Process Modeling
Process Modeling
Business Process
Lifecycle
Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN)
Pool
Lane
A resource sub-class within a pool. Generally used to model departments
(e.g. shipping, finance), internal roles (e.g. Manager, Associate), software
systems (e.g. ERP, CRM)
Lane
Pool
Lane
Lane
Lane
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Order-to-cash process with lanes
Online Order Fulfilment Process
Example: The order fulfillment process is carried out by a seller’s
organization which includes two departments: the sales department and the
warehouse & distribution department. The purchase order received by
warehouse & distribution is checked against the stock. This operation is
carried out automatically by the ERP system of warehouse & distribution,
which queries the warehouse database. If the product is in stock, it is
retrieved from the warehouse before sales confirm the order. Next sales emit
an invoice and wait for the payment, while the product is shipped from
within warehouse & distribution. The process completes with the order
archival in the sales department. If the product is not in stock, the ERP system
within warehouse & distribution checks the raw materials availability by
accessing the suppliers catalog. Once the raw materials have been obtained
the warehouse & distribution department takes care of manufacturing the
product. The process completes with the purchase order being confirmed and
archived by the sales department.
Message Flow
A Message Flow represents a flow of information between two process
parties (Pools)
Message
Pool 2
Pool 2
Receive
Pool 1
Pool 1
Send Receive
Send
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Order-to-cash process with a black-box customer pool
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Practice Exercises
Model the following e-business process for handling downpayments:
The process for handling downpayments starts when a request for
payment has been approved. It involves entering the downpayment
request into the system, the automatic subsequent payment, emission
of the direct invoice and the clearance of the vendor line items. The
clearing of the vendor line items can result in a debit or credit balance.
In case of debit balance, the arrears are processed, otherwise the
remaining balance is paid.
Practice Exercises
Model the control flow of the following e-business process for damage
compensation.
If a tenant is evicted because of damages to the premises, a process needs to be
started by the tribunal in order to hold a hearing to assess the amount of
compensation the tenant owes the owner of the premises. This process starts when a
cashier of the tribunal receives an online request for compensation from the owner.
The cashier then retrieves the file for those particular premises and checks that both
the request is acceptable for filing, and compliant with the description of the premises
on file. Setting a hearing date incurs fees to the owner. It may be that the owner has
already paid the fees with the request, in which case the cashier allocates a hearing
date and the process completes. It may be that additional fees are required, but the
owner has already paid also those fees. In this case the cashier generates a receipt for
the additional fees and proceeds with allocating the hearing date. Finally, if the owner
has not paid the required fees, the cashier produces a fees notice and waits for the
owner to pay the fees before reassessing the document compliance.
Practice Exercises
Model the following e-business process for assessing credit risks:
When a new credit request is received online, the risk is assessed. If the
risk is above a threshold, an advanced risk assessment needs to be
carried out, otherwise a simple risk assessment will suffice. Once the
assessment has been completed, the customer is notified with the result
of the assessment and meantime the disbursement is organized. For
simplicity, assume that the result of an assessment is always positive.
Practice Exercises
Model the following e-business process. Use pools/lanes where
needed.
The motor claim handling process starts when a customer submits a
claim with the relevant documentation online. The notification
department at the car insurer checks the documents upon
completeness and registers the claim. Next, the Handling department
picks up the claim and checks the insurance. Then, an assessment is
performed. If the assessment is positive, a Garage is phoned to
authorize the repairs and the payment is scheduled (in this order).
Otherwise, the claim is rejected. In any case (whether the outcome is
positive or negative), a letter is sent to the customer and the process is
considered to be complete.
Practice Exercises
Model the following business process. Use pools/lanes where needed.
When a claim is received, a claims officer first checks if the claimant is
insured. If not, the claimant is informed that the claim must be rejected by
sending an automatic notification via an SAP system. Otherwise, a senior
claims officer evaluates the severity of the claim. Based on the outcome
(simple or complex claims), the relevant forms are sent to the claimant, again
using the SAP system. Once the forms are returned, they are checked for
completeness by the claims officer. If the forms provide all relevant details,
the claim is registered in the claims management system, and the process
ends. Otherwise, the claimant is informed to update the forms via the SAP
system. Upon reception of the updated forms, they are checked again by the
claims officer to see if the details have been provided, and so on.