Last week I showed you how to use Microsoft Visio to create business process maps, use case diagrams, flowcharts. org charts, and other type of documents. This week, we’ll look at text. How to add, change, flip and control the text in your diagrams. For example, if you have a lot of shapes in the same flowchart – and need to add text instructions – it can be hard for the reader to see the text clearly. This makes your diagram looks crowded and hard for business analysts to understand the process flow or use case.

How To Control the Position of Text On Lines

Here is one way to control how text is positioned in your Visio diagrams.

1. Double-click on the text.
   
2. Use the slider to move the text along the line.
   
3. Click the yellow arrow to move the entire block of text along the line.
   
4. This lets you nudge the text closer to endpoints and to squeeze in more text, especially in tight diagrams where there is not much space.

How To Rotate & Flip Text

Another trick is to flip the text.

1. Select the blue curved line and do copy/paste.
   
2. Right-click on the copy and then do Shape, Flip Vertical.
   
3. This flips copy upside down. Select the line and nudge it until it snaps to the shapes.
   

Remember to use the Format, Line option to control the visual appearance of your diagrams. A few minutes can make all the difference between a boring black and white diagram and a really stunning presentation.

What tips do you have to make Visio diagrams more professional looking?

Here is the simplest way to take a screenshot of a region, desktop, an entire webpage and also how to include the hyperlinks if you want to save the webpage as a SWF or PDF. We’re going to use SnagIt as our preferred tool for taking screenshots. After this I’ll walk you through more advanced features.

Follow these steps to take your screenshot:

1. Open the webpage page or document you want to capture. I’m looking at http://klariti.com/shop/

2. Open SnagIt.

3. Select a Capture Profile.

Region – use this to capture a specific part of the window

I tool a screenshot of a section of the klariti sales page.

Window — use this to capture the active window but not the entire desktop

I tool a screenshot of the klariti sales webpage, but only what was displayed on my desktop. I reduced it by 66% and cropped the edges.

Full screen – use this to capture the entire desktop

Same screenshot of klariti, but I took the entire desktop, including web browser. I reduced it by 33%.

Scrolling Window — use this to capture a window that does not fit in your monitor, for example , a webpage.

Same screenshot, but Snagit scrolled all the way to the end of the web browser. I reduced it by 33%.

You can see the entire screenshots over here on Flickr.

Web Page – use this if you want to capture a webpage and also keep it links.

Finally, I made a screen capture of the webpage. I saved this as a PDF, which retains all the hyperlinks. You can also save it as a SWF or a Snagit SNAG file, which you can edit later on.

Tip: when you choose this option, wait for a second for Snagit to start. After 2 or 3 seconds it will start scrolling down the screen, capturing the page as it goes.  Likewise, wait a second for it to open in the Image editor.

When you get there, select either PDF, HTML, SNAG, or SWF as the file format for retaining the hyperlinks.

Note that the hyperlinks in the PDF of the screenshot are now active. Impressive!

4. Switch back to the web page or document you want to capture.

5. Click Capture.

6. The screenshot is displayed in the Capture Preview window.

Depending on your setup, Snagit will:

a) Display a box with an explanation of how to complete the capture or

b) Open the image in Snagit Capture Preview automatically.

This is where you can modify the image, for example, add a border, create a nice edge special effort or save it in a preferred file format.

Profile Settings Tip: you can also click an output on the Output Options toolbar or you can automate the process by creating a ‘profile’.

A profile is a group of setting that you save so that it performs that same action every time, for example, save all screenshots in .PNG, add a 1 pixel border, and reduce the image size by 50%. Profiles are one of the best features in Snagit and saves endless hours formatting screenshots. You can setup multiple profiles and use each setting depending on the project you’re working on.

7. Click Done.

If you don’t choose an output before clicking Done, Snagit will prompted you to save the screenshot as a file so you don’t lose the image by accident.

Next

Next week, I’ll look at how to get this nice skewered effect. Stay tuned!

When you click on a line in Microsoft Visio and enter some text, it is automatically inserted in the middle of the line. How about if you want to move it to the side? Here’s how to do it.

You can move the position of text anywhere on a line in Visio; it doesn’t have to stay in the middle, which is where Microsoft Visio will insert it.

The text you add to lines can be shifted up and down along the line, closer or further away from the image depending on what you want.

You may want to do this if your diagrams have multiple images and space is at a premium. Also, you may want to this to emphasize an action, direction, or other attribute.

Bringing it closer to the image sometimes helps.

Here’s how to move the text around the lines in your diagrams.

1.  Open Microsoft Visio.

2. Double-click on the text in your diagram.

This opens the Text box; note the slider above the text.

