Process Modeling In Business Process Modeling: An Overview

Goals of Process Modeling

Process models are used in varying contexts; in this case, it will be used in the context of business process modeling. A process model refers to processes of similar nature classified together to form a model; as such, a process model describes a process at type level and the process is an instantiation of the process.  Process models are used to prescribe how things ought to be done in contrast to the actual process: the process model anticipates whet the real process would look like. Process modeling has three main goals;

To describe a process by tracking what happens during processes and take an external observers’ point of view and uses the information on how a process has been performed to determine the necessary improvements that will make it perform efficiently or in a manner that is more effective

Prescriptive; the process model defines desired processes and how they ought to be performed and establish rules and guidelines that when followed, results in the desired process performance.

Explanatory; Offers explanations on processes rationale, evaluates and explores various possible courses of action, and creates a link between processes and requirements to be fulfilled by the model, as well as defining points where data can be extracted.

Because of these, process modeling has become an integral and important aspect of many sectors and industries, including in manufacturing, human resource management, transportation, and scheduling as a means of modeling to attain efficiency and preserve the business. For managers, decision makers, and analysts, modeling is becoming ever more important because it is a useful tool for understanding and determining areas for improving general processes, including business processes.  Business process modeling is usually undertaken with a view to improving or changing existing processes or to identify issues that need correcting.  The transformation or improvement to current systems can require IT involvement, or no IT involvement, although IT is a common business process modeling and improvement driver.  Change management processes, for instance, are meant to put into practice process modeling in order to attain desired improvements. Process modeling deals with the business architecture process models leading to the creating of all-encompassing enterprise architecture. Business process modeling (BPM) is important because one needs to take stock of their processes before they can be improved; the BPM creates a big picture that is used to enhance the visibility of cause and effects in every step in the business, eventually leading to a better understanding of the business. For an analyst, BMP is an indispensable tool for understanding processes and determining areas where improvements need to be made².

Uses of Process Modeling

The Dean of Students at UH University, Anthony Rupp, has hired the authors, a group of junior consultants, to evaluate the current processes at the UH in the context of student admission process. Of late, the system has raised several complaints among users, because the process takes too long and is fraught with hiccups that adversely affect the desired process of smooth students’ admission. The student admission process is a core process within the university because it is the processes that determine who is admitted and ensures only qualified students are admitted and awarded scholarships based on merit. The reputation of the university depends greatly on this process, while it is important that applicants know as soon as possible their status and the decisions reached on their application. To help get a better understanding of the UH student admission process, the dean has hired the authors to evaluate the system and develop a BPM for the process, using BPMN standards, given the dean understands the BPMN method very well. Through a well-developed BPMN, the dean will be able to present the existing process to his seniors and colleagues, some of who do not, or may not have an understanding of BPMN.

Another concern raised by the dean is that the process is becoming increasingly costly and even the ad-hoc system implemented in the interim has several challenges. The dean believes there is an urgent need for the re-engineering of the students admission process to make the university’s admission process more competitive again as at present, the university is losing students to a rival university with better student admission processes. The authors have been hired to model the UH student admissions process within the constraints of time, resources, and ability to elicit more information from the admissions staff, who are themselves very busy with their work. This report generates a governance structure for the UH students admission process by generating the UH process architecture, with the value chain containing the students admission process clearly defined.  The UH is developed using a set of modeling conventions, with justifications on why they have been used. Before the models are generated, the various BPMN 2.0 notations an symbols are drawn and described, t provide a basis for developing the BMPN diagrams for the UH. He process is described using BPMN 2.0 for the value chain, a choreography diagram, and a layered collaboration diagram. A conclusion is then drawn after the diagrams are drawn.

