In the planning phase, it’s all about identifying the business processes as types. Existing processes can either be identified or documented, or the processes can be replanned. Business process modeling is generally based on standardized modeling languages such as Event-Driven Process Chains (EPK), UML Activity Diagrams, Follow-up Plan, or Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN). The role-based swimlane display has established itself and is also an important structural element in the globally valid process visualization standard BPMN 2.0.
One option is to set only rules for recording the process flow as a first step. This is then used to record data. Process discovery (part of process mining) is then used to try to find out actual processes. Another possibility is the creation of a MITO process model with management and management processes as well as core processes and upstream and downstream support processes according to the High Level Structure for Integrated Load Systems.
The processes identified in this way can then be analysed and used as a basis for further planning. It is also possible to assign responsible roles or people to them: process owners or process owners. For the overall coordination across all business processes, the role of the process coordinator sometimes exists as the person responsible for process governance.
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In clerical work, often only a small part can be thought through in structured processes. The vast majority is unstructured or can only be partially structured, i.e. unpredictable or only slightly predictable. This is also referred to as case management. Case managers are responsible for a case and, based on their experience, decide what the next steps are and who to involve in handling the case. Typical jobs are those of employees of employment agencies, judges, bankers in the field of special loans, customer support. Hospital processes are also unpredictable. In addition, there is event management and all workplaces where very creative work is done. This results in challenges in the measurability of these processes and thus their optimisation.
Before new or redesigned business processes are put into practice, it is advisable to check them with regard to their achievement of goals (costs, time and quality, but also goods throughput, resource allocation, etc.) by means of a simulation based on the process models or process cost accounting.
The planning is incorporated into the implementation of the process. The classic means of organizing the process organization can be used. Process models can also be transferred to a process or workflow engine and executed in it. As a rule, a number of other technical information must be enriched by IT specialists, such as the technical call of an application, which parameters should be passed, what should happen in the event of an error. Typically, the engines have limitations, so the model needs to be adjusted. In addition, the organizational view is often less differentiated or over-differentiated. In the latter case, multiple activities become just one, because the rest of the tasks are performed in the invoked application itself.