You have two options here:

3a. Drag the slider to set margins. For example if you wanted to indent it slightly.

If you want to actually drag the text along the line:

3b. Click on the line.

Notice the yellow diamond in the middle of SMTP.

4. Click on the yellow diamond.

5. Drag it along the line and then let go.

In this example, you can see that we moved to text to the left.

Visio Links:

1. Use Case Templates http://klariti.com/use-case-templates/index.shtml

2. Specification Template http://www.klariti.com/templates/System–subsystem-Specification-Plan-Template.shtml

3. Business Process Templates http://www.klariti.com/business-process-design-template/

Hope that helped!

Next week, we’ll look at how to create process floe diagrams.

This is the first part in a series of lessons on how to create professional-looking screenshots. We’ll start with the basics and walk you through more advanced techniques, such as blending, merging and adding special effects to your screenshots.

What are screenshots?

Screenshot play an important part in how we read and understand technical documents.

A screenshot, also called a screen capture, or screen dump, is an image taken by screen capture software to record the visible items displayed on the monitor or another device.

Screenshots can be used to demonstrate how a program works, a particular problem a user might be having, or for training purposes.

All three terms are often used interchangeably; however, some people distinguish between them as follows:

• Screenshot – Outputting the entire screen in an image format such as BMP, PNG, or JPEG.
• Screen dump – The display system dumps what it is using internally upon request, such as XWD X Window Dump image data in the case of X11 or PNG in the case of Mac OS X.
• Screen capture – Capturing the screen over an extended period of time to form a video file. Also called screen recording.

Game screenshots

Screenshots are used when marketing video games, for example, on the packaging. Throughout the history of screenshots, there have been some deceptive practices, such as using a screenshot from a computer platform with better graphics to show how a game would display.

In the 1990s, when pre-rendered videos became a part of intermissions in games, some game boxes included screenshots from the in-game videos, which deceived potential buyers about overall game play.

Internet uses

Many web users add screenshots of their favorite movies and television shows when creating icons for LiveJournal, MSN Messenger, and Internet forums.

Employee Surveillance

Performance monitoring software now records, i.e. with screenshots, the activities of employees. The software can monitor employees through keyloggers and automatic screenshot software. Screenshots are taken at intervals to monitor employees.

Android OS

Screenshots of the Android OS can be taken by connecting the device to a computer, turning on USB debugging on the device, and running the Dalvik Debug Monitor Service (DDMS) program on the computer. Within that program, screenshots can be taken through the “Device” menu.

iPhone OS

Press and hold the Home button, then press the Sleep/Wake button. The screen will flash and the picture will be stored in the “Camera Roll” on the iPhone or in “Saved Photos” on the iPod touch. From there you can sync it to your computer.

Mac OS X

• Press Command-Shift-3 to take a screenshot of the entire screen.
• Press Command-Shift-4 to take a screenshot of a chosen area of the screen or if you press Space afterwards you can choose a window on the screen to individually screenshot.

You can also use the Grab application to take screenshots.

Microsoft Windows

Press the Print Screen key to take a screenshot of the entire desktop area. This places it in the clipboard. Press the Alt key and Print Screen to capture the active window only, i.e. the window that you’re working on. This removes the background and saves you having to crop the image.

Windows Vista

This includes a utility called Snipping Tool, which lets you take screenshots (called snips) of windows, rectangular areas, or a free-form area.

Snips can be annotated, saved as image, HTML page, or emailed

Most of the major operating systems have no built-in mechanisms to record videos of the screen (recording how the user moves the mouse around, clicks icons, types text etc. as a movie).

Screenshot software

These software packages include features such as excluding the mouse, automat cropping, timed shots and autoscroll.

• Brosix (Windows)
• Capture Assistant (Windows)
• Captus (Windows)
• IrfanView (Windows)
• SnagIt (Windows)
• Snapz Pro X (Mac OS X)
• Window Clippings (Windows)

Technical issues

On Windows, screenshots of games sometimes fail, giving you a blank rectangle.

The reason for this is that the graphics are bypassing the normal screen and going to a high-speed graphics processor on the graphics card by using a method called ‘hardware overlay’.

One way these images can be captured is to turn off the hardware overlay.

In Windows XP, you can disable this as follows:

1. Open the Display Properties menu
2. Click the “Settings” tab
3. Click “Advanced”, “Troubleshoot”, and
4. Move the Hardware Acceleration Slider to “None.”

Copyright issues

The use of screenshots may be an infringement of copyright on software programs, as it is a derivative work created by the software.

Regardless of copyright, screenshots may still be legally used under the principle of fair use in the U.S. or fair dealing and similar laws in other countries.

