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

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). Someone only has graphic 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.

1. Business modeling software products: Business Studio, ARIS, AllFusion Process Modeler (BPWIN), Business Engineer, Microsoft Visio;
2. 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;
3. 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 methodologies and standards, developments of consulting companies. A complete list and detailed description of all methods in relation to the banking industry are presented in.
4. 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, electronic database data (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 different approaches, methods and technologies of 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:

1. Inexpensive. This is especially true for medium and small organizations that cannot afford to implement expensive solutions;
2. Simple and understandable to ordinary employees of the organization;
3. Practically aimed, to have fairly “quick” and at the same time long-term results;
4. We took into account the specifics of management of Russian companies;
5. 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.

1. Customer focus;
2. Executive leadership;
3. Employee involvement;
4. Process approach;
5. Systematic approach to management;
6. Continuous improvement;
7. Fact-based decision making;
8. 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 identify 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.

1. Increasing transparency, manageability and controllability of the organization’s activities at all levels;
2. Reducing execution time and costs, increasing the quality and efficiency of business processes;
3. The ability to replicate the organization’s business (create additional client branches, offices, representative offices);
4. Comprehensive and sustainable development organizations, systems approach to decision making;
5. Reducing dependence on personnel, proper selection of employees, increasing the efficiency of personnel and managers;
6. Increasing customer loyalty and satisfaction, and, as a result, the organization’s reputation;
7. 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 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);
• The evolution and functioning of various management systems 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.

1. Participation in tenders and accreditations;
2. Improving the image (authority) of the organization in the market, among partners and contractors;
3. Improving the image (authority) of the organization among authorities state power;
4. The expansion of the customer base;
5. Attracting investors;
6. As a consequence of all the above points, there is an improvement in financial performance.

Thus, for public companies interested in increasing 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. As current example you can cite the “Comprehensive standard business model of a commercial bank”, developed in software product Business Studio. 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 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 of 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.

1. We will describe all key business processes, create process teams and train them, provide effective interaction all participants in business processes so that business processes are completed faster;
2. 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;
3. 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 9000 standards) based on a process management system. That is, the QMS will be an add-on for the process management system. This will allow the bank to obtain a certificate of compliance with ISO 9001 and improve its 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;
4. In parallel with this, we will begin automating business processes. We will update and translate it to high quality new level systems 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 tool management of the organization for shareholders and top managers of the bank.

Conclusion

IN modern conditions In a number of markets, a situation increasingly arises when the value price competition decreases, and low price goods or services are no longer a key way to attract and retain Customers.

For example, in the financial sector, more and more Clients are paying attention to the quality and technology of the products/services of a credit organization, 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.

Business process modeling is one of the methods for improving the quality and efficiency of an organization. This method is based on a description of the process through various elements, such as actions, data, events, materials inherent in the process. As a rule, business process modeling describes the logical relationship of all elements of a process from its beginning to completion within an organization. In more difficult situations modeling may include processes or systems external to the organization.

Business process modeling allows you to understand the work and analyze the organization. This is achieved due to the fact that models can be compiled for different aspects and levels of management. In large organizations, business process modeling is performed in more detail and in a more multifaceted manner than in small ones, which is associated with a large number of cross-functional connections.

Business process modeling allows you to analyze not only how the enterprise as a whole operates, how it interacts with external organizations, customers and suppliers, but also how activities are organized at each individual workplace.

There are several approaches to defining the concept of “business process modeling”:

• 1) business process modeling is a description of the business processes of an enterprise that allows the manager to know how ordinary employees work, and ordinary employees to know how their colleagues work and what the final result is aimed at all their activities;
• 2) business process modeling is an effective means of finding opportunities to improve the activities of an enterprise;
• 3) business process modeling is a tool that allows you to anticipate and minimize risks that arise at various stages of reorganization of an enterprise’s activities;
• 4) business process modeling is a method that allows you to assess the current activities of an enterprise in relation to the requirements for its functioning, management, efficiency, final results and the degree of customer satisfaction;
• 5) business process modeling is a method that allows you to give a cost estimate to each process, taken individually, and all business processes in an enterprise, taken together;
• 6) business process modeling is always the right way to identify current problems in an enterprise and anticipate future ones.

Modern enterprises are forced to constantly improve their activities. This requires the development of new technologies and business methods, improving the quality of the final results of activities and, of course, the introduction of new, more effective methods management and organization of enterprise activities.

Typically, various computer tools are used to model business processes and software. This makes it easier to manage models, track changes to them, and reduce analysis time.

Business process modeling includes the following goals:

• 1) ensuring an understanding of the structure of the organization and the dynamics of the processes occurring in it;
• 2) ensuring an understanding of the organization’s current problems and the possibilities for solving them;
• 3) ensuring a unified perception by customers, users and developers of the goals and objectives of the organization;
• 4) creating a basis for forming requirements for software that automates the organization’s business processes.

The business process model should define:

• - procedures (functions, work) that must be performed to obtain a given final result;
• - sequence of procedures;
• - control and management mechanisms within the business process under consideration;
• - subjects of performing process procedures;
• - incoming documents (information) used by each process procedure;
• - outgoing documents (information) generated by process procedures;
• — the resources required to perform each process procedure;
• - documentation (conditions) regulating the implementation of the procedure;
• - parameters characterizing the implementation of procedures and the process as a whole.

Modeling business processes, as a rule, includes the implementation of several successive stages. Because Since the ultimate goal of modeling is to improve processes, it covers both the “design” part of the work and the work on implementing process models.

