Tools for building business processes. Business process modeling tools. QPR Tools. Stages of describing business processes

The article is devoted to tasks and projects in the field of business modeling, business engineering and organizational and corporate development. It systematizes information that should help to better understand the meaning and characteristics of business modeling in organizations, and also shows the role of business modeling to obtain additional competitive advantages. Various examples, links to techniques and practical solutions are provided.
Business modeling is the process of developing and implementing various business models of an organization (strategy, business processes, organizational structure, quality, etc.) with the aim of formalizing and optimizing its activities. The definition of what a business model is immediately suggests itself.
A business model is a formalized description (for example, graphical) of a certain aspect or area of ​​activity of an organization.

There are four main ways to develop business models. We list them in descending order of the level of efficiency of constructing and using business models:

• in the notation (rules) of a specialized business modeling software product: a combination of graphics, tables and text.
• graphic: tree, block diagram, routing and so on.
• tabular.
• text.

Many organizations are engaged in business modeling, but each is at different stages of development in this area. Someone has already developed and is actively using a comprehensive business model (a set of models, documents and systems that describe all the activities of the organization). Some people only have graphical models and regulations for several business processes.
The main types of business models that are developed in organizations:

• tree (hierarchical list) of business processes (Fig. 1);
• graphic models of business processes;
• organizational structure model (Fig. 2);
• models of goals and indicators (strategic maps BSC / KPI);
• document library models (document tree), models information systems(system architecture) (Fig. 3);
• models of products and services (Fig. 4);
• quality management models and much more.

All these models make it possible to develop professional business modeling software products (BPBM).
For more than 10 years, the author has been using most of the PPBM solutions known on the market in projects and his own developments: Business Studio, ARIS, AllFusion Process Modeler (BPWIN), Business Engineer, Microsoft Visio. Each of them has its own functional features, limitations and advantages. You can learn more about the methodology for comparing software products developed by the author in the book Isaev R.A. Banking management and business engineering, Chapter 8. In the Business Studio software product, the author is developing a “Complex standard business model of a commercial bank,” which is of interest to financial organizations.

Rice. 1. Bank business process tree (top level)

Rice. 2. Model of the bank’s organizational structure (top level)

Rice. 3. Bank document library model (fragment)

Rice. 4. Model of bank products and services (top level)

A “gentleman’s set” of knowledge and tools for a business analyst

Let us list a set of basic knowledge and tools that, in the author’s opinion, a modern business analyst and business modeling specialist should possess. This list can also be useful for young professionals to analyze their strengths and opportunities for development.

1. Business modeling software products: Business Studio, ARIS, AllFusion Process Modeler (BPWIN), Business Engineer, Microsoft Visio.

2. Business modeling notations and business process descriptions: IDEF0, IDEF3, Data Flow Diagram (DFD), extended Event Driven Process Chain (eEPC), Value Added chain Diagram (VAD), Cross Functional Flow t, etc.
Each business modeling software product has its own set of notations, and they are described in detail in the User Guide for the software product.

3. Business engineering/management techniques and methods:

• Development and implementation of a balanced scorecard system BSC / KPI;
• Description of business processes;
• Analysis, optimization, improvement of the quality of business processes;
• Management of business processes on a long-term basis;
• Functional cost analysis (FCA) and simulation modeling;
• Description and optimization of the organizational structure, number of personnel;
• Construction of personnel motivation systems;
• Construction and organization of the functioning of a quality management system (ISO 9000);
• Project management (including PMBOK - Project management body of knowledge);
• Building a comprehensive business model for the organization;
• Benchmarking;
• Lean, 6 Sigma;
• TQM (total quality management);
• Various industry methodologies and standards, developments of consulting companies.

4. Standard solutions, examples, developments and materials. In order not to develop most of the materials from scratch and not make mistakes that other specialists have already made, you need a set of standard solutions, models, documents, etc. For example, the electronic database (directory) “Comprehensive standard business model of a commercial bank.”

Thus, the following diagram can be formed (Fig. 5): Methodology + Standard solutions + Software product = Result.

Rice. 5. A “gentleman’s” set of knowledge and tools for a business analyst

Here Techniques and methods show how to complete projects and tasks.

Standard solutions and materials demonstrate what the output should be (result).

By using PPBM The execution of all tasks and projects is automated. This reduces time several times and increases work efficiency. For example, the Business Studio system allows, at the click of one button, to automatically generate regulatory documentation based on developed business process models, providing significant savings in financial and labor resources.

Business modeling: features of practical application

The main feature of business modeling is that it should be based on business processes. It is the business process management system (BPS) that is the foundation on which a large number of other management systems and technologies are built.

Many organizations have actively implemented and continue to implement various approaches, methods and technologies for management, improvement and optimization. Practice shows that in some cases these methods are successful at the initial stage of implementation, but then gradually lose their effectiveness and are forgotten. The failure of attempts to improve the performance of an organization using these approaches/techniques is often due to unsystematic and fragmented actions that do not involve in-depth analysis and fundamental changes in the organization's performance.

The main way to overcome this problem is to introduce a process approach to management in an organization (that is, building a business process management system) as the basis for the implementation of other techniques, management / improvement and optimization technologies.

Complex business modeling techniques that cannot be reduced to simple and understandable actions usually do not work in organizations. After all, ultimately, the implementation of these methods and the results of their application fall on the personnel and line managers of the organization, who do not always have specialized competencies in the field of modern management techniques and business engineering, and sometimes meet them with hostility.

In order for the methodology (technology) implemented in the organization and the project as a whole to be successful and bring the planned results, it is desirable that they:

• were inexpensive, this is especially true for medium and small organizations that cannot afford to implement expensive solutions;
• were simple and understandable to ordinary employees of the organization;
• were practically targeted, to have fairly “quick” and at the same time long-term results;
• took into account the specifics of management of Russian companies;
• contained examples and standard solutions.

It is also appropriate here to cite 8 main principles of quality management, which apply to all business modeling tasks and help ensure their implementation:

• customer orientation;
• executive leadership;
• employee involvement;
• process approach;
• systematic approach to management;
• continuous improvement;
• fact-based decision making;
• mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers.

Indeed, failure to comply with even one or two principles can have a negative impact on the development of the organization.

The Importance of Business Modeling

When starting to develop business models, organizations allocate certain human and material resources to implement the project. Moreover, the improvements resulting from the work done must exceed these costs. How does a business model ultimately help the organization function? We can highlight several of the most noticeable and widely known positive effects that manifest themselves with a competent and systematic description of business processes:

• increasing transparency, manageability and controllability of the organization’s activities at all levels.
• reducing execution time and costs, improving the quality and efficiency of business processes.
• the ability to replicate business organizations (create additional client branches, offices, representative offices).
• integrated and sustainable development of the organization, systematic approach to decision making.
• reducing dependence on personnel, proper selection of employees, increasing the efficiency of personnel and managers.
• increasing customer loyalty and satisfaction and, as a result, the organization’s reputation.
• financial results.

However, there are other aspects that are not so well known to a wide range of managers and business owners.

Business modeling and related technologies/solutions have a significant impact on the organization’s ratings, which are assigned by rating agencies, including international ones (Fitch, Moody's, S&P, etc.).

As a result of an analysis of the ratings assignment methods of various international and Russian agencies (including the Methodology for Assigning Ratings to Banks, FitchRatings), as well as based on the results of interviews with agency representatives, the author was able to find out that many agencies, when calculating the ratings of organizations, take into account a group of factors under the code name “Corporate Governance” / management” (non-financial assessments). This parameter includes the following factors:

• an adequate and detailed strategy of the organization;
• a developed risk management system (including an operational risk management system);
• level of regulation (formalization) of business processes;
• quality of business processes (history KPI indicators);
• level of automation of business processes, state of information systems and technologies (IT);
• organizational structure (formalization, efficiency, transparency, distribution of responsibilities and powers);
• the evolution and functioning of various management systems in the organization (quality management system, work system and customer relationships, personnel management system, etc.).

Detailed terms and ratings vary by agency. The rating assignment algorithm is quite simple and understandable. Auditors rating agency study and evaluate the organization’s activities in accordance with the rules and criteria laid down in the rating methodology. The input information is:

• regulatory and reporting documents of the organization;
• observation of the organization's activities and interviews.

Therefore, it is important not only to develop a large number of correct and up-to-date documents, but also to communicate them to employees, to ensure the effective execution of business processes and the functioning of management systems in practice.

Scores for all criteria are summed up according to certain rules, and the organization’s rating is determined based on the total score. Each group of criteria can have a different weight, so a large sum of points for a group of criteria with a small weight will not have a very large contribution to the final grade.

The symbols of assigned ratings (rating scale) may vary depending on the rating agency and the type of rating itself (credit rating, reliability rating, management quality rating, financial stability rating, etc.). For example: the highest level of reliability, satisfactory level of reliability, low level of reliability, etc.

• participation in tenders and accreditations;
• improving the image (authority) of the organization in the market, among partners and contractors;
• improving the image (authority) of the organization among government authorities;
• the expansion of the customer base;
• attracting investors.
• as a consequence of all the above points - improvement in financial performance.

