The State of BPMN ImplementationAn update from the real world

Sandy KemsleyKemsley Design Ltd.

www.column2.com

BPMN 2.0 Notation Update

New task types (good) Data models (finally) New event types (confusing) Subclasses (helps with the confusion) New interaction models (yikes)

plus Metamodel and interchange format

BPMN Is Simple...

Activity

Gateway

Event

Data

Source: http://bpmb.de/poster

SIMPLE

sequenceFlowTask (none)subProcess(embed)exclusiveGatewayparallelGatewaystartEvent (none)endEvent (none)

DESCRIPTIVE

PoolLanemessageFlowuserTaskserviceTaskRe-Usable subProcessdataObjectdataInputdataOutputtextAnnotationAssociationdataAssociationdataStoremessageStartEventmessageEndEventtimerStartEventterminateEndEvent

DODAF

Plus 29 elements

COMPLETE

Plus 50 elements

BPMN Subclasses

Source: Workflow Management Coalition’s “Update on BPMN Release 2.0”

Learning About BPMN 2.0

Bruce Silver’s BPMN 2.0 posts: http://www.brsilver.com/wordpress/tag/bpmn-20/

BPMN 2.0 update webinar: http://bpm.acrobat.com/p83899988/

OMG standards document: http://www.omg.org/spec/BPMN/2.0/ (not for the faint of heart)

How Are Process Models Created?

On paper/whiteboards/Post-Its In PowerPoint/Word/Excel In Visio (unstructured) In Visio with BPMN template In EA/BPA tool In BPMS tool

Who Is Creating Process Models?

End users Business managers Business analysts Process analysts Process engineers System analysts Developers

What’s Wrong With Our Process Models?

Inconsistent/nonsensical notation Ambiguity, especially split/merge Improper use of roles Too many words Inappropriate tools Just plain wrong

Process ModelHall of Shame

Sorry, redacted

Doing BPMN Right

Case study: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

Getting started:Process modeling for governance, not

executionSelected BPMN over IDEF and UML

for business focusSimulated processes to convince

financial management of value

BPMN at HRSDC

Internal methodology for process modeling and BPMN

Using BPA tool for modeling and publishing

Internal BPMN training of ~140 people Simulation training of ~3 people Using desktop sharing software for

mentoring

HRSDC BPMN Diagram

What Can Go Wrong

No formal recognition of process modeling as a discipline

No process modeling methodology Lack of aptitude and/or training Lack of mentoring IT taking complete ownership of

process modeling

What Makes BPMN Work

Overcome “belief gap” to convince people of benefits

Develop a methodology to accompany the notation

Identify people with aptitude/interest Train different personas on different

BPMN subclasses Maintain BPMN guru for mentoring