Integrated business modeling

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The Integrated Enterprise Modeling (IUM) is an at Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology developed (IPK) Berlin business process modeling method.

The IUM is to receive and re-engineering of processes used both in manufacturing companies, as well as in the public sector and service companies. In the IUM, various aspects such as functions and data are described in a model. The method also supports analyzes of business processes regardless of the existing organizational structure .

Basic constructs

The IUM method uses an object-oriented approach and adapts it for the company description . The core of the method is an application-oriented division of all elements of a company into generic object classes “product” , “resource” and “order” .

Generic object classes of the IUM
Overview of the object classes product, order and resource

product

The object class “product” represents all objects, the production and sale of which is the aim of the respective company, as well as all objects that flow into the end product. This includes raw materials, intermediate products, components and end products as well as services and the descriptive data.

assignment

The object class “order” describes all types of assignment in the company. The objects of the "Order" class represent the information that is relevant from the perspective of planning, controlling and monitoring company processes. This means what is done, when, on which objects, under whose responsibility and with which resources.

resource

The IUM class "Resource" includes all the necessary service providers who are required to carry out or support activities in the company. These include employees, business partners, all types of documents, as well as information systems or operating resources.

The classes “product”, “order” and “resource” can be detailed and specified step by step. This makes it possible to map both industry-specific and company-specific product, order and resource sub-classes. Structures (e.g. parts lists or organizational charts) can be mapped as relational characteristics of the classes with the help of is-part-of- and consists-of relationships between different subclasses.

action

The activities that are necessary to manufacture products and provide services can be described as follows: an activity is the targeted change of objects. The target orientation of the activities requires explicit or implicit planning and control. The execution of the activities is incumbent on the capable service providers. The definitions for the following constructs can be derived from these considerations:

Generic activity model
  • An action is an object-neutral description of activities: a verbal description of a work task, a process or a procedure;
  • a function describes a change of state of objects of a class from one defined status to another defined status by applying an action;
  • For the state transformation of objects of a class described by a function, an activity specifies the controlling order and the resources necessary for the execution of this transformation in the company, each represented by an object state description.

Points of view

All modeled data of the company under consideration is recorded in the model core of an IUM model in two main perspectives: the "information model" and the "business process model". In the "information model" all relevant objects of a company, their properties and relationships are mapped. These are class trees of the object classes “Product”, “Order” and “Resource”. The "business process model" represents company processes and their relationships to one another. Activities are mapped in their interaction with the objects.

Process modeling

Model example

The structuring of the company processes in IUM is achieved through their hierarchical subdivision with the help of decomposition. Decomposition means breaking down a system into subsystems, each of which contains components that are logically related. Process modeling is a division of processes into their sub-processes. Each sub-process describes a self-contained task. The decomposition of individual processes can be carried out until the sub-processes are manageable, i.e. H. are correspondingly small. However, they must not be too rudimentary either , since a large number of detailed processes increases the complexity of a business process model. A process modeler must therefore find a balance between striving for a detailed description of the company processes and the degree of complexity of the model. In general, a model depth with a maximum of three to four decomposition levels (model levels) is recommended.

On a model level, business process flows are represented with the help of illustrated linking elements. There are the following basic types of links between activities:

Sequential sequence
Sequential sequence
With a sequential sequence, the activities are carried out one after the other.
Parallel branching
Parallel branching
A parallel branch means that all activities to be executed in parallel must be completed before the next activity can be started. It is not necessary that the parallel activities are carried out at the same time. They can also be staggered.
Case distinction
Case distinction
Decision either or. The case differentiation is a branching into alternative processes, depending on the definition of the subsequent states
Merging
Merging
The end of a parallel or alternative execution or an integration of process chains is indicated by the merging.
loop
loop
A return (loop, cycle) is represented with the help of case distinction and merging. The activities included in the loop are carried out until the condition for continuation is met.

Modeling approach

The modeling procedure for mapping business processes in IUM comprises the following steps:

  • System delimitation,
  • Modeling,
  • Model evaluation and use,
  • Model change.

The system delimitation is the basis of efficient modeling. Based on a task, the area of ​​the real system to be mapped is selected and interfaces to the environment are defined. The level of detail to be modeled is also determined; H. the depth of the hierarchical decomposition relationships in the "Business Process Model" view.

When creating the model , the delimited real system is converted into an abstract model with the help of the IUM method. The IUM is about the creation of the two main perspectives “information model” and “business process model” . The “information model” is created by specifying the object classes to be modeled for “product” , “order” and “resource” with their class structures as well as descriptive and relational characteristics. The “business process model” is formed through the identification and description of functions, activities and their linkage to processes. As a rule, the creation of the "information model" follows first, whereby the modeler can fall back on existing reference class structures. The reference classes that do not correspond to the real system or were found to be irrelevant in the system delimitation are deleted. The missing relevant classes are inserted. After the object base has been determined, the activities and functions on the objects are combined to form business processes in accordance with the "generic activity model" and with the help of link elements. This creates a model that is then analyzed and changed if necessary. It often happens that new relevant object classes are identified during the creation of the “business process model” so that the class trees are completed. Thus, creating both perspectives is an iterative process.

