Business process modeling (BPM) in business process management and systems engineering is the activity of representing processes of an enterprise, so that the current process may be analysed, improved, and automated. BPM is typically performed by business analysts, who provide expertise in the modeling discipline; by subject matter experts, who have specialized knowledge of the processes being modelled; or more commonly by a team comprising both. Alternatively, the process model can be derived directly from events' logs using process mining tools.
The business objective is often to increase process speed or reduce cycle time; to increase quality; or to reduce costs, such as labour, materials, scrap, or capital costs. In practice, a management decision to invest in business process modeling is often motivated by the need to document requirements for an information technology project.
Change management programs are typically involved to put any improved business processes into practice. With advances in software design, the vision of BPM models becoming fully executable (and capable of simulations and round-trip engineering) is coming closer to reality.
History Edit
Techniques to model business process such as the flow chart, functional flow block diagram, control flow diagram, Gantt chart, PERT diagram, and IDEF have emerged since the beginning of the 20th century. The Gantt charts were among the first to arrive around 1899, the flow charts in the 1920s, Functional Flow Block Diagram and PERT in the 1950s, Data Flow Diagrams and IDEF in the 1970s. Among the modern methods are Unified Modeling Language and Business Process Model and Notation. Still, these represent just a fraction of the methodologies used over the years to document business processes. The term 'business process modeling' was coined in the 1960s in the field of systems engineering by S. Williams in his 1967 article 'Business Process Modelling Improves Administrative Control'. His idea was that techniques for obtaining a better understanding of physical control systems could be used in a similar way for business processes. It was not until the 1990s that the term became popular.
In the 1990s the term 'process' became a new productivity paradigm. Companies were encouraged to think in processes instead of functions and procedures. Process thinking looks at the chain of events in the company from purchase to supply, from order retrieval to sales, etc. The traditional modeling tools were developed to illustrate time and cost, while modern tools focus on cross-functional activities. These cross-functional activities have increased significantly in number and importance, due to the growth of complexity and dependence. New methodologies include business process redesign, business process innovation, business process management, integrated business planning, among others, all "aiming at improving processes across the traditional functions that comprise a company".
In the field of software engineering, the term 'business process modelling' opposed the common software process modelling, aiming to focus more on the state of the practice during software development. In that time (early 1990s) all existing and new modelling techniques to illustrate business processes were consolidated as 'business process modelling languages'[citation needed]. In the Object Oriented approach, it was considered to be an essential step in the specification of business application systems. Business process modelling became the base of new methodologies, for instance those that supported data collection, data flow analysis, process flow diagrams and reporting facilities. Around 1995, the first visually oriented tools for business process modelling and implementation were being presented.
Topics Edit
Business model Edit
A business model is a framework for creating economic, social, and/or other forms of value. The term 'business model' is thus used for a broad range of info
