Any activity is always a certain process, as it has an extension in time, stages and a result. Therefore, from craft or cottage industries to modern high-tech companies, everyone is involved in processes. What has changed recently? Why has the topic of business processes become so relevant today? In this material, I will try to analyze the process approach to managing an organization and reflect the specific features of a new view of management that the theories of modeling and reengineering brought with them.

Background

Management researchers are invariably concerned with the question of the universality of theories and the provability of solutions. It is desirable, as in mathematics, to find axioms and constants that one could confidently rely on when searching for and making decisions. The second important topic is the language for displaying decisions related to organizational and management systems. The most successful attempts to make the science of management more harmonious are accounting and financial statistics. These are very valuable parts of management, but, unfortunately, not suitable for “mere mortals” who need not only to make the right decision, but also to communicate it to the entire staff. Here we can also talk about network planning and graph theory, but still this approach remains controversial for many.

In the 70s of the last century, in complex military projects, American specialists came to the need to visually structure activities, and since then the concept of a business process has been firmly entrenched in management practice. This period can be conditionally called “structuring” of the business, since the purpose of constructing visual activity diagrams at that time was to identify the logic, divide areas of responsibility, determine the flow of documents and products, and this action itself largely accelerated and simplified understanding, identified inaccurate places and ruptures.

At this stage, a business process was defined as a set of sequentially and/or parallel operations that transform material and/or information flows into corresponding flows with other properties. Of course, here we are not talking about the fact that for the first time they saw a process in activity (processes were already improved by Adam Smith in the 18th century, and Henry Ford perfectly built production processes), but about the fact that a tool for displaying and systematically analyzing the company’s activities through process diagrams appeared .

A visual reflection of an enterprise's business processes significantly accelerated and simplified automation activities, so in the 80s the emphasis shifted to the description of automated business processes. This was a period of active involvement of computers in all areas of production and management. Naturally, one description soon became insufficient for managers, so a new level of complexity began to form - process management.

The process approach views management as the work of a special person (“process owner”) to design an effective sequence of actions to create a formulated result under given conditions and ensure the implementation of these actions (process). That is, the focus from managing people in process management shifts to managing flows of actions and results.

Modeling development stages

Having embarked on the path of streamlining business processes, management must sooner or later switch to process management on a company-wide scale, since the flow of activity, like the flow of water, cannot exist in a confined space where movement is limited. That is, the company is forced to conceptualize all its activities as a network of interconnected processes, to link them so that they strengthen and not weaken each other. This requires modeling of all activities in a complex. This stage began in the West around the 90s. Everything happens with some lag, but it depends greatly on the industry. Fast-growing industries (such as telecommunications) have long and successfully mastered these technologies.

A feature of process-oriented management is the definition of business processes as an interconnected set of works that ensure the achievement of the goals set by the company (implementation of the strategy), which is an order of magnitude more difficult than managing a local process. Here, the focus of management’s attention is transferred from production and logistics processes to “office” processes.

The assessment showed that design, planning, accounting, etc. processes are often the main culprits in low speed and high cost production processes. That is, they ultimately determine the properties of the processes that create value for the customer.

Thus, to achieve success, the company’s management itself must be subjected to modeling and optimization, but sometimes this is extremely difficult, since most often the following is observed:

• high uncertainty in the actions of managers;
• lack of necessary competencies in process management;
• psychological unpreparedness of specialists and managers to “drive themselves into limits.”

Therefore, the next stage in the development of modeling tasks is inevitable - this is the initial competent design of all company processes as a single effective system - business engineering. Business engineering methodology views management as a service provider to the value stream, as it should be. At the same time, the implementation of the process approach occurs almost automatically and does not require efforts to overcome the resistance of any of the personnel groups (of course, if everything is designed correctly from the beginning).

I plan to consider the topic of business engineering in more detail in future articles. Here I would like to pay attention to the options and subtleties of the business process as a modern management phenomenon.

Managerial phenomenon

Having examined the dynamics of the development of the process approach to enterprise management, I think that no one doubts that this is serious and will last. My personal opinion is that the transition to process management is comparable to the transition from calculations on your fingers to calculations using records, formulas, and rules. As the management object becomes more complex, management technologies must inevitably become more complex.

But is it so difficult? Where does a modern manager encounter a barrier to the benefits of a process approach? My observations show that the manager, by virtue of tradition, imagines the organization in the form of an organizational structure, where the main information is about the division of employees into departments and about responsibility for each group. Let's compare what structure and business process diagrams look like, drawn using the same visual tools.