The composition of the stages that business process modeling includes is as follows:

• 1. Process identification and construction original model"as it is". In order to improve a process, you need to understand how it currently works. At this stage, the boundaries of the process are determined, its key elements are identified, and data on the operation of the process is collected. As a result, an initial “as is” model of the process is created. This model does not always adequately reflect the workings of the process, so the model at this stage can be called the “first draft” or the initial “as is” model.
• 2. Revision, analysis and refinement of the original model. At this stage, contradictions and duplication of actions in the process are identified, process limitations and process relationships are determined, and the need to change the process is established. As a result, the final version of the “as is” model is formed.
• 3. Development of a “how it should be” model. After analyzing the existing situation, it is necessary to determine the desired state of the process. This desired state is represented in the “as it should be” model. This model shows what the process should look like in the future, including any necessary improvements. During this stage of business process modeling, such models are developed.
• 4. Testing and applying the “as it should be” model. This stage of modeling is associated with the implementation of the developed model into the practice of the organization. The business process model is being tested and the necessary changes are made to it.
• 5. Improving the “as it should be” model. Business process modeling is not limited to just creating a “how it should be” model. Each process continues to change and improve as it operates, so process models must be regularly reviewed and improved. This modeling stage is concerned with continuous process improvement and improvement of the business process model.

Depending on the desired goal of modeling business processes, to unify the collected information about the process or obtain new information, the following types of modeling are used:

• 1. Functional modeling - serves to describe the sequence of work or functions of a business process. The main element of the model is functions and their relationships with other objects of the model.
• 2. Simulation modeling - imitation of the internal interaction of business process functions depending on the influences of the external environment. It is used to assess the availability of available process resources, analyze performance bottlenecks of a business process depending on dynamic changes in the external environment (at least time).
• 3. Object modeling - a material or intangible object that is consumed, changed, used or generated during the execution of a business process is selected as a modeling object. For example, a model for converting a plan for manufacturing a part into a final part in a warehouse, or a model for distributing funding across an organization’s cost centers.

The same information characteristic of a business process can be reflected in different models. Also, business process objects of different origins can be located on one model.

Today, there are quite a large number of methods for modeling business processes. These methods apply to different types modeling and allow you to focus on different aspects. They contain both graphical and textual tools, through which you can clearly present the main components of the process and give precise definitions parameters and connections of elements.

Most often, business process modeling is performed using the following methods:

• · Flow Chart Diagram (work flow diagram) is graphic method process representations in which operations, data, process equipment, etc. are represented by special symbols. The method is used to display the logical sequence of process actions. The main advantage of the method is its flexibility. The process can be represented in many ways.
• · Data Flow Diagram. A Data Flow Diagram or DFD is used to show the flow of information (data) from one process activity to another. DFD describes the interconnection of operations through information and data. This method is the basis for structural analysis of processes, because allows you to decompose the process into logical levels. Each process can be broken down into subprocesses at a higher level of detail. The use of DFD allows you to reflect only the flow of information, but not the flow of materials. A data flow diagram shows how information enters and exits a process, what actions change the information, where information is stored in the process, etc.
• · Role Activity Diagram. It is used to model a process in terms of individual roles, groups of roles, and the interaction of roles in the process. A role is an abstract element of a process that performs some organizational function. A role diagram shows the degree of “responsibility” for a process and its operations, as well as the interaction of roles.
• · IDEF (Integrated Definition for Function Modeling) - is a whole set of methods for describing various aspects of business processes (IDEF0, IDEF1, IDEF1X, IDEF2, IDEF3, IDEF4, IDEF5). These methods are based on the SADT (Structured Analysis and Design Technique) methodology. The IDEF0 and IDEF3 methods are most often used to model business processes.
• · IDEF0 - allows you to create a model of process functions. The IDEF0 diagram displays the main process functions, inputs, outputs, controls and devices associated with the main functions. The process can be decomposed to a lower level.
• · IDEF3 - this method allows you to create a “behavioral” model of the process. IDEF3 consists of two types of models. The first type represents a description of the work flow. The second is a description of the transition states of objects.
• · Colored Petri nets - this method represents a process model in the form of a graph, where the vertices are the actions of the process, and the arcs are the events due to which the process transitions from one state to another. Petri nets are used to dynamically model the behavior of a process.
• · Unified Modeling Language (UML) - is an object-oriented method for modeling processes. It consists of 9 different diagrams, each of which allows you to model individual static or dynamic aspects of the process.

Most of these methods are implemented in software. It allows you to support business processes or analyze them.

The company is increasingly borrowing foreign techniques and technologies. And not because it is fashionable, but because it is convenient and effective. One such technique breaks down all the routine work into its elementary components and then describes in detail each resulting business process. This takes quite a lot of time, but the resulting diagram allows you to find and weak spots, and overly inflated functional responsibilities, and unclearly defined tasks. Once invested, management can transfer some of its responsibility down the hierarchy, freeing up time for strategic planning.

Life according to plan

Another thing is that company personnel often do not understand the significance of this procedure and do not welcome management’s desire to define the main business processes. Nevertheless, it is increasingly necessary to understand the modeling and description of the elementary operations of each department, or even employee. It’s even worse if the company has employees who study the company’s business processes. They constantly ask about something, distract and in every possible way interfere with the fulfillment of direct tasks. functional responsibilities all staff. What to do?

Let's start from afar. Every morning, most of us are faced with the task of getting to work. For her successful solution you need to wake up on time, get ready and take a seat in some kind of transport (it doesn’t matter whether it’s a personal car or a subway car). Further, each component can be divided into even smaller procedures: in order to wake up on time, you can set an alarm clock, or you can ask someone to wake you up, etc. Regardless of the solution method, the result (waking up on time) will be achieved. But getting up, getting ready and going to work differ in the method of solution and the end result. Actually, we have come to the first definition.

