The challenges faced by the university
The University aimed at achieving Operational Excellence through BPM, as it was facing some challenges. In the year 2007 ELQ funding changed significantly with 40% drop in HEFCE teaching grant primarily. There was significant downturn in part-time student enrolment numbers.
The objective of the University was to implement Operational Excellence Program through BPM processes. Increase speed with quality of data, reduce complexity, duplication or errors. Build cross-functional processes across all University units. Empowering business users towards implementation of their own small-scale process achievements.
In order to meet the objectives of the University, work was undertaken with an external facilitation partner for running the business process improvement workshops. Software solutions to manage the process were procured from Bizagi.
The processes were discovered with a simple business modeling tool called the Bizagi. Bizagi’s software platform tool allowed development of simplistic models for process delivery such that challenges faced by the University can be attended to.
Achievements post initiation of the process includes, student status amendments which became 90% faster, student debt from “Promise to Apply” came down by 16%, there was 3 process deployment within 12 months’ time. ‘Fastfix’ initiative for staff empowerment for small scale process improvement became operational. “My Birkbeck Profile” enabled students to put their online requests. The entire process allowed closing of 3,000 cases to be closed each year with access to 18,000 students.
Business process modeling (BPM) allows business process management and systems engineering activity to reflect processes within an enterprise. BPM represents current processes such that business processes can be automated, improved or analysed (Indulska, Recker, Rosemann & Green, 2009). BPM is undertaken to serve basic objective of the business. As business’ objectives is to increase speed, or increase quality, or reduce cycle time, or reducing cost and so on. Management undertakes decision towards investing into business process modeling such that change management programs can be improved significantly with advanced software designs. BPM development allows depicting a closer look at reality. BPM has become an integral procedure in current business processes.
It includes preparing steps for the University to include new processes, such that students can benefit from it. In the diagram, it was assumed that each process to be communicating with each. Once initiation of the process is done in parallel, as University employees decide upon the process model for implementing the software.
It depicts Business-to-Business-Collaboration model interacts between students and the University. This model is developed to depict interaction between different departments, students and software systems and so on. This process reviews the entire application process at the University.
In this diagram, the process is initiated with receiving of the order and then continuously checking availability. The software is received upon confirmation of financial payment.
This diagrammatic process is triggered by University requesting help from the accounts manager. It includes explaining and taking the happy path.
It involves the account manager’s role in supporting agents. This diagram reflects dialogue for clarification of problem between account’s manager and customer.
The project if adopts an incident management process, which includes actually executed process engine. It includes human-driven systems.
It system-driven and human-driven control flows. It allows alignment with process modeling.
This includes expanded ‘Order Process’ into ‘Approved Order’ Sub Process.
It includes ‘Order Process from collapsed ‘Approve Order’ Sub Process.
The Enterprise Architecture is applied to the case study example by providing a detailed overview for the entire University processes (Meyer, Ruppen & Magerkurth, 2013). The new process development is linked to the existing IT infrastructure and ways that the University undertakes the processes along with its relevant uses.
The Business Process Modeling is used in the University case example by way of increasing effectiveness. The role of BPM in the current processes aims at attending to the challenges faced by the University.
Business Process Modeling is developed by integrating with Enterprise Architecture. As in this case the University’s current EA framework is used for development of new processes and changing some aspects of the EA. The BPM will need to make changes in the EA for accommodating any changes in activities.
An incremental change to the EA blueprints impacting the portfolio of BPM processes by enhancing the capability of businesses. It would also imply increasing business continuity by lowering risks from interruption and entailing more information usage as asset. It would also allow building and management of the Digital Enterprise. BPM occupies an entire part of the EA; hence any increments to the EA will require changes to be made in the portfolio of BPM as well.
BPM might include changes being made to a particular process; hence a particular BPM activity might require changing of the enterprise architecture. Such activity might change priority with the EA.
When BPM processes cannot comply within defined EA targets, then compliance is not adhered to. An exception request for developing ad hoc compliance is made, which can allow inclusion of the BPM projects. The project team to address the root of the issue can make a request within the time frame of the project life cycle.
The STRATEGIC importance of the relationship between Enterprise Architecture and Business Analysis and its relationship impact Business Process Modeling
With increasing complexity and challenges arising in businesses, there needs to be devised ability to standardize, adapt and reduce costs. The EA allows ways for businesses to meet its demands (Mendling, Recker & Reijers, 2010). A Business Analysts acts as a liaison between various stakeholders of the business in order to communicate, validate and analyze requirements for making changes to the business processes. The BA has technical skills which are needed to produce models for technical architecture. BA addresses business’ requirements for long-term strategic IT plans.
