Modeling and Simulation in Business Process Management

Modeling and Simulation in Business Process Management Denis Gagné CEO, Trisotech, Canada. [email_address]

Abstract
Practitioners in Business Process Management (BPM) know the critical importance of carefully leading organizations during periods of business transformation. While business modeling is progressively being addressed by various standards bodies, the use of simulation in this context is still generally underexploited. In this presentation, we explore ways in which simulation could be used to provide value in the context of business transformation and present some examples of current use of simulation in the specific context of business process management.

Speaker
Denis Gagné
CEO, Trisotech, Canada.

M. Gagné is responsible for the solutions and technology vision at Trisotech. He has led Trisotech through the process of developing unique services and product propositions and provided leadership in plotting out Trisotech's market strategy. M. Gagné holds an M.Math. degree in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Waterloo and a B.Sc. in Computer Science (Systems) from the Collège Militaire Royal (CMR) de St-Jean. He is the author of over 25 scientific publications and numerous technical presentations and seminars in Artificial Intelligence, Simulation Training, and Business Process Management. His current research interest is in technological and know-how innovation in the fields of business process management and business transformation.

Who we are
Established 1996
Private Cie
Based in Montréal
Software Consulting Business Process Management(BPM) Innovation, Experience & Expertise and Agility

At Trisotech

Business Process Modeling
Why Business Modeling
Business Modeling Disciplines
Business Modeling Standards

Why Business Modeling
Communication between People
Training & Learning
Persuasion & Selling
Analysis of a Business Situation
Compliance Management
Development of Software Requirements
Knowledge Management & Reuse
Direct Execution in a Software Engine
Business Modeling: A Practical Guide to Realizing Business Value Bridgeland & Zahavi

Business Modeling Disciplines
Business Process Modeling
Business Motivation Modeling
Business Organizational Modeling
Business Rule Modeling
Business Event Modeling
Business Entity Modeling

Some Business Modeling Standards
OMG: Object Management Group
BPMN: Business Process Modeling Notation
BMM: Business Motivation Model
BPMM: Business Process Maturity Model
SBVR: Semantics of Business Vocabulary and Business Rules
BPDM: Business Process Definition Metamodel
PRR: Production Rule Representation
Workflow Management Facility
WfMC: Workflow Management Coalition
XPDL: XML Process Definition Language
Wf-XML: Extension to the OASIS Asynchronous Service Access Protocol.(ASAP)
BPAF: Business Process Analytics Format
OASIS: Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards
BPEL: Business Process Execution Language
BPSS: ebXML Business Process Specification Schema
…
www.OMG.org/technology/documents/br_pm_spec_catalog.htm www.WfMC.org www.OASIS-Open.org/specs/

Business Model Simulation
Why Simulating Business Models
Types of Simulation for Business Models
BPM Simulation Examples
BPM Numeric Simulation Caveats & Best Practices

Why Simulating Business Models
Advantages of simulation over testing on the real world include:
speed
low cost
no disturbance of current operations
Training & Learning
Although very popular in support of operations, limited use in other Business Modeling disciplines
Simulating results of a proposed solution
Cause and Effect simulation
Simulation complements static analysis techniques with a dynamic perspective
Verification & Validation
Validation: Are we doing the right “thing”?
Verification: Are we doing “it” right?

Types of Simulation for Business Models
Visual Depiction (Visualization & Animation)
User is presented with a (sometime interactive) animated depiction of the business model
Scenario Simulation (Role Play)
User asked to take actions and make decisions within a simulated business environment
Numeric Simulation (Discreet Events)
User asked to provide values for input and decision parameters of a simulated business model

Visual Depiction - BPM
Mostly used for:
Teaching & Learning
Examples:
Modeling patterns
User is presented with an animation to better grasp sometime complex patterns
Tracing a Business Process Model
User follows the flow of process activities during simulation and validates its logic

Workflow Patterns www.WorkflowPatterns.com

Scenario Simulation - BPM
Mostly used for:
Teaching & Learning
Examples:
Process Management
IBM Inno8
Generic
Capitalism
often regarded as the first successful business simulation game
Industry Specific
(Hollywood) Mogul
(Lemon Stand) Tycoon

Innov8 INNOV8 Academic Edition version 1.0 http://www-01.ibm.com/software/solutions/soa/innov8/index.html Online mini version available at: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/solutions/soa/innov8/innov8game.jsp

Numeric Simulation - BPM
Mostly used for:
Teaching & Learning
Examples:
Process Management
Cycle Time and Capacity Analysis
V&V of Business Scenario (What if)
Scenario : Activities, Resources,..
Engineering
Product Requirements
Manufacturing
MRP, MRP II, ERP, APS
Finance
Risk Assessment / Adjustment
Revenue Forecasting
Economics
Economic Context Forecasting
…

Workload Simulation Older Ilog JViews Demo www.ilog.com/promotions/ppc/visu/genbpm/

BPM Numeric Simulation Caveats
Unrealistic User Expectations
Simple Press-Button Simulation
Deterministic behavior assumptions
A Business Model is a Simulation Model ( not necessarily)
Their goals (purposes) may be misaligned
Be Mindful of Misleading Results (Garbage in Garbage Out)
A simulation model that is fidel &valid fed with uncharacteristic data can lead to : Incorrect conclusions or predictions, Negative Training, …
Sub-Optimization
Partial or sub-model optimization can lead you astray

BPM Numeric Simulation Best Practices
The Right Expert for the Right Task
Although conceptually simple to grasp, successfully (meaningfully) using numerical simulation for business modeling still requires some expertise (Advanced Mathematical Skills)
The Right Model for the Right Goal
Align Modeling Objectives with Simulation Objectives
Abstraction
Fidelity
Validity (soundness and completeness)
The Right Answer to the Right Question
Make sure to instrument your business model with parameters that are actual indicators (influencers) of what you wish to explore

State of Simulation in BPM
There are no specific standards for Business Process Model Simulation
Only XPDL can interchange some very limited simulation attributes
Most Business Process Management Suites (BPMS) provide a simulation module, but of very variable value
Very limited use of advanced mathematical simulation packages
For a perspective on this see: www.brsilver.com/wordpress/2009/02/15/making-simulation-useful/

Conclusions
Take Away
Further Readings

Take Away
Business Modeling and particularly Business Process Modeling is actively being addressed by various standard bodies, progressively leading to a more structured and accessible discipline.
Business Simulation, and particularly Business Process Numeric Simulation, is a domain that requires more nurturing to become all it could be.
Proceed with care!
Get started!

Further Readings Business Modeling: A Practical Guide to Realizing Business Value Bridgeland & Zahavi ISBN: 978-0123741516 Business Process Modeling, Simulation, and Design Laguna & Marklund ISBN: 978-0131099791 2009 BPM & Workflow Handbook Spotlight on BPM in Government Edited by Layna Fischer Published in association with WfMC ISBN: 978-0-9777527-9-9

This presentation is a available at:
www.slideshare.net/dgagne
www.Trisotech.com/BPM

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Modeling and Simulation in Business Process Management

by Denis Gagne on Jun 09, 2009

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