Why is all this needed?

So, a business process is a certain sequence of simple actions that transform resources into a useful final product. In our real-life example, there are three different processes, each of which requires its own initial information and, after certain manipulations, gives the desired result. Let's move on to the enterprise. Regardless of the field of activity in each company, work is determined by the professional relationships of employees: transfer of information, determination of the need for a product, analysis of production and resources, etc. And here it is important to note that all of the above matters only if three conditions are met:

The information is transferred to the employee interested in it;

It comes at the right moment;

The form in which the information is presented is quite simple and understandable.

If we summarize all of the above, we can say that a business process is a flow of information that answers three questions: what, where and when. It is in order for the work to be carried out smoothly and continuously that it is necessary to determine its components. In this case, there will be no duplication of tasks, absence of performers or downtime.

When a business process is clearly defined, each employee ceases to be irreplaceable. Remember how many times you had to wait for one of your colleagues to return from sick leave (or return from vacation); When you're away from work, your phone literally doesn't stop ringing, and everyone is trying to figure out what you're doing and how you're doing it. And if you responded to management’s request and compiled a fairly detailed description of business processes, then you can calmly get sick, relax, and sometimes just have lunch...

Switching to the formal language of definitions, we will argue that when describing business processes, an enterprise sets the following goals:

• understand general activities and determine the dynamics of its development;
• identify current problems and opportunities to overcome them;
• create a system of goals and objectives that is understandable to all participants (developers, users, customers, etc.);
• formulate requirements for the necessary software.

Of course, the description of business processes in itself is of no interest. But for reengineering this is a primary task. Only by understanding the structure, relationships and paths of information flows can we talk about rethinking the semantic load of both the enterprise itself and its individual divisions. But the reorganization should also be carried out in order to achieve some goal: improving the quality of customer service; cost reduction; providing greater freedom in decision-making to performers (reducing work completion time), etc.

Simple classification

Most often the need to describe information business processes appears in enterprises with a functionally oriented structure. The fact is that different departments can contradict each other. And this will lead not only to a decrease in the company’s profitability, but also to a drop in its competitiveness.

The modern approach to management is increasingly of a process nature. All work is considered as a specific set of processes (each of which consists of one or more simple operations). To formalize and standardize this approach, the following process categories have been adopted (classification occurs in relation to the added value of the product):

• the main ones are those through which the enterprise receives income: production, marketing, supplies;
• managers - those who set goals and objectives for departments and specific performers;
• supporting - those that provide production with resources, but do not add value to the final product: training and selection of personnel, financial support, legal protection, etc.

In addition to the already mentioned independence from the human factor and simplified adaptation of new employees, the description of business processes makes it possible to more effectively manage operating expenses companies.

Properties

Now it becomes clear that to manage an enterprise it is necessary not only to identify interconnected information flows, but also to clearly describe all types of activities. Since we already know that a business process is part general work, passing from one employee to another (within its own functional unit or not, it doesn’t matter), then let’s move on to the fact that everything in the world can be unified. A professional activity- especially.

Regardless of the field of activity, each business process can be described by the same characteristics.

A boundary is the beginning and end of a simple operation.

The owner is a company employee who not only owns the necessary resources for work, but also plans, analyzes, and manages the process; and most importantly, he is responsible for the result obtained.

Input is an information message received in any form accepted by the enterprise, defining the need for information and marking the beginning of the process.

Output is information or a materialized part of the product that is consumed by a client external to the performer.

Performer - company personnel engaged in one process.

Resources are the material or informational part of an activity that does not change during the execution of an operation (but only contributes to the transformation of incoming information into the final product).

Quality control - industry or internal (accepted by company management) indicators that help determine the effectiveness of work.

Mandatory selection of elementary processes

Of course, not every company needs a description of business processes. However, there are a number of cases in which this tedious task cannot be avoided. Let's name the main ones:

• The activities of the enterprise are automated. In this case, the business process diagram translates the customer's needs into a language understandable to the programmer.
• Improving the company's activities. It's not just equipment and technology upgrades that help improve the final product; optimization of business processes makes it possible to identify all the strengths and weaknesses of the work and make appropriate management decisions.
• Certification of the organization according to international standards(ISO). A unified quality management system is being created for all employees.

How to present a description to the customer

Business process modeling requires a description of each element. How can this be done painlessly for the organization? In world practice, three main methods are accepted: textual, graphical and tabular.

Text involves a description of the entire progress of work in a simple and understandable sequence. The form and content can be either free (if international or industry standards have not yet been developed) or regulated by documents. For example: the sales department transmits reporting documentation for the period to the planning department; employees of the planning department carry out analytical work to determine sales dynamics and the need to make adjustments to production; the result obtained from the planning department is transferred to the marketing department, where the reasons for the growth (decrease) in sales, etc. are analyzed.

A graphical diagram of a business process allows you to visualize the result of analytical work. There is no need to remind you that visual perception of information is most effective. Therefore, all kinds of graphs and diagrams give us the opportunity to quickly understand what is happening and find the right solution.

In cases where the main task of reforming activities is the optimization of business processes, it is worth using a tabular form of their description. With its help, it is easier to understand the sequence of actions and directions of information flows. A typical table contains not only a description of the function of a staff unit, but also columns about incoming and outgoing documents, the performer (you can specify either an entire department or a specific employee), etc.

How to correctly describe a business process

It is not enough to conduct a business process analysis. The most important thing in this matter is correctness, but at the same time simplicity of description. To begin with, you should clearly formulate the name of the unit process. This will help to understand its main characteristics, execution logic and place in the overall chain of production activities.

Then you should indicate what input information is required for the normal execution of the task, and also list the resource support. A written down sequence of simple operations that make up the process will help you avoid missing or forgetting anything.

