Notes on Class Announcements, Structures, and BPMN Discussion

Setting and Announcements

• Discussion about class format possibilities, considering online classes due to nice weather.
• Importance of student feedback acknowledged, particularly regarding quizzes and grading.

Quiz Structure and Boosting Grades

• Current grading: 30% based on quizzes and Cengage assignments.
• New plan: introduction of extra credit quizzes that tie directly to final exam preparations.
  • Announced three extra credit quizzes, each worth a regular quiz grade, leading to about 15 quizzes total by semester's end.
  • Due dates for extra credit quizzes: all due before the last class on April 30.
• Importance of utilizing these extra credit opportunities to raise quiz grades.

Student Progress Tracking

• Grades in Cengage will be shared with students to provide insight on their performance if the semester ended today.
• Encouragement to analyze personal data within the Cengage system effectively, emphasizing the practical application of data analysis.
• Exploration of the spreadsheet data will allow students to compare their performance and engage with functionality in tools like Cengage.

Business Process Model Notation (BPMN) Introduction

• Shift to introducing systems modeling and BPMN as tools for visualizing and analyzing business processes.
• Recommended use of professional visualization tools such as Microsoft Visio and alternatives like Lucidchart.
• Discussion on how to represent business processes to inform operational efficiency and improvements.

Levels of Decision-Making in Organizations

1. Strategic: Long-term, coarse, high-level decision-making (e.g. CEO decisions).
2. Managerial (Mid-Level): Short to medium-term decisions, often operational in nature (policy management, resource allocation).
3. Operational: Day-to-day decision-making, routine tasks, systems management (typically supervisory roles).

• Emphasis on understanding the relationship between different managerial levels and decision support tools.

Systems Modeling and Its Importance

• Systems modeling involves using simplified models to conceptualize and improve processes in organizations.
• Critical to keep models comprehensible without overwhelming details; aiming to present clear paths of operations.
• Need for the simplification and communication of processes across different organizational roles to enhance understanding and efficiency (e.g., using Venn diagrams or flowcharts).

Practical Application: Visualization Example

• Example discussed: Using BPMN to streamline processes in a pizza ordering system, emphasizing how modeling current operations leads to potential improvements.
• Setting expectations for students to leverage learned skills in creating a BPMN for specific scenarios to demonstrate understanding and application of the concepts.

Assignments and Activities

• Students will complete BPMN assignments based on case studies and read relevant materials to reinforce learning.
• Specific engagement with conditions for submitting assignments and preparing for final exams noted, tying in with effective study habits to maximize learning outcomes.