BizMod is a comprehensive modeling method for analyzing business processes and structures.
What questions does BizMod answer?
How do I model business processes with BPMN in a understandable way?
Where do I start? How do I proceed?
Which symbols should I use?
What level of detail makes sense?
How do I keep track of my many processes?
How do I structure my model?
How BizMod helps
Our modeling method BizMod assists you in your BPMN business process modeling with
a meaningful selection of BPMN elements,
stylistic recommendations,
clear term definitions,
a model structure,
meaningful additions from UML, for example, to model process maps, business objects, and roles,
and an approach.
BizMod is essentially based on our extensive experience in modeling business processes and also takes into account our expertise in Agile methods, Requirements Engineering, and Software Architecture.
For us, the key question is: Who are the readers of the model, and how can we make it understandable to them?
How to Learn BizMod
Attend our seminar "Modeling Business Processes with BPMN 2.0 in an Understandable Way."
Selection of BPMN Elements
In practice, we have observed that modelers tend to create large and detailed BPMN diagrams that are difficult even for BPMN experts to understand. The challenge in applying BPMN lies in creating purposeful and understandable process descriptions. In BizMod, we recommend consciously describing a process that should not be overly detailed on various abstraction levels. BizMod suggests two abstraction levels: "descriptive" and "analytical," which are explained below.
Descriptive BPMN Modeling
This abstraction level uses only a few simple BPMN elements that are intuitively understandable. It corresponds most closely to the "traditional" description with flowcharts. A modeler represents a process flow at this level very abstractly, usually only the main flow or a few simple branches. This simplification is intended to communicate the general flow (e.g., to unaffected organizational units or as an overview to management). The modeler typically uses the following few BPMN elements at this level:
Analytical BPMN Modeling
This abstraction level illustrates the detailed business flow of a process with variations and exceptions. This refinement allows for a more in-depth analysis of the process, such as deriving requirements for IT or serving as a basis for simulating business processes. At this level, the modeler employs advanced BPMN concepts, such as flow patterns for decisions and mergers, detailed event definitions in sequence flows and on the edge of activities, or error and exception handling. At this level, BizMod suggests the use of the following BPMN elements (in addition to the elements of the descriptive level).
Definitions of terms
BizMod defines a formal conceptual model on which business process modeling with BizMod is based. The following figure shows the relationships between the terms as a UML class diagram.
Active business partner
Business partner who actively approaches the business system with a requirement (e.g. customer).
End-to-end process
Business process that accepts a customer requirement and provides a service to cover the original requirement. The customer can be external or internal.
Business object
The objects relevant to the processes. They have properties, relationships and statuses that are important for one or more processes and can be changed in them.
Business partner
Business partners are external to business systems and interact with them. Business partners represent roles (i.e. customer, travel agency, etc.) and not specific persons (Gabi Goldfisch, Elch-Reise-GmbH).
Business process
A business process is a structured business procedure that is triggered by a business event and ends with a result that represents a business value.
Business system
Considered modelling focus for which the business processes are analyzed, e.g. company, organization, department.
IT system
A system that supports business process activities.
Customer
Someone who triggers an end-to-end process with a requirement and expects the requirement to be fulfilled as a result. There are external customers (active business partners) and internal customers (employees).
Employee role
Employee roles are roles that employees can take on in an organization. They can be involved in processes, e.g. for the execution of activities. Employee roles can be assigned to organizational units.
Parent process
The process directly above a sub-process in a process hierarchy.
Sub-process
A process that lies directly below a process under consideration in a process hierarchy.
Organizational unit
An organizational unit is an element of the organizational structure of a business system. It can contain sub-organizational units and employee roles can be assigned to it. Organizational units can be involved in processes, e.g. for the execution of activities.
Passive business partner
Business partner who receives orders from the business system (e.g. printer, supplier).
Process group
A group of business processes that belong together thematically but cannot be brought into an overarching process flow (e.g. marketing, personnel management).
Model structure
BizMod proposes a model structure that is based on the BizMod conceptual model. An exemplary excerpt is shown in the following figure.
Business objects package
Description of the business objects relevant to the business processes under consideration, including attributes, statuses and their interrelationships.
Business partner package
Description of the business context and the business partners it contains.
Business processes package
Description of the business processes of the business system. Contains process maps as an overview of all business processes. A process profile and BPMN diagrams can be stored for each business process.
IT systems package
Contains all IT systems that are included in the business process descriptions.
Organization package
Definition of all employee roles and organizational units contained in the business process descriptions.
Notation elements
Beispielprojekt
Am Beispiel des Carsharing Unternehmens Speedy Car werden alle BizMod Elemente eingesetzt.
Procedure
BizMod suggests the following procedure for creating the business process model:
Clarify the mission
Delimit the business system
Identify processes
Select processes
For each of these processes:
Describe business objects
Plugins for BPMN-Tools
Cameo Business Modeler bzw. Magic Draw mit Cameo Business Modeler Plugin von NoMagic Inc. BizMod 1.0.4-plugin
Paper on BizMod
BizMod: Geschäftsprozesse verständlich modellieren mit BPMN und UML