It cannot do without specifying the owner of the process and a system for monitoring the progress of its implementation. To do this, in the description it is necessary to note the standard deadlines for the work and list the documents that are transferred to the next link. To simplify, the description should look like this: “...after conducting a sales analysis for the reporting period, an employee of the planning department fills out established form(table), which is transferred to the marketing department...”

Simplified scheme for describing production processes

When writing a description, most often employees are faced with the fact that they do not know how to verbally convey the content of their work. To ensure that the business process system is clear and structured, you can create a memo. It reflects those questions that need to be given a clear and as detailed answer as possible. So what are these questions?

• What? Describes what exactly is done in this operation.
• For what? Passes the purpose of the operation.
• When? Determines who initiates execution.
• Who? Names specific performers.
• How? Lists the resources needed.

Business process development assumes that all methods of description can be used. Thus, you will get the most detailed scheme for completing the work. The graphical version will reveal the relationships between functional departments, while the tabular and textual ones will convey the content of each operation. Unfortunately, automating business processes is impossible without this time-consuming preliminary work.

How to collect information

In practice, there are many ways to get necessary information. First, you need to analyze the regulatory documents that guide company employees. Then, personal interviews should be conducted with each direct performer in order to describe the content of his work. Further, to clarify and clarify controversial issues, consultant-analysts should use observation of the progress of business processes.

If you take a comprehensive approach to solving the task at hand, automating business processes will not seem such a tedious and useless task.

Working group

And yet, if the main task of the enterprise is the automation of business processes, and the management does not intend to attract external consulting companies, the question necessarily arises: “Where to start?” The first step is to create a working group of company employees. It is desirable that work group members have excellent listening skills. After all, as already noted, most of the work consists of conducting personal interviews with business process performers.

Next, it is necessary to create a real picture of the functioning of the system. Since before the modernization the enterprise was operating and making a profit, there is probably no need to talk about a complete restructuring. Therefore, the system and directions of information flows should be fixed at the time of optimization.

What does the description consist of?

To avoid confusion and discrepancies in the description of business processes, experts recommend using process maps. These are standardized documents that make it possible to unify all actions, regardless of the sphere of influence of the performer and the complexity of the operation being described.

Any description can be divided into the following components:

• unified form of the process (most often a table);
• business process map (can be presented in any form - text description, graphic object or table);
• routes (incoming and outgoing flows of information, resources and finance);
• matrices of various business processes (a table of interaction between different processes, which allows you to highlight the main and minor flows and operations);
• flowchart (algorithm for executing a business process);
• detailed text description;
• documentation (creation of documents confirming the completion of the process);
• identifying business process indicators (searching for characteristics and indicators that can be used to monitor not only progress, but also quality);
• regulations (in other words, job descriptions).

Indicators

As has been noted many times, any process must be measured by something. This is necessary, first of all, to assess the effectiveness of all enterprise activities. Most often, experts recommend testing business processes based on four indicators: time, costs, quality and quantity.

But dynamic and varied. Therefore, it is often not enough to evaluate only the speed of work; it is necessary to take into account working conditions, and In addition, almost all industries cannot exist without suppliers, finance, logistics and partners. These are also measurable indicators.

And, of course, we must not forget about information and the human factor. The higher the level of training of a specialist, the less time he will need to familiarize himself with the instructions and incoming information.

Most modeling methodologies are now based on the principles of structural analysis and design (SADT - Structured Analysis and Design Technique), as well as some. We can talk about the existence of several basic models of business process analysis:

Business Process Modeling - actually, modeling - reveals the functional side of a company's existence.

Work Flow Modeling - describes work flows and is similar to flowcharting.

Data Flow Modeling - unlike the previous one, describes data (information) flows; designed to create a sequence of operations.

Shewhart-Deming cycle

Large business processes (1C allows you to distinguish them from general list) are recommended to be described in a separate document called “Work Regulations”. Anything that is of a less significant nature or consists of non- large quantity simple operations are usually described in job descriptions.

When drawing up regulations, it is necessary to take into account the conditions of the cycle of continuous improvement of the enterprise’s activities (Shewhart-Deming model). Its provisions state that optimization and improvement are never-ending processes. That is, in enterprise management there is a certain closed cycle consisting of such management decisions: planning, execution, control, adjustment.

When drawing up regulations, one should take into account the principles that ensure compliance with the Shewhart-Deming model:

1. Calculation of planned indicators for the future period.
2. Analysis of the dynamics of deviations and documentation of probable causes.
3. Determination of corrective operations and analysis of their effectiveness.

Model development should be carried out in accordance with business rules. The generally accepted rules are the regulatory and legislative framework of the state in whose territory the enterprise operates. The second basis of the model is the company’s corporate policy.

When implementing a quality management system, it is necessary to take care of the development and unification of business processes. As noted at the beginning of the article, company personnel do not always understand the significance of the ongoing modernization. Making every employee aware of the importance of creating an effective business process model is the task of senior management.

After all, it is an established and carefully designed system that will not only simplify the receipt of certificates of compliance by the enterprise with international quality standards ISO 9001:2008, but also significantly increase the efficiency of each employee.

Both of these factors lead the company to increased competitiveness in the market, which, in turn, has a beneficial effect on both investors and clients.

When we talk about creating business processes, many people mean building business process flowcharts. In this regard, one of frequently asked questions- what tools are best to use? After all, without good tools, modeling business processes becomes not an easy task.

I have prepared a selection for you and short description tools for managing and modeling business processes.

Of course, there are a large number of different process modeling and management tools. My task was to talk about those that do not require huge integration projects and can be used with minimal costs. By the way, for this reason I did not consider the ARIS, IBM, etc. platforms.

