“The key to business success is to realize where the world is going and get there first.” – Bill Gates
An informed (and intelligent) construction of business processes confers key benefits including high levels of productivity and enhanced operational efficiencies in the domain of modern enterprise. That said, such construction benefits from the use of a systematic paradigm known as business process modeling, the rationale for which resides in the following observation: “Businesses rarely operate at peak efficiency. To make sure that an organization is performing optimally, planners must constantly re-evaluate, improve, and even completely re-work various work processes. Business process modeling is a good start for that.” In operational terms, such activity implies the creation of graphical representations of different business processes and workflows. Such representations help planners to identify locations of improvement in business processes and effect productive changes in the co-relationships between different components of said processes. This objective is achieved through different illustrative methods such as flowcharts that depict the facts, depths, and nuances that animate modern enterprise.
Visual representations of business process modeling must consistently depict a range of actions, locations, connections, and end-points spread over the expanse of a flowchart. The illustration can be delineated into a number of parallel sections that span the flowchart; each section signifies different sections of an enterprise – or the various touch points through which a depicted process operates. The creators must label each stage or sub-stage clearly as part of efforts to generate a clear visual image that explains the working of a process. In addition, designers must work to accomplish the final image with high levels of precision that reflect the planned operation of a certain process. Precision can spell the difference between a smoothly organized process and disturbing forms of dissonance. The resulting map (or visual model) must emerge as a blueprint that informs observers and reviewers; it must necessarily serve as a template for future processes and a guide that exemplifies clarity in the transmission of complex information.
A series of artifacts such as business rules, process dependency rules, data usage rules, data content rules, non-functional rules, activities, events, and flows must populate the various sections of a business process modeling flowchart. Each of these artifacts includes a small universe comprising actions, the use of analytics, process attributes, process owners, operating principles, connections, review mechanisms, etc. These minutiae represent the moving parts that animate a modern attempt at business process modeling and impart momentum and direction to depicted processes. For instance, an e-commerce operator could create a high definition image to portray each section of business processes in substantial detail. The aforesaid artifacts can impart depth, tone, and multiple layers of meaning to the image, thereby aiding in the emergence of a superb, structured blueprint that elegantly conveys the complexities of conducting contemporary trade.
An effective business process modeling initiative empowers operators to align the conduct of business with IT strategy. Such a stance ensures sponsor enterprises leverage the enormous benefits that accrue from finely-tuned IT infrastructure to sustain successful business operations. In line with this, they could devise flowcharts that project two distinct segments that variously link information technology to strategic, tactical, and operational goals. For instance, a business operator could deploy software packages to enhance the use of digitized data across the organization, resulting in faster (access to) and analysis of business information while generating reports and presentations. Further, specialized software packages can effectively enhance visibility for business owners and process managers, thereby contributing to intelligent, context-aware decision making. Hence, we could state this stance provides a multi-tiered matrix wherein IT acts an enabler in business process modeling and deeply insinuates the digital medium inside every aspect of business operations.
Managers, executives, and operatives must strive to maintain consistency across business processes in the interests of sustaining organizational performance. This stance can serve as a lynchpin in business process modeling initiatives; it can be translated into a series of checkpoints that feature inside flowchart diagrams. For instance, operators of a cargo delivery business can formulate sets of actions that include a consistent pool of professional vehicle drivers, the pervasive use of information technology to power operations, regular communications with customers and the intended recipients of cargo pallets, constant reserves of hydrocarbon fuels at key stations, certain redundancies and back-up procedures, dedicated staff to monitor operational dashboards, etc. These elements allow said operator to maintain consistent progress towards commitments to customers and burnish the brand value of the sponsor enterprise. We note the flowchart enables this aspect of business process modeling to gain prominence.
The myriad communications among different processes assume critical importance when we survey the modern domain of business process modeling. Smooth communication must find facilitation through appropriate decision rules framed in tune with business imperatives. In line with this, flowcharts can feature a common unified language that propels velocity inside manifest processes. Further, this stance assumes every process would undergo formalization and documentation, thereby enabling the flowchart to emerge as a complete business document. Such an outcome rules out any form of reliance on fickle human nature and ensures robust institutional memory that preserves the integrity of bona fide business processes. Further, this aspect of business process modeling guarantees a natural line of defense against any form of external disruption that may assail modern business.
Certain observers aver, simulation, when undertaken inside business process modeling “allows analysis and understanding of the process flows; this helps managers to decide the scope for further optimization and efficiencies.” In light of such assertions, we could state simulation or experimentation empowers the creation of optimized processes that remove scope for wastage and inefficiency. Flowcharts serve as the perfect vehicle for iterating a variety of approaches to a certain business process; these illustrations help create the idealized business process, one that inspires confidence in every level of the modern organization. In addition, the delineation of such activities inside a flowchart allows designers and process managers to prototype the best approaches; this can be a business asset at times when businesses design new processes from scratch. The downstream effects of such developments include higher productivity, the optimal use of available resources, and minimal disruption in the foreseeable future.
The foregoing instances explore the various applications of the modern flowchart in the domain of business process modeling. We must reiterate the fact designers must embark on such voyages with the proverbial clean slate in mind; however, business imperatives and corporate objectives must serve as lodestones that impart direction and spur completion in such modeling initiatives. In addition, such projects can gain significantly from inputs and revisions offered by consultants, process specialists, and the stewards of an organization. Such inputs can also inject new forms of knowledge into organizational dynamics, thereby helping keep the agents of ossification at bay.
Further, nested silos of information, when appended to sections of flowcharts, can drive contextual relevance in a variety of business processes. Such practices enable organizations to continuously update process particulars by drawing deep from the wells of modern digital data. This is also important from the perspective of retaining a competitive edge in crowded markets. Further, multiple flowcharts could emerge to give shape to an expansive effort to model different business processes within an umbrella organization. These individual diagrams, upon completion, can undergo melding to create a master illustration that empowers the organization to realize its commercial destiny.