That’s a quick introduction into screenshots.

What I’ll do next is get started on creating your first screenshots and then start adding more and more screen capture tricks as we go along.

P.S. – if you’re having trouble taking screenshots, drop me a line and tell me what you want to do. Maybe we can help. If possible, post the screenshots on the web somewhere rather than emailing me as the email filters may not let it through.

You can improve the look and feel of your diagrams by changing the default text settings and adding a splash of color.

Here’s how to do it.

1.  Open Microsoft Visio.

2. Right-click on any text in your diagram. This opens the Text window, which as 6 different tabs.

3. In the Font tab, select the font type, style and size.

You can also select a nice color, such as Navy which looks professional and will also print well.

Free Visio Process Flow template

Avoid yellow (hard to read when printed), red (open to mis-interpretation) and green. There are also options for uppercase, strikethroughs, underlines and its position. Experiment a little until you get comfortable with the settings.

Tip – maybe look at how other companies use color when designing flowcharts and diagrams. Then try to duplicate their efforts.

4. In the Paragraph tab, select the alignment options, indentation and spacing. These are worth playing with if your text is both horizontal and vertical.

These settings also help keep the text away from the actual images, so you get a nice buffer zone between words and images.

5. Click Apply once you’re finished.

Not happy?

Click Ctrl + Z which will undo the settings and bring you back to where you were.

You can also add text blocks, tabs and bullet lists here.

Links:

1 Use Case Templates http://klariti.com/use-case-templates/index.shtml

2. System Specification Template http://www.klariti.com/templates/System–subsystem-Specification-Plan-Template.shtml

3. Business Process Templates http://www.klariti.com/business-process-design-template/

If you know any Visio tricks, please add them below.

Here are seven quick tips to improve the quality of your technical documents.
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When you write a technical document, consider the following points:

1. Analogy - provide a comparison or analogy to describe how something abstract works.

Not everyone is as familiar with the system as you are. Try to help the reader along by giving as much direction as possible so they see the bigger picture.

Once they understand how the system works at a high level, they will have more confidence in reading the more technical details.

2. Break long sentences into shorter sentences. Don’t overwhelm the reader with long, meandering sentences, with endless clause and other waffle.

Keep to the point.

Use short sentences that focus on one action at a time. Avoid double negatives.

3. Definitions – create a list of definitions and acronyms. Always explain what the acronym means when it’s first encountered.

4. Glossary – make a glossary, even for a half dozen words. Again, avoid taking a superior attitude with the reader and forcing them to find out what technical terms may mean.

Be supportive of your readers.

They may be reading your technical documents when under stress or very tired. Don’t make a bad day worse by complicating things.

5. Graphics - Provide graphics to illustrate how something works. Flowcharts, state diagrams and use case diagrams are all very helpful.

Download this Microsoft Visio Flowchart template

6. Replace general, abstract, and objective words with concrete, specific, and simpler words.

7. Use terminology consistently. Don’t switch terms throughout the document.

If the document is written by several writers, and you’re the editor in charge, make sure to revise the document so that the tone, pace, and language is consistent.

These points are not meant to be all-inclusive. However, if you are new to tech writing, this should put you on the right road.

So, what have I missed here?

Please help complete this list so writers, especially those who are new to the field, get a better understanding of what’s involved.

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The last in this series of Process Design Tutorials is a sample Business Process Template that you can use to get started. We’ve also partnered with Klariti Ltd and designed some very detailed Microsoft Word and Visio templates that provide an excellent framework for writing process narratives (Word) and also diagramming the process maps (Visio).

In the meantime, these are some of the areas you need to cover in your process maps. The emphasis here is on capturing how the process works in words.

Business Process Design Template

I will try to add some guidelines for creating Visio templates next week.

Business Process Template

Process ID

Identify the process according to the company’s naming convention guidelines, e.g. nn-nn -nn

Process Name

Name of Business Process

Author

Enter the name of the Author(s)

Created On

Enter the date according to the company’s naming convention guidelines, e.g. dd/mm/yyyy

Date

When the business process document was originally created

Version

Enter the version number for this process.

Description

Brief description of the business process

Goal

Indicate the ultimate goal of the business process i.e. value-add of the process

Activity

Name of activity under which this step is performed

Action

Name of the action for which the step is performed

Prerequisites

Requirements that must take place for this step to execute

Actor(s)

Actor(s)/entities which executed this step

Start Event

You can start a business process in more than one way. A Start event can be either: None, Message, Timer, Rule, Link, and Multiple.