Thus, for public companies interested in improving international or national ratings, when assessing the effectiveness of a project to build an integrated business model, it is advisable to take into account additional opportunities to improve rating positions. Let us note that adequate elaboration of all the factors listed above that influence the rating of an organization certainly requires the use of professional business modeling software products (BPBM). Additional opportunities in this direction are provided by the use of standard successful industry solutions. A current example is the “Complex standard business model of a commercial bank”, developed in the Business Studio software product. To summarize best practics process management in credit institutions, this model serves as a model on the basis of which financial sector companies can improve corporate governance in all of the above parameters.

Practice of business modeling in financial and credit organizations

The decision to create a business model for an organization can be made differently depending on the management characteristics of certain companies. Sometimes this is the sole decision of a top manager; it is also possible that the company’s owners realize the need for business modeling. In the practice of working with banking organizations, the author had to deal with such examples.

“All bank activities at the press of one button on the computer”

The chairman of the board of bank “A” at one of the meetings ordered: “It is necessary that all the activities of the bank be formalized, so that by pressing a button on the computer, I can see the work of any employee and any business process of the bank: its goals, indicators, processes, technologies , results, etc.”

To solve this problem, an electronic business model of the bank was developed. A web browser window was placed on the desktop of the chairman of the board's computer. The links located in it allow you to track all activities: The manager can open any document, a business process diagram, find out those responsible for business processes and procedures, statistics on business process indicators and current values, a list of projects currently being implemented in the bank and their status , organizational structure of any department and much more.

The Chairman of the Board was pleased with the work done. It should be noted that the work was completed in a short time: 1.5 years passed from the moment the task was set to the receipt of the final results. High speed The implementation of the project was achieved thanks to the use of standard solution- “Comprehensive standard business model of a commercial bank,” which is a system of interconnected models, documents and reference books that describe most areas of activity and management systems of a universal commercial bank.

By the way, by the time the project was completed, the chairman of the board had already become a shareholder of the bank. The resulting Integrated business model of the bank provided a systematic approach to bank management, which allows you to quickly make decisions and make any changes in the bank’s work, improves the efficiency and quality of both individual business processes and divisions, and the bank as a whole.

“Systematic approach to bank development”

The shareholders of Bank B set the task of developing a comprehensive and long-term development strategy for the bank based on modern management technologies. After conducting research and taking part in several business trainings, the bank’s organizational and corporate development specialists proposed the following solution to shareholders. Since the bank’s corporate strategy has already been determined, you can start by developing a system for managing the bank’s business processes, since business processes are the essence of all the bank’s work, and customer satisfaction and the bank’s profit depend on the results of business processes.

1. We will describe all key business processes, create process teams and train them, ensure effective interaction of all participants in business processes so that business processes are completed faster.

2. We will improve (optimize) processes where required, then organize business process management on an ongoing basis. As part of each business process, we organize strategic planning, so that each business process has a strategy based on current market trends, customer requirements and bank strategy, as well as goals and indicators.

3. When business processes and their management become transparent and streamlined, we will move on to the next task - building a bank quality management system (according to ISO 9000 standards) based on a process management system. That is, the QMS will be an add-on for the process management system. This will allow the bank to obtain a certificate of compliance with ISO 9001 and improve its image among both clients and partners. Also, thanks to the QMS and ISO 9000 standards, we will significantly reduce the number of customer complaints against the bank and the costs of low-quality products and services, minimize operational risks, and supplement the bank’s activities with new requirements and management methods.

4. In parallel with this, we will begin automating business processes. We will update and translate it to high quality new level electronic document management systems and operational management(DocFlow / WorkFlow), customer interaction (CRM), etc. We will create a single project office, who will oversee all projects for the organizational and corporate development of the bank, we will qualitatively improve the management of the bank’s personnel so that this activity was a system.

As a result, we will receive an integrated bank management system: a modern, effective organization management tool for shareholders and top managers of the bank.

Conclusion

IN modern conditions In a number of markets, a situation increasingly arises where the importance of price competition is decreasing, and low price goods or services are no longer a key way to attract and retain customers.

For example, in financial sector More and more customers are paying attention to the quality and manufacturability of products/services credit organization, ease of interaction with the bank to resolve all issues and problems, the ability of the organization to quickly satisfy new needs and requests of clients. Such important parameters as the reliability and stability of the bank are also of considerable importance, one of the indicators of which is its fairly high rating in domestic and/or international agencies. Therefore, there is every reason to assume that the need for business modeling, the introduction of business engineering technologies and organizational development will only grow.

The VRM offer on the Russian market today is quite complete - both domestic and major foreign developments are presented here, including subsystems of “heavy” complex products from large vendors. While Russian software is still more focused on describing processes, foreigners gravitate toward execution. Before choosing a product, you must immediately clarify what needs to be described, to what extent and how execution will be controlled. Next, the system is selected based on a very different set of criteria - from ergonomics, hardware and software requirements to technical support and cost.

As an enterprise grows, its management system becomes more complex. In organizations, a description of this system and ongoing business processes, if it exists, is presented in most cases in disparate and disparate formats and is out of date. As a result, employees do not understand what processes generally take place in the organization, and the degree of staff participation in these processes decreases. The gap between the actual actions of employees and the overall strategy of the company is growing. This leads to a slow response to changes in external conditions, which affects the efficiency of the business and, as a result, its profit. In the current economic situation, this is an unforgivable luxury.

Optimization of such costs is an obvious internal reserve for increasing the efficiency of the organization. And here modern technologies for describing the organization’s activities, the result of which is an information model, can come to the aid of companies. As a rule, the development of an organization's information model is carried out "from top to bottom", starting with the formation of the company's mission, corporate goals, and the development of a strategy that determines the necessary set of functions to achieve the goals. A complete information model becomes a management system for an enterprise.

“BPM offers a methodology and tools that connect the constructed process models with the company’s operational activities, provide mechanisms for controlling and monitoring processes,” notes Liana Meliksetyan, Director of Business Development, Software AG in Russia and the CIS (the company recently announced the acquisition of IDS Scheer AG). - The latter is especially valuable when building a quality management system or when improving business processes based on quantitative indicators significantly affects business efficiency.

Niche offer

Today on the Russian market you can find a certain number of software products that help simplify the process of describing the activities of an organization. Among the Russian developments here we can highlight Business Studio (“ Modern technologies management"), "Business Engineer" ("Bitek"), "Intalev: Corporate Navigator" ("Intalev"), "ORG-Master Pro" ("Business Engineering Group"). Among the most popular foreign software products, ARIS should be noted Business Performance Edition (IDS Scheer AG), CA ERWin Process Modeler, formerly BPWin (CA), Hyperion Performance Scorecard (Oracle), IBM WebSphere Business Modeler (IBM), SAP Strategic Enterprise Management (SAP).

“You should pay attention to the fact that Russian developments are primarily intended for describing/designing the company’s activities. They, as a rule, provide the ability to describe almost any subject area. Foreign manufacturers are more focused on execution. In most cases, their products are one or more modules in a line of software provided by the manufacturer,” comments Alexey Fedoseev, General Director of the Intalev group of companies.

Business modeling systems in Russia

*Prices are as of May 2009.

Source: Abis Soft, CNews Analytics, 2009

How to choose a business modeling system

Before you start choosing a software product, you need to understand three main points: what needs to be described; to what extent; how execution will be monitored. When answering the first question, it is necessary to determine which areas of the control system are to be described and whether a comprehensive description of the entire system is necessary. The answer to the second question should give an idea of ​​whether the management system will be described for an individual business, a division, or for the entire organization as a whole. The third question will determine the restrictions that may be imposed on the software product so that its integration with the executive system can be carried out in the future.

Having answers to these questions, you can significantly narrow the range of possible software products. Next, you should choose a product based on criteria such as the possibility of multi-user work, methods of presenting results, interface and ergonomics, availability of documentation and technical support, hardware and software requirements, and cost.

Review of the capabilities of some business modeling systems*

* - The table below indicates only the presence/absence of a particular functionality. It must be taken into account that the declared functionality is implemented in different products with varying degrees of elaboration.

Now, after a general clarification of the general functional tasks solved by the tools under consideration, we should compare the capabilities that these tools provide.

In further analysis, only the characteristics of the programs ARIS ToolSet (hereinafter, ARIS), BP-Win – Erwin (hereinafter, BP-Win) and ORG-Master (hereinafter, ORG-Master) will be considered. The Rational Rose program, as it is most oriented towards building purely software rather than organizational systems, in order to simplify the presentation we will exclude from consideration, especially since the UML methodology underlying it is now implemented in ARIS).

Functionality of business systems modeling tools

When comparing various business system modeling tools, it is advisable to consider their features according to the following groups of functionality:

• tools for building business systems models;
• model analysis tools;
• means for optimizing simulated systems based on their models;
• support for libraries of standard models;
• preparation of regulations and documentation;
• support for the development of database models and software;
• integration with other software products (CASE tools, ERP systems, application programs).

• general organization of business processes and the order of interaction between organizational units (performers),
• distribution of responsibility for the implementation of individual functions and expenditure of system resources,
• loading organizational links, performers and instrumental resources in the system,
• main time and cost parameters of the simulated system,
• requirements for resource support of processes occurring in the system.

