Business process analysis is any activity that helps you understand how a business unit fulfills its mission. Since every process requires resources, a common analysis approach is to focus on a single resource such as time, information usage, cost, or such. The analysis requires specific techniques that let you easily evaluate how effectively the business process utilizes the chosen resource and how to make it better.
Business process analysis
shows everyone how what they do impacts other departments
enables quick fixes that work the first time
focuses on interaction between departments
makes the impact of proposed changes visible to all involved parties
generates ownership of the business processes
establishes a baseline of how things work today
creates a picture of how things should work in the future
When should you analyze business processes?
Business process analysis is a critical component of business process reengineering or any other approach that changes how a process works. Business process analysis ensures that all business problems are addressed and reduces the risk of eliminating the benefits of existing processes. These techniques are extremely useful anytime a process is not working the way it should. Use them to quickly identify, evaluate and implement short-term solutions that work right the first time.
Who should analyze business processes?
Business analysts, system analysts and managers are primarily responsible for analyzing business processes. People who work in the individual processes have to be involved to make it successful.
Myers' Rigorous Physical Diagram
A rigorous physical diagram is a drawing of how various units
within an organization exchange information.
The diagram shows data and physical material movements.
It uses only two symbols - the circle and the arrow.
You can use it to establish the impact that a proposed
change will have on the various units.
To Draw a Rigorous Physical
Model:
Define all the persons or places which are part of the
situation.
Draw a circle for each of these.
Use arrows to
show the physical material or information exchanged by these
units.
Label all circles and arrows.
Get customer agreement before proceeding!
Timing
Analysis
Many
system problems are the result of timing anomalies or clashes.
Identifying timing constraints is an important step in process
analysis.
Timing
analysis can establish timing desires and constraints.
Timing
constraints are usually imposed from outside your system area.
The
results of timing analysis should help you recognize timing related
problems and express performance requirements that any solution
has to meet.
Timing
Analysis Consists of Determining and Documenting:
What
is the minimum and maximum duration of each process?
When
does the input it needs arrive at the earliest and
latest?
When
is the output available at the earliest and the latest?
Our eMentoring offer is a cost-effective alternative for small groups to learn these and
other business system analysis techniques at their own workplace or for follow-up after a
training seminar
Hathaway & Associates offers
training,
virtual and
in-house services to support a wide range of activities within the system development life cycle all targeted exclusively to the Business Analyst, Requirements Engineer and the Subject Matter Expert.
You can also visit our
bookstore for
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in the business analysis field
Business Area Analysis