Inputs

Indicates the inputs and its medium required by the process

Outputs

Describes the end output of the process

Complexity

Describes the complexity level of the business process, usually Low, Medium or High

Duration

Indicates the average life span of the business process from start to end

Steps

Indicates the total no. of steps the process takes to complete. Details of individual steps are documented in separate process narratives

Frequency

Indicates how frequently the process is executed

Capacity

Maximum output rate of the process measured in units produced per unit time.

Effort

It is the actual effort time the process takes to complete

Cycle Time

Total time the process takes to complete.

Optional/Mandatory

Indicates whether each step is Optional or Mandatory

Complexity

Indicates the level of complexity involved in performing this step

Supporting Systems

Indicates any supporting (manual or automated system involved in performing the steps

Related Documents

Identify any related documents for this process, such as forms, policies, guidelines, and Sarbanes Oxley control documents.

FYI: Business Process Design Templates

You can download the completed version of these business process templates over here:

As I mentioned above, we’ve partnered with Klariti Ltd (www.klariti.com) and released some very detailed Microsoft Word and Visio templates. These are on sale for only $9.99 until month end – it’s the promotional price – and after that they go back up to $29.99.

They include process narratives (Word) process maps (Visio) and Excel spreadsheets for controlling your projects.

Why not pop over here and take a look:

http://www.klariti.com/business-process-design-template/

PS – If you’ve found this article useful, please consider giving us a Digg or StumbleUpon.

Regards,

Ivan

Twitter / Facebook / Flickr / Templates / Tips

The last in this series of Process Design Tutorials is a sample Business Process Template that you can use to get started. We’ve also partnered with Klariti Ltd and designed some very detailed Microsoft Word and Visio templates that provide an excellent framework for writing process narratives (Word) and also diagramming the process maps (Visio).

In the meantime, these are some of the areas you need to cover in your process maps. The emphasis here is on capturing how the process works in words.

Business Process Design Template

I will try to add some guidelines for creating Visio templates next week.

Business Process Template

Process ID

Identify the process according to the company’s naming convention guidelines, e.g. nn-nn -nn

Process Name

Name of Business Process

Author

Enter the name of the Author(s)

Created On

Enter the date according to the company’s naming convention guidelines, e.g. dd/mm/yyyy

Date

When the business process document was originally created

Version

Enter the version number for this process.

Description

Brief description of the business process

Goal

Indicate the ultimate goal of the business process i.e. value-add of the process

Activity

Name of activity under which this step is performed

Action

Name of the action for which the step is performed

Prerequisites

Requirements that must take place for this step to execute

Actor(s)

Actor(s)/entities which executed this step

Start Event

You can start a business process in more than one way. A Start event can be either: None, Message, Timer, Rule, Link, and Multiple.

Inputs

Indicates the inputs and its medium required by the process

Outputs

Describes the end output of the process

Complexity

Describes the complexity level of the business process, usually Low, Medium or High

Duration

Indicates the average life span of the business process from start to end

Steps

Indicates the total no. of steps the process takes to complete. Details of individual steps are documented in separate process narratives

Frequency

Indicates how frequently the process is executed

Capacity

Maximum output rate of the process measured in units produced per unit time.

Effort

It is the actual effort time the process takes to complete

Cycle Time

Total time the process takes to complete.

Optional/Mandatory

Indicates whether each step is Optional or Mandatory

Complexity

Indicates the level of complexity involved in performing this step

Supporting Systems

Indicates any supporting (manual or automated system involved in performing the steps

Related Documents

Identify any related documents for this process, such as forms, policies, guidelines, and Sarbanes Oxley control documents.

FYI: Business Process Design Templates

You can download the completed version of these business process templates over here:

As I mentioned above, we’ve partnered with Klariti Ltd (www.klariti.com) and released some very detailed Microsoft Word and Visio templates. These are on sale for only $9.99 until month end – it’s the promotional price – and after that they go back up to $29.99.

They include process narratives (Word) process maps (Visio) and Excel spreadsheets for controlling your projects.

Why not pop over here and take a look:

http://www.klariti.com/business-process-design-template/

PS – If you’ve found this article useful, please consider giving us a Digg or StumbleUpon.

Regards,

Ivan

Twitter / Facebook / Flickr / Templates / Tips

We’ve been talking about business process modeling for the last few weeks and I’ve had some emails asking for more info on the graphical elements used in process maps. So, let’s take a look.

Business Process Design Template

A Business Process Model consists of several graphical elements which are used by most all Business Analysts and Process designers:

Flow Objects

Flow objects are used to define the behavior of a Business Process. These include:

• Events
• Activities
• Gateways
• Connecting Objects

You can connect Flow Objects to each other with:

• Sequence Flows
• Message Flows
• Associations
• Swimlanes

You can group the primary modeling elements through swim-lanes, which are:

• Pools
• Lanes

Artifacts

You can use artifacts to provide additional information about how the process works.