Analysis general organization business processes and procedures for interaction between organizational units in the system is carried out directly when studying the constructed models of business processes. Qualitative analysis also allows us to identify those roles, which, under certain conditions, can be excluded from the process. Wherein clarity of the model and the ability to trace the relationships existing in the system using it becomes of paramount importance.

Notes regarding the visibility of the models are given below. But here it should also be noted that an important requirement for the model is the possibility of its analysis before its complete construction. Indeed, if it is possible to identify relationships (as well as their absence) in a system only after constructing its complete model, then this turns out to be very inconvenient for initial stages work, when information about the features of the processes occurring in the system may still be partially absent or inaccurate.

Here ORG-Master is in an advantageous position, since the business process model in it is not built directly in the form of an IDEF diagram. This diagram can be automatically generated after creating and filling out the classifiers that form the model (business functions, organizational units, resources, etc.) and specifying all the necessary projections (relationships by resources, performers, tools, regulations and the actual connections between business operations). Thus, even before obtaining a full (or partial) model of a business process, the main relationships that define the modeled process are already identified and can be analyzed.

In contrast to this approach, business process models in ARIS and BP-Win are built directly, and existing relationships between process components must be prepared for analysis as a result of appropriate procedures.

So, for example, after building a business process model in BP-Win, using ERwin, a separate data model is built in which connections are established between system components (entities of the data model according to the methodology). Then these models are connected through a mechanism that is essentially similar to the projection construction mechanism used in ORG-Master (see Appendix 1. Components of models of the ORG-Master software and methodological complex).

With this in mind, the second model analysis possibility considered is: analysis of the distribution of responsibility for the implementation of individual functions and the consumption of system resources, turns out to be automatically implemented in the process of building a business process model in the ORG-Master system. Indeed, projections of the type Organizational Units - Functions and Functions - Resources, specified when building business process models in ORG-Master, directly show those responsible for a particular area of ​​work or resource (and allow you to analyze any combinations of them). In addition, ORG-Master allows you to export matrix projections to MS Excel, where organizational analysis diagrams are generated based on them.

In ARIS and BP-Win, for this purpose it is necessary to either manually trace all connections across business process diagrams (and data models in BP-Win), or specially build appropriate lists or reports.

Question about loading performers and instrumental resources in the system, as well as obtaining estimates for the main time parameters of the simulated system, can be decided on the basis of quantitative data about the complexity (or simply duration) of the functions they implement. To solve this problem, it is necessary to enter such data into the system in one way or another, as well as provide means for obtaining summary estimates. Support for the IDEF3 methodology (in BP-Win), ABC methods in ARIS and BP-Win, as well as simulation tools in ARIS (and, partly, in BP-Win) provides for certain processing of these estimates. As for the actual initial data, they are specified by the user, who, thus, is responsible for the final result.

However, obtaining sufficiently representative estimates using statistical (simulation/event) modeling (and, even more so, using ABC methods when considering time as a resource) for the load of system components is complicated by the following factors.

Modern approaches to the analysis of any process ( workflow) are based on dividing the time of its implementation into, in fact, the period of execution of operations and the time of transmission of their results. At the same time, in office processes or service delivery processes, actual work takes up on average about 10% of the time, and the rest of the time is spent either physically moving the result of the task (requiring the signature of the text of the contract, requiring re-washing of the product) and waiting in line until the next the performer will have time to continue the process. Therefore, methods that rely on simple summation of operation times currently, as a rule, do not provide an accurate idea of ​​the time parameters of the process.

More adequate results can be obtained by simulating the behavior of the system. However, for times of service delays it is necessary either to make very approximate assumptions about the law of their distribution in time, or to carry out quite expensive and labor-intensive timing procedures and subsequent statistical processing. At the same time, the reliability of the results obtained will not be too high, or will require significant additional costs. Therefore, it seems a reasonable approach that: “the cost of modeling to obtain any information should not exceed the value (cost) of the results of its use. In addition, one must always remember about Pareto's law, from which, in relation to the problem under consideration, it follows that 20% of modeling efforts provide 80% of the effect.

Therefore, from our point of view, before moving to complex and time- and resource-consuming modeling methods associated with quantitative estimates of time and cost parameters, it is worth focusing on obtaining the effect of implementing more obvious business modeling results. It is advisable to carry out quantitative optimization taking into account measurements and analysis of actually occurring processes.

ORG-Master has a functional analogue of ABC analysis tools - the Budget Creation Wizard, which generates a simple budgeting system. One of the results of this system is a quantitative assessment of the costs of implementing business processes (operating budgets), which is at least comparable in value to the data obtained using ABC-costing support tools.

In addition, the ORG-Master family includes software package“Time Master”, one of the components of which provides process management (workflow), allows you to accumulate statistics during their execution, which provides estimates for the time parameters of processes necessary for analysis.

• Business systems optimization tools (business processes) in addition to the model analysis capabilities, they provide: a management tool.
• generating a range of alternatives;
• planning;
• choosing the best course of action;
• resource allocation;
• setting priorities.

As a rule, the implementation of the listed functions involves the use of special, rather complex or cumbersome algorithms for solving optimization problems. A number of opportunities of this kind are built into the ARIS system. However, their implementation, in general, does not seem appropriate until the stage of fine-tuning the business process after achieving the results of its restructuring using simpler methods.

Support for reference model libraries allows you to use previously created developments in the process of building new models. This capability is provided in all three tools discussed. In particular, ORG-Master supports both complete reference business models of enterprises obtained as a result of real projects carried out on Russian enterprises, and “library” classifiers that describe the typical organization of individual aspects of activity.

Decor, in accordance with the constructed models, company regulations seems to be a very important feature that ensures the integrity and consistency of the documentary description of the business system. The importance of this component for business modeling tools can be understood if you look at regulations as a company management tool. Indeed, if a company operates stably, this means that its business processes are well established and are amenable to almost formal regulation. The internal culture that must be present in such a company will, if necessary, quickly rebuild the system or parameters of business processes by changing the work regulations of the relevant departments and performers.

The presence of regulatory documents on all aspects of the company’s activities is one of the basic provisions of the concept of regular, systemic management. According to it, in a well-organized business, about 80% management decisions is accepted according to pre-defined procedures, and only the rest, associated with non-standard situations and various innovations, are based on the creativity and heroism of employees.

The organization of the activities of an enterprise (company), aimed at achieving certain goals, is regulated at the modern level by the following standard set basic organizational documents:

• regulations on the organizational and functional structure, reflecting the composition of businesses and functions supported in the company and their distribution within the company;
• provisions on company policies (accounting, investment, etc.);
• provisions on the organization of the main subsystems of the company’s business and management, containing a detailed description of functions by area of ​​activity;
• documented procedures - descriptions of business processes in a form that allows both the process to be presented to an outside observer and the performers of the process operations to be guided by this document;
• and, finally, the traditional “division provisions”, and “ job descriptions» personnel with lists of functional duties, types of responsibilities, rights and powers of employees.

In addition, it should be possible to create special reporting forms for creating documents in various functional areas: Technical specifications to the enterprise management information system, Quality Manual (see, for example, Appendix 3) and other special documents according to the ISO9000 standard, etc.

All information that allows the generation of these documents must be contained in the form of a holistic and consistent system in the complete business model of the enterprise (company). Moreover, many documents created must comply as much as possible with generally accepted Russian standards (Obviously, the ARIS and BP-Win systems meet the last requirement to the least extent).

In the ORG-Master environment, such provisions and instructions are generated automatically as text forms of description of procedures represented by corresponding classifiers and projection relations of connections between them. Graphic forms (various digraphs and process diagrams) serve as a good addition to these documents.

In the ARIS environment, job descriptions and process descriptions are based on event process diagrams and, in principle, various text documents can be constructed by analyzing process models and organizational structures. Although, to a greater extent, the picture here is the opposite - the system is focused mainly on creating graphics, and the function of creating regulatory documents is clearly auxiliary and, as a result, not developed.

In BP-Win the direct possibility of obtaining various regulations is not specified.

In a relationship project documentation two sides can be considered: a description of business processes and a description of an information system to support business processes for its subsequent development. The first of them is provided almost equally in each of the environments under consideration by the ability to build various reporting forms based on the constructed models of business processes.

In terms of documentation for developing an information system, the most traditional capabilities are provided by the BP-Win/ERwin environment, which, in fact, was created for this purpose.

The capabilities of ARIS are approximately similar: in the first versions, data models were described according to the entity-relationship scheme, in later versions - in the UML language. However, the ARISToolset tool provides more advanced information systems development functions.

The capabilities of ORG-Master allow you to fully present the data structures necessary to organize information support for modeled business processes using its own universal tools - classifiers and projections. There are no formalisms such as ER diagrams, although in the latest versions visualization in the DFD standard is possible. In addition, it became possible to reflect on IDEF0 diagrams the interaction between functional blocks not only through the direct transfer of documents and files, but also through shared databases!

Support for the development of database models and software tools usually refers to the capabilities of CASE-type tools or similar tools for setting up enterprise management information systems (for example, ERP-class systems). Such support may provide the following functionality:

• analysis and design of the architecture of information management systems,
• database and file design,
• programming (generation of program codes),
• support and reengineering,
• project management.

Questions analysis and design of information systems architecture, usually end with the definition of system requirements and associated specifications. This stage, with a systematic approach to design, should be directly based on models of business systems and, in fact, detail them. Therefore, all the above arguments are valid here, covering the construction, analysis and optimization of system models, as well as the preparation of regulations and documentation.