Once a BA ascertains development or change of a technical architecture then it directly impacts the BPM. Therefore, EA cooperates with BA in order that both can benefit from each other’s role in forming long-term strategic planning and in developing an efficient BPM.
Process segments are identified in the BPM
A BPM includes various processes in order that such processes can be improved (Li et al., 2014). The process segments that are identified in the BPM includes information, mining tools, quality tools, software designs, engineering tools and costing tools.
The business entities that are identified in the BPM include message flows between entities. The entities include supply link object information, resources, goal, strategies and output object flow.
The status for each entities change when a business is remodeled to change processes (Koschmider, Hornung & Oberweis, 2011). Once a new process for process improvement has been indicated then status for each entity is bound to change to emerge as new outcome or output.
Attributes associated with each entity change is generally associated with better processes, improved processes along with reduced costs or increased profitability and so on (Charfi, Müller & Mezini, 2010).
The relationship amongst the entities can be depicted as an input process being transformed into output process, linked to the goal (Recker, Rosemann, Indulska & Green, 2009). The link depicts the flow of various events from one end to the other.
The size of the BPM is identifiable with the project scope. The number of steps present in single process, with lengths of the forms associated and integration to the business and application is usually the size of the BPM (Weske, 2012). In order to estimate the size for the University BPM, the goal for process improvement is estimated then from As-Is business processes the next level of As-Is condition is estimated in the process map. As in the University project, there are approximately 3 steps included.
Distinction between the Quality Management from Quality Assurance and Quality Control (Testing). The advantages of each of these functions in enhancing the Quality of your BPMs. Ensure your answer includes testing for non-functional aspects of your BPM.
Quality management (QM) has four main components comprising of quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement. Quality management encompasses not only product or services, rather includes ways and means to achieve them as well (Laguna & Marklund, 2013). Quality Assurance (QA) is a process that deliberates regarding achievement of quality and Quality Control (QC) is focused on fulfilling a quality request. None of the two processes encompasses in totality, achievement of quality as in QM. Further QA includes techniques for managing quality and QC in quality verification.
Quality needs to be enhanced in BPM such that there can be advantage in BPMs (Markovic & Kowalkiewicz, 2008). Advantages of functions in enhancing the Quality of BPM is that it allows, preventing defects and verifying quality. The functions of QA and QC make use of Statistical Process Control (SPC) in reducing errors. The most important advantage includes meeting stakeholder and project customer requirements for creating deliverables (Minoli, 2008). It allows processes for full software development life cycle. The advantage of non-functional requirements includes characteristics of system or solution that describes non-behavioral characteristics or qualities of a system. The non-functional requirements also referred to as the ‘ilities’ comprises of usability, interoperability, reliability, extensibility, scalability and so on. The advantage arising from these elements includes aspects that mainly cater to customer satisfaction or stakeholder satisfaction aspects.
The rationale for the change at Ford Motor Corp. includes making procurement process at a cheaper and faster rate, in a better manner. It encompasses reduction in workforce directly by 75%.
References
Charfi, A., Müller, H. and Mezini, M., 2010, June. Aspect-oriented business process modeling with AO4BPMN. In European Conference on Modelling Foundations and Applications (pp. 48-61). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Indulska, M., Recker, J., Rosemann, M. and Green, P., 2009, June. Business process modeling: Current issues and future challenges. In International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering (pp. 501-514). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Koschmider, A., Hornung, T. and Oberweis, A., 2011. Recommendation-based editor for business process modeling. Data & Knowledge Engineering, 70(6), pp.483-503.
Laguna, M. and Marklund, J., 2013. Business process modeling, simulation and design. CRC Press.
Li, Y., Cao, B., Xu, L., Yin, J., Deng, S., Yin, Y. and Wu, Z., 2014. An efficient recommendation method for improving business process modeling. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, 10(1), pp.502-513.
Markovic, I. and Kowalkiewicz, M., 2008, September. Linking business goals to process models in semantic business process modeling. In Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference, 2008. EDOC’08. 12th International IEEE (pp. 332-338). IEEE.
Mendling, J., Recker, J. and Reijers, H.A., 2010. On the usage of labels and icons in business process modeling. International Journal of Information System Modeling and Design (IJISMD), 1(2), pp.40-58.
Meyer, S., Ruppen, A. and Magerkurth, C., 2013, June. Internet of things-aware process modeling: integrating IoT devices as business process resources. In International conference on advanced information systems engineering (pp. 84-98). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Minoli, D., 2008. Enterprise architecture A to Z: frameworks, business process modeling, SOA, and infrastructure technology. Auerbach Publications.
Recker, J., Rosemann, M., Indulska, M. and Green, P., 2009. Business process modeling-a comparative analysis. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 10(4), p.1.
Weske, M., 2012. Business process management architectures. In Business Process Management (pp. 333-371). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
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