How to Show the Best Value with BPM Process Mapping

This post describes what I have learned about process mapping and resulting business value using IBM's Blueworks Live.

1. First I discuss the need to document processes.
2. Then I summarize the benefits of Blueworks, and describe the ease and power of using it. I quote some powerful features of the tool, then compare to Visio.
3. Finally, I show how you can not only add value properties, but make them jump out with colors.

Why Document Business Processes?

A great excerpt from ElicitationTips-IBM_BlueWorksLives_workshop_workbook_1day-V1.1.pdf (this PDF is a bit dated, but still some good content):

"...every company needs to understand and document its processes. Whether for a process improvement project, to create visibility, or train new employees, process documentation is an essential part of a company’s process excellence."

Blueworks Benefits Summary

Per WUG2014_Blueworks_Live_at_Enterprise_Scale.pdf, following is a summary of benefits from process modeling in Blueworks:

• Simple user set-up via a secure cloud based tool. No installation required.
• Easy to learn with an intuitive interface that requires minimal training.
• Collaborative environment where multiple users can work concurrently, and track activity on the model.
• Centralised repository so everyone always has the latest copy of the model.
• Model validity is enforced (to BPMN), to improve the consistent readability of models across the organisation. [this allows future BPM automation!]
• Glossary of terms is implicitly built and can be refined by the administrators to encourage consistent use of language.
• Documentation on the process lives within the model, not in a separate document.
• Analysis tools that are simple to use enable a high level understanding of the attributes stored against the tasks within a process.

The Ease and Power of Using Blueworks

More great excerpts from ElicitationTips-IBM_BlueWorksLives_workshop_workbook_1day-V1.1.pdf:

• 'But why is it so difficult to document those processes? Today’s tools aren’t designed to be simple, structured, and usable by the average person. Blueworks Live changes that with a tool that documents just like outlining in PowerPoint or Word. Blueworks Live brings a simple no-hassle method to process documentation and discovery.' [page 40]
• 'a user starts "Blueprinting" a process... by describing milestones and their activities. An activity could contain a predefined list of properties, for example the participant, the cycle time, the risk, the added value etc. Users should try to specify the maximum amount of data for all activities.'
• 'BlueWorks Live offers a view to analyze content and to make decisions easier.'
• 'Once all activities have been defined, a process diagram, respecting the BPMN 2.0 notation, can be generated, updated and then upgraded with specific types of information such as events, decision branches,etc. It's the best way to describe real business processes.' [this allows future BPM automation!]
• 'The work done can be exported in several different formats. [PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint]'
• 'The first view you are brought to is called the “Discovery Map.” This is your building block view, meant to be very easy for anybody, regardless of experience in creating processes. This view supports “white boarding” of a process with the various members of the project team to get its initial structure mapped out. The Discovery Map view is not very concerned with process flow details such as decision branches and exceptions handling.'
• 'Each of the views supports a different type of activity. After you’ve worked with BlueWorks Live you will be comfortable with selecting the view appropriate to your immediate need. Here is a brief guide:
•  - The “Discovery Map” is great for documenting the higher-level process information.
•  - The “Process Diagram” contains lower-level swim lane details.
•  - The “Documentation” view focuses on the textual documentation that describes how the process is supposed to run. [this is where detailed steps go (the how) , not in actual activity box titles] '

Blueworks vs Visio

Tools like Visio are two-dimensional. There is no way to capture any depth of details, nor analyze and export them.

• Visio is a high-level visual representation at a specific time.
• Visio is great for context diagrams, showing “the system under consideration as a single high-level process and … the relationship that the system has with other external entities (systems, organizational groups, external data stores, etc.). ”

However:

• What you see is what you get. Remember WYSIWYG?
• It is harder to indicate multiple entities/properties.

Blueworks can have much more for details and analysis:

• MULTIPLE entity properties such as value, all Systems for an activity, value, inputs, outputs, cycle time, colors, etc.
• Exporting and searching of these properties
• Blueworks does not take a lot of expertise to maintain.
• Blueworks can go right into BPM for automation.

Showing Value

In addition to being able to indicate Yes/No/Required for the Value property of each activity box, you can also show green/red/yellow colors. You can then combine that with tightening the automatic layout and even going back to the Discovery Map view to quickly give management a sense of red/waste...

Conclusions

Blueworks is an easy, yet powerful tool. It adds dimensions to drawing tools like Visio! Don't be afraid to try it out, adapt to your REAL goals, then routinely revise your flows for the best value. 

#BusinessAnalysis #Requirements #BusinessAnalyst #Agile #IIBA #BA

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