel;
- Construction of personnel motivation systems;
- Construction and organization of the functioning of a quality management system (ISO 9000);
- Project management (including PMBOK - Project management body of knowledge);
- Building a comprehensive business model for the organization;
- Benchmarking;
- Lean, 6 Sigma;
- TQM (total quality management);
- Various industry methods and standards, developments consulting companies. Full list And detailed description All methods applied to the banking industry are presented in.
- Standard solutions, examples, developments and materials. In order not to develop most of the materials from scratch and not make mistakes that other specialists have already made, you need a set of standard solutions, models, documents, etc. For example, an electronic database (directory) “Comprehensive standard business model of a commercial bank”.
Thus, the following diagram can be formed (see Fig. 5):
Methodology + Standard solutions + Software product = Result
Rice. 5. A “gentleman’s” set of knowledge and tools for a business analyst
Here, Techniques and Techniques show HOW to complete projects and tasks.
Standard solutions and materials demonstrate WHAT should be the output (result).
With the help of PPBM, the execution of all tasks and projects is automated. This reduces time several times and increases work efficiency. For example, the Business Studio system allows, at the click of one button, to automatically generate regulatory documentation based on developed business process models, providing significant savings in financial and labor resources.
Business modeling: features of practical application
The main feature of business modeling is that it should be based on business processes. It is the business process management system (BPS) that is the foundation on which a large number of other management systems and technologies are built.
Many organizations have actively implemented and continue to implement various approaches, methods and technologies for management, improvement and optimization.
Practice shows that in some cases these methods are successful at the initial stage of implementation, but then gradually lose their effectiveness and are forgotten.
The failure of attempts to improve the performance of an organization using these approaches/techniques is often due to unsystematic and fragmented actions that do not involve in-depth analysis and fundamental changes in the organization's performance.
The main way to overcome this problem is to introduce a process approach to management into an organization (i.e., building a business process management system) as a basis for implementing other techniques, management/improvement and optimization technologies.
Complex business modeling techniques that cannot be reduced to simple and understandable actions usually do not work in organizations. After all, ultimately, the implementation of these methods and the results of their application fall on the personnel and line managers of the organization, who do not always have specialized competencies in the field of modern management techniques and business engineering, and sometimes meet them with hostility.
In order for the methodology (technology) implemented in the organization and the project as a whole to be successful and bring the planned results, it is desirable that they be:
- Inexpensive. This is especially true for middle and small organizations who cannot afford to implement expensive solutions;
- Simple and understandable to ordinary employees of the organization;
- Practically aimed, to have fairly “quick” and at the same time long-term results;
- We took into account the specifics of management Russian companies;
- Contained examples and standard solutions.
It is also appropriate here to cite 8 main principles of quality management, which apply to all business modeling tasks and make it possible to ensure their implementation.
- Customer focus;
- Executive Leadership;
- Employee involvement;
- Process approach;
- Systematic approach to management;
- Continuous improvement;
- Fact-based decision making;
- Mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers.
Indeed, failure to comply with even 1-2 principles can have an impact Negative influence for the development of the organization.
The Importance of Business Modeling
When starting to develop business models, organizations allocate certain human and material resources to implement the project. Moreover, the improvements resulting from the work done must exceed these costs. How does a business model ultimately help the organization function? We can highlight several of the most noticeable and widely known positive effects that manifest themselves with a competent and systematic description of business processes.
- Increasing transparency, manageability and controllability of the organization’s activities at all levels;
- Reducing execution time and costs, increasing the quality and efficiency of business processes;
- The ability to replicate the organization’s business (create additional client branches, offices, representative offices);
- Comprehensive and sustainable development organizations, systematic approach to decision making;
- Reducing dependence on personnel, proper selection of employees, increasing the efficiency of personnel and managers;
- Increasing customer loyalty and satisfaction, and, as a result, the organization’s reputation;
- Financial results.
However, there are other aspects that are not so well known to a wide range of managers and business owners.
Business modeling and related technologies/solutions have a significant impact on the organization’s ratings, which are assigned by rating agencies, including international ones (Fitch, Moody’s, S&P, etc.).
As a result of an analysis of the methods for assigning ratings of various international and Russian agencies (including), as well as based on the results of interviews with representatives of agencies, the author was able to find out that many agencies, when calculating ratings of organizations, take into account a group of factors under the code name “Corporate governance / management” (non-financial assessments ). This parameter includes the following factors:
- Adequate and detailed strategy of the organization;
- Developed risk management system (including an operational risk management system);
- Level of regulation (formalization) of business processes;
- Quality of business processes (history of KPI indicators);
- Level of automation of business processes, state of information systems and technologies (IT);
- Organizational structure (formalization, efficiency, transparency, distribution of responsibilities and powers);
- Evolution and functioning various systems management in the organization (quality management system, work system and customer relationships, personnel management system, etc.).
Detailed terms and ratings vary by agency.
The rating assignment algorithm is quite simple and understandable. The rating agency's auditors study and evaluate the organization's activities in accordance with the rules and criteria laid down in the methodology for assigning the rating. The input information is:
- Regulatory and reporting documents of the organization;
- Observation of the organization's activities and interviews.
Therefore, it is important not only to develop a large number of correct and up-to-date documents, but also to communicate them to employees, to ensure the effective execution of business processes and the functioning of management systems in practice.
