ESSENTIAL PROCESS MODELLING

AND
STRUCTURED REPETITION
Session 3
Week 2
 • Process Modelling Viewpoints
Topics for • Organizational Elements in BPMN
the Week • BPMN Information Artifacts
• BPMN Poster
• BPMN sub-processes
• Repetition markers: loop marker and parallel
multi-instance marker
• Recap

2
Purposes of Process Modeling
• Communication
• Documentation Process
• Analysis (e.g. simulation) identification
Conceptual
Process
Process architecture
architecture

Conformance
Conformance and
and Process As-is
As-is process
process
performance
performance insights
insights discovery model
model

Process
Process
Executable monitoring and
analysis
controlling

Executable
Executable Insights
Insights on
on
process
process weaknesses
weaknesses and
and
model
model their
their impact
impact

Process Process
• Automation implementation To-be
To-be process
process redesign
model
model
• Testing
3 3
Conceptual
Process Modelling Viewpoints
Organization
Who?
Lanes &
Pools
What?
Tasks When?
Events
Flows
Gateways

Which?
Data Objects,
Data / Materials Stores
4
Organizational Elements in BPMN – Pools & Lanes
Pool
Captures a resource class. Generally used to model a business party
(e.g. a whole company)

Pool

Lane
A resource sub-class within a pool. Generally used to model
departments (e.g. shipping, finance), internal roles (e.g. Manager,
Associate), software systems (e.g. ERP, CRM)

Lane
Pool

Lane
Lane
Lane
5 5
Order-to-cash Process with Lanes

6
Message Flow
A Message Flow represents a flow of information between two
process parties (Pools)
Message

A Message Flow can connect:

• directly to the boundary of a Pool ➔ captures an informative message
to/from that party
• to a specific activity or event within that Pool ➔ captures a message that
triggers a specific activity/event within that party

Pool 2

Pool 2
Receive
Pool 1

Pool 1
Send Receive
Send

7
7
Order-to-cash process with a black-box
customer pool

8 8
Pools, Lanes and Flows: Syntactic Rules
1. A Sequence Flow cannot cross the boundaries of a Pool
(message flows can)
2. Both Sequence Flow and Message Flow can cross the
boundaries of Lanes
3. A Message Flow cannot connect two flow elements within the
same pool

9
One more guideline…
• Start modeling with one single “white-box” pool
• Initially, put the events and tasks in only one pool – the pool of the party who is running the
process
• Leave all other pools “black-boxed”
• Once you have modeled this way, and once the process diagram inside the white-box pool is
complete, you can model the details (events and tasks) in the other pools if that is useful.
• In this course we will only model processes with one single white-box pool – all other pools
are black-box

10
Process Modelling Viewpoints

Which?
Data Objects,
Data / Materials Stores
11
Order-to-cash Process, Again
Send
invoice

Confirm Archive
Items in order order
stock Order
fulfilled
Check stock
Ship goods
availability
Purchase
order Items not in
received stock
Reject order
Order
rejected

The purchase order document serves as an input to the stock

availability check. Based on the outcome of this check, the status
of the document is updated, either to “approved” or “rejected”. If
the order is approved, an invoice and a shipment notice are
produced.

12 12
 Model with Information Artifacts

Purchase Invoice
Order
Purchase
Purchase Purchase Send Order
Order Order invoice
[checked]

Confirm Archive
Items in order order
stock Order
fulfilled
Check stock
Ship goods
availability
Purchase
order Items not in
received stock
Reject order
Order Orders DB
rejected Purchase Shipment
Order notice
Warehouse DB

Purchase Purchase
Order Order
[rejected] [approved]

13 13
BPMN Information Artifacts
A Data Object captures an artifact required
Purchase
order
Invoice (input) or produced (output) by an activity.
• Can be physical or electronic
Emit
invoice

A Data Store is a place containing data objects

Oracle CRM Client info
that must be persisted beyond the duration of
a process instance.
Retrieve client It is used by an activity to store (as output) or
information
retrieve (as input) data objects.