There are four standardized artifacts, including:

• Data Object
• Group
• Annotation

The core modeling elements depicted by these notations are:

• Description
• Element
• Event
• Notation

Think of an event is something that “happens” during a process. Events affect how the process ‘flows’ and usually has a cause (something that trigger it) or an impact (an end result).

Events are displayed as circles. They have open centers so you can add markers to differentiate different triggers or results.

Furthermore, there are three types of Events: Start, Intermediate, and End.

Activity

An activity is a generic term for any type of work that the business performs. For example, in a bank, you might have activities, such as print a statement, post a check book, or check customer statements.

An activity can be:

• Atomic (as small as it can be) or
• Non-atomic (compound)

Activities found in a Process Model are Process, Sub-Process, and Task.

Tasks and Sub-Processes are shown as rounded rectangles.

Gateway

Gateways control the divergence and convergence of Sequence Flow. This means it will determine branching, forking, merging, and the joining of paths.

Sequence Flow

A Sequence Flow shows the order in which activities are performed in a Process.

Message Flow

A Message Flow shows the flow of messages between two parties.

Association

An Association associates information with Flow Objects. Text and graphical non-Flow Objects can be associated with the Flow Objects.

Pool

A Pool acts as a ‘swimlane’ and is used to partition a set of activities from other pools.

Lane

A Lane is a sub-partition within a Swim-lane / Pool and extends the entire length of the Pool, either vertically or horizontally depending on how you design your process flows.

Data Object

Data Objects are considered Artifacts because they do not have any direct effect on the Sequence Flow or Message Flow of the Process, but they do provide information about what activities require to be performed and/or what they produce.

Group

A group is used to box a group of objects, usually for documentation purposes. Grouping activities does not affect the Sequence Flow as it is generally used for documentation or analysis purposes.

Text Annotation

You can add text to the diagram to provide additional information for the reader.

FYI: Business Process Design Templates

You can download the completed version of these business process templates over here: http://www.klariti.com/business-process-design-template/. As I mentioned above, we’ve partnered with Klariti Ltd (www.klariti.com) and released some very detailed Microsoft Word and Visio templates. These are on sale for only $9.99 until month end – it’s the promotional price – and after that they go back up to $29.99. They include process narratives (Word) process maps (Visio) and Excel spreadsheets for controlling your projects.

PS – If you’ve found this article useful, please consider giving us a Digg or StumbleUpon.

Regards,

Ivan

Twitter / Facebook / Flickr / Templates / Tips

We’ve been talking about business process modeling for the last few weeks and I’ve had some emails asking for more info on the graphical elements used in process maps. So, let’s take a look.

Business Process Design Template

A Business Process Model consists of several graphical elements which are used by most all Business Analysts and Process designers:

Flow Objects

Flow objects are used to define the behavior of a Business Process. These include:

• Events
• Activities
• Gateways
• Connecting Objects

You can connect Flow Objects to each other with:

• Sequence Flows
• Message Flows
• Associations
• Swimlanes

You can group the primary modeling elements through swim-lanes, which are:

• Pools
• Lanes

Artifacts

You can use artifacts to provide additional information about how the process works.

There are four standardized artifacts, including:

• Data Object
• Group
• Annotation

The core modeling elements depicted by these notations are:

• Description
• Element
• Event
• Notation

Think of an event is something that “happens” during a process. Events affect how the process ‘flows’ and usually has a cause (something that trigger it) or an impact (an end result).

Events are displayed as circles. They have open centers so you can add markers to differentiate different triggers or results.

Furthermore, there are three types of Events: Start, Intermediate, and End.

Activity

An activity is a generic term for any type of work that the business performs. For example, in a bank, you might have activities, such as print a statement, post a check book, or check customer statements.

An activity can be:

• Atomic (as small as it can be) or
• Non-atomic (compound)

Activities found in a Process Model are Process, Sub-Process, and Task.

Tasks and Sub-Processes are shown as rounded rectangles.

Gateway

Gateways control the divergence and convergence of Sequence Flow. This means it will determine branching, forking, merging, and the joining of paths.

Sequence Flow

A Sequence Flow shows the order in which activities are performed in a Process.

Message Flow

A Message Flow shows the flow of messages between two parties.

Association

An Association associates information with Flow Objects. Text and graphical non-Flow Objects can be associated with the Flow Objects.

Pool

A Pool acts as a ‘swimlane’ and is used to partition a set of activities from other pools.

