Before you start building you next business or data model, find out what it was that infected or killed your last one! Business and data models continue to be built in enterprises year after year. All of them come to life after a great deal of pain and effort. Most of them cause yet far [...]
Information Gathering 2: Analysis Workshops – The Key to Detail
The purpose of analysis workshops is to add detail to the information gathered during strategic one-to-one interviews with senior executives. They are NOT the starting point for analysis.
The content of this post is an excerpt from the eBook IMM Function Modelling
Information Gathering 1: Strategic Interviews the Foundation of Success
The one-to-one strategic in-depth interview is the most effective means of gathering information from senior directors and senior executives and are the foundation of all successful system development and business improvement projects. The following content is an excerpt from the eBook IMM Function Modelling The purpose of one-to-one strategic in-depth interviews is to find out [...]
Business Modelling Architecture
All good analysis and modelling is achieved by starting in the right place, and that place is with the core activities of the enterprise – the Business Functions. If you have not started in the right place, then you need to know how to get back there. The Hierarchy of Models shown in the diagram in this post will enable you to do this.
If you are working on any model and have not built the preceding model(s) then you are not going to achieve a Quality outcome. For example, if you are modelling Processes and have not yet built your Function Model, then you are in trouble. This failure to first model Functions is one of the main reasons why most BPM projects fail to deliver.
Is Capability a Function?
In response to a recent post I got a comment from a reader suggesting that what I called a Function was a Capability. In this post I explain how I align Capability with the standard English meaning of the word, i.e. what an enterprise is capable of doing. Capability actually couples a Function with elements that increase its depth, scope, productivity, etc. These elements could include knowledge, technology, product portfolio, geography, and many others.
Functionality vs Functon
I was recently asked by Jan van Bon from the Netherlands to define “the difference between a Function and Functonality”. My reply was, “A Business Function (or Function) is a core activity of an enterprise. It is something that the enterprise must do in order to meet its objectives and continue in existence. ‘Functionality’ is a general English phrase that is generally used when referring to a computerised system in defining what Business Functions the system fully or partly supports.”
Removing Duplicate Functions
An essential step in building an effective function hierarchy is removing common (duplicate) functions. This turns a function hierarchy into the Function Catalogue – a unique catalogue of all of the core activities of the enterprise. Click on “Read More” to see a video on how to do this..
Tuning Processes is a Waste of Time!
Most Process Improvement Projects Fail.
Around the world businesses spend vast amounts of time and money trying to tune their existing processes and procedures in order to make their businesses more efficient.
Sadly, in far too many instances their efforts result in no improvement at all or, worse still, in an actual degradation of performance – and always in a huge bill.
All of this can be avoided by first building a Function Model for the business.
Business Models are Like Building Plans
Each business model helps portray a different aspect of a business.
For this reason it is important to select the most appropriate business model to portray the specific facet in question.
Function vs Department
Far too many people confuse ‘Function’ and ‘Department’
The confusion that exists in many peoples minds over Business Function and Business Department is one of the greatest barriers to successful business modelling. Because they confuse “function” with “department”, they start in the wrong place.
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John Owens Hi Julian Assets in the contexts that you outline
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Julian Schwarzenbach John, For many asset intensive organisations (p
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Joe Interesting article. I would just be curious on ho
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