Database and file design(conceptual and internal levels), transformation of data models, description of file formats are most fully supported in the tools under consideration only in BP-Win (ERwin), since this environment is specifically designed for solving such problems.

In the ARIS environment, this possibility is provided in the ARIS Toolset package at the level of project specification and definition of database parameters.

The approach developed in the ORG-Master environment assumes (although not necessarily) that the modeled business systems can use information systems that already have databases. In this case, their redesign is not required unless the system being used is intended to be replaced. However, in the absence of information systems, ORG-Master creates the basis for a conceptual data model and data file structures. This basis is represented by descriptions of the composition and relationship of information objects and documents used in business process models.

Generating application or system codes ARIS and ORG-Master systems are not provided for, since they are tools for designing business systems, not software. To a certain extent, this feature is implemented only in BP-Win.

Maintenance and reengineering. These functions are usually implemented by means of documentation, program analysis, restructuring and reengineering. The comments made above regarding documentation tools are fully applicable in this discussion.

Functions project management the creation of databases and software tools are specific specifically for the development of software products. They are implemented in this form in BP-Win. Project management in the ORG-Master family is fully supported by the Time-Master software package. (Although, strictly speaking, these functions are not mandatory for the class of tools under consideration).

Integration with other software products involves expanding the scope of application of the tool in question and can be carried out either as part of the development of a family of compatible software tools (like Platinum Technologies) or with software from other developers (third party software).

Integration with third party software products is performed for one of the following purposes:

• using the functionality of the integrated product to expand the scope of your product,
• providing the opportunity to include your product in a third party product,
• providing a universal, to one degree or another, interface for its product if the specific third party is unknown in advance.

From a functional point of view, we can consider integration with:

• CASE means
• ERP systems,
• application programs.

ARIS has interfaces with some CASE tools, and is also a tool for creating models for directly setting up such enterprise management systems, primarily SAP R/3. As noted above, the system relies on its own notation to represent business processes, therefore it uses built-in simulation modeling tools and a cost analysis tool, the results of which, however, can be exported to MS Excel formats.

The ORG-Master and BP-Win systems support the IDEF0 notation system for describing the represented business processes. In principle, this is some kind of connecting link both between these tools and for communication with other software products that use this methodology. However, without considering here the issues of the “age” of the IDEF0 notation, it should be noted that the internal representation of data in each system is different, and a standard interface such as “sockets” or classes is not specified for the IDEF0 system. However, there is a standardized file format for representing IDEF diagrams. Therefore, although the descriptions made with its help are not very convenient for both humans and computers, it is possible to use them as a means of exchanging models if you have the appropriate converters for this format. Such a converter is provided in future versions of ORG-Master.

BP-Win supports methodologies IDEF0, DFD And IDEF3 and integrates with the following software products (mostly from the same manufacturer):

• data modeling tool ERwin (Platinum Technology),
• project management and storage system ModelMart (Platinum Technology),
• a specialized report generator based on the RPTwin model (Platinum Technology),
• simulation modeling system BPSimulator (System Modeling Corporation),
• cost analysis tool EasyABC (ABC Technologies).

(*Platinum Technology – part of Computer Associates since 1999)

ORG-Master is initially positioned as an organizational-class system focused on solving problems of modeling and designing business processes and structures and supporting organizational decision-making. It provides the ability to integrate with its own development packages (“BIG-SPB Software”), aimed at solving various functional problems. In the ORG-Master system, if necessary, simple executive information systems are automatically created in the MS Office environment:

• Budgeting system (which is a simple system management accounting, managing the profitability and solvency of the enterprise).
• Marketing system (accumulating operational quantitative information about the enterprise’s market, and also integrated with its own CRM system for supporting customer relations).

The introduction of these applications into the activities of an enterprise allows one to quickly master modern control techniques, which greatly facilitates the transition to more complex executive systems.

It is possible (and has been tested in projects) to interface data through exchange files as part of the construction of integrated information systems with executive and analytical programs of partner companies: 1C, AiT:Soft, Intalev, Komtech+, INECi, etc., as well as with integrated management systems enterprise resources (for example, IPS production).

IN new version Mechanisms are also provided for exporting descriptions of business processes to the Time Master software package, which combines the properties of systems such as Project Management, WorkFlow and Personal Information System and built on Internet/Intranet technologies.

Section summary:

The main functionality of the compared tools is presented in Table 2, where assessments of the degree of implementation of functions or properties are indicated on a five-point scale.

As can be seen from Table 2, direct summation of estimates gives a spread of about ±4%. This scatter lies within the error of the estimates themselves. Moreover, the means themselves, differing in functional orientation, received similar ratings due to the fact that the differing strengths and weak sides of different means, when directly calculated, compensate each other.

However, during the discussion of functionality, it was emphasized that, specifically for solving business engineering problems, individual groups of functionality have different meanings. This fact is reflected by the coefficients recorded in the “Weight” column of Table 2. Taking this factor into account, it is clear that the overall rating of the ORG-Master complex is slightly superior to ARIS.

But again, this may be a consequence of different preferences and priorities in the intended use of the product. For example, due to a lower assessment of the significance of existing tools for quantitative analysis of models (simulation and event modeling), as well as optimization tools, which, however, are poorly represented in all the systems under consideration. At the same time, the self-documentation properties of models or the universality of representation of various aspects of modeling are highly appreciated.

In general, when evaluating and choosing a modeling tool, it is recommended to independently decide which of the system tools are most important in solving a specific problem of its use and assign “weights” accordingly.

Additionally, reference Appendix 2 provides an overview of formalization standards and tools for constructing and/or analyzing certain models that are used in the systems under consideration.

The article is intended for managers and top managers of enterprises who are serious about building an enterprise management system and who intend to independently or with the involvement of third-party specialists design and implement an enterprise management system based on a process approach. Practical aspects of design are considered, examples and recommendations are given.

Considering that the enterprises and organizations, the example of which is discussed in the article, continue to operate successfully in the market, specific names, titles and other details of the work are hidden or replaced with ones close to the meaning and objectives of the article. However, the authors would like to thank their staff for their assistance in preparing the material.

I would like to start the article with the fact that the authors in no way claim that their work is perceived as a complete textbook on this topic. These pages reflect some of the authors' experience in the practical implementation of the application of the process approach to the operation of management systems for client enterprises.

Who needs it

And not only to whom - but also when, and for what. Designing a control system is a serious and large-scale task that requires a significant investment of enterprise resources and does not always bring an effect corresponding to the costs. Therefore, before starting this work, it is worth at least asking yourself about its feasibility. Thus, it is quite obvious that an individual entrepreneur, who is a boss and a subordinate in one person, does not need to formalize his activities as long as they concern only him alone. Managers of small enterprises also quite successfully make do with verbal orders, formalizing only the most necessary relationships with subordinates, such as hiring and firing, or those required for “external” reporting. The reason is clear: the executor of each order is always visible, the progress of work is clear and obvious, there are no complex technological chains and personnel dependencies on each other. Large enterprises (hundreds of employees) no longer allow the manager to monitor all the details of the ongoing work - and how larger enterprise, the more what happens on it becomes a secret for the director. It is necessary to divide large teams into departments, appoint managers at various levels, and distribute responsibility for individual parts of the overall work. In other words, build a management system.

So, the first criterion is clear - size. An enterprise that needs a formalized management system has at least 50 people on staff. However, not every enterprise designs a control system or modernizes it - being satisfied with the existing system. Let's try to determine in what situations it is worth engaging in such activities.

● Newly created enterprise. For example, a new plant is being built. A very favorable situation for creating an ideal management structure from the very beginning, from scratch. Such a system will be free from any traditions and habits - good or bad - and will initially be focused on the expectations of the owner of the enterprise under construction.

● A grown enterprise. Somehow, imperceptibly, your enterprise moves from a small business to a medium-sized one to a large one... An increase in the range of products and services, an increase in the number of personnel inevitably lead to changes in the management system, delegation of authority, distribution of areas of responsibility... The former team of like-minded people is clearly divided into bosses and subordinates. Where there was previously cooperation, internal competition appears. As a result, a new management system is being formed, and it depends only on the manager whether it will be effective or not. Designing a management system based on best practices will help avoid the main growing pain - a management crisis.

● The need to improve competitiveness and efficiency. It doesn’t matter whether the enterprise is a natural monopolist or operates in a highly competitive market - sooner or later the need arises to reduce the cost of products or services, increase the quality of service, and reduce the time to bring new products to the market. If reducing production costs today can still be achieved by selecting optimal suppliers, purchasing modern equipment, and improving technology, then tomorrow these opportunities will be exhausted, and internal resources will have to be found. Achieving other competitive advantages is possible only by optimizing the enterprise management system.

● The need for certification according to international standards. Regardless of the reasons that caused this need, its implementation is impossible without changing and formalizing the management system.

● Intention to implement an automated management system. The fact is that purchasing and installing automated control systems does not always lead to positive results. Specialists in the implementation of such systems, regardless of their product orientation, agree on one thing: “it is impossible to automate a mess.” The most advanced management system will not work without a clear distribution of responsibilities between the employees working in it. And even if there is a clear management system, it is worth considering, before investing considerable resources in the acquisition and implementation of automated control systems, whether the existing system contains any defects that should not be fixed in rigid computer logic.