BPMN Notation	Meaning/ Role in this Model
Start/ End	This represents either the start of termination of an event. It signifies processes that have commenced or completed tokens being consumed. In this model, the symbol signifies the start or end of all processes for the entire student admission process starting with a student applying for admission to either the student being admitted or rejected, or when the student cancels their application before it is concluded3
Collaboration Activity	Work performed by UH in which business processes are utilized and is used in this model top depict a specific action
Collapsed Sub process collaboration activity	This is a collapsed notation used in this model to hide extra levels to processes3. This notation has been used to create a simple view of processes and avoid overcrowding the process
Choreography task	This notation represents message exchanges where two participants are involved with each participant falling inn a different band. This notation is used in this model to depict interaction of all the parties involved in the UH student admission process
Collapsed sub choreography	This notation sub choreography details that are additional and which are hidden with the addition sign showing an expansion process in the notation3. In this model, it is used to hide sub processes to make it simpler and easy to understand and avoid overcrowding
Sequence Flow	Depicts the order of execution of the various tasks in the process model; has been used in this model to show the order of events in the student admission process
Flow of messages	This is an object of connection that depicts how message are flowing between actors in the process and connects an application form to an object. This has been used in this model to depict message flows between the various actors
Data object	This depicts data placed into a process or data resulting from activities within a process as well as required data for collection and storage. This has been used in this model to depict applications being used in the entire process, particularly in the application diagrams
Data storage	This depicts the storage (and access to) data needed for the student admission process and has been used in this model to depict applications and information being stored in a database
Compensation capture	This depicts compensation that can be triggered either for a defined activity or for the scope hosting the compensation event3. Compensation is executed by the compensation handler associated with a given activity being executed. In this model, it has been used to for capturing cancel request when a student that had made an application cancels their application resulting in the ranking activity being updated in the present ranking, after being awarded an admission status. This frees up a space to be taken by the next ranked applicant
Text Annotation	Depicts a mechanism by which additional text can be provided to give users guidance while looking at the BPMN diagram. The textual annotations have been used in this model for clarifications purposes throughout the different levels of the model
Choreography task loop	A notation that determines whether a given task is capable of repeating itself should the situation so demand. This has been used in this model to depict the admission officer to re attempt a verification task, such as verifying student English scores from the test providers’ site link
XOR Gateway	Notation used to depict decision points in the process; it merges alternative process flows3. This has been used in this model to allow applications to be sufficient or deficient to enable progress to one side in the choreography diagram
Expanded sub choreography	This is used to depict the expanded view of activities that have been collapsed within the choreography diagram. In this model, it has been used to show sub processes within the student admission process
Send task	This depicts a task related to mail used within the model to depict actions such as PDF downloading or receiving a student application
Receive task	This depicts a task being received in the diagram and is used within the model to depict actions such as viewing applications,  generation of PDF’s or viewing student application notes
Start of messaging event	This depicts a start event for communication when an actor outside the system sends a message into the student admission process. For instance, when a student applying for admission submits an application form; it is also used in this model to depict a request being cancelled in the collaboration diagram
Intermediate Timer Event	This depicts a set time during which the activity must be completed, used in this model to show the deadlines for activities, such as two weeks needed to keep flow within the application process
Event termination	Depicts event immediate termination in any process, used in this model to show an application being cancelled in both collaboration and choreography diagrams
Swim lane and pool	Used to depict group activities undertaken by the same actor in activity diagram3. In this model, it has been used also to show grouped activities in one thread and it encapsulates the UH and applicants to house processes within pools and lanes

Importance of Business Process Modeling

Throughout the development of the UH BPM some assumptions have been made including;

• The online application from by the student is submitted on the last day within the provided time
• If the applications officer classifies a submission as re-submitted, the applicant must start the submission process over again
• After two weeks of submission, applications that come later are rejected
• All the certified applicants academic papers sent to external players are in hard copy
• The resubmission process does not use the UH system, with communication for re-submission done via e-mail
• Academic papers submitted by the student are verified by the academic recognition agency
• If a successful applicant fails to respond to the offer within a fortnight, the process comes to an end

Conclusion

The consulting team (authors) was able to depict the student admission process for UH and determined that the process is highly inefficient and unwieldy. Essentially, the admissions process has two systems in place in which there is an online system for applications as well as an e-mail system that does not form part of the UH system. The requirement to have both soft and hard copies of certificates, especially for verification by an external validator greatly slows down the process. The process has several interactions before the entire process can come to an end, including sending physical documents by mail/ post and receiving the same back by mail/ post.  Some other tasks, such as getting approvals from committee members takes up to six weeks; there is no justification for such a process and it just adds to the inefficiencies in the system. Once academic documents are verified for the student, it should not require them to have to post them by mail; this is a very long process that unnecessarily increases costs; a better option would be to send the copies in PDF format, and then the UH validation staff or the external validation staff sends an inquiry to the awarding institution to verify the documents again by mail and send it straight to the staff at UH. The admission officers have too much work to do themselves; the roles can be split to other staff and a one stop system used for evaluation, and approval or have the processes reduced. Once a student has made an application, there is no need for them to again download the PDF format and then sign it and send it by post with certified copies of academic documents and credentials. This is another time wasting activity as the university waits for up to five weeks before receiving the hard copy documents by post. An admission officer checks the online application if its filled properly, a few days after the application. This can be undertaken by a computer database system that will not accept the document until it is properly filled by the student; so the use of intelligent forms for applications would suffice for this task to save time. Verification should not require hard copies; the soft copies can be used by the verifying agency to verify accuracy with the awarding university; the same can be done for English/ Dutch test results. The students should extract their GPA scores during application and enter them into a database that automatically converts them into standard GPA scores based on a conversion algorithm in the database. The plagiarism check can be done after application online and then the committee can make a decision based on applications, using an online system and taking advantage of technology. For instance, each member can give their verdict into a system that automatically grades and obtains an average, with each attribute given a score to make the process fast and hasten decision making. The key to improving processes is to use IT systems.

Allweyer, T. (2016). BPMN 2.0: Introduction to the Standard for Business Process Modeling. 2nd ed. Nordestedt: GRIN Verlag, pp.11-12.

Laguna, M. and Marklund, J. (2013). Business process modeling, simulation and design. 2nd ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press.

‘Lucidchart’ (2018). BPMN Diagram Symbols & Notation. [online] Lucidchart. Available at: https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/bpmn-symbols-explained [Accessed 23 May 2018].

Chang, J. (2016). Business process management systems. 3rd ed. Boca Raton: Auerbach Publications.