Business Process Modelling and BPMN

Flashcards based on Business Process Modelling and BPMN lecture notes.

BPMN

A standardized graphical language for modeling business processes (OMG standard, currently BPMN 2.0).

Activities

Work performed (e.g., "Check stock availability").

Events

Triggers or outcomes (e.g., "Purchase order received").

Gateways

Decision points (e.g., XOR, AND, OR).

Sequence Flows

Order of execution in a business process model.

Naming Convention for Events

Noun + past-participle verb (e.g., "Order rejected").

Naming Convention for Activities

Imperative verb + noun (e.g., "Ship goods").

XOR Gateway (Split)

Chooses one outgoing path based on conditions.

XOR Gateway (Join)

Merges alternative paths (proceeds when one incoming branch completes).

AND Gateway (Split)

All outgoing paths are taken (parallel execution).

AND Gateway (Join)

Synchronizes parallel paths (proceeds when all incoming branches complete).

OR Gateway (Split)

Activates one or more paths based on conditions.

OR Gateway (Join)

Proceeds when all active incoming branches complete.

Structural Correctness in BPMN

All nodes must be on a path from start to end events; no dangling arcs or disconnected nodes; gateways must follow split/join rules.

Behavioral Correctness in BPMN

No deadlocks or livelocks; tokens must reach end events without leftovers; every activity must be executable.

Semantic Correctness in BPMN

The model must accurately reflect the real-world process.

Common Pitfall: Behavioral Issues

Deadlocks (e.g., parallel paths not synchronized)

Common Pitfall: Syntax Errors

Syntax Errors: Missing start/end events, incorrect gateway usage.

Semantic Issues

Misaligned logic (e.g., "Ship goods" before "Receive payment").

Artefacts (Data Objects)

inputs or outputs of activities (e.g., "Purchase order" document).

Data Stores

Persistent storage (e.g., "Orders Database").

Active Resources

People or systems (e.g., Sales department, ERP system). Represented by Pools and Lanes.

Passive Resources

Equipment or rooms used in a business process.

Pools in BPMN

Represent entire organizations (e.g., "Seller").

Lanes in BPMN

Sub-divisions within pools, representing departments (e.g., "Warehouse & Distribution" department).

Message Flows

Communication between pools (e.g., "Order confirmation" sent to Customer). Sequence flows cannot cross pool boundaries.

Process (Orchestration) Diagram

Focuses on one party (public or private view) of a process.

Collaboration Diagram

Shows interactions between multiple parties (e.g., Seller, Customer, Auction Service).

Process Decomposition

Breaking down complex processes into sub-processes for clarity and manageability.

Global Sub-processes

Stored separately and invoked via "call" activities to maximize reusability.

Activity Loop

Repeats a task or sub-process until a condition is met.

Multi-instance Sub-processes

Executes an activity multiple times concurrently.

Ad-hoc Sub-processes

Activities executed in arbitrary order and number of times.

Value Chains

Chain of high-level processes delivering value to customers.

Message Events

Triggers a process (e.g., "Invoice received").

Temporal Events

Process starts at a specified time (e.g., Process starts every Friday at 6 PM).

Signal Events

Broadcasts for synchronization (e.g., "Order canceled" signal).

Error Events

Handles internal exceptions (e.g., "Policy invalid").

Termination Events

Forces process termination (e.g., "Order canceled").

Compensation Events

Rolls back completed activities (e.g., "Reimburse payment").

External Exceptions

Triggered by external events (e.g., "PO change request").

Internal Exceptions

Triggered by activity failures (e.g., "Items not available").

Timeouts

Interrupts overdue activities (e.g., "Quote not received within 48 hours").

Non-interrupting Events

Triggers a side branch without interrupting the main flow (e.g., "Address change request" handled while order processing continues).

Case Types

Classify processes by properties like product type, service type, channel, or customer type.

Functions

Identify business functions performed on each case type (e.g., risk management, mortgage brokering).

Enumerate Processes

Identify core, support, and management processes within an organization.

Determine Scope

Define horizontal (upstream/downstream) and vertical (hierarchy) boundaries of a process.

Level 1 Process Architecture Hierarchy

Value chains (e.g., "Procure-to-pay")

Level 2 Process Architecture Hierarchy

Main processes (e.g., "Purchase order handling")

Level 3+ Process Architecture Hierarchy

Sub-processes and tasks.

SCOR Model

For supply chain processes (Plan, Source, Make, Deliver, Return).

APQC PCF

Industry-neutral framework for benchmarking.

Vertical Split of Processes

DiTerent flow objects, multiplicity changes, transactional state changes, or time separation.

Horizontal Split of Processes

Logical separation in space or other dimensions, or if reference models suggest it.

Process Discovery

Gathering information to create an "as-is" process model.

Document Analysis

Review policies, forms, and manuals to understand current processes.

Observation

Watch process execution (active or passive) to understand real process flow.

Automated Process Discovery

Use event logs to generate process models automatically.

Interviews

Structured or unstructured discussions with stakeholders to gather process information.

Workshops

Collaborative sessions with stakeholders to model a process.

Brainstorming

Generate and refine ideas for new processes.

Storyboarding

Visualize steps in a process using sketches or diagrams.

Use Cases

Define interactions between actors and the system or process.

Role Playing

Simulate process scenarios by acting them out.

Prototyping

Build a partial implementation of a process to test and refine it.

Syntactic Quality

Correctness of model structure, ensuring activities have proper incoming and outgoing flows.

Semantic Quality

Accuracy of the model vs. real-world process, validated by domain experts.

Pragmatic Quality

Usability of the model, ensuring understandability, learning, and maintainability.

7 Process Modelling Guidelines (7PMG)

Minimize elements, reduce routing paths, use one start/end event, model structured processes, avoid OR gateways, label activities as "verb-object", and decompose models with >30 elements.

Process Mining

Uses event logs to discover, monitor, and improve processes.

Extract Event Logs

Collect data (e.g., timestamps, case IDs, activities) from IT systems.

Discover Processes

Use algorithms (e.g., Alpha, Heuristic Miner) to create process models from event logs.

Conformance Checking

Compare event logs to a normative model to identify deviations.

Performance Analysis

Measure bottlenecks and inefficiencies in a process.

Internal-Catalyst Stakeholders

Executives driving change within an organization.

Internal-Facilitator Stakeholders

BPM team implementing changes within an organization.

Internal-Impacted Stakeholders

Employees affected by changes within an organization.

External-Impacted Stakeholders

Customers or suppliers affected by process changes.

Process Selection Criteria

Strategic impact, performance issues, and ease of improvement are all examples of this.

Fitness (Process Mining Metric)

How well the event log matches the process model.

Precision (Process Mining Metric)

Model specificity to the event log.

Generalization (Process Mining Metric)

Model applicability to new cases.