A Non-Tech Geek’s Guide to Business Process Modeling

Automation, transformation, DT, optimization, process controls, workflows digitalization – these are some of the buzzwords that we all get to hear a lot in the present-age tech-driven world. While this is an everyday vocabulary for tech geeks and those involved in digital operations, a business person taking care of the non-tech aspects of a business often finds it tedious to grasp these jargons to its core. However, since the various units of business no more work as silos in the digital business world, there has emerged an inevitable need to have a sound understanding of technology, regardless of whether or not you are a part of any such process.

Take, for instance, business process modeling – which is often perceived as structuralizing a business process or operation, or merely creating a blueprint of how a process is to be performed. In reality, it is a comprehensive procedure, involving a lot of tools, techniques, and methodologies. Business Process Management (BPM) is a vital component of the business process and workflow automation and in the broader scope of business process management and digital transformation.

Starting off with our new series of blogs on BPM, we’ll get to understand its concept to the core and gradually proceed to its various techniques, approaches, tools, and methodologies.

But first, the definition…

Business process modeling (BPM) in business process management and systems engineering is the activity of representing processes of an enterprise, so that the current process may be analyzed, improved, and automated. BPM is typically performed by business analysts, who provide expertise in the modeling discipline; by subject matter experts, who have specialized knowledge of the processes being modeled; or more commonly by a team comprising both. Alternatively, the process model can be derived directly from events' logs using process mining tools.

In simple words, it is the process of mapping our routine business functions, with the aim to streamline them for optimum efficiency. It can also be described as a bunch of interlinked tasks, queued in a definite sequence, and followed systematically to create concrete models for different procedures such as communication, analysis, representation, design, decisions, and control.

Business Process Modeling – what it does 

The core objective that contributed to the evolution of business process modeling is the dire need for SOPs, to keep routine procedures in check and can also be scaled to deliver to the changing needs of a business.

At its core, business process modeling seeks to understand the routine operations of a business, and streamlines them through BPM tools and techniques, one process at a time. This end-to-end understanding of regular business operations performed by individual employees on a routine basis provides a good insight into the working and progress of organization as a whole.

Using tools such as organizational charts, graphical illustrations, diagrams, flows, and statistical representations, Business Process Management provides ample ground for case studies, process optimization, cost analysis and developing a thorough understanding of various business functions. Not just that, it also helps identify the loops and redundancies are lurking in the current processes and helps you elevate your routine business functions to achieve a higher level of efficiency.

Business Process Modelling – understanding the process

The Business Process Modeling process starts with gathering information, documents, and records about a process. The model creators delve into sifting those records, reviewing them thoroughly, as well as making keen practical observations to understand the way a process is performed. Next, they create a flow, from its onset until the deliverance of results, using charts, flows, and diagrams for a 360-degree analysis and elaboration.

The model as well as the modeling technique may vary from process to process, depending upon the nature and requisites of a process. The end goal, however, remains the same – to develop a comprehensive understanding, and streamline a method to deliver at its optimum.

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