Analyses

The key to the success of BPM projects is the correct analysis of the process to meet the needs of its owner and participants. Based on experience with project management in the field of BPM, we have developed our own methods for conducting process analysis, the result of which is the Process Analysis. This is a clear and complete description of the requirements for an IT product created that meets several basic objectives:

• Determining how the product is to be created.
• Providing a basis for estimating the costs and schedules of the project.
• Verifying the project. The analysis document is the basis for the assessment whether the resulting product complies with requirements.

The process analysis is carried out jointly by the Team of customer representatives and our consultants. It is important that in the course of the analytical work access to people (participants) related to the implementation of the analysed process is provided, and what is very important - the process Owner on the customer side is designated. The process Owner for us means a person responsible for defining requirements and decision making related to the final draft of the process. When the draft process uses data or supplies external IT systems, the analysis team should also include a customer IT department representative with knowledge on possible ways of integrating with the designated systems. A detailed composition of the analytical team and responsibilities of each of its members is determined at the initial stage of the project after determining the initial requirements and scope of the analysis.

Our experience shows that the processes which are analysed and consequently described and launched in the form of an electronic model, in the vast majority relate to the currently existing procedures or rules of conduct developed in the customer organisation. Therefore, in the first stage of the project we try to understand the current state of the organization in the selected area by gathering all the existing regulations on the analysed process, and then their review and possible description of differences in the process operation in theory and practice. Analytical work in the form of interviews is conducted as far as possible with all types of the process participants.

Performed works allow our analysts to understand the functioning of the organization, and often the study developed allows the organization to fully describe the rules of conduct, not formalised in any current descriptions or documents.
During this stage of the analysis we need all the existing materials related to carrying out the described process, as well as written requirements for the desired changes in the functioning of the process, if such exist.

The analysis of the current situation include, among others:

• Description and objectives of the process
• Functional assumptions of the process
• Process participants
• Performance measures
• Input data, products and output data of the process

According to the methodology of conducting the analysis, the next stage of the process model development is the construction of a target process map, defining the division of the process into stages and actions specifying information flows.

The analysis includes such elements as:

• Defining actions that mark the beginning of the process
• Dividing the process into Stages and their description
• Mapping information flows and activities

From the point of view of business processes and their participants, each Step of the process is a separate element of the system, providing process participants with the tools and information used to make the right decisions or take required actions.

For this reason, each of the Steps requires a depth analysis consisting of the following elements:

• Name of the Stage, its description and role in the process
• Possible events causing the arising of the case at the Stage
• Defining possible actions related to the Stage
• The analysis of various actions including:
  • What is their purpose
  • When they can be performed (defining the relationship)
  • Who (the Role) can perform an action
  • What information is needed to take action
  • What information is needed during an action
  • Determination of forms associated with an action
  • Form validation rules
  • The case behaviour after taking action
• The analysis of information available at the Stage
• Draft forms relating to the case
• Rules for displaying forms for the Roles of the process participants
• The Role analysis covering:
• Defining Roles of the process participants for a given Stage
• Defining Roles for the Task List
• Defining Roles for the Preview List

General requirements for the behaviour of the process are a set of rules applicable to the handling of any (all) Stages or system components associated with the operation of the process as a complete system.

In this respect, the analysis includes:

• Principles of delegation of powers and substitutions
• Principles of organizational and staff change management in the process
• Identification of IT systems with which the process is to cooperate
• Determination of interfaces
• Specifying principles of information processing
• Rules for determining the roles of participants in the process (static and dynamic)
• Rules for notifying next process participants of the tasks
• Content of notifications
• Rules for verifying the deadlines for the tasks
• Requirements for the management of the process parameters (lists, participants)
• Determination of control forms and reports
• Interactions with other processes
• Document management in the process

The last component of the analysis is the development of the process analysis document which is a collection of information providing a basis for understanding the existing process, its functional requirements and detailed instructions for building the system for programmers and IT professionals responsible for starting the process model in the IT environment. The analysis document is additionally used for works related to the quality control of the resulting product and is a basis for the verification of the product during its acceptance.

Only after acceptance and approval of results of the analysis, developers start the programming, integration and deployment of the electronic process.