About the description of business processes
When implementing projects, we occasionally encounter the need to explain to the customer why a description of business processes is needed. Not all of them agree that, before programming a task, it is necessary to correctly describe it from the point of view of business logic. Under the cut - a brief overview of the main approaches to the description of business processes.
Modern methodologies act as a link between standards and practice, and at the same time provide the basis for the accumulation of knowledge within the organization. There are a huge number of methods for describing business processes, developing in parallel with the growing tasks and complexity of modern organizations: in the form of tables, text, or using graphic techniques. Graphic methods today are considered the most optimal thanks to the imagery and visibility.
ARIS
The ARIS system (Architecture of Integrated Information System), developed by IDS Scheer, refers to graphical ways of describing and represents an integrated environment for analyzing and modeling enterprise activity and developing automated systems. In the Gartner Group ranking, ARIS holds a leading position in the market for tools for modeling and analyzing business processes. The system describes the organizational, functional, informational and managerial aspects of the system under study. The methodological basis of the system is a combination of different modeling methods, reflecting different views on the system under study, but at the same time integrated within one approach. To build these types of models, we use both our own ARIS modeling methods and various well-known modeling methods and languages - ERM, UML, OMT, etc.
Among the advantages of ARIS there are: a large number of developed tools of structured graphical representation for visual display of hierarchies, advanced modeling and setting / generating reports, for example, which is convenient when documenting business processes, formalization of algorithms, etc. Of the minuses, we note the limited area of its effective use, the high cost.
The relationship between the types of models used by ARIS.
Rational Unified Process
Rational Unified Process (RUP) is a software development methodology created by Rational Software. The methodology is based on an iterative approach to software development, that is, the project is broken down into smaller projects with prescribed goals, implemented sequentially.
RUP is well formalized, and the most attention is paid to the initial stages of project development - analysis and modeling. Thus, this methodology aims to reduce commercial risk (risk mitigating) by detecting errors in the early stages of development. Technical risks (assesses) are assessed and “placed” according to priorities in the early stages of the development cycle, and then revised over time and with the development of the project during subsequent iterations. New targets appear depending on the priorities of these risks. Releases of versions are distributed in such a way that the highest priority risks are eliminated first. Three components are necessary for a successful development process: process (process), notation (notation) and a set of utilities (tools). The process describes what we do, in what order, and in what way; notation is a means of communication; A set of utilities helps automate and manage the process.
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IDEF
Most modern methods of analysis and design were developed and tested for the first time by structures associated with the military-industrial complex for solving defense tasks, and only then put on commercial rails. The IDEF (Integrated DEFinition) methodology was created within the framework of the industry computerization program proposed by the US Air Force - ICAM. The goal of the program was to increase the efficiency of computer technologies in the design of new weapons and combat operations. As a result, the experts came to the conclusion that descriptive languages are not effective for documenting and modeling the processes of functioning of complex systems. IDEF family methodologies allow you to efficiently display and analyze activity models of a wide range of complex systems in various sections. At the same time, the latitude and depth of examination of processes in the system is determined by the developer himself, which allows not to overload the model being created with excessive data.
Summarizing
When designing information systems, the chaotic code and fix approach rarely produces good results. It is also obvious that without a proper analysis of the processes, all the rest of the work is not very meaningful, and in our experience, the analysis carried out during the implementation allows customers to, among other things, understand how everything really works for them. That in itself is valuable, regardless of what solution will be used to automate the modeled process and what results will be achieved in this case.
Modern methodologies act as a link between standards and practice, and at the same time provide the basis for the accumulation of knowledge within the organization. There are a huge number of methods for describing business processes, developing in parallel with the growing tasks and complexity of modern organizations: in the form of tables, text, or using graphic techniques. Graphic methods today are considered the most optimal thanks to the imagery and visibility.
ARIS
The ARIS system (Architecture of Integrated Information System), developed by IDS Scheer, refers to graphical ways of describing and represents an integrated environment for analyzing and modeling enterprise activity and developing automated systems. In the Gartner Group ranking, ARIS holds a leading position in the market for tools for modeling and analyzing business processes. The system describes the organizational, functional, informational and managerial aspects of the system under study. The methodological basis of the system is a combination of different modeling methods, reflecting different views on the system under study, but at the same time integrated within one approach. To build these types of models, we use both our own ARIS modeling methods and various well-known modeling methods and languages - ERM, UML, OMT, etc.
Among the advantages of ARIS there are: a large number of developed tools of structured graphical representation for visual display of hierarchies, advanced modeling and setting / generating reports, for example, which is convenient when documenting business processes, formalization of algorithms, etc. Of the minuses, we note the limited area of its effective use, the high cost.
The relationship between the types of models used by ARIS.
Rational Unified Process
Rational Unified Process (RUP) is a software development methodology created by Rational Software. The methodology is based on an iterative approach to software development, that is, the project is broken down into smaller projects with prescribed goals, implemented sequentially.
RUP is well formalized, and the most attention is paid to the initial stages of project development - analysis and modeling. Thus, this methodology aims to reduce commercial risk (risk mitigating) by detecting errors in the early stages of development. Technical risks (assesses) are assessed and “placed” according to priorities in the early stages of the development cycle, and then revised over time and with the development of the project during subsequent iterations. New targets appear depending on the priorities of these risks. Releases of versions are distributed in such a way that the highest priority risks are eliminated first. Three components are necessary for a successful development process: process (process), notation (notation) and a set of utilities (tools). The process describes what we do, in what order, and in what way; notation is a means of communication; A set of utilities helps automate and manage the process.
')
IDEF
Most modern methods of analysis and design were developed and tested for the first time by structures associated with the military-industrial complex for solving defense tasks, and only then put on commercial rails. The IDEF (Integrated DEFinition) methodology was created within the framework of the industry computerization program proposed by the US Air Force - ICAM. The goal of the program was to increase the efficiency of computer technologies in the design of new weapons and combat operations. As a result, the experts came to the conclusion that descriptive languages are not effective for documenting and modeling the processes of functioning of complex systems. IDEF family methodologies allow you to efficiently display and analyze activity models of a wide range of complex systems in various sections. At the same time, the latitude and depth of examination of processes in the system is determined by the developer himself, which allows not to overload the model being created with excessive data.
Summarizing
When designing information systems, the chaotic code and fix approach rarely produces good results. It is also obvious that without a proper analysis of the processes, all the rest of the work is not very meaningful, and in our experience, the analysis carried out during the implementation allows customers to, among other things, understand how everything really works for them. That in itself is valuable, regardless of what solution will be used to automate the modeled process and what results will be achieved in this case.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/116851/
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