Lane

A Lane is a sub-partition within a Swim-lane / Pool and extends the entire length of the Pool, either vertically or horizontally depending on how you design your process flows.

Data Object

Data Objects are considered Artifacts because they do not have any direct effect on the Sequence Flow or Message Flow of the Process, but they do provide information about what activities require to be performed and/or what they produce.

Group

A group is used to box a group of objects, usually for documentation purposes. Grouping activities does not affect the Sequence Flow as it is generally used for documentation or analysis purposes.

Text Annotation

You can add text to the diagram to provide additional information for the reader.

FYI: Business Process Design Templates

You can download the completed version of these business process templates over here: http://www.klariti.com/business-process-design-template/. As I mentioned above, we’ve partnered with Klariti Ltd (www.klariti.com) and released some very detailed Microsoft Word and Visio templates. These are on sale for only $9.99 until month end – it’s the promotional price – and after that they go back up to $29.99. They include process narratives (Word) process maps (Visio) and Excel spreadsheets for controlling your projects.

PS – If you’ve found this article useful, please consider giving us a Digg or StumbleUpon.

Regards,

Ivan

Twitter / Facebook / Flickr / Templates / Tips

We’ve talked recently about how to write business process, for example, the narratives and the process steps. Now let’s look at how we start to turn these words into process maps and flowcharts.

Business Process Design Template

The Business Process Modeling Notation, also known as PBMN, is the industry standard notation for business process modeling.

This notation should be readily understandable by everyone in the process design effort, including the business analysts, information architects, IT Manager, Project Managers and others involved in business process modeling.

Where do you start?

Business analysts will typically create the initial drafts of the processes

What next?

Software developers are then responsible for implementing the IT solutions that will perform those processes and

Business Owners will then manage and monitor those processes

The physical representation of the business process modeling activities is expressed in Business Process Diagrams, which are based on flowcharting techniques tailored for creating graphical models of business operations.

FYI: Business Process Design Templates

You can download the completed version of these business process templates over here: http://www.klariti.com/business-process-design-template/.

As I mentioned above, we’ve partnered with Klariti Ltd (www.klariti.com) and released some very detailed Microsoft Word and Visio templates.

These are on sale for only $9.99 until month end – it’s the promotional price – and after that they go back up to $29.99.

They include process narratives (Word) process maps (Visio) and Excel spreadsheets for controlling your projects.

PS – If you’ve found this article useful, please consider giving us a Digg or StumbleUpon.

Regards,

Ivan

Twitter / Facebook / Flickr / Templates / Tips

We’ve talked recently about how to write business process, for example, the narratives and the process steps. Now let’s look at how we start to turn these words into process maps and flowcharts.

Business Process Design Template

The Business Process Modeling Notation, also known as PBMN, is the industry standard notation for business process modeling.

This notation should be readily understandable by everyone in the process design effort, including the business analysts, information architects, IT Manager, Project Managers and others involved in business process modeling.

Where do you start?

Business analysts will typically create the initial drafts of the processes

What next?

Software developers are then responsible for implementing the IT solutions that will perform those processes and

Business Owners will then manage and monitor those processes

The physical representation of the business process modeling activities is expressed in Business Process Diagrams, which are based on flowcharting techniques tailored for creating graphical models of business operations.

FYI: Business Process Design Templates

You can download the completed version of these business process templates over here: http://www.klariti.com/business-process-design-template/.

As I mentioned above, we’ve partnered with Klariti Ltd (www.klariti.com) and released some very detailed Microsoft Word and Visio templates.

These are on sale for only $9.99 until month end – it’s the promotional price – and after that they go back up to $29.99.

They include process narratives (Word) process maps (Visio) and Excel spreadsheets for controlling your projects.

PS – If you’ve found this article useful, please consider giving us a Digg or StumbleUpon.

Regards,

Ivan

Twitter / Facebook / Flickr / Templates / Tips

In this week’s process modeling tutorial, I’m going to look at To be processes. So, what is a To Be process?

Business Process Design Template

To-Be processes are the second step in business process modeling activities.

In the ‘as-is’ processes you captured how the business works today.

So, in the ‘to-be’ processes you’re going to take this information and start the design the business/application that way you want it ‘to-be’.

This also means making assumptions about the time/cost of each task, and the likelihood of different events that may occur during its lifecycle.

You may have to base these assumptions on data you’ve found in existing business processes or by making ‘guesstimates’ for new processes.

FYI: Business Process Design Templates

You can download the completed version of these business process templates over here: http://www.klariti.com/business-process-design-template/. As I mentioned above, we’ve partnered with Klariti Ltd (www.klariti.com) and released some very detailed Microsoft Word and Visio templates.

