Detailed Course Outline
Course benefits:
This course prepares candidates to sit the examination for the Certificate in Modelling Business Processes.
This certificate focuses on the investigation, modelling, analysis and improvement of business processes. The BCS publication, Business Analysis (2nd Edition, 2010), defines business processes as ‘the means by which an organisation carried out its internal operations and delivers its products and services to its customers’. Candidates are required to appreciate the hierarchy for business processes, and apply business process modelling techniques within a framework for business process improvement.
A technique should be examined for each level of the hierarchy. For each technique, the candidate should be able to:
- Explain the principles of the technique
- Document the process according to the correct use of the technique
- Interpret the documentation derived from the use of the technique
- Identify when the technique should be used
Candidates may be expected to apply any of the techniques defined in the syllabus in the examination for this certificate. Each examination must include a question requiring candidates to build a business process model showing actors, tasks and the flow of the work for a specific business process. In addition, each examination must cover at least three of the other five areas of the syllabus.
Please note that software engineering techniques for modelling activities or data flows, such as Data Flow Diagrams, are not acceptable for modelling business processes. It is essential that the technique chosen to model business processes shows the sequence and flow of the business process.
This course is aimed at Business Analysts who wish to gain the BCS Certificate in Modelling Business Processes. Systems analysts and business users will also benefit from attending the course.
There are no specific pre-requisites for entry to the examination, however candidates should be suitably prepared and possess the appropriate skills and knowledge to fulfil the objectives.
Holders of the BCS Certificate in Modelling Business Processes should be able to:
- Identify and model core business processes at an organisational level
- Identify and model business processes at the process level
- Identify the events that trigger the business processes
- Identify the outcomes from the business processes
- Model the actors, tasks and process flows that comprise a business process
- Analyse the tasks within a business process
- Identify the business rules applied within tasks
- Analyse the performance issues of individual tasks
- Identify the performance measures applied within a business process
- Analyse and improve business processes
1. The context for business process modelling
1.1 Purpose of business process modelling
1.2 Process for business process modelling
- Identification
- Modelling
- Analysis
- Improvement
- Implementation
- Control
1.3 Approaches to business process modelling
1.4 The hierarchy of business processes – organisation, process and task levels
1.5 Differences between the process view and the functional view of an organisation
1.6 Advantages of the process view
2. Organisational model of processes
2.1. Strategic context for business processes
2.2. Relationships between processes, including those at the same level and between levels of hierarchy
2.3. Building an organizational view of processes
2.4. Delivering value to customers and the value proposition
3. Modelling the business processes
3.1 Selected business process modelling techniques
- Notation – actors, tasks, process flows, decisions
- Rules
3.2 Modelling as-is business processes
3.3 Events that trigger business processes
- External business events
- Internal business events
- Time-based business events
3.4 The outcomes from business processes
3.5 Timelines for business processes
3.6 Business process measures
4. Documenting tasks
4.1 Identifying tasks – one person, one place, one time
4.2 Documenting steps to complete the tasks
4.3 Documenting business rules
4.4 Task performance measures
5. Evaluating and improving business processes
5.1. Identifying problems with the as-is business processes
5.2. Analysing the process flow
5.3. Analysing the handoffs
5.4. Analysing the tasks
5.5. Staff performance issues
5.6. Challenging the business rules
5.7. Modelling the to-be business processes
5.8. Approaches to business process improvement
6. Transition
6.1. Integration of business process modeling and requirements definition
6.2 Implementation issues
- Approaches – pilot run, direct changeover, parallel
- Organisational design
- Role definition
- Staff development
- Managing change implementation
The course comprises short and focused lecture sessions with exercises to practise appropriate techniques. Discussion of the problems and issues experienced by attendees will be encouraged.
The format for the examination is a one hour written (open book) examination based on a business scenario with 15 minutes reading time. Candidates who are awarded a pass for the examination are awarded the BCS Certificate in Modelling Business Processes.