14 14
Quick Note: BPMN Text Annotations
A Text Annotation is a mechanism to provide additional text
information to the model reader
• Doesn’t affect the flow of tokens through the process

Includes packaging For blocked invoices

Clear vendor
Ship goods
line items

15 15
BPMN Poster (link in “Readings” page)

16 16
In-Class Activity
• Within groups download the Business Process Model and Notation poster and review
it for your own learning. See link below:
• http://www.bpmb.de/images/BPMN2_0_Poster_EN.pdf

17
BPMN Main Elements - Recap

Flow Objects Connections

Activity
Message Association
Gateway

Event
Flow

Pools & lanes Artifacts

Pool

Data Data
Object Store
Lane

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BPMN Gateways

Exclusive (XOR) Parallel (AND) Inclusive (OR)

• Exclusive decision • Parallel split • Inclusive decision

take one branch take all branches take one or
• Exclusive merge • Parallel join several branches
Proceed when one proceed when all depending on
branch has incoming conditions
completed branches have • Inclusive merge
completed proceed when all
active incoming
branches have
completed

19
Anything wrong with this model?

20
Identifying sub-processes

Acquire raw materials

Ship and invoice 21

Using the Expanded Sub-Process Notation

22
Sub-processes

• An activity in a process can invoke a separate sub-process

• Use this feature to:
1. Decompose large models into smaller ones, making them easier to
understand and maintain

23
Non-BPMN value chain “Chevron” notation
(e.g. Signavio, ARIS)

Collapsed
process model

24
Value chain with sub-processes

Consider re-
submission

Purchase Request process

rejected

Check purchase
request for 1st
approval

approved rejected
Purchase Request

Check purchase
request for 2nd
approval

approved

Send approved
request to requestor

Purchase Order process

Make copy of Forward to purchase

purchase request department

Approved Purchase Request

25
Shared sub-process

26
Sub-processes

• An activity in a process can invoke a separate sub-process

• Use this feature to:

1. Decompose large models into smaller ones, making them easier to understand and
maintain
2. Share common fragments across multiple processes
3. Delimit parts of a process that can be:
• Repeated
• Interrupted

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STRUCTURED REPETITION
Block-structured repetition: Activity loop

Activity loop markers allow us to state that a task or a sub-process

may be repeated multiple times

Task Sub-process
Loop Loop

29
More on rework and repetition

XOR-join: entry point XOR-split: exit point

Structured
cycle (SESE
component)

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Example: block-structured repetition
Completion
condition

Until Response is approved

Finalise
Assign Investigate
Ministerial
Ministerial Ministerial
Response
Enquiry Enquiry
Ministerial Ministerial
Enquiry Enquiry
received finilized

Prepare Review
Ministerial Ministerial
Response Response
Enquiry Response
investigated reviewed

Must have a
decision activity
31
Exercise

After a claim is registered, it is examined by a claims officer.

The claims officer writes a “settlement recommendation”.

This recommendation is checked by a senior claims officer who may mark the
claim as “OK” or “Not OK”.

If the claim is marked as “Not OK”, it is sent back to the claims officer and the
examination is repeated.

If the claim is marked as “OK”, the claims officer notifies the settlement to the
customer.

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Parallel repetition: multi-instance activity

The multi-instance activity provides a mechanism to indicate that

an activity is executed multiple times concurrently

Multi-Instance Multi-Instance
Task Sub-process

Useful when the same activity needs to be executed for multiple

entities or data items, such as:
• Request quotes from multiple suppliers
• Check the availability for each line item in an order separately
• Send and gather questionnaires from multiple witnesses in the context of an
insurance claim

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Example: multi-instance activity

Procurement
In procurement, typically a quote is to be obtained from all preferred suppliers
(assumption: five preferred suppliers exist).

After all quotes are received, they are evaluated and the best quote is selected. A
corresponding purchase order is then placed.

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Solution: without multi-instance activity

Procurement
Obtain Quote
from Supplier A

Obtain Quote
from Supplier B

Obtain Quote Select best ...

... Place PO
from Supplier C quote

Obtain Quote
from Supplier D

Obtain Quote
from Supplier E
35
Solution: with multi-instance activity

Procurement

cardinality
For each supplier

... Select best ...

Obtain Quote Place PO
quote

36
Exercise

Motor insurance claim lodgement

After a car accident, a statement is sought from the witnesses that were
present, in order to lodge the insurance claim.

As soon as the first two statements are received, the claim can be lodged
to the insurance company without waiting for the other statements.

37
Assessment 2 (Part A): 1000-words Literature Review
• This is an individual assessment.

• Due in Session 4 of Week 2 (Friday at 5:00 pm)

• Students should undertake a literature review on the role of information

systems (IS) in Business Process Management.

• Weight of the assessment is 20 percent.

• Students must submit their own work.

• Any materials taken from other sources must be cited accordingly.

38
Recap

Business Process
Purposes of Process
Model and Notation BPM Model Common Mistakes
Modeling
(BPMN)

Guidelines: Naming Rework and Process Modelling Organizational

Conventions Repetition Viewpoints Elements in BPMN

Repetition markers:
BPMN Information loop marker and
BPMN Poster BPMN sub-processes
Artifacts parallel multi-
instance marker

Recap
39
END OF CHAPTER