● The desire to increase the value of the business. In some cases, business processes may be one of the company's main assets. An example is companies operating in the services market. For a potential investor, the presence of strict operating regulations significantly reduces the risk of losing their investments, even in the event of mass layoffs.

Of course, there may be other reasons—or a set of reasons—that make control system design necessary. The main thing is that when making a decision you should not forget the simple truth: “If it works, don’t fix it!” (During the writing of the article, the authors had some disagreements in the interpretation of this saying. They settled on this clarification: what works perfectly today can become a problem tomorrow. And of course, a far-sighted leader is simply obliged to provide for the appropriate “repairs”).

Some examples from life

Let's look at several enterprises for which business process modeling has become a conscious necessity. The examples are taken from real life, the corresponding press releases can be viewed on the Internet, but in this article the authors tried to create a generalized illustrative image. Therefore, if any example seemed to you to relate to a specific company, this is pure coincidence.

An IT company is a typical medium-sized enterprise. Main activities:

● Sale of business automation tools - from the sale of accounting and office programs to full-scale automated control systems

● Implementation of business automation tools

● System integration

● Services for training and certification of the Customer’s specialists

● Production and sale of our own software.

A typical example when quantity turns into quality. As the company's authority grew and the number of clients increased, the range of goods and services offered expanded. The specialization of employees increased - and their number grew. Departments aimed at solving various problems and auxiliary units began to appear, and many employees began to participate in each project. Of course, management could no longer control all operational issues; a need arose to organize effective interaction between employees and departments with each other.

Another example. Large holding. Previously, under Soviet rule, such enterprises were called city-forming enterprises - because, in addition to the extraction and processing of minerals, the enterprise was engaged in social and everyday tasks, had on its balance sheet kindergartens, hospitals, camp sites, canteens... as well as repair, energy, transport and other support services . Perestroika led not only to a change of owners of the plant, around which the whole city was built, but also to the need for radical changes in the structure of the enterprise. For example, the repair services of workshops were combined into one large separate production, and dozens of uniform canteens gained greater independence, adapted to specific conditions and began to make a profit. It is clear that such a holding needs to be managed differently than before. Designing a control system in this case is not a whim - but a vital necessity.

Another example. Natural monopolist. All Russia supplier - again from Soviet times. The objectives of the enterprise are set at the government level. One of the tasks, in particular, was the implementation of a quality management system. In the process of analyzing the problem, the need was identified to move from a functional business model to a model built on the basis of business processes, which, in turn, necessitated the design of a new management system.

Various examples, different goals and approaches to solving problems. But all enterprises have one thing in common - the need to design and implement an enterprise management system based on business processes.

Where to begin?

The traditional approach involves describing a certain “as it was” state, searching for bottlenecks and making amendments to the system, which can then be qualified as a “corrected “what was””. A simple and effective technique for not completely advanced cases. However, the lack of focus on “what is needed” is a serious drawback of this approach, especially when the owner’s current goal is far removed from what the enterprise is doing. The development and formalization of a strategy allows you to achieve the right direction. An example of a strategy formalized using a strategy map is Figure 1.

Picture 1.

Map construction begins with clarifying the owner's goals. What does he expect from his enterprise? In the example given, the goal is simple and clear - increasing the value of the business over the long term and increasing profits in the short term. Other goals are also possible - increasing investment attractiveness, for example. The main condition is the achievability of the goal, its clear and precise definition (for example: “I want to be able to sell in three years this business for 10 million"). As a rule, goal setting is carried out in a dialogue between the owner and business analysts and top managers of the company, whose task is to bring not very clear wishes to specific figures and facts that it is desirable to achieve in a certain period of time. At these same meetings, ways to achieve the main goal are outlined. In our example, the highest goal - increasing brand value - can be divided into two subgoals - high company brand value And company product brands– this is what analysts decided when studying the activities of the enterprise. The lower levels show how these values ​​can be increased. The resulting map clearly highlights the main directions in which action should be taken to achieve the main goal specified by the owner.

And now you can act according to the above template. A strategy map shows what subgoals need to be achieved to achieve the highest goal. Having this reference point, the chain “as it was” – “as it will be” takes on meaning and aims the design of the management system at solving the strategic problem. Each element of the existing management system may or may not have an impact on achieving any of the goals of the strategic map. It is clear that reengineering is required only for elements that are important for achieving the strategic goal.

What elements are analyzed? First of all, the range of goods and services offered by the company. A register is compiled - a complete package of these proposals - and analyzed. Is everything we produce profitable, useful and contributes to the achievement of our main goals? Should we expand our range? Is it necessary to reduce it in terms of unprofitable goods or services? Is it possible to make unprofitable goods or services profitable (and profitable ones – super-profitable?). A promising package of products and services is being compiled, for which business process modeling will be carried out. For product analysis, you can, for example, use the Boston Consulting Group matrix (Figure 2).

Figure 2.

As applied to the topic of the article, business process design is most relevant for “stars” (including potential ones) and “cash cows”.

It is not always necessary to conduct an “as is” analysis of business processes. Competent business analysts (or experienced managers) are usually able to offer business processes in the “as it should” version. However, there are situations when no one is able to say “how it should be” - for example, absolutely the new kind business or enterprise with big amount complex interactions between departments that need to improve the efficiency of their work. It is possible to optimize its operation only through a scrupulous analysis of existing business processes. At the same time, it is very likely that the analysis will show that intuitively built connections and interactions are optimal, and increased efficiency should be sought in other places. Nevertheless, building a current business process diagram will be useful for the enterprise - since it provides opportunities to formalize activities, and also prepares the ground for work in the event of any changes in the business.

Features of designing a management system for a new, newly created enterprise include the lack of analysis of “how it was.” The management system is initially designed to achieve the strategic goals of the enterprise.

Team of participants

“Personnel decide everything!” This slogan is more relevant than anywhere else in the process of improving the management system. To solve this problem, it is impossible to simply hire professional performers who will do everything for you. The interested participation of key company employees is an indispensable condition for solving this problem. On the other hand, inviting outside professionals, although desirable, is not necessary - if their employees take on all the necessary functions. Let's try to describe these functions and recruit a formal team of performers, as well as indicate the importance of professional skills for everyone.

Strategist. He is also the Project Manager. The task of this person in the project is to translate the owner’s expectations into a strategy for achieving them, coordinate the actions of other participants, and resolve conflicts in cases where a complete vision of the situation is required. The strategist, if military associations are applied, must present a picture of the battle as a whole - that is, defensive actions must be carried out. In some sectors they are offensive, in others the cavalry at a certain moment must jump out of an ambush to ensure a breakthrough, the tanks must take advantage of these breakthroughs to break through to the rear and defeat the enemy... He does not care what formation the tanks will move in - this is a local tactical task. He doesn’t care what kind of transport will be used to transport ammunition - they just need to be delivered in the right quantity. At the same time, if the supply department and the tank brigade commander cannot agree on the quantity and timing of the delivery of shells, the strategist, knowing the general logic of the system, must resolve the conflict between the services, guided by his opinion about the necessary balance. One of the most realistic candidates for performing this function is the general director (however, it also happens that the general director is a “wedding general” or is too busy and can entrust the function of strategist to a deputy or an external consultant). Depending on experience, workload, and the availability of special knowledge, both deputies and external consultants (for example, a manager or project coordinator on the part of the contractor) may be involved in helping him. However, the final decisions still remain with this one person, or sometimes with the owner of the enterprise.

Business analysts. Experienced consultants in terms of strategy and business processes with skills in their design, analysis and optimization. It is preferable to invite professionals who have received special education and have experience in real and successful projects. However, using existing recommendations general plan and their own common sense, top managers of an enterprise are able to perform these functions at least at an average level. After all, in essence, the financial director Chief Engineer, development deputy and other managers are required by duty to be able to analyze the strategic and tactical aspects of their activities. A professional business analyst is distinguished from them only by his experience working at other enterprises, the ability to go beyond conventional ideas and knowledge of recommendations that are known to bring positive results. Examples of such recommendations include: parallelizing the process where possible, using automation, minimizing the number of business processes performed by different departments.

Lower level business process designers. In order to understand who these people are, let’s consider the task from the point of view of the task at hand. For a small enterprise, as a rule, 7-8 top-level business processes are identified (for example, production, sales, supply, personnel reproduction, etc.). Each of them is divided into 7-8 smaller sub-processes - more detailed (for example, “product production” may include the production of parts, assembly of products, quality control) - that is, in the end we have about fifty business processes. In large companies, as a rule, further division is necessary - into one or two more levels. (Figure 3)

Figure 3. An example of dividing business processes of a medium-sized enterprise. For larger ones, just add one or two floors down...

