Introducing to Variant Management

In SAP Signavio Process Manager, a process variant is a variation of a business process that captures the differences in the way it is executed and documented. Such variants cater to different requirements or scenarios within an organization. They allow for flexibility and customization while maintaining a standardized core process framework.

There are many situations in which having process variants might prove useful or even necessary. Just think about the distinctions between business units, customer journeys, and geographical locations. Let’s take the latter as our example.

Say you’re a multinational company with a standardized employee onboarding process. Still, some process tasks or business objects used – for example, those related to regulatory requirements – will differ depending on the location. Although there’s one main initiative with the same goal, there are various perspectives on it, represented by the process variants.

Process variants in SAP Signavio represent these different perspectives. Each variant is based on characteristics that set it apart from the main process and other variants. These characteristics are structured as:

• Dimensions (dictionary categories)
• Values (dictionary entries)

They help process owners and modelers:

• Identify and manage process variants
• Control relationships and reduce redundancy
• Track and apply changes
• Ensure users access the right variant based on their role and context

With these tools, organizations can streamline processes while accommodating diverse needs.

A process template is a process model designated as the main process for creating or linking process variants.

Each process template is associated with at least one variant. However, you can designate a diagram as a template without immediately attaching variants and add them later. Variants can also be detached from a template as needed.

You can manage process templates in SAP Signavio Process Collaboration Hub. The actions available to you depend on your role, authorizations, and where you access the diagrams.

A process variant is a variation of a process model that differs from its template in at least one dimension or value. It represents a distinct way a process is executed in different contexts, such as:

• Geographical locations

• Customer channels

• Business units

• Other unique characteristics requiring customization

Variants can differ in elements such as process sequence, roles and responsibilities, IT systems, documents, and other attributes.

You can create a variant in the following ways:

• Attach an existing diagram to a process template (must use the same modeling notation).
  • For example, BPMN models can only have BPMN variants.
• Clone a template to create a variant.
• Clone an existing variant to create a new variant.

Process variants are managed in SAP Signavio Process Collaboration Hub. The actions available to you depend on your role, authorizations, and where you access the diagrams.

Differentiate process templates and variants by using dimensions and their corresponding values.

The diagram below provides examples of possible dimensions you can use to define process variants and templates:

Process variants differ from their template in at least one value. That value either belongs to the same dimension used by the template, or to an additional dimension.

Example Dimensions and Values for a Coffee and Tea Company:

Dimensions are stored as dictionary categories, and values are stored as dictionary entries. You can add and edit dictionary categories in the SAP Signavio Process Manager editor. Any dictionary category that you want to use as a dimension in variant management needs to be defined as such:

1. Choose Setup Define notations/attributes Dictionary.

2. Add a new category and fill in the required information.

   To change an existing category, select the category name and choose Edit.

3. Select the Use for Variant Management checkbox.
4. Save your changes.