Looking for a simple writing tool that automatically hides your desktop so you can concentrate on your writing? Anil Atluri on Digital Inspiration has this great tutorial on how to make Google Docs your perfect free writing tool.

Turn Google Docs into a Writing Tool

Follow these steps:

1: Create a new document in Google Docs and choose “Edit CSS” from the edit menu.

2: Paste the following code into the CSS Box and save.

body {

font: 16px “Courier New”;

color: #00ff00 !important;

background: #000 !important;

width: 800px;

margin: 10px auto;

}

3: Press Ctrl + Shift + F to remove the menu bar in Google Docs and then hit F11 to turn your browser into full-screen mode.

Read more at: http://www.labnol.org/internet/google-docs-for-distraction-free-writing/10538/

Free Google Docs writing template

You can get a nice writing template over here from the same team: http://docs.google.com/

Do you use Google Docs for writing your tech documents?

What’s the one thing that would make you give up using Microsoft Word?

Digital Inspiration explains how to install WordPress on your own local computer. It comes with some great screenshots and tips on how to optimize WordPress after you have installed it.

How to Install WordPress on your own Computer In 5 Minutes

You can use Microsoft’s Web Platform Installer to do the installation. It’s a free product designed to make it easy to for you develop and run websites on your Windows PC.

Amit says that it “provides a simple wizard where you select the software that you wish to run on your computer, and the installer will automatically select the other programs that the necessary to run to software you just selected (in our case, WordPress).”

The installer is web-based and it will only download the stuff that you want.

Things to do After Installing WordPress

• Tip 0: Change the Default Image Upload Folder
• Tip 1: Remove unnecessary code from your WordPress header.
• Tip 2: Prevent people from casually browsing your WordPress Folders
• Tip 3: Windows Live Writer Templates & WordPress
• Tip 4: Turn off Post Revisions in WordPress 2.6
• Tip 5: Disable HTML in WordPress Comments
• Tip 6: Change location of the Plugins & WordPress Themes folder
• Tip 7: XML Sitemaps – Change the Building Mode

You can follow the instructions over here: http://www.labnol.org/software/install-wordpress-on-computer/10343/

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

[ad#adc-2]

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

[ad#ad1]

Business Process Design Templates

Originally uploaded by Tech Writer Boy

Klariti has published an 8 part Process Design Tutorial

Part 1 starts with What is a Business Process?

‘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. ‘

http://www.klariti.com/business-process-design-template/Business-Process-Design-Tutorial-Part-1-What-is-Business-Process.shtml

Lots of dumb mistakes can slip into even the best writing. Here we look specifically at reports and other technical documents to provide authors with a checklist they can use for their work.

1. Numbers that don’t add up

Just one table where the numbers don’t add up correctly is enough to shatter confidence in an entire report. Usually this happens when tables are updated manually.

The best thing to do is to keep all original tables in a spreadsheet and copy them in each time. You can make sure that colleagues are not tempted to make changes manually if you paste tables in as graphics.

2. Incorrect table and figure references

What does a reader think when he/she reads that “evidence is provided in Table 3″ but then is unable to find that table?

Tip: How to choose the Right Style Guide

Or what happens if the reader finds Table 3 but the evidence is completely unrelated because it should have referred to Table 4?

To make sure it doesn’t happen to you, use automatic cross-references.

3. Unsourced data

Numbers that appear from nowhere can be just as infuriating as numbers that do not add up. To present a credible argument, evidence needs a source. Insert footnotes as you write.

4. Leaving in details to be completed later

Have you ever come across a document that refers to a XX% increase? A sure-fire way of alerting your reader to careless checking is to leave in phrases like “more details to be added on this later”, or “note to self: check this is correct”.

A good way to avoid this is to agree a format for all comments within your company and for everyone to adopt the same one.

That way a search can pick these out. You can also use automatic tools to find these errors. PerfectIt contains a test that scans documents for any of these editorial comments that have been left in.

5. Blinding with science

Technical reports are often intended for a non-technical audience. Sometimes authors can get away with blinding the audience with technical language and complex theory.

More often, authors that try that will have to face a complete re-write. Technical explanations belong in an annex, keep the flow of your text simple.

6. False accuracy

The way that numbers are presented conveys important information about confidence in the result.

If the benefit to the US economy is $1billion, it means that it could be anywhere from $0.5bn to $1.5bn. If the benefit to the US economy is $1,050,023,178 then it means we are confident that the benefit is exactly $1,050,023,178. The degree of rounding should reflect the degree of confidence and the likely range implied.

7. Inconsistent writing

There are an incredible number of consistency errors that can creep into technical documents, especially if there is more than one author. A review of those can be found here. With careful checking and tools like PerfectIt, you can cut down on consistency errors and present your results in your corporate style

8. Over-reliance on spell check

Spell-check is a great tool. But it cannot spot every error. It’s easy to write the word “manage” without the second “a”. A Google search shows that there are thousands of documents that use the phrase “project manger”. Errors like these can be difficult to spot and can also be the most embarrassing when clients find them. PerfectIt includes a test for some of the most frequently found typos andcustomised versions of PerfectIt can be geared to specific industries to increase the power of automated checking.