Example - the only HR manager of a medium-sized company carries out his function within the framework of a single business process, which is simply called “recruitment”. Considering that he performs almost all the work independently, there is no need to write any regulations for this work. Another thing is the HR department of a large company, where there is a division of various functions between employees. The “recruitment” process in this case consists of dozens of simpler actions performed by various people - and it is their interaction that needs to be described by lower-level business processes. The final level for dividing business processes is a business operation - a process that is completely performed and controlled by one personnel unit. And for very large companies, thousands of business processes are quite possible. Now let’s make an imaginary projection of the picture of business processes onto the diagram of the enterprise divisions. Obviously, some business processes will fit entirely within one division. There will also be processes for which two or more departments are responsible (to varying degrees). And the most unpleasant situations are those in which responsibility for the execution of a business process is repeatedly transferred from one department to another (looking ahead, we will say that such business processes are recommended to be avoided, if possible). Figure 4 schematically shows the business processes of a hypothetical enterprise for the production of products. Some of the business processes, shown by black arrows, take place within departments. The other part - the blue arrows - moves from one unit to another. And finally, the third part is a process in which several departments are involved. Red dotted line.

Rice. 4. Ownership of business processes. Black arrows indicate the flow of internal business processes of departments, colored arrows indicate processes at a higher level.

Who is best to entrust the modeling of a lower-level business process for which one department is completely (or almost completely) responsible? (Who should be entrusted with building a tank detachment to carry out a breakthrough?) The answer suggests itself - this is the head of the unit (or an external consultant of this level working with the head of the unit). But to entrust the planning of interaction between horsemen, tankers and supplies to the head of one of these units would be, at the very least, reckless - the risk of “pulling the blanket over oneself” is too great. Therefore, modeling of upper-level business processes, processes with a large number of relationships between workshops and departments, should be carried out directly by the strategist, as a person interested in the success of the entire enterprise, and not a separate division. The minimum requirements for designers coincide with job responsibilities named employees. Hiring third-party specialists can partially relieve managers, and extensive experience and professional skills can speed up work.

Performers. They are also experts in lower-level business processes and... guinea pigs. It is not enough to draw up a theoretically correct interaction scheme. To win, you need to put it into practice. That is, to bring it to ordinary performers and achieve its implementation. The ideal option is to select from a number of employees performing the same work one or two of the most active and capable ones and trust them to work in a new way - until the system is debugged. Another option is a gradual transition from some of the old processes to new ones that replace them. However, in reality this does not always happen. The relationship system (especially if it has not been optimized) may be so complex that testing will have to involve a large number of participants. Some analogy can be drawn with the example of implementing an automated information system. It is rare that it is possible to replace individual sections of the old system with new solutions. Much more often, employees have to keep records in parallel for some time in the old and new systems. Hiring outside contractors is not possible for these team members. However, external consultants can significantly speed up implementation by providing professionals to train and advise enterprise employees and monitor the correct execution of processes.

Question: Can a team formed only from company employees, without involving external specialists, using certain techniques and common sense, build and implement new system management - from the Strategic Map to detailed business processes, regulations, etc.?

Answer: There are no clear methods for correctly constructing business processes “from start to finish,” but there are recommendations, as well as reference models. Based on them, using his own and other people’s experience, a strong manager is able, at a minimum, to build a functioning system. However, in order to squeeze maximum efficiency out of the system, in addition to a lot of (and preferably broad) experience, you need a fair amount of talent. In this case, the company has a real chance to “enter the top ten”. In order to become an undisputed leader in its business, an enterprise will need the help of a brilliant team led by an appropriate leader.

The actual design...

As mentioned earlier, there is no single methodology for developing business processes. In this section we will try to consider a number key points, which ones you should focus on and which ones you should leave out of your attention.

Completeness and harmony of upper-level business processes. The importance of this criterion is equal to the importance of the business itself. The commander must win the battle first in his mind, imagining how events on the battlefield should develop - otherwise he should not even approach the enemy. Depending on the size of the company, two or three levels need to be checked for integrity and organicity.

Concentrating efforts on achieving strategic goals. Business processes that do not have an impact on key indicators are developed last, or not developed at all. Let's carry out the simplest calculation: for an enterprise that has three levels of business processes (that is, not a very large unitary enterprise), we have 7-8 top-level processes, each of which is divided into 7-8 second-level BPs, the same division principle is maintained below . As a result, already at the third level we have more than 350 business processes. On average, each business process consists of a dozen operations, which gives a total of four thousand operations for the enterprise. And that's just for the small ones! I propose to calculate the geometric progression up to the fourth and fifth levels yourself. Of course, only such monsters as Gazprom or RAO UES require the fifth level of detail - but even for the fourth level the number of operations is not small. Every process, every operation, ideally, needs to be optimized, regulated and reviewed at least once a year or as external conditions change. Considering the number of operations, we understand that the ideal, as usual, is unattainable, and the pursuit of it will only lead to an unjustified waste of resources. We have to make a sad but correct decision - taking a strategic map, design only those business processes that correspond to the goals indicated in it. And, if cleaning the internal territory does not affect any of the goals or subgoals of the strategic map, does not affect any indicator from the BSC, then let the cleaners themselves regulate it. At least until we finally sort out production, sales and supply...

The level of detail must match our needs. One of the reasons why excessive detail should not be allowed is stated above - an unjustified increase in the volume of work. The other is reminiscent of the old parable of the centipede - if you describe simple natural actions for an employee in too much detail, then performing them can become ineffective. The main criterion in this case is simple - if a clear division of responsibilities between employees has been achieved and the basic principles for performing operations have been set, then further detail is not necessary. It is enough to indicate that, for example, upon receiving an application, the employee must print the corresponding invoice and set the execution time - without specifying which key combinations should be used to move through the cells, save and print the file.

When designing, do not forget to set the main parameters of the business process (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Basic business process parameters

These include, for example, execution time and cost. Design in most cases is only one of the tasks in the process of reengineering a control system. Sooner or later there will be a desire to optimize - that’s when these numbers will come in handy. However, when optimization is not included in your immediate plans, you can hold off on this... if you are not worried that it may take employees several hours or days to print out an invoice.

Assessing the problematic nature and importance of the process. It also allows you to understand which processes should be designed immediately, and which can wait. Among the main criteria here can be considered: 1) business criticality. That is, how much incorrect execution of the process can harm the company - increase costs, lead to the loss of a client, delay making an important decision... 2) Frequency of repetition of the process (rarely, often, regularly). 3) The number of transfers of responsibility within one process, for example, from unit to unit. Such processes are potentially dangerous and entail many problems.

The leaders in all three categories are clear candidates for design and optimization.

Figure 6. Illustration of the process approach

It should be noted that these two approaches are rarely found in a pronounced form. Thus, the personnel department of a large enterprise almost always alone provides for the needs of all departments, while at the same time, the production of noticeably different products is very often organized in separate parts of the enterprise. Thus, the task of determining which approach is appropriate for this enterprise(and also which one should actually be implemented) should be one of the very first decisions during the work on the project. After all, the more an enterprise gravitates toward a functional structure, the more intricate the business processes are, and the more responsible and complex the task of designing them is. The recommendation to switch to process management is not always appropriate - because, for example, in this case it will be necessary to divide all resources into departments, which is impossible in relation to unique resources (for example, an energy substation), and may turn out to be unprofitable economically. Another example is that a rigging shop consisting of ten people is able to move a machine weighing 2-3 tons. If this workshop is scattered among five teams in various units, then it will be impossible for two people to move such a machine. Each department will have to maintain a team of ten people - and it is not a fact that they will always be overloaded with work.

Take into account the inevitable resistance of enterprise employees to anything that in one way or another will destroy the existing system of relations. Thus, the head of the rigging shop is unlikely to be happy about being demoted to foreman, and will look for all possible ways to sabotage such a decision. Employees will exaggerate the importance of their work - and seek to reduce the importance of the work of other departments. Heads of departments will delay profitable business processes and in every possible way deny responsibility for the necessary contribution to “other people’s” processes. Although, of course, there is a very strong dependence on stimulating innovation for specific performers (who, for the most part, are not at all interested in any changes, even if they promise something very good in the future, because increasing efficiency from their point of view means the possibility do more for your employer for the same money).

What do we expect in the end?

The end result of the design should be an enterprise operating according to a new scheme. One of the most important final design products is a necessary and sufficient set of regulatory documentation.

Regulations of business processes (at least key ones), standard forms of documentation, both external and internal, regulations on departments, job descriptions, staffing schedule of the enterprise - this is its minimum list. No less important is the implementation of the system and the implementation of regulations in practice. Only after this can we say that the effort and resources spent on design were not wasted. It’s good if you can divide the implementation into small stages and sections (for example, first the purchasing department, then the warehouse, etc.) In addition to the fact that this will allow you to maintain confident control over the innovation implementation process, every small success will become a good stimulating factor for continuation of further work. True, it is not always possible to divide implementation into separate independent sections. Even if the new system completely avoids the division of responsibilities between departments, if the structure of new business processes is strictly linear and simple - even then the need to implement measurements “on the fly” (who will stop a profit-making enterprise?) leads to the fact that the implementation of one a new process affects dozens of old ones, which, in turn, are replaced by dozens of “new” ones, each of which... (and further, in increasing order). Therefore, in most cases, during implementation, the team is forced to work for some time using the old system, while simultaneously simulating new activity(most of your employees are literate people and understand perfectly well that they will have to do double work for a long time just so that the final workload on them will increase compared to the initial one - hence the resistance to innovation). In the most advanced cases, to implement a management system, it turns out to be easier to build a new plant nearby (this is what has to be done, for example, at AvtoVAZ, where the absurdities inherited from Soviet times, multiplied by those acquired during the perestroika process, created an environment in which almost every employee resists innovation ). And finally, another logical result of the design is the introduction of an automated enterprise management system. It has long been proven that automation improves operational efficiency. Automation has a particularly noticeable effect in enterprises where there is a clear and rational management system and all business processes are regulated. And, on the contrary, to automate control without preliminary design means dooming the implementation of automated control systems to failure (have we already mentioned the impossibility of automating randomly occurring relationships in an indefinite manner?). The presence of a strict system of business processes will allow you to approach the implementation of automated control systems from the point of view of maximum efficiency. Now it is quite possible to automate the most critical areas of work first, using the money received or saved as a result - the next most important ones... You can do this as gradually as resources allow or the external situation requires.

