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New Post 11/4/2011 9:06 AM
User is offline Tony Markos
493 posts
5th Level Poster


Re: Documenting Current Business Process 

Hi:

Which to use Data Flow Diagrams (i.e., Gains & Sarson) or BPMN?

Key Principle:  Larger scale systems, at higher levels of abstraction, have no definable sequence.   Therefore, sequence based techniques such as BPMN can not be used.  This is where non-sequence  based techniques (data flow diagrams)  come into play.

Look at the BABOK.  A requirements spec specifies the behavior of a system.  The BABOK is really a requirements spec; it specifies the behavior of a system of (one or more) BA's performing typical BA tasks (processes).  Ever wonder why the BABOK is organized around inpu/process/output diagrams and not flow of control diagrams like BPMN?  The reason:  There is no set sequence to BA processes.

If, in your modeling efforts, you find that nailing down an integrated  sequence of operations becomes impossible, keep this in mind.

Tony
 
New Post 11/6/2011 5:51 PM
User is offline Deepak
9 posts
10th Level Poster


Re: Documenting Current Business Process 

Hi,

As a general rule of thumb when documenting the as-is scenario, to what depth we should go for getting all the business process.

Are there any set of questions to be asked to get the minimalists of the scenarios so that certains nuances of the same are not missed?

Also while documenting the As-Is should we come out with facts and figures. For Eg: The production rate is 100 nos/Hour something like that. 

 

Regards

Deepak
 
New Post 11/7/2011 7:10 AM
User is offline Tony Markos
493 posts
5th Level Poster


Re: Documenting Current Business Process 

Hi:

How deep to go?   Excellent question!    You want to be Agile.   You want to proceed in as top down a fashion as possible, with a focus not such much on the stand alone requirements, but upon the interrelationships between the requirements (i.e., the data flows).  Especially, for larger scale projects, if you proceed bottom up, you will "drown" in a ocean of detail.

How many levels down.  You would be surprised.   With just a couple of levels of decomposition - but not shortchanging on data flow interrelationships - you will be way ahead of 99.9% of all requirements analysis efforts.   For the lower levels, just like they recommend for User Stories, you can let the developers hash such out in their conversations.   What the developers do not understand is the bigger-picture, and especially the higher level interrelationships.

Questions to ask:  Again, the focus is on the ESSENTIAL interrelationships.  Let the developers handle the nuances.  Think input/process/output in developing your questions.

Estimating:  I demopose the system down into equal size chunks, estimate for one chunk, then multiple that out.  Time for a chunk, depends on how far you decompose down.  But, if you do equal size partitioning, this grately facilitiates estimating, especially vs the way such is typically done.   It is so much more easier to estimate for a set of equal size chunks than it is for a big blob.

Tony

 

 

 

 
 
New Post 11/7/2011 7:34 PM
User is offline Deepak
9 posts
10th Level Poster


Re: Documenting Current Business Process 

Focussing on the interrelationships which you had referred, now i have a doubt in the Flow diagrams

1)in DFD's  I am not seperating out, the aspects which happens inside the system and outside

2)I am focussing on one module or functionality at a time.

For eg: Manufacturing and Inventory Management. in that there are sub modules like MRP and Planning and Purchase , Quality and Manufacturing.

I have not showed all in once. Basically i have depicted as follows:

Lets say, one event is the ending terminator in MRP. THat would be the starting input in lets say the next phase. Although i have drawn in isolation i have followed the methodology i have told here. 

 

Thanks

Deepak
 
New Post 2/5/2012 9:09 PM
User is offline Deepak
9 posts
10th Level Poster


Re: Documenting Current Business Process 

 Any updates on the same?
 
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