Structure

Obviously, the main difference between the schemes is the presence of a thread in the second scheme, which unites all participants with a certain logic. Managerial work is similarly different. With traditional functional management, this is a “division” of attention, work, and reward, which is a very labor-intensive task and does not guarantee anything.

When moving to a process-oriented approach to management, company management can no longer be considered as the work of an “overseer,” but rather as the work of a coach, conductor, director, etc. – that is, the task changes from separation and control to the formation of the best configuration of conditions for maximizing the flow of created value.

We can conclude that the whole difficulty lies in the habit of the traditional version of management, and partly in the fact that there are no visual ready-made process models, and their creation from scratch requires serious efforts of the management team.

Fundamental elements of process management

1. Identifying key performance results and comparing them with the company’s business processes.
2. Identification of clients of business processes and their requirements (in the future, it is necessary to establish a strong connection with them and continuously monitor their satisfaction, since it is the client with this approach that becomes the main measure of the quality of the process).
3. Creating a structure of business processes based on importance, nesting, and chronology of activities.
4. Determination of business process parameters.
5. Determination of those responsible and executing each process.
6. Designing logic – a technology that should ensure the creation of the desired result in the required time frame.
7. Setting up a system for synchronizing the activities of different processes (ideally, automation of planning and control of all process indicators).
8. Personnel training is the formation of readiness for group responsibility for results (often this requires a fairly strong restructuring of the motivation system).
9. Formation of a cyclical mode of design-analysis-adjustment of processes based on the results of the analysis - the so-called “rhythm of business”.

An important stage in the development and description of activities is the determination of the characteristics of business processes. Almost every methodology highlights the following elements.

1. Process boundaries, which are defined by starting events and inputs (resources), as well as ending events and outputs (results).
2. Regulatory documents of the process. These include both external legislation and company-issued rules, plans and instructions. Unfortunately, it is rare to find well-written management documents in companies, so the main delay in the transition to process management arises from the need to develop the required number of rules and instructions.
3. Process resources: performers and participants, equipment and tools, information systems and other important elements, without which the process is impossible or ineffective.
4. Process indicators – measured process variables and their standard values. These may include not only the volume of the result, but also the time spent on the process, the amount of material or money lost, the number of defects, customer satisfaction index, etc.

All this can be described in simple text or tabular form, but it’s not for nothing that designers use graphical methods. Any design, including an organizational one, will be much more deeply detailed and meaningful if it is presented visually and in the context of the activities of the rest of the system.

Visualization of processes in the form of technologies can be simple, as shown in the figure above, consisting of infographics accessible to any employee, or it can be more complex, performed using special process modeling tools. As part of this series, I plan to describe all the most interesting and accessible modeling notations. For now you can familiarize yourself with two of them - and.

In any case, the methodology provides direction and tools, while value for the company is created by the management team, which forms the management system. No even the most accurate technique guarantees that the mechanism will work like a clock if there is no master who understands, sets and maintains this “clock”.

I think no one has a question about whether business processes are needed or not and why they are being developed, since when there is a business, by definition there are business processes. Therefore, we cannot say that working with business processes is a fundamentally new era. But still, a shift in emphasis, new tools and technologies are significantly changing the essence of management work. Those who understand this have a chance to create a much more manageable, mobile and effective business than those who focus on managing the old fashioned way - often through psychological pressure on subordinates.

Process approach

The essence of the process approach is that each employee ensures the functioning of specific business processes by directly participating in them. Responsibilities, areas of responsibility, and criteria for successful performance for each employee are formulated and make sense only in the context of a specific task or process. The horizontal connection between structural units is much stronger. The vertical relationship “superior-subordinate” is slightly weakened. An employee’s sense of responsibility changes qualitatively: he is responsible not only for the functions assigned to him by his boss, but also for the business process as a whole. The functions and results of the activities of parallel structural units are important to him. Responsibility for the result of the business process as a whole pushes him to be responsible to his colleagues, the same participants in the business process as himself.

When building a process-oriented management system, the main emphasis is on developing interaction mechanisms within the process both between structural units within the company and with the external environment, i.e. with clients, suppliers and partners. It is the process approach that makes it possible to take into account such important aspects of business as focus on the final product, the interest of each performer in improving the quality of the final product and, as a consequence, interest in the final performance of their work. The process approach to management ignores the organizational structure of managing an organization with its inherent assignment of functions to individual departments. With the process approach, the organization is perceived by managers and employees as an activity consisting of business processes aimed at obtaining the final result. The organization is perceived as business process network, which is a set of interrelated and interacting business processes, including all functions performed in the organization’s departments. While the functional structure of a business determines the capabilities of the enterprise by establishing what should be done, the process structure (in the operating system of a business) describes the specific technology for achieving set goals and objectives, answering the question of how it should be done.