Estimation of resource requirements

If you have previously engaged in similar activities, then you can already imagine how much easier the design of your current account will be, how many employees you will temporarily lose as full-fledged combat units (and how many you will lose altogether). The reasoning below is more likely for those who are planning to start such work for the first time - after all, it is dangerous to both overestimate and underestimate the scale of future losses. An overestimation of complexity can lead to abandonment of the project altogether (along with hopes of becoming an industry leader), or to excessively high amounts under the contract with the contractor. An underestimate will lead to the fact that at some point there will not be enough resources and the project will be abandoned - which again means lost money. Time assessment is no less important - and for the same reasons. Practice shows that medium-sized companies - from 500 to 1000 people - develop and implement a new management system entirely in one year. Companies with 10 thousand employees will need approximately 2-3 years. However, depending on the complexity of the situation, the implementation time can increase by two or three times.

Based on the need for human resources, we can assume for this entire period a permanent team of 3-4 people (strategist, analysts) and the need to involve enterprise employees in the work as necessary - heads of departments and ordinary performers. Chiefs will be involved for approximately one to two months of pure time throughout the entire design and implementation cycle, ordinary performers - less, from 2 weeks to a month. The costs of your specialists, taking this time into account, can be estimated. External consultants are not cheap. The services of a specialist can cost from 1.5 to 25 thousand rubles per hour of work.

A little about guarantees of success. We have already said that when designing a management system independently, an experienced and sensible manager, with the support of a team of his deputies, has a good chance of doing this work without the involvement of external consultants - although, of course, such a team will not achieve an ideal result the first time. The possibilities of a professional team are greater - and the more well-known (and expensive) consulting company you invite, the closer you will be to the ideal management system for your type of activity. A well-known company, as a rule, values ​​​​its reputation; during the pre-design examination, its specialists can draw a conclusion about the effectiveness of the upcoming work - or they can refuse if, for some reason, the success of the design is not guaranteed. Recently, another approach has emerged - during implementation, the leading consultant is hired by the client company as a top manager - director or deputy. Of course, reputation consulting company must be very high for this - but you can be sure of getting the result High Quality, with a noticeable saving of nerve cells. A little-known company may cost less, but the result is far from guaranteed.

Question: Is it possible to reduce the cost of designing a control system?

Answer: It is possible and necessary. A way to reduce the need for resources is to use specialized software products.

● The first reason why design automation is really useful is the ability to save and edit at every stage of the work. Created and saved “as is” business processes significantly facilitate the modeling of “as will be” processes - after all, it is easier to edit than to create again.

● The second reason comes from understanding the fundamentals of efficiency. Frequently repeated processes are critical to the overall progress of the business - after all, despite their simplicity and routine, their contribution to total labor costs is very significant. In the design of business processes there are quite a lot of template, repetitive actions, which, when handmade, will take the lion's share of the total development time. Of course, the use of CTRL-C - CTRL-V techniques significantly simplifies the work in WORD or Excel when entering them, but specialized software provides an even more convenient environment for design.

● The third reason is the interconnectedness of all objects - from departments and employees to processes at various levels and strategic goals. In a well-constructed system, everything should obey a single strategic system goals. Specialized software ensures this relationship and helps to avoid annoying mistakes due to inattention when entering information.

● The fourth reason is the possibility of optimization. Even though today there is no program that can independently design best option business process (otherwise the need for managers and business analysts would disappear by itself, a computer is cheaper) - but to simulate hundreds of cycles of each of thousands of business processes in dozens of variations of their interaction... Try to do this using Excel! And in this case it is impossible to do without statistical processing - after all, the system will work in the real world, where anything happens.

● The fifth (and, for many, the most important) reason is automation of the result output. Even the most excellent management system will remain just a project until business processes turn into regulations and job descriptions. A system capable of automatically developing all these hundreds and thousands of regulatory documents, and even delivering them to each employee, will save the manager a very large amount of his very expensive time. Of course, when correcting business processes (and it is strongly recommended to check them for vitality at least annually) automated system will not forget to make changes to all documents affected by the changes - and again inform employees of the new rules of the game. We must not forget that automatically generated regulations are consistent with each other and are consistent (if, of course, business processes are designed correctly) and employees will no longer be able to exploit “holes” in your internal legislation.

● The sixth reason. Important, rather, for novice designers. The instructions for specialized software in itself are a statement of the basics of business process modeling. Working according to the template outlined in the software, a beginner will not make any annoying mistakes, the system will not allow you to skip any important actions or steps, due to which the chances of design success increase significantly.

business process modeling tools

In Russia, the following modeling tools are widely used to model and analyze business processes: Rational Rose, Oracle Designer, AllFusion Process Modeler (B.P.Win) And AllFusion ERwin Data Modeler (ERWin), ARIS, Power Designer. Abroad, in addition to those mentioned, such tools as System Architect, Ithink Analyst, ReThink, etc. are actively used. Table 1 presents a list of tools involved in the consideration. Information provided includes:

• name of the tool;
• information about the supplier and representative in Russia;
• brief description of the tool.

Let us highlight the main criteria that allow us to select from the presented modeling tools those whose use in Russia would be more likely to justify itself. These criteria are:

• stable position of the product on the market(its lifespan, product development program, problem reporting system, set of applications, etc.);
• product prevalence(number of licenses sold, availability, size and level of activity of the user group);
• Availability of vendor support. Such services may include telephone hotline", technical and consulting support through the supplier’s representative in Russia;
• accessibility of training. Training can be carried out on the premises of the supplier's representative in Russia, the user or elsewhere;
• availability of product materials. These may include computer training materials, teaching aids, books, articles, information on the Internet, demo versions.

From the list of tools given in the table, for a more detailed analysis, we will select those software products that meet the specified criteria. In this case, the scope of our further consideration includes BPWIn/ERWin, Oracle Designer, Rational Rose, Power Designer, ARIS, for which more information is presented below detailed description.

BPWin and ERWin from Computer Associates. Computer Associates International, Inc. (CA) is one of the five leading software manufacturers, offering tools for modeling, backup, enterprise infrastructure management (networks, servers, etc.), information security, business intelligence, etc. The BPWin package is based on the IDEF methodology and is intended for functional modeling and analysis of enterprise activities. The IDEF methodology, which is an official US federal standard, is a set of methods, rules and procedures designed to build a functional model of an object in a particular subject area. The IDEF functional model displays the functional structure of an object, i.e. the actions it performs and the connections between these actions.

BPwin features:

• supports three standard notations at once - IDEF0 (functional modeling), DFD (data flow modeling) and IDEF3 (work flow modeling). These three main perspectives allow us to describe the subject area in the most comprehensive manner;
• allows you to optimize procedures in the company;
• fully supports methods for calculating costs based on the volume of economic activity (functional cost analysis, ABC);
• facilitates certification for compliance with ISO9000 quality standards;
• integrated with ERwin (for database modeling), Paradigm Plus (for modeling software components), etc.;
• integrated with Arena simulation tool;
• contains its own report generator;
• allows you to effectively manipulate models - merge and split them;
• has a wide range of tools for documenting models and projects.

The ERWin package is a conceptual database modeling tool. Used in modeling and creating databases of arbitrary complexity based on entity-relationship diagrams. ERWin is currently the most popular data modeling package due to its support wide range DBMS of various classes. ERWin features:

• supports the SADT structural modeling methodology and the following notations: standard IDEF1x notation for ER diagrams of data models, IE notation and a special notation designed for designing data warehouses - Dimensional;
• supports direct (creating a database based on a model) and reverse (generating a model from an existing database) design for 20 types of DBMS: desktop, relational and specialized DBMS designed for creating data warehouses;
• integrated with the Computer Associates product line to support all stages of IS development, CASE tools Oracle Designer, Rational Rose, development tools, etc.;
• allows you to reuse components of previously created models, as well as use the developments of other developers;
• it is possible for a group of designers to work together with the same models (using AllFusion Model Manager);
• allows you to transfer the database structure (not the data itself!) from a DBMS of one type of DBMS to another;
• allows you to document the structure of the database.