The heading of each section, with the name of the tool, is a link to the manufacturer’s page. You can immediately get acquainted with the details.

Business Process Management Tools

BizAgi Suite

If you want to receive not only models and descriptions of business processes, but also create executable applications based on them, then this is exactly what you need. BizAgi Suite essentially consists of two modules - BizAgi Modeler, which is used to model and describe business processes, and BizAgi Studio, which allows you to turn models into executable applications. The cool thing is that it doesn't require programming skills, i.e. Everyone can make applications.

ELMA BPM

The highlight of the program is the ability to integrate with the 1C platform, which is certainly very attractive for Russian companies. What does it mean? This means that what happens in 1C will be reflected in ELMA. And vice versa)

ELMA allows you to execute and monitor the execution of processes in real time. BPMN 2.0 notation is used to build models. By the way, it was thanks to the ELMA staff that the notation was translated into Russian. For which we thank them very much.

The document flow system in the system works very powerfully. All documents are classified by type, sorted into folders, have rules for creation and operation, etc. Of course, it will take time to get your documents into the required form and into compliance with the system, but it will be worth it. If everything is done correctly, then you can easily track the life cycle of any document.

There are additional modules - Projects, CRM, etc. But I haven't tried them, so I can't say anything.

The company handles integration and training on working with ELMA independently. Judging by implemented projects, you can tell they know their stuff.

Functionality and features

• Building business process models
• Assigning business process roles to employees
• Execute and monitor processes in real time
• Systematic work with document flow
• Convenient “help”
• Great support
• Integration with 1C

Price

• 77,000 rubles, for 10 ELMA Standard licenses. This is the minimum amount. In my opinion, the cost is quite adequate to the functionality.

Summary

Have you firmly decided to engage in business process management, automation and improvement? Are you tied to 1C? Then ELMA is what you need.

Business Studio

Just like ELMA, Russian development. Probably the most popular tool for managing business processes on the domestic market. The first version was released in 2004. I first came across this program in 2006. At that time it was the best solution.

In principle, everything in the program is quite standard - we define the company’s goals, model the processes that allow us to achieve the goals, assign those responsible from the organizational structure tree, and note which resources are used in the processes.

It is very noteworthy that the concept of the Balanced Scorecard is used to set goals. This is one of the most successful methods of translating a company's strategy into a tangible and understandable form.

The construction of business processes, as often happens, is done from top to bottom. The program supports several modeling notations: IDEF, eEPC, BPMN and several others.

There is the possibility of simulation modeling, carrying out functional cost analysis and automatic document generation, for example, job descriptions. The documents comply with legal requirements, which greatly facilitates the work. Execution and monitoring of processes occurs through integration with other systems, for example, ELMA.

Functionality and features

• Modeling processes in different notations
• Setting company goals using the Balanced Scorecard
• Integration with third-party systems.
• Process execution control
• Knowledge base

Price

• Pricing is flexible, so to determine the cost you need to contact the company's consultants. Because I have not encountered the purchase of this software in the last couple of years, so the order of the numbers is unknown to me.

Summary

The system is powerful. But complicated. Serious costs, primarily time, will be required to debug and integrate the system. It is best if you have a department or just a few business analysts who will take on this work. Working with the program requires a deep understanding of the methods and specifics of the program.

Business process modeling

Visual Paradigm

I'll be honest - this is best program for modeling and describing business processes. I have never seen a more convenient, functional and flexible tool for modeling.

To begin with, VP supports a large number of notations, flowcharts and models. Starting from standard notations, and ending with database diagrams, interaction diagrams and matrices.

The modeling itself is very convenient. The program completely lacks the disadvantages inherent in others, for example: overlapping of diagram elements on each other, intersection of arrows, failures when dragging objects, pools, etc. The interface is convenient, understandable and can be customized by the user.

All models can be connected to each other, so modeling the entire business system is not a problem. In addition, it is possible to carry out simulation modeling and diagram testing.

VP allows you to control element attributes in detail, which in turn allows you to automatically generate great descriptions. Because the program is initially aimed at information system developers; each element can be set with conditions for behavior in the system, business rules, etc. By the way, document templates are also customizable.

And finally, the program allows you to download the resulting models in the form of program code. And in different languages! Of course, this function is of high value when developing information systems and automating business processes.

Functionality and features

• Modeling business processes in different notations
• Building other models
• Model checking
• Automatic document generation
• Creating and assigning model behavior rules
• Relationship between models
• Uploading models as program code
• Version for Mac OS X

Price

• By subscription – $35 per month
• Full license – $800

Summary

The best program for modeling and describing business processes.

BizAgi Modeler

This is part of the aforementioned BizAgi Suite. The program is independent of the complete set and can be supplied separately.

Very simple, concise and user-friendly interface.

A good, working tool for modeling, which, moreover, is often updated and improved. Models built in BizAgi Modeler are fully compatible with full version- Suite. There are certain limitations in modeling that are not in the BPMN notation and are unique to this program, but in principle they are avoided.

Working with models is very convenient. True, sometimes annoying displacements of model elements can occur. Especially when dragging a large number of elements. In my opinion, the optimization of the location of arrows and elements has not been sufficiently developed. This leads to the fact that sometimes you have to tinker a little to arrange the elements harmoniously.

The relationship between the diagrams is not sufficiently developed. Those. You can connect, but not directly. You can assign any attributes to elements - you determine the name and properties of the attribute yourself.

It is possible to check models and generate descriptions based on a template.

Despite some shortcomings, this tool deserves a solid five and is suitable for small companies. Especially since the tool is completely free.

