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Business process techniques are useful to improve your business productivity and efficiency. Business process modelling is the process of diagramming and documenting the steps involved in a business process. Business process modelling is the analytical representation of an organization’s business processes. By using Business process modelling we can determine an organization’s current processes to create a baseline for improvements as well as to develop future processes that integrate those improvements.
The Business process techniques are used create a visual representation of a business process. The techniques used clearly tell about the clear understanding of a process. There are different techniques that you can use when creating a business process model. The frequently used techniques are explained below.
- Business Processing Modeling notation( BPMN):
BMPN is a standard business process modeling notation. . It can also be defined as a set of graphical objects and rules defining connections between the objects. With BPMN diagrams, we can create identical models so that all team members can easily understand process flow.
BPMN symbols fall into the following categories.
Flow objects: circles for events, rectangles for activities and diamond for decision making are represented in the diagrams.
Connecting Objects: Arrows are used to connect the objects. Filled arrows are used to represent sequence flow and dashed arrows for message flow. Objects are also connected by the Associations.
Swim lanes: pools (graphic container) and lanes (sub-partition of the pool).
Artifacts: Data objects, groups and annotations
- UML Diagrams:
A UML diagram is a diagram based on the UML (Unified Modeling Language) with the purpose of visually demonstrate a system along with its main actors, roles, actions, artifacts or classes, in order to better understand, alter, maintain, or document information about the system. But business professionals have adapted it as a powerful business process modeling technique. There are various UML diagrams useful to design a flexible and powerful way to visualize any business process. They are useful for modeling the detailed business logic in to process. UML diagrams are important for explaining the design of a system in a way that is well understood to all the stakeholders, business analysts and people having no programming knowledge. They can be used to show the data flow and control between different parts of a system.
3. Flowcharts:
Flow charts are famous business process modeling technique. It can be suitable to provide process flow of both simple and complex business processes. Different symbols are used to represent different activities, decision points and connectors. Due to the simple standard symbols it can be easily understand by many of us. BPMN can be considered as an advanced version of the basic flowchart technique. Flowchart uses a sequential flow of actions and does not support a breakdown of the activities.
- Data flow diagrams:
Data flow diagrams show how the data moves through a process. These diagrams can be used to identify where data enters and leaves the system. Data flow diagrams use symbols to represent different activities, data storage and data flows. A data flow diagram can be seen as a method of establishing the data from its raw state.
- Role Interaction Diagrams:
Role interaction diagrams show the interactions between the roles in a process. Sequence and Collaboration are the two types of interaction diagrams. Sequence diagrams show how the activities are carried out. These diagrams are useful to identify the specific needs of business activities. The collaboration diagrams show different roles interact with each other. These diagrams can be used to visualize the responsibility of each role. And also identify the areas where there is a chance of confusion and misunderstanding.
- Gantt Charts:
Gantt charts are related to a list of activities to a time scale. They are a type of bar charts often used in project management. It represent the activities in the project with a graphical representation. Gantt charts can be used to monitor the current situation, project timeline and resource allocation. Gantt charts are time-focused, so time-sensitive processes can easily be captured and tracked. It’s easy for the people when they are meant to begin work and by when each task should be complete. Managers can use their Gantt charts to check whether all the sub processes are running according to schedule.
- Object oriented methods:
Object oriented methods are one type of business process modelling techniques based on classes and objects. Using this technique we can develop more detailed and complex models. Object oriented methods use inheritance, encapsulation and polymorphism to develop the models.
- EPC:
EPC is one of the modelling techniques based on event driven process chains. Different events, functions and connectors are represented by symbols. EPC diagrams can be used to create autonomous business processes that software can execute.
- Simulation:
When we want to study the complex real world systems Simulation is the best business modelling technique that comes in to picture. If you want to learn much more about the system to make an informed decision the complexity of the system prevents you from doing directly. Therefor you proceed indirectly by creating and studying another entity called the simulation model which is very close to the real world system. Simulation can have many forms like discrete-event simulation, continuous simulation, system dynamics etc.