Oracle Designer by Oracle. Oracle Designer Toolkit Offers an Integrated Development Solution application systems corporate level for Web and client/server applications. Oracle Designer is involved in every phase of the software development life cycle - from business process modeling to implementation. The use of a single repository makes it possible to use any of its components for the rapid development of scalable, cross-platform distributed applications. The purpose of Oracle Designer is to collect data about user needs and automate the construction of flexible graphical applications. Oracle Designer is used not only to create applications, but also to keep track of changes that inevitably occur during system operation. Graphical project definition models integrated with a multi-user repository make working with Oracle Designer much easier. The tools are built on the basis of generally accepted techniques covering the entire life cycle development and enabling users in a way familiar to their organization. This provides a flexible and open approach to software development by using only those parts of the product that are required for a given task. The development process supports RAD, JAD, information design, waterfall, iterative, and other methods. Using these principles, you can successfully balance organizational needs and technological capabilities, and even effectively manage the risk associated with frequent unavoidable and important changes both in one and in another area. Oracle Designer conceptual modeling tools include:

• ER diagrams (diagrams of the information structure of a subject area, represented in the form of objects and their relationships);
• functional hierarchy diagrams that describe the functions that the system performs;
• diagrams of data flows circulating in the enterprise.

Such models present information needs in a convenient and visual form, which makes them a good means of communication between designers and users in the process of clarifying problem statements. Any developer is interested in the description of the conceptual model being used to create specifications that describe the structure and main components of the future system. In Oracle Designer, all system design specifications are developed based on conceptual level models and ensure that all requirements and constraints contained therein are met. The resulting system components can be converted into real database objects, screen forms and reports. The final part of project development - automatic generation of server components - is possible not only for the Oracle database server, but also for Microsoft SQL Server, DB/2, Sybase and a number of others. Any changes to business processes can be made to the models and a modified application is immediately generated, based on new business schemes. In this case, everything developed previously will be saved and included in new project. Oxle Designer automatically creates reports that contain all the information about the project and can be used as a set of documents reflecting the current state of the project.

IBM's Rational Rose . IBM Rational Rose is part of the IBM Rational Suite and is designed for modeling software systems using a wide range of tools and platforms. Rational Rose is one of the leading visual modeling tools in the software industry, with full UML support and multi-language team development support. The tool fully supports the component-oriented IP creation process. Any project participants - analysts, modelers, developers and others - can use models built in Rational Rose to create the final product more efficiently. For business analysts, Rational Rose makes it possible to describe and analyze in detail the business processes of a given subject area. System analysts, using the specified descriptions, will be able to develop the necessary IS functionality that will best satisfy the customer’s needs. Architects will find Rational Rose useful in creating powerful and flexible system architectures. For analysts specializing in database development, Rational Rose provides the ability to visually design and generate databases of any size. Thus, you can create Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, SQL Anywhere, IBM DB2 and any other databases that support the ability to run ANSI SQL standard scripts. Any models created using this tool are interrelated: business model, functional model, analysis model, design model, database model, component model, and physical system deployment model. It is possible to create templates for architectural solutions that allow you to use the experience accumulated in previous projects. There are Rational Rose extensions that allow you to perform skeletal (round-trip) development of IS created based on the languages ​​C/C++, Java, Smalltalk, Ada, Object Pascal (Borland Delphi), etc. Thus, you can generate a program code framework in any from the specified languages ​​or perform a reverse engineering procedure, which allows you to create a model based on existing code. It is possible to publish the model on the Internet, which serves as the basis for combining the work of remote development teams. Integration of Rational Rose with Rational RequisitePro allows, based on a visual model, to develop a complete set of requirements that must be implemented when creating the final product. Rational Rose integration with Rational TestManager allows you to create test scenarios based on a visual model. Integration of Rational Rose with Rational ClearCase allows you to put the model in whole or in parts under version control. Integration of Rational Rose with Rational SoDA allows you to automate the process of creating documents and reports based on a visual model.

Sybase PowerDesigner. Sybase has traditionally been a leading supplier since its founding. information technologies to the global market of financial institutions: Sybase technologies are used by 90% of the world's securities market companies, 60% of the world's banks and 68% of Wall Street companies. Since 1996, when an office opened in Moscow, Sybase has been actively working in Russia and other CIS countries. In April 2002, the company's offices were opened in St. Petersburg and Kyiv. Sybase offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kyiv provide comprehensive work with clients, including the supply of technology, equipment, development of complete solutions, user training, full-featured technical support and consulting services. PowerDesigner is a comprehensive solution for modeling and designing applications and business processes for organizations that need to quickly, consistently and cost-effectively create or re-engineer business applications. PowerDesigner removes the following barriers to effective project development: differences in vocational training project participants, heterogeneous platforms and an abundance of development languages ​​- this is what is typical for most modern companies. This allows you to focus on the business needs of creating applications throughout the entire development process - from system analysis and design, right down to the actual code generation for the application. Latest version product, PowerDesigner, provides new capabilities for business process modeling, UML-based object modeling, and supports both traditional and emerging modeling technologies within one advanced graphical environment. This allows you to significantly reduce the costs and time of project implementation, which must function on various platforms and tool environments. One of the main benefits of PowerDesigner is also the use of an enterprise-wide repository to store and manage all information related to application modeling and design at all levels of business in the company. This allows you to properly organize the workflow and radically increase the developer’s work efficiency. Key Features of PowerDesigner:

• Business Process Modeling: PowerDesigner allows a company's non-technical team to design and model business processes based on business objectives and terms they know, using a simple and intuitive graphical non-technical model.
• Data Modeling: PowerDesigner allows you to design and generate a database schema through two-level (conceptual and physical) relational database modeling that supports classic database design techniques. It also has built-in data warehouse modeling tools.
• Object Modeling: PowerDesigner offers a complete system analysis and design technology using the UML standard (business process, flow, class and component diagrams). Based on the class diagram, PowerDesigner automatically generates and reverse-engineers code for popular frameworks such as JavaTM (including EJB 2.0), XML, Web Services, C++, PowerBuilder, Visual Basic and others through a custom generator.
• Enterprise Repository: The Enterprise version of PowerDesigner contains enterprise class repository functionality. The repository allows everyone on your team to easily view and share models and other information. The repository is highly scalable and supports user role-based security, version control, search, and reporting capabilities.

ARIS from IDS Scheer AG. Currently, there is a tendency to integrate a variety of methods for modeling and analyzing systems, manifested in the form of creating integrated modeling tools. One such product is a product called ARIS, developed by the German company IDS Scheer. IDS Sheer AG was founded in 1984. Its main focus is software and consulting. Currently, the company serves 4,000 clients in 50 countries through a network of its representative offices and partners. The quality of IDS Scheer solutions was confirmed in June 2005 by the gold medal of the International Poznań Fair, where only the best products are awarded. And also in July 2005, when ARIS 7 software products with completely new web products were introduced to the world market - all of them have common feature- intuitive and expressive interface. The ARIS system is a set of tools for analyzing and modeling enterprise activities. Its methodological basis is a combination of different modeling methods, reflecting different views on the system under study. The same model can be developed using several methods, which allows ARIS to be used by specialists with different theoretical knowledge and configured to work with systems that have their own specifics. The ARIS modeling methodology is based on the theory of integrated information systems developed by Professor August Scher, which defines the principles of visual display of all aspects of the functioning of the analyzed companies. ARIS supports four types of models, reflecting different aspects of the system under study:

• organizational models representing the structure of the system - the hierarchy of organizational units, positions and specific individuals, connections between them, as well as the territorial location of structural units;
• functional models containing a hierarchy of goals facing the management apparatus, with a set of function trees necessary to achieve the goals;
• information models reflecting the structure of information necessary to implement the entire set of system functions;
• management models that represent a comprehensive view of the implementation of business processes within the system.

To build the listed types of models, both ARIS’s own modeling methods and various well-known modeling methods and languages, in particular ER and UML, are used. In the modeling process, each aspect of the enterprise’s activities is first considered separately, and after a detailed study of all aspects, an integrated model is built that reflects all the connections between the various aspects. ARIS does not impose restrictions on the sequence of construction of the above types of models. The modeling process can begin with any of them, depending on the specific conditions and goals pursued by the developers. Models in ARIS are diagrams, the elements of which are various objects - “function”, “event”, “ structural subdivision", "document", etc. Various connections are established between objects. Each object corresponds to a specific set of attributes that allow you to enter additional information about a specific object. Attribute values ​​can be used in simulation modeling or for cost analysis. Thus, according to the results By completing this stage, a set of interconnected models emerges, which represent the source material for further analysis. It is worth noting several features of the ARIS system. The first is the ARIS family of software products focused on process description. The main business model of ARIS is eEPC (extended Event-driven Process Chain - extended model of a chain of event-driven processes). Essentially, the eEPC model expands the capabilities of IDEF0, IDEF3 and DFD, having all their advantages and disadvantages. The second feature is that the ARIS system has an internal database that allows you to check the model for consistency, integrity, and carry out verification models. This is not available in other products. Third feature: ARIS is the only system focused on describing a business, where there are different views on the business system that we can evaluate and consider with different sides, which is not in others software products. Over the past five years, ARIS has been a confident leader among modeling tools.

Let us indicate the main purpose of each product under consideration from its many applications:

• Erwin, Power Designer and Rational Rose tools are more suitable for database modeling;
• Oracle Designer, Power Designer and Rational Rose are more suitable for modeling components of developed applications;
• BPwin, ARIS and Rational Rose are more suitable for modeling business processes.

Table 2 below provides a comparison of the functionality and properties of tooling environments designed for modeling business processes.

Table 2. Comparative analysis of basic functions

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