The process approach is based on the following principles:

1. The company's activities are considered as a set of business processes.

2. The execution of business processes is subject to mandatory regulation or formal description.

3. Each business process has an internal or external client and an owner (the person responsible for the result of the business process).

4. Each business process is characterized by key indicators that describe its execution, result or impact on the outcome of the organization as a whole.

The principles of the process approach to management determine the basic rules, guided by which it is possible to organize the effective functioning of a business aimed at the final result.

The first principle defines the vision of the company’s activities as a set of business processes. It is he who determines the new culture of perception of the organization in the process approach.

The second principle of the process approach, which requires mandatory regulation of business processes, is based on the fact that regulations is a document that describes the sequence of operations, responsibility, the procedure for interaction between performers, and the procedure for making decisions to improve a business process.

Isolating a business process is always associated with identifying client or the consumer of the result of a process that has a certain value for him. In addition to the client, each business process has owner - an official who has the necessary resources at his disposal, manages the progress of the business process and is responsible for the results and efficiency of the business process. The owner of a business process is an official, a formal leader, therefore he has the necessary powers, has the resources required to implement the process, manages the progress of the business process and is responsible for its result. These advantages guarantee high performance of the organization, the management of which has a pronounced process-oriented nature.

Process-oriented management allows you to qualitatively change the activities of an organization at the operational, cross-functional and inter-organizational levels of its integration. Functional integration ceases to be a source of difficult to resolve interfunctional conflicts. The operational level of integration receives a new vision thanks to the network of business processes of the organization and allows:

a) more effectively delineate the powers and responsibilities of personnel;

b) develop an effective system of delegation of authority;

c) ensure standardization of requirements for performers;

d) minimize the risk of dependence on an individual performer;

e) reduce the workload of managers;

f) reduce costs;

g) increase the efficiency of personnel management;

h) identify sources of reducing costs and time for executing business processes;

i) reduce the time for making management decisions.

As a result, the controllability of the organization increases, the influence of the human factor and the cost of products and services are reduced. All this leads to a change in the quality of the organization itself and the formation of a process-oriented organization , in which the entire team is a conscious participant in the continuous process of activity associated with the final result of the production of products or the provision of services.

The development of the process approach to management has received wide resonance; virtually all the leading organizations in the world are process-oriented organizations.

Based on an understanding of what business processes are carried out in an organization, it is possible to build an effective organizational structure for managing them. If the organizational structure has developed traditionally, the business operating system can help in analyzing its quality.

Thus, the lack of a process approach in management leads to spontaneous results that cannot be relied upon and which cannot be analyzed, since they are difficult to reproduce. It is the process approach that makes it possible to understand that the final product of a company’s activities is the result of the joint work of all its employees without exception; in addition, it allows you to eliminate gaps at the junction of processes, restoring the connection between them. The process approach does not reject the company’s existing management system, but determines ways to improve it and qualitatively modify it.

In table 2 identifies the advantages and disadvantages of the process approach to enterprise management.

Table 2 - Analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the process approach to enterprise management

Of course, it is impossible to achieve increased efficiency through the formalization of business processes alone, and the process approach is not a panacea for all the ills of an organization. It allows you to diagnose problems both throughout the company and the interaction of its various departments when performing a common task. Sterligova A.N. Operational (production) management: textbook / A.N. Sterligova, A.V. Fel. - M.: INFRA-M, 2009. - P.32-35.

However contrast between process and functional approaches fundamentally wrong. Functions, as well as processes, are equivalent concepts of management activities and cannot exist in isolation from each other. At the same time, the result of both functional and process approaches is the design of both the organizational structure (i.e. functional areas) and the order of interaction within its framework (i.e. processes). The only difference is in the design starting points: whether to allocate functional responsibilities based on processes or design interaction processes between functional areas.

In table 3 shows a comparative analysis of the two approaches to management. The advantages of the process approach over the functional approach described in the table allow us to conclude that in a dynamically developing market, from the point of view of competitiveness, process-oriented management of an organization seems to be more effective.

Table 3 - Comparative analysis of functional and process approaches to management

At the same time, contrasting functional and process approaches to management is not legitimate. The result of both approaches is the simultaneous design of the organizational structure (functional areas) and the order of interactions within this structure (processes). These approaches, to a certain extent, should be applied in parallel. The object of management should be a unified system of interconnected business processes that create value for the consumer, and functional areas that combine similar functions within various business processes. These two approaches have significant similarities in basic premises: both approaches postulate an initial set of standard processes / functions, which are further detailed and tied to a specific enterprise. The functional approach answers the question “What to do?”, the process approach “How to do?”. There should be no contradictions between the two approaches - they not only complement each other, but to a certain extent should be applied in parallel.