9. Less is more

Technical reports are not paid for by the word. So long reports are not an advantage. They are difficult to read and harder to check. Sharp, concise reports that are accompanied by more detailed annexes and supporting evidence are better for making almost any case.

10. Acronyms / abbreviations that are not defined

TLAs help to keep your text short. However, if your readers do not know that ‘TLA’ stands for ‘three letter acronym’ then it’s important that you define the word in its first instance. Tools like PerfectIt can be used to scan your text for acronyms that are missing a definition as well as instances where the acronym is used long before the definition appears. A table of acronyms can also be helpful for the reader and PerfectIt can generate this automatically.

More mistakes

What mistakes annoy you the most? Is there a simple solution? Drop us a line and let us know what you think are the worst mistakes in business writing. We’ll put the best entries on the Intelligent Editing website.

About the Author

Daniel Heuman, Founder, Intelligent Editing Ltd.

Intelligent Editing Ltd specializes in software solutions that deliver faster, more accurate editing for professionals. http://intelligentediting.com

I spent most of this afternoon developing a set of process design templates (more of that tomorrow) and got to thinking about the main activities involved in process definition. I’m mentoring graduates business analysts and walking them through the ABCs of process design. It’s baby steps for now. Here’s what we came up with this afternoon.
Depending on the nature of the project, the process definition lifecycle will involve several of the following steps:

1. Identifying high-priority process tasks – This is based on analysis of process requirements and by identifying who is best qualified to create the processes.

2. Analyze Process Requirements – Maintain a clear understanding of what the process is intended to do, how it should be done, and how it should be expressed, for example in MS Word process narratives or in MS Visio flowcharts.

3. Create the Process Architecture – Define and/or refine the organization’s current process architecture.

4. Define the Processes – Add, refine, restructure, and/or delete the processes.

5. Perform the Defined Process(es) – Test the defined processes, and gather measurements as well as identifying process improvements.

6. Assess Results & Identify Improvements – Use the test results to analyze the accuracy of the process. Recommend process improvements if appropriate.

Once the process is completed, the next step is to implement the process and start the knowledge transfer activities.

This involves training and raising awareness amongst staff, partners, and clients depending on the scope of work involved.

I know this isn’t everything.

What did I miss?

Technical writers often have a degree in English, technical writing, the technical field for which they are writing, or a combination of these.

It is most important that they have enough expertise to understand their audience’s background and needs.

For example, writers who develop documentation for software APIs, microcontroller operation, and other technical subjects are often paid more than those who write guides for a nontechnical audience (for example, how to use email), because it is difficult to find good writers with advanced technical knowledge.

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After the documentation is written, it is normally reviewed for accuracy by one or more “subject matter experts” (SMEs).

Technical Writers Software

The most popular technical writing software includes:

• Adobe Acrobat
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Adobe FrameMaker
• Adobe RoboHelp
• AuthorIT
• Chm2web
• Corel Paint Shop Pro
• DocBook
• Interleaf
• MadCap Software
• Microsoft Visio
• Adobe Photoshop
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• SnagIt
• Microsoft Word
• XML editor

What is Technical Communication?

Technical communication is the process of conveying information about technology to an intended audience. A technical communicator is a person whose job involves technical communication.

Roles in the Technical communication industry include the following job titles:

• Technical writer
• Technical editor
• Information architect
• Usability expert
• User interface designer
• Technical artist
• Technical trainer

The technology can be of any kind, including the sciences, high technology including computers and software, consumer electronics, and so on.

Role of Technical Writing

Technical communications are created and distributed by most employees in service organizations today, especially by professional staff and management.

Effective communications require quality content, language, format, and more. The entire point of communications is to disseminate information; this is where written content comes in. To present the appropriate content, it is imperative to understand one s audience and writing purpose.

If a document does not communicate the information that the writer intends and what he or she wants the reader to understand, then the communication is meaningless.

The writer has an interest in making the extra effort: Looking credible is as important as being credible and getting results in business.

Respect and credibility of the writer/speaker are integral to effective communications. Readers will not trust the information from an author if they do not believe that author is a valuable source of information or the purveyor of worthwhile ideas.

I’ve been developing a template for the business analysts at my client since Friday and have hit the proverbial brick wall. Here is the problem. The Business Process template will be used by the analysts to capture how the processes work when onsite. Ok, that’s fine. The problem started when I showed them the first draft.

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There wasn’t time for a requirements gathering session so I’m ‘guestimating’ what they want. Not an ideal situation but that’s how it is sometimes.

Some of the analysts wanted a ‘warts and all’ template that covered all possible scenarios.

I’ve done this and it’s now over 2 pages per process – and that’s before you type in a single word.

For most of the team this seems excessive. So, now I have a one-pager they can use just to capture the key steps involved.
We’re not finished by any means and I have another meeting on Friday.

One question in the back of my mind is: which of these will be the standard?

It can’t be both.

Can it?

Regards,

Ivan

PS – if you haven’t got enough to do already, you can follow me on Twitter @ivanwalsh

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