Functionality and features

• BPMN Notation
• Model checking
• Automatic document generation
• Managing Model Element Attributes
• Ability to add your own elements to models
• Uploading the model in graphical form
• User-friendly interface
• In Russian
• Collaboration on models is possible

Price

• Completely free

Summary

Suitable for both beginners and companies already involved in modeling and describing processes. Easy to learn. Highly recommend.

In April, in Moscow, I am conducting a course Managing Business Processes in an Organization, which covers modeling business processes in BizAgi Modeler. .

ARIS Express

A free and simple “drawing” of processes from a monster called ARIS. More precisely, Software AG.

It has several model options at its disposal, in particular: business process models in eEPC and BPMN notations, organizational models, process maps, etc. It is notable for the presence of the Smart Design function, which allows you to quickly enter the necessary data into a table and the program will independently create a diagram. Very convenient for quick sketches.

Unfortunately, Express is only a graphical tool. Models cannot be linked to each other, attributes cannot be assigned, and the like. The composition of diagram elements is very limited, so it will not be possible to create a model in Express and export it to ARIS BA. By the way, do not under any circumstances use this software to work with BPMN notation. Despite the fact that such models can be created here, their limitations give a fundamentally wrong impression of the functionality of BPMN.

However, I know of very serious companies that use this tool. Moreover, some argue that it is more convenient than MS Visio. This is wrong. Visio is a powerful tool that allows you to actually create your own process management environment. But more about this some other time.

Functionality and features

• eEPC and BPMN notations
• Process map
• Organizational structure
• Smart Design Feature
• Uploading the model in graphical form
• Simple interface

Price

• Completely free

Summary

Choose ARIS Express if all the above restrictions do not bother you. Well, if you prefer eEPC notation.

At the end of March, in Moscow, modeling of business processes based on ARIS Express will take place. Registration is open.

Online services for modeling business processes

Gliffy

Excellent service with a variety of functionality. Allows you to create not only models in BPMN notation, but also workflows, design a user interface, create UML diagrams, organizational charts, site maps, etc.

What is very important, the service allows you to teamwork above the diagrams, and all versions of the model are saved. Additionally, you can embed the chart as a shortcode on your website. By the way, my map of articles was made in this service.

When modeling processes, it is possible to connect diagrams with each other through hyperlinks, because one diagram is, in fact, one page.

All elements of the BPMN notation are already present in the service. It is also possible to change yourself appearance elements and add your own. IN free version, diagrams can only be exported as graphic files.

Functionality and features

• Full BPMN support
• Model relationships via hyperlinks
• Convenient model building
• Flexible customization of the appearance of elements

Price

• Free with few restrictions
• $4.95 per month for standard version and $9.95 for business version

Summary

A convenient and functional service for creating business process diagrams and more.

BPsimulator

Well, a very interesting service, in which the emphasis is not on models, but on simulation and evaluation of the model.

It works as follows: you model the process -> set the properties of flows, cost, duration and employee employment -> run the simulation -> look at the process indicators based on the simulation results.

What does this give? A lot, actually. Simulation makes it easy to detect process bottlenecks, calculate the cost of resources in a process, estimate resource utilization, etc.

The simulator is not complicated, or rather, it has certain limitations, but you can benefit from it. And with skill, a considerable amount.

The controls are quite convenient. The arrows have tunnels (I always pay attention to this point). The resulting reports and models can be saved to your computer, Google Drive or One Drive.

Functionality and features

• Process modeling
• Estimation of cost / duration of the process
• Simulation
• Convenient model building
• Reports
• Saving models to Google Drive or One Drive

Price

• Free with ads
• 300 rub/month without advertising and with small bonuses

Summary

I highly recommend trying it.

Draw io

The service allows you to build great amount diagrams and has a large set of elements. Including kits for creating BPMN and eEPC diagrams.

It is possible to link models via hyperlinks. In addition, you can attach files from cloud data storage to elements.

Working with models is relatively convenient. You can customize the appearance of elements in every possible way. However, and this is inconvenient, there is no tunneling of arrows, as well as repulsion of objects. Those. one element can be placed on top of another. Which leads to the need to spend time manually arranging the elements of the diagram.

The service allows you to save models to Google Drive, Dropbox, One Drive or to your computer. It is possible to export models in graphic file formats, PDF, HTML, XLS.

Functionality and features

• Construction of various diagrams
• Saving models to Google Drive, Dropbox or One Drive
• There is no possibility of teamwork

Price

• For free

Summary

A simple and free drawing game. Thanks to integration with cloud storage, it can be used within a group of employees.

That's all I wanted to say.

Common roles in business process management:

• process analyst;
• process engineer;
• process architect;
• process manager;
• process owner;
• process consultant;
• business analyst;
• Systems Analyst;
• manager or director of performance improvement programs;
• manager or director of process innovation.

Business Process Management (BPM) is a management concept that links an organization's strategy and goals with customer expectations and needs through the appropriate organization of end-to-end processes. BPM brings together strategy, goals, culture and organizational structure, roles, policies, regulations, methodologies and software to: a) analyze, design, implement, manage and continuously improve end-to-end processes and b) manage process management relationships.

Video on business processes:

Drawing “Three Views of BPM”

Business Process Improvement (BPI) is a one-time initiative or project aimed at better aligning the organization's strategy with customer expectations. BPI involves selecting, analyzing, designing and implementing an improved process.

Enterprise Process Management (EPM) is the application of BPM principles, methods and processes in a specific organization. EPM: a) ensures that the end-to-end process portfolio and architecture aligns with the organization's strategy and resources and b) provides a regulatory model for assessing and managing BPM initiatives.

Continuous optimization is a long-term approach to improving the efficiency and productivity of specific processes based on a continuously functioning feedback control system.

