At this very moment in nearly every enterprise around the world the integrity of Business Improvement Projects is being devoured by Killer OYsTeRs. These are not the scrumptious little shellfish that so many people enjoy eating for both their taste and aphrodisiac properties. Rather, they are insidious growths that develop in enterprises between people involved in [...]
How ‘As-Is’ BAs Deliver ‘Has-Been’ Enterprises
Spread across the world, there is an army of BAs that are daily sending enterprises backwards in time and building ever higher walls between them and the future. Are these BAs dedicated industrial saboteurs? Far from it! Most are actually conscientious, hard working and well meaning. So, how can they be doing so much damage? [...]
The Business Function Model: Powering the Enterprise
The Business Function Model is the single most powerful business model that an enterprise can have, for this reason it is an essential tool for every Business Analyst and ought be at the core of every Enterprise Architecture. If you’re sceptical about this claim, have a look at the key benefits of the Function Model listed [...]
Processes Do NOT Create Data!
I was recently asked to provide guidance on mapping how data is shared across different stages of Business Processes in order to achieve the greatest reuse possible. This was my answer. One of the most important things to emphasise when looking at data usage across an enterprise is that Business Processes do NOT create, transform [...]
The Pathology of Business & Data Modelling
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 [...]
Process Modelling or Process Mapping?
There is constant confusion between process modelling and process mapping. The following are a set of definitions that will help dispel the confusion and provide other definitions that will help you produce better business models. Process The definition of the order of execution of a series of Business Functions in response to a Business Trigger in [...]
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.
Procedure Modelling eBook
I am just starting to write Procedure Modelling, the fifth book in the series for the Integrated Modelling Method. The purpose of this book is to define Procedure Modelling and how it differs from Process Modelling. To define in detail the elements of a procedure, i.e. triggers and outcomes, controls, method, knowledge, skills, resources and evidence. To show step-by-step how to do Procedure Modelling. I would love your input. Have a look at the full post and tell me what you think.
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.
What is Process Modelling?
Is This a Silly Question? Before we can say what business process modeling is we need to know what a Business Process is! This may seem like stating the obvious, however, “process” is one of the most widely misunderstood and misused terms in business and business modeling! Managers and analysts alike often use the term [...]
Multi-Dimensional MEM (MDM) Online Course 
Online Mentoring 
Information Flow Modelling eBook 
Business Process Modelling eBook 
Data Structure Modelling eBook 
