A summary of the key lessons and techniques that should underpin any business process modeling activity.

Everything we do in our lives involves processes, from getting up in the morning and dressing, to making breakfast, to driving to work. If I need to begin work at 09h00 but consistently arrive by 09h30, then I need to understand and analyze the processes I follow (including metrics such as time wasted, time to travel, etc.) before I can make improvements that will ensure I arrive at work at the expected time of 09h00.

Process Definitions

There are many modeling techniques to use to understand business processes. Every technique in this White Paper has been described in other books and publications written by Individuals and groups of people who are experts in the field of business analysis and software development (for example, International Institute of Business Analysis®; Object Management Group; Peter Chen (1976); ANSI; Martin and McClure (1985); Jacobson (1992),Karl Wiegers, etc.). The majority of techniques have been around for many, many years (data flow diagrams, entity relationship diagrams, workflow diagrams, etc.) and amazingly still work exceptionally well. Presenting complex requirements simply and clearly is an essential skill for business analysis practitioners and using a variety of diagramming techniques for the same problem helps to expose information that may never be exposed until it is too late.

Another essential skill required by analysts is the ability to communicate expertly to Business and IT professionals. Mastering the different modeling techniques helps analysts to ask the right questions and to communicate the business’ need accurately during review and feedback. The following 10 key lessons are based on techniques I have used during my 30 years personal experience as a BA professional and all are documented to a greater or lesser extent by the above and other authors.

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