These are on sale for only $9.99 until month end – it’s the promotional price – and after that they go back up to $29.99. They include process narratives (Word) process maps (Visio) and Excel spreadsheets for controlling your projects.

PS – If you’ve found this article useful, please consider giving us a Digg or StumbleUpon.

Regards,

Ivan

Twitter / Facebook / Flickr / Templates / Tips

In this week’s process modeling tutorial, I’m going to look at To be processes. So, what is a To Be process?

Business Process Design Template

To-Be processes are the second step in business process modeling activities.

In the ‘as-is’ processes you captured how the business works today.

So, in the ‘to-be’ processes you’re going to take this information and start the design the business/application that way you want it ‘to-be’.

This also means making assumptions about the time/cost of each task, and the likelihood of different events that may occur during its lifecycle.

You may have to base these assumptions on data you’ve found in existing business processes or by making ‘guesstimates’ for new processes.

FYI: Business Process Design Templates

You can download the completed version of these business process templates over here: http://www.klariti.com/business-process-design-template/. As I mentioned above, we’ve partnered with Klariti Ltd (www.klariti.com) and released some very detailed Microsoft Word and Visio templates.

These are on sale for only $9.99 until month end – it’s the promotional price – and after that they go back up to $29.99. They include process narratives (Word) process maps (Visio) and Excel spreadsheets for controlling your projects.

PS – If you’ve found this article useful, please consider giving us a Digg or StumbleUpon.

Regards,

Ivan

Twitter / Facebook / Flickr / Templates / Tips

In this process modeling tutorial, I’m going to look at As Is processes. So, what is an As Is process?  This is the first stage in the design of a business process.

Business Process Design Template

What you’re doing here is capturing the business ‘as-is’, not how it should or could work. This is like taking a photograph of how the business works – warts and all!

The process analyst will then start:

• Defining process boundaries – these mark the entry points (of the process inputs) and the exit points (of process outputs).
• Preparing a process map – this diagram will show the tasks that must be performed for the process to work and the sequence in which they must be performed.
• Identify business rules, special conditions and exceptions.
• Determine the capacity of each step.
• Identify bottlenecks.
• Identify resources to perform activities.
• Identify performance expectations.

FYI: Business Process Design Templates

You can download the completed version of these business process templates over here: http://www.klariti.com/business-process-design-template/. As I mentioned above, we’ve partnered with Klariti Ltd (www.klariti.com) and released some very detailed Microsoft Word and Visio templates.

These are on sale for only $9.99 until month end – it’s the promotional price – and after that they go back up to $29.99. They include process narratives (Word) process maps (Visio) and Excel spreadsheets for controlling your projects.

PS – If you’ve found this article useful, please consider giving us a Digg or StumbleUpon.

Regards,

Ivan

Twitter / Facebook / Flickr / Templates / Tips

In this process modeling tutorial, I’m going to look at As Is processes. So, what is an As Is process?  This is the first stage in the design of a business process.

Business Process Design Template

What you’re doing here is capturing the business ‘as-is’, not how it should or could work. This is like taking a photograph of how the business works – warts and all!

The process analyst will then start:

• Defining process boundaries – these mark the entry points (of the process inputs) and the exit points (of process outputs).
• Preparing a process map – this diagram will show the tasks that must be performed for the process to work and the sequence in which they must be performed.
• Identify business rules, special conditions and exceptions.
• Determine the capacity of each step.
• Identify bottlenecks.
• Identify resources to perform activities.
• Identify performance expectations.

FYI: Business Process Design Templates

You can download the completed version of these business process templates over here: http://www.klariti.com/business-process-design-template/. As I mentioned above, we’ve partnered with Klariti Ltd (www.klariti.com) and released some very detailed Microsoft Word and Visio templates.

These are on sale for only $9.99 until month end – it’s the promotional price – and after that they go back up to $29.99. They include process narratives (Word) process maps (Visio) and Excel spreadsheets for controlling your projects.

PS – If you’ve found this article useful, please consider giving us a Digg or StumbleUpon.

Regards,

Ivan

Twitter / Facebook / Flickr / Templates / Tips

We’re now going to talk about the role of Business Process Modeling in the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). Business process modeling allows those involved in defining how an application works (i.e. the to-be processes) to create a common agreement on how the application should work.

Business Process Design Template

Business process design is an essential part of the software development lifecycle. It allows you to capture the broad outline and procedures that govern what it is a business actually does, from a technical and operational level.

Business Process templates enable you to capture the significant events, inputs, resources and outputs associated with different business processes. In addition, they also helps map what is in the scope of the proposed system (as-is processes) and what will be implemented in other ways (to be processes).