Business process management

What is business process management (BPM)?

BPM- This management discipline, which assumes that the best way to achieve an organization's goals is through deliberate management of its business processes. BPM views processes as assets. It accepts that the goals of the organization can be achieved through the description, design, control of business processes and the desire for their continuous improvement.

To be able to effectively manage business processes (that is, to develop BPM as a capability), an organization must have the processes, people and technologies in place:

1. Business processes that support business process management. For example, the organization should have processes that ensure:
   • description and design of business processes;
   • development and implementation of business processes;
   • monitoring and control of the execution of business processes;
   • continuous and continuous improvement business processes despite and in response to internal and external changes.
2. Specific roles (people) involved in managing business processes. These include (but are not limited to) the following:
   • process architect, who is responsible for describing and designing business processes;
   • process analyst, who is responsible for the construction, implementation, monitoring and optimization of business processes;
   • a process owner who is responsible for executing a business process from start to finish, meeting defined performance targets, and ultimately creating value for the customer.
3. Introduction of specialized information technologies business process management, providing the following functionality:
   • description of business processes in the context of corporate architecture;
   • designing business processes for implementation;
   • execution of business processes in the context of operational activities;
   • monitoring target performance indicators of business processes;
   • analysis of business processes in order to identify and evaluate opportunities for improvement;
   • business process change management.

Buisness process is a set of actions that transform one or more inputs into a specific result (product or service) that has value for the consumer.

Business process drawing

The concept of the consumer in the interaction of functions within the organization

Value in the form of design specifications

Example: IT department pharmaceutical company provides services to business units. Each such service is provided through a business process within the IT department. The provider-service consumer relationship is shown below. A business process creates value for the customer in the form of products or services. The essence of BPM is to optimize how this value is created.

Visualization and understanding of a business process is facilitated by a graphical representation of actions in the form of rectangles connected to each other in a track diagram

Artifacts that organizations often create and maintain in process work include the following.

• Business context: what internal capabilities does the process provide, and what is the contribution of the business process to the creation of a product or service for an external consumer.
• Process context: suppliers and inputs, outputs and customers, starting and ending events, regulations, resources used and performance targets.
• Business transactions that involve the transfer of work between functions and roles within an organization and between the organization, suppliers and customers.
• State changes that describe the transformation of a product as it passes through a process.
• Business events occurring outside and inside the process, as well as actions and forks in the process that are activated by these events.
• Decomposition showing the breakdown of a process into smaller and smaller pieces of work from the top level of the overall process to the bottom level of tasks.
• Performance expectations detailing commitments to the customer to provide a product or service, and performance indicators established for the process and measured to ensure that commitments to the customer are being met.
• The structure of the organization and the picture of how the various functions and roles within the organization are arranged to support the execution of the process.
• The functionality of information systems and how this functionality is involved in the execution of a process.

Buisness process is a set of actions that create a certain value (product or service) for the consumer. This definition contains both an internal dimension (set of activities) and an external dimension (customer value), so it is best to monitor process performance from both perspectives.
Performance indicators assessed externally or from the consumer’s point of view are usually called effectiveness; they are designed to answer the question: “Are we doing what we need to do?” These indicators should confirm that we systematically meet customer needs and expectations.

The secret to the usefulness of metrics at the “Check” stage is the correct architecture of the process description at the “Planning” stage. Process performance targets are determined by customer expectations. These top-level performance indicators, in turn, are decomposed into lower-level performance targets, which can be set at the functional and operational levels. In theory:

• if all operational targets are achieved, then the functional indicators are met;
• if all functional indicators are achieved, then the process efficiency indicators of the highest level are met;
• If all process performance indicators are achieved, then the consumer is satisfied.

Business process categories

Business processes can be divided into three categories:

• Basic processes– end-to-end and, as a rule, cross-functional processes that directly create value for the consumer. Core processes are also called core processes because they represent the activities necessary for an organization to achieve its mission. These processes constitute a value chain in which each step adds value to the previous one, measured by its contribution to the creation or delivery of a product or service and, ultimately, to the creation of value for the customer.
• Helper Processes are designed to support the core, usually through the management of resources and/or infrastructure required by the core processes. The difference between core and supporting processes is that supporting processes do not directly create value for the customer. Examples of support processes typically relate to IT, finance, and human resources. Although support processes are often closely related to functional areas (for example, the process for issuing and revoking authorization for network access), they can and often do cross functional boundaries.
• Management processes designed to measure, monitor and control business activities. They are designed to ensure that core and supporting processes are designed and executed in accordance with established operational, financial objectives, regulatory and legal constraints. Like support processes, management processes do not directly add value to the customer, but they are necessary to ensure that operations meet target levels of productivity and effectiveness.

BPM maturity model

Business Process Modeling

Process Modeling Objectives

Purpose of modeling– develop a representation of the process that will describe it accurately and sufficiently fully, based on the task at hand. The depth of detail and content of the model is determined by what is expected of the modeling project: a simple diagram may be sufficient for one project, while a fully developed model may be required for another.

Process Models- these are the means:

• process management of the organization;
• process efficiency analysis;
• descriptions of changes.

A process model can describe the desired state of a business and define the requirements for resources that enable efficient operations, such as people, information, equipment, systems, finance, and energy.

