Business Process Modeling and Process Management
A business process is a series of tasks that are repeated in order to produce a measurable output. Pay attention to how the business process has been defined in business literature over the years. Take a moment to write a definition of a business process in your own words.
There are many definitions of a process Lehner et al. (2007), and we will discuss a few of these (see Exhibit 14). The selected examples illustrate that each perspective on a process each emphasizes a particular trait or characteristics of a process. As a result of these different views, there is no single definition.
Exhibit 14: Definitions of a process
| Definition |
Repeated
tasks that arise in the performance of an assignment in different sectors of
an enterprise. They are the recurring results of for an individual task with:
|
| A succession of tasks, activities, and performances for the creation of products or services, which are directly connected with one another and in their sum determines the business management, technical production, technical administration, and financial success of the enterprise |
| A manual, partly automated, or fully automatic business activity, which is performed following definite rules and leads to a particular goal. A business process creates, in this way, a valuable result for the client. |
| The content, timing, and natural sequencing of an object necessary to complete a business management function |
Most of the definitions have in common that there is measurable information and measurable results, a definite beginning (this means that it has a starting occurrence or initiation) and an end, as well as a demand for value or a contribution for the creation of value. The main features of a process are depicted in Exhibit 15. Process management supervises all aspects of a process from the initial event until its completion. It goes beyond departmental or functional barriers, and sometimes beyond organizational boundaries, to cover the entire process. Process management is an integrated approach to managing processes.
Exhibit 15: The structure of a process
Exhibit 16: Business process example
The classification of processes is another key aspect of process modeling. One can broadly distinguish between material processes (e.g. procuring, producing, storing and financing) and formal processes (e.g. planning, controlling and decision-making). Exhibit 20 lists a few examples of processes often found in enterprises.
A further distinction is whether a process is a main, service or support, and management and leadership process. Main processes are those that directly create value for an external client. They can be product related (e.g. production, R&D) or client related processes (e.g. order completion, distribution, acquisition). Main processes are sometimes also called core processes, because they are central to the strategic goals of the business. They are the means by which the business creates value. Service processes deliver value to internal clients and support other processes. (e.g. personal recruiting, maintenance, quality, and security). Management and leadership processes act upon main processes. Planning, accounting, and budgeting fit into this category.
Processes can be further subdivided into strong or weak structured processes. Strong structured processes are frequently repeated, structured data, and well documented. They are the day-to-day transactions of an organization. They are well suited to conversion to electronic workflow and document management systems. Weak structured processes are, on the contrary, characterized by low predictability and infrequent repetition and unstructured data. One uses groupware and communication systems to support weak structured processes.