Business Process Modeling

Definition

Business Process Modeling

the architecting task during which process models of the customer organization’s business enterprise are produced

Classification

As illustrated in the preceding figure, architectural mechanism production is part of the following inheritance hierarchy:

• Type: Concrete
• Superclass: Task
• Subclasses: None

Responsibilities

The typical responsibilities of the business process modeling task are to:

• Produce a process model of the customer organization’s current business.
• Produce a process model of the customer organization’s re-engineered business.

Preconditions

Business process modeling can typically begin when the following preconditions hold:

• The business strategy phase has begun.
• The business strategy team has been adequately:
  • Staffed.
  • Trained in process modeling.
• The business object modeling task has begun.

Completion Criteria

Business process modeling is typically complete when the following postconditions hold:

• The process model of the customer organization’s current business enterprise has passed evaluation, been baselined, and accepted by the customer organization.
• The process model of the customer organization’s [re]engineered business enterprise has passed evaluation, been baselined, and accepted by the customer organization.

Steps

Business process modeling typically involves the following teams performing the following steps in an interative, incremental, parallel, and time-boxed manner:

• Business Strategy Team:
  • Identify the major business processes.
  • Identify the major associated types or classes of business objects.
  • Identify the significant interactions of these types or classes that implement these processes.
  • Capture these interactions on activity or interaction diagrams.
  • Verify these diagrams against the class and state transition diagrams.

Techniques

Business process modeling can typically be performed using the following techniques:

• Process modeling and associated diagrams and guidelines
• Joint Application Development (JAD) sessions
• Whiteboards

Work Products

Business process modeling typically results in the production of all or part of the following work products:

• Activity or interaction (i.e., collaboration or sequence) diagrams
• Business process model of the customer organization’s:
  • Current business enterprise
  • Re-engineered business enterprise

Guidelines

• This task is useful for both business [re]engineering and application development endeavors.
• The business object modeling and business process modeling tasks are typically done concurrently whereby the:
  • Business object modeling task drives the business process modeling task.
  • Business process modeling task leads to significant iteration of the business object modeling task.