Quick Summary
Business process models can help companies with process improvement, capturing requirements, automation, compliance, training, and more. This technique brief provides basic guidance on how to conduct a modeling effort, commonly used approaches, and how to avoid typical problems.
What this is
Suggestions and recommendations for developing, implementing, and evaluating business process models. A business process model documents a business process—the work done to provide a service or product to customers—using a combination of graphics and text. There are many different modeling languages and techniques, but this guideline focuses on activity diagrams as the primary modeling tool.
Why it's useful
Business process models provide a framework for analyzing, and possibly changing, the steps taken to achieve specific business objectives. The resulting models can help with process improvement efforts, requirements capture, automation, standards compliance, training, and more, but the primary goal is to communicate. Modeling is more of an art than a science, and there are multiple ways to communicate the same thing. The key is to pick a way that is easy for your audience to use and understand.
How to use it
Whether the goal is to rework a single process or to perform enterprise-wide analysis, the steps to model and then improve a business's behavior are much the same:
Sinikka L. Waugh, PMP, is the founder and head coach of the project management coaching firm Your Clear Next Step, L.L.C. Sinikka is an actively practicing project management consultant, known for consistently helping teams find innovative ways to leverage effective project strategies across multiple disciplines and technologies. With over 10 years in project roles (primarily program manager, project manager, and business analyst) Sinikka has successfully applied project and leadership expertise to improve project performance in a wide variety of industries, including publishing, education, product fulfillment and distribution, insurance, event and travel management, human resources, and financial services. As a coach, SinikkaÕs down-to-earth, Òtry-this-nowÓ approach blends with her passion for helping others improve. Her energetic and engaging style helps make both the art and science of project management accessible to those she works with.
Sinikka holds a BA from Central College, an MA from the University of Iowa, and is a certified Project Management Professional through the Project Management Institute.
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