Scores for all criteria are summed up according to certain rules and, based on the total score, the organization’s rating is determined. Each group of criteria can have a different weight, so a large sum of points for a group of criteria with a small weight will not have a very large contribution to the final grade.
The symbols of assigned ratings (rating scale) may vary depending on the rating agency and the type of rating itself (credit rating, reliability rating, management quality rating, financial stability and etc). For example: the highest level of reliability, satisfactory level of reliability, low level of reliability, etc.
- Participation in tenders and accreditations;
- Improving the image (authority) of the organization in the market, among partners and contractors;
- Improving the image (authority) of the organization among authorities state power;
- Extension client base;
- Attracting investors;
- As a consequence of all the above points, there is an improvement in financial performance.
Thus, for public companies interested in improving international or national ratings, when assessing the effectiveness of a project to build an integrated business model, it is advisable to take into account additional features to improve rating positions. Let us note that adequate elaboration of all the factors listed above that influence the rating of an organization certainly requires the use of professional business modeling software products (BPBM).
Additional opportunities in this direction are provided by the use of standard successful industry solutions. A current example is the “Complex standard business model of a commercial bank”, developed in the Business Studio software product. Summarizing the best practices of process management in credit institutions, this model acts as a model on the basis of which financial sector companies can improve corporate governance according to all the parameters listed above.
Practice of business modeling in financial and credit organizations
The decision to create a business model for an organization can be made in different ways, depending on the management characteristics of certain companies. Sometimes this is the sole decision of a top manager; it is also possible that the company’s owners realize the need for business modeling. In the practice of working with banking organizations, the author had to deal with such examples.
“All bank activities at the press of one button on the computer”
The chairman of the board of bank “A” at one of the meetings ordered: “It is necessary that all the activities of the bank be formalized, so that by pressing a button on the computer, I can see the work of any employee and any business process of the bank: its goals, indicators, processes, technologies , results, etc.”
To solve this problem, an electronic business model of the bank was developed. A web browser window was placed on the desktop of the Chairman of the Board's computer. The links located in it allow you to track all activities: The manager can open any document, a business process diagram, find out those responsible for business processes and procedures, statistics on business process indicators and current values, a list of projects currently being implemented in the bank and their status , organizational structure of any department and much more.
The Chairman of the Board was very pleased with the work done. It should be noted that the work was completed in a short time: 1.5 years passed from the moment the task was set to the receipt of the final results. High speed The implementation of the project was achieved thanks to the use as a methodological basis of a standard solution - “Comprehensive standard business model of a commercial bank”, which is a system of interconnected models, documents and reference books that describe most areas of activity and management systems of a universal commercial bank.
By the way, by the time the project was completed, the Chairman of the Board had already become a shareholder of the bank. The resulting Integrated business model of the bank provided a systematic approach to bank management, which allows you to quickly make decisions and make any changes in the bank’s work, improves the efficiency and quality of both individual business processes and divisions, and the bank as a whole.
“Systematic approach to bank development”
The shareholders of Bank B set the task of developing a comprehensive and long-term development strategy for the bank based on modern technologies management. After conducting research and taking part in several business trainings, the bank’s organizational and corporate development specialists proposed the following solution to shareholders.
Since the bank’s corporate strategy has already been determined, you can start by developing a system for managing the bank’s business processes, since business processes are the essence of all the bank’s work, and the satisfaction of Clients and the bank’s profit depend on the results of business processes.
- We will describe all key business processes, create process teams and train them, ensure effective interaction of all participants in business processes so that business processes are completed faster;
- We will improve (optimize) processes where required, then organize business process management at permanent basis. As part of each business process, we organize strategic planning so that each business process has a strategy based on current market trends, customer requirements and bank strategy, as well as goals and indicators;
- When business processes and their management become transparent and streamlined, we will move on to the next task - building a bank quality management system (according to ISO standards 9000) based on a process control system. That is, the QMS will be an add-on for the process management system. This will allow the bank to receive a certificate ISO compliance 9001 and improve your image both among clients and partners. Also, thanks to the QMS and ISO 9000 standards, we will significantly reduce the number of Customer claims against the bank and the costs of low-quality products and services, minimize operational risks, and supplement the bank’s activities with new requirements and management methods;
- In parallel with this, we will begin automating business processes. We will update and move the system to a qualitatively new level electronic document management and operational management (DocFlow / WorkFlow), interaction with clients (CRM), etc. We will create a unified project office that will oversee all projects for the organizational and corporate development of the bank, we will qualitatively improve the management of the bank’s personnel so that this activity represents a system.
As a result, we will receive an integrated bank management system - a modern, effective organization management tool for shareholders and top managers of the bank.
Conclusion
In modern conditions, in a number of markets, a situation increasingly arises when the importance of price competition is decreasing, and the low price of goods or services is no longer a key way to attract and retain Customers.
For example, in financial sector More and more Clients are paying attention to the quality and technology of the credit institution’s products/services, the ease of interaction with the bank to resolve all issues and problems, and the organization’s ability to quickly satisfy new needs and requests of Clients. Such important parameters, as the reliability and stability of the bank, one of the indicators of which is its fairly high rating in domestic and/or international agencies.
Therefore, there is every reason to assume that the need for business modeling, the introduction of business engineering technologies and organizational development will only grow.
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