Subsequently, in the course of the model evaluation , weak points and potential for improvement can be identified. This can lead to model changes, the implementation of which in the real system should eliminate the weak points and exploit the potential for improvement.

Modeling system MO²GO

The software tool MO²GO (method for object-oriented business process optimization) supports the modeling process based on the integrated company modeling (IUM). Various analyzes of a given model are available such as planning and implementing information systems. The MO²GO system is easily expandable and enables a quick modeling approach.

The currently used MO²GO system consists of the following components:

MO²GO NG version 1.4

This component offers modeling functions for IUM class structures, process chains and evaluation mechanisms.

MO²GO Macro Editor Version 2.1

The macro editor supports the design of MO²GO macros for user-defined evaluation procedures.

MO²GO Viewer Version 1.4

The Java-based and license-free MO²GO Viewer is an easy-to-use user interface to navigate through MO²GO process chains.

MO²GO XML Converter Version 1.0

Nowadays the IT implementation mainly works with UML diagrams. MO²GO supplies a component-based XML file from a model that can be imported into UML auxiliary programs.

MO²GO process assistant

Process assistant

The IUM business process models contain a great deal of information that can not only be used by system analysts , but can also be helpful to employees in their daily work. In order to make this model information available to the workforce and thereby enable the employees to participate in the modeling results, a special tool was developed at Fraunhofer IPK. It is a web-based process assistant, the content of which is automatically generated from the company's IUM business process model. The process assistant provides all users with the information of the business process model in an HTML- based form via the company's intranet . No special knowledge of methods or tools is required for its use, apart from basic IT and Internet experience.

The process assistant has been developed in such a way that employees can quickly and precisely find answers to questions such as: B.

  • What processes are there in the company?
  • How are they structured?
  • Who and with what responsibility is involved in the particular process?
  • Which documents and application systems are used?

Or:

  • Which processes is a specific organizational unit involved in?
  • Or in which processes is a certain document or application system used?

In order to create an informative process wizard from the business process model, certain modeling rules must be followed. That means z. For example, the individual actions with their descriptions must be stored, the responsibility of the organizational units must be specified explicitly or the paths to the documents must be entered in the class tree. The fulfillment of these conditions means additional time expenditure for the modeling, however, if these conditions are met, all employees can "surf" online through an informative company documentation with the help of the process assistant on the intranet . You can choose between a graphical view and a textual description according to your preferences and previous methodological knowledge. The graphic view is provided by the MO²GO viewer, a viewing tool for MO²GO models. The process assistant and the MO²GO viewer are linked in such a way that context-sensitive access to the graphic representation of the process under consideration can be made from the process assistant.

Users can call up all templates, specifications and documents for the operational sequence from both the process assistant and the MO²GO viewer online. This means that the process assistant can be used not only to track the modeling results, but also in day-to-day business for training new employees and executing process steps. In order to improve its usability in day-to-day business, the process assistant can be flexibly adapted to the needs of the user. This adjustment can be made both in relation to the layout and the main focus of the process assistant.

literature

  • Kai Mertins, F.-W. Jaekel: MO²GO: User Oriented Enterprise Models for Organizational and IT Solutions. In: Peter Bernus, Kai Mertins, Günter Schmidt (Eds.): Handbook on Architectures of Information Systems. 2nd edition. Springer-Verlag, Berlin et al. 2006, ISBN 3-540-25472-2 , pp. 649-664.
  • Martin Schwermer: Modeling procedure for planning business processes. Production Technology Center Berlin and others, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-8167-5163-6 (also: Berlin, Techn. Univ., Diss., 1997).
  • Kai Mertins, Roland Jochem: MO²GO. In: Peter Bernus, Kai Mertins, Günter Schmidt (Eds.): Handbook on Architectures of Information Systems. Springer-Verlag, Berlin et al. 1998, ISBN 3-540-64453-9 , pp. 589-600.
  • Kai Mertins, Roland Jochem (ed.): Quality-oriented design of business processes. Beuth-Verlag, Berlin et al. 1997, ISBN 3-410-13786-6 .
  • Kai Mertins, Wolfram Süssenguth, Roland Jochem: Modeling methods for computer-integrated production processes. Business modeling, software design, interface definition, simulation. Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich et al. 1994, ISBN 3-446-17746-9 .
  • Günter Spur , Kai Mertins, Roland Jochem, Hans-Jürgen Warnecke (eds.): Integrated corporate modeling Beuth Verlag GmbH, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-410-12923-5 .

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