Reasons for process modeling:

Common process notations:

BPMN:

Bruce Silver's track diagram:

Block diagram:

UML:

IDEF:

Value stream map:

Basic principles of business process modeling

What does business process modeling mean in practice? Modeling business processes in a company can be aimed at solving a large number of different problems:

• Accurately determine the outcome of a business process and evaluate its value for the business.
• Determine the set of actions that make up a business process. Clearly defining the set of tasks and activities that need to be performed is extremely important for a detailed understanding of the process.
• Determine the order of actions. Actions within one business process can be performed either sequentially or in parallel. Obviously, parallel execution, if allowed, can reduce the overall execution time of a process and, therefore, increase its efficiency.
• Separate areas of responsibility: determine and then track which employee or division of the company is responsible for performing a particular action or process as a whole.
• Determine the resources consumed by the business process. By knowing exactly who is using what resources and for what activities, resource efficiency can be improved through planning and optimization.
• Understand the essence of interactions between employees and company departments involved in the process and evaluate and then improve the effectiveness of communication between them.
• See the movement of documents during the process. Business processes produce and consume various documents (paper or electronic form). It is important to understand where documents or information flows come from and where they go, and determine whether their movement is optimal and whether they are all really necessary.
• Identify potential bottlenecks and opportunities for process improvement that will be used later to optimize the process.
• It is more efficient to implement quality standards such as ISO 9000 and successfully achieve certification.
• Use business process models to guide new employees.
• Effectively automate business processes as a whole or individual steps, including automation of interaction with the external environment - clients, suppliers, partners.
• Having understood the totality of the company’s business processes, understand and describe the activities of the enterprise as a whole.

In its turn, the main task when modeling company business processes is to describe the processes existing in it in order to build their “as is” models. To do this, it is necessary to collect all available information about the process, which, as a rule, is fully owned only by company employees directly involved in the process. Thus, we come to the need for a detailed survey (interviewing) of all employees involved in the business process. It should be emphasized that one cannot limit oneself to the process information provided by the department head and managers. Usually, only a conversation with an employee who directly carries out actions within the framework of the business process being described gives an adequate idea of ​​how the process functions in reality.

The first question when building an “as is” model concerns the result of the business process in question. It happens that it is not easy to obtain a clear formulation of the result of a business process, despite the importance of this concept for the efficiency of the company.

After determining the result, you should understand the sequence of actions that make up the process. The sequence of actions is modeled on different levels abstractions. At the top level, only the most important steps of the process are shown (usually no more than ten). Then, each of the high-level steps (subprocesses) is decomposed. The depth of decomposition is determined by the complexity of the process and the required level of detail. In order to get a truly complete understanding of a business process, it is necessary to decompose it down to atomic business functions - well-understood elementary actions (individual operations in software or performed by humans), which make no sense to decompose into components.

Based on the collected information, a model of the usual, or optimal, process execution is built and possible scenarios for its execution with failures are determined. Various failures (exceptions - exceptions) can disrupt the optimal flow of the process, so it should be specified how exceptions will be “handled”, that is, what actions are taken if an exceptional situation occurs. The figure shows the main steps in building a business process model.

An important part of building a business process model is to study aspects of its effectiveness. This includes resource utilization, employee turnaround time, possible delays and downtime. It is necessary to develop a system of indicators, or metrics, to evaluate the effectiveness of the process. KPIs used in the company (Key Performance Indicator), however, additional indicators characterizing the process under consideration may be required.

During modeling, business goals are determined, to which the simulated process contributes. It is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of a business goal and the result of a process. Each business process must have at least one result and be aimed at achieving at least one business goal. For example, the outcome of the process “Fulfilling an order to connect a subscriber” can be defined as “Receiving confirmation of connection from the client,” while the business goals that are pursued in executing this process may include “Ensuring the minimum execution time for the order” and “Ensuring the minimum percentage of complaints.” " To determine goals, you should refer to the company's business strategy.

It is necessary to identify events that could interrupt the process. In the event of an interruption, it may be necessary to gracefully “roll back” (compensate) those process steps that have already been completed. To do this, the logic of compensating actions for each interrupting event must be defined.

Finally, you should consider the available software that implements business process support. This is important because the software may hide some features of the process behavior that are not fully known to the employees performing individual steps. The information collected at this stage will be useful for further automation of the process.

By collecting all the specified information, you can get good show about the progress of the business process. At the modeling stage the following results should be obtained:

• Process card, showing the relationship between various business processes and their interactions. On a process map, as a rule, each business process of the company is depicted as a rectangle, arrows show the connections between them (for example, the dependence of one process on another, or the replacement of one process with another when a certain condition is met), and also presents various documents that are transferred from process to process or regulate their progress (standards, instructions, etc.).
• Role diagram, showing the roles in the execution of the process and the connections between them. The role diagram is not hierarchical. It represents connections such as group participation, leadership, communication, replacing one role with another, etc.
• Model "as is" each considered business process, describing the process in detail and reflecting the progress of the process, actions, roles, movement of documents, as well as points of possible optimization. This model includes:
  • process environment diagram, representing a business process in the form of a single action (that is, not revealing the progress of the process), for which the event that triggers the process, the necessary input data, the result, roles, performance indicators, interrupting events and compensating processes, regulating documents related to the business can be shown. goals;
  • high level process diagram, showing his major steps (usually no more than ten) and the roles associated with them;
  • detailed diagrams for each step of the high-level model(depending on the complexity of the process, several hierarchically organized diagrams may be used here), showing in detail the process flow, interrupting events, business rules, roles and documents;
  • exception handling diagram, showing what actions are performed in the event of a given exceptional situation and by whom, as well as where control is transferred after the exception is processed.

• the owner of the business process and one or two employees of the same division of the company helping him;
• quality management specialist;
• business analyst(s);
• IT department representative;
• external consultant (optional).

BPM-System Platform for creating and managing business processes

Bpm'online studio is a business process management system (BPMS) that allows you to automate various business tasks. Bpm'online studio- an intuitive tool for introducing a process approach into the work of various departments of the company and effectively managing changes throughout the enterprise.