In other words, rather than start programming without any plan and then finding that you’ve coded yourself into a blind alley, you can refer to the process design to see where and how the application should be built.

This approach allows the process analyst (or whomever is design the process maps) to capture the high-level goals of the project and the business rules that define what the business does and how the application should support this.

What does the process analyst capture?

Of course, each project is different so the scope of what needs to be captured will change. But, with that said, the process analyst will try to capture:

• Events
• Triggers
• Inputs
• Resources and
• Outputs

With this information at their disposal, the process analyst can begin to map what is in scope for the proposed system and what may be implemented in other versions.

In the next process design tutorial, I’m going to explain As Is processes.

FYI: Business Process Design Templates

You can download the completed version of these business process templates over here: http://www.klariti.com/business-process-design-template/. As I mentioned above, we’ve partnered with Klariti Ltd (www.klariti.com) and released some very detailed Microsoft Word and Visio templates. These are on sale for only $9.99 until month end – it’s the promotional price – and after that they go back up to $29.99. They include process narratives (Word) process maps (Visio) and Excel spreadsheets for controlling your projects.

PS – If you’ve found this article useful, please consider giving us a Digg or StumbleUpon.

Regards,

Ivan

Twitter / Facebook / Flickr / Templates / Tips

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If you search around this site, you’ll notice that we’ve been talking about business process modeling for the last few weeks. Some of you have written in asking for more background on what is business process modeling. So, let’s start at the top.

Business Process Design Template

What is a Business Process?

A business process diagram is a way of illustrating activities that are designed to produce a specific output. For example, if you worked for a bank, you might have a Credit Card application process.

Business processes allow you to capture the specific order in which work activities are performed.

Step 1 – send Credit Card application to customer

Step 2 – customer returns Credit Card application

Step 3 – bank checks details in Credit Card application…

A process must have a beginning, end, and clearly defined inputs (documents or information) and outputs (reports/forms/results).

Business process modeling involves designing processes that add value by showing the transformation of inputs into useful outputs.

What are inputs?

Inputs might be materials, labor, energy, and capital equipment.

What are outputs?

Outputs are the result, the end product, in the business cycle. Outputs may be a physical product (possibly used as an input to another process) or a service.

Next, I’m going to look at how to use Business Process Modeling Techniques in Software Development.

FYI: Business Process Design Templates

You can download the completed version of these business process templates over here: http://www.klariti.com/business-process-design-template/. As I mentioned above, we’ve partnered with Klariti Ltd (www.klariti.com) and released some very detailed Microsoft Word and Visio templates. These are on sale for only $9.99 until month end – it’s the promotional price – and after that they go back up to $29.99. They include process narratives (Word) process maps (Visio) and Excel spreadsheets for controlling your projects.

PS – If you’ve found this article useful, please consider giving us a Digg or StumbleUpon.

Regards,

Ivan

Twitter / Facebook / Flickr / Templates / Tips

[ad#ad1]

If you search around this site, you’ll notice that we’ve been talking about business process modeling for the last few weeks. Some of you have written in asking for more background on what is business process modeling. So, let’s start at the top.

Business Process Design Template

What is a Business Process?

A business process diagram is a way of illustrating activities that are designed to produce a specific output. For example, if you worked for a bank, you might have a Credit Card application process.

Business processes allow you to capture the specific order in which work activities are performed.

Step 1 – send Credit Card application to customer

Step 2 – customer returns Credit Card application

Step 3 – bank checks details in Credit Card application…

A process must have a beginning, end, and clearly defined inputs (documents or information) and outputs (reports/forms/results).

Business process modeling involves designing processes that add value by showing the transformation of inputs into useful outputs.

What are inputs?

Inputs might be materials, labor, energy, and capital equipment.

What are outputs?

Outputs are the result, the end product, in the business cycle. Outputs may be a physical product (possibly used as an input to another process) or a service.

Next, I’m going to look at how to use Business Process Modeling Techniques in Software Development.

FYI: Business Process Design Templates

You can download the completed version of these business process templates over here: http://www.klariti.com/business-process-design-template/. As I mentioned above, we’ve partnered with Klariti Ltd (www.klariti.com) and released some very detailed Microsoft Word and Visio templates. These are on sale for only $9.99 until month end – it’s the promotional price – and after that they go back up to $29.99. They include process narratives (Word) process maps (Visio) and Excel spreadsheets for controlling your projects.

PS – If you’ve found this article useful, please consider giving us a Digg or StumbleUpon.

Regards,

Ivan

Twitter / Facebook / Flickr / Templates / Tips

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