Explaining the Procedure Models

The main objective of this three-stage model is to integrate IT departments with the rest of the business. This goal is best achieved when clear responsibilities within the process are defined and all stake-holders are involved and speak a "common language."

The primary target group of the strategic process model are process owners and process managers. In the early phases of process development, process participants and process analysts are also involved in the strategic process model. The strategic process model is intended to provide a basic, results-oriented representation of the process. The main goal of a strategic process model is to provide the fastest possible understanding of the process sequences while requiring no special knowledge of BPMN.

The strategic process model is developed from a high-level perspective without possible variations or errors. This error-free view of the process is also known as the "happy path."

An operational process model is used to orient process participants to their daily work tasks. At this stage, a process analyst also analyzes the weaknesses of the process and begins designing improvements. The process analyst then uses the operational process model to develop a technical process model, which is given to the process engineer for further refinement and subsequent implementation in the real world.

The objective of the technical process model is to refine the technical aspects of the process developed in the operational process model, allowing the process to run in a process engine. This level of the BPMN process can only be mapped directly as of BPMN 2.0.

The figures that follow show an example of the three-stage modelling process at work:

The figure shows an example of a strategic process model for a vacancy.

The figure shows the operational process model for this vacancy.

The figure now illustrates the technical process model for the business process vacancy.

There are various individuals involved in the development of a process, and each one has a distinct role.

The process owner is responsible for the strategic process and must assure that the performance of the process is optimized. The process owner is also responsible for budgeting the resources necessary for developing the process. In most organizations, the process owner is a senior management level employee with a wide range of responsibilities.

The process manager is responsible for the operational process and reports directory or indirectly to the process owner. The process manager performs as a principle in process development and is usually a member of the organization's middle or lower management.

Process participants do the actual work of the process. In most organizations, there are functional groups whose individuals make up the process participants, such as sales, logistics, and so forth. In this case, the leader of the functional group usually reports to a process manager.

The process analyst is responsible for business process management in general and is knowledgeable about BPMN in particular. The process analyst supports the process manager in all phases of the process development cycle and is often the contact point for external service providers. Within an organization, the process analyst is usually positioned in a particular area of competence for BPM (as a member of the IT department, for example). A process analyst should possess excellent communication and organization skills, and is, above all, an analyst for the process and a bridge between the business and IT areas of the organization.

The process engineer works with the process analyst to develop the technical flow of a process. Ideally, the implementation of the process takes place in the process engine, where process automation is created. The main work of the process engineer takes place during this implementation phase.