INN320 Flashcards
Define business process
- a collection of inter-related events, activities and decision points that
- involve a number of actors and objects
- collectively lead to an outcome
- that is of value to at least one customer.
Define BPM
- a body of methods, techniques and tools
- to discover, analyze, redesign, execute and monitor
business processes
Define Actors (or Resources)
- the entities performing process activities and generating events
- human and systems
Define Business Objects (or Data)
- The organizational artifacts that undergo state changes
- Physical or electronic information
Define Activities
- Active elements (e.g. ‘enter sales order’)
- Functions, Transformations, Transactions
- Time-consuming, resource-demanding
- State-changing
Define a State
- Passive element (e.g. ‘sales order has been entered’)
- Represent conditions / circumstances
What is the difference between and event and a state
- Event = something has happened
- State = complete set of properties
What is a model?
- Abstractions from real world phenomena, developed for the purpose of reducing overall complexity.
- Aggregate information and document only relevant aspects of the real world.
- Developed in a specific modelling subject for a specific target audience with a specific modelling purpose in mind.
Elements of Modelling
- Language
- Methodology
- Tool
What is a Modelling Language?
Means of presenting a model.
- Syntax
- Symantics
- Notation
What is a Modelling Methodology
- Modelling Conventionss
- Model Lifecycle
- Process of Modelling
What is Syntax
- Constructs and set of rules to combine these constructs.
- Aim is correctness.
What is Semantics
- Meaning of signs
- Relations between different elements
- Requires context
What is notation
- Defines a set of symbols for the visualisation of the constrcts and their relationships.
- Can include graphical and textual symbols.
In notation, what is redundancy?
- Alternative symbols which refer to the same element.
- Similar to synonyms.
In notation, what is overload
Where the same symbol refers to different construct.
In Modelling Methodology, what is a convention?
- Set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted norms or criteria.
- Restrict syntax
- Specify symantics and notation
- May be:
- general or individual
- Mandated or recommended
Purposes of Modelling Conventions
- Stanadardisation
- Model integration and maintenance
- Consistency and integrity
- Communicatin
- Reusability
- Reduce complexity/ variety of models
- Readability
- Quality Assurance
- Reduce dependence from modellers
- Incease comparability
- Accelerate modelling process
Describe the business process lifecycle
What are the two main purposes of process modelling?
- Organisational design
- Application system design
What are the characteristics of business oriented (orgaizational) process model?
- made by domain experts
- provide a basis for communication amongst stakeholders
- must be understandable
- must be intuitive
- may leave room for interpretation
- contain only the relevent set of process information
What are the characteristics of an IT oriented (application system design) process model?
- made by IT experts
- proide intput to a process automation system (BPMS)
- must be machine readable
- must be unambiguous
- contain further details relevant to implementation
Who are the stakeholders in process modelling?
- Model designer
- Process participant (or model contributor)
- Process owner
- Model customer
- Further stakeholders
Characteristics of a model designer
- expert in process modelling
- eg business process analyst, enterprise arcitect.*