Summarizing the above, we can conclude that a process-oriented management system, along with the advantages of a function-oriented system, has a number of advantages where the latter has obvious disadvantages. The need to use process-oriented management in recent years has been increasingly recognized by Russian society. Process-oriented management will allow transformations to be carried out faster and with fewer errors, since with this approach it is easier (compared to the functional approach) to determine what exactly needs to be changed and in which departments. Many domestic enterprises have already begun to work on improving their business processes within the framework of the concept of process-oriented management, which increases operational efficiency; without increasing staff, reduce customer service time and reduce costs. However, it should be remembered that a process-oriented management system is suitable and will bring tangible benefits to such organizations that exist in a dynamic, actively developing market with healthy competition. It is advisable to implement such a management model in organizations that, for example, have mass transactions with individuals or a large flow of similar transactions. For organizations where each contract or transaction is individual, and business processes are constantly changing for each specific order, process-oriented management will not only not be useful, but will also significantly complicate the work process.

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that the construction of process-oriented systems allows the organization to better understand the interrelationships of individual aspects of activity and increase its efficiency.

And already the implementation of the process approach implies the identification and description of existing business processes and the order of their interactions in the overall network of processes, the distribution of responsibility for business processes, the management of business processes based on the PDC cycle. Fourthly, processes exist to create the result needed by consumers. You can mistakenly follow the simple path of process design: imagine each function of the organization as a separate process as a result of which something is produced, then combine the resulting processes...

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LECTURE 6 . PROCESS AND SYSTEM APPROACHES TO MANAGEMENT

6 .1 Process approach

There are four main approaches to managing organizations:

classical or traditional approach;

process approach;

systems approach;

situational approach.

The essence of traditional approach: work, administration, personnel, work motivation, leadership, organizational culture, etc. are separately considered.

The essence of the situational approach: management methods may vary depending on the situation; in practice, the results of the organization's activities are analyzed in various practical situations; the most significant situational factors influencing the performance of economic activity in dynamics are sought, the consequences are predicted (future demand, costs, financial revenues, etc.); Based on the data obtained, the future activities of the organization are planned. Often, situational analysis is carried out using the methods of expert assessments, “brainstorming (attack)” (with arguments for and against), using cases (from the English “case”) business situations that help to accumulate practical experience and take the right management decisions solutions.

There are several different interpretations of the process approach to management. In accordance with GOST R ISO 9000:2001, a process approach is understood as“the systematic identification and management of the processes used by an organization and especially the interactions of such processes”. In practice, the popularization of the standard and misinterpretation of its theoretical provisions led to a distortion of the theoretical foundations of management and consideration of the process approach as a representation of activities in the form of a network of processes. For example, a definition of the process approach is given as “the use of a system of interrelated processes to manage the activities and resources of an organization.” But viewing a system as a “network” of interacting processes issystems approach.

The process approach to management is an approach to management as a continuous process carried out through interrelated and interacting management functions such as planning, organization, control, analysis, etc.

With this approach, each management function is also a process, as it consists of a series of interrelated actions. The management process is the sum total of all functions. Thus, the process approach, first of all, is understooduse of a management cycle that includes a large number of management functions. And already implementation of the process approach implies the identification and description of existing business processes and the order of their interactions in the overall network of processes, distribution of responsibility for business processes, management of business processes based on the cycle PDCA.

In the reference literature on quality management, in the standards of the ISO 9000 family, the concepts of “process”, “business process”, “business process” are often mentioned. However, there is no clear and general definition of these terms in the theory of modern management. When describing the process approach, different authors offer their own definitions.

The definition proposed by Ericsson in his work " Ericsson Quality Institute. Business Process Management ", is the most complete and specific: “A business process is a chain of logically related, repeating actions, as a result of which the organization’s resources are used to process an object (physically or virtually) in order to achieve certain measurable results or products to satisfy internal or external consumers” .

We consider it possible, based on this definition, to clarify the key points of defining a process within the framework of the process approach methodology.

Firstly, organizing process is a group of activities.

Secondly, these actions are logically connected, not random.

Third, all actions are implemented to achieve a common goal.

Fourthly, processes exist to create the outcome desired by consumers.

Analysis of various approaches to defining processes shows that the development and dissemination of knowledge in the field of modeling management activities and building management systems has led to the convergence of two concepts: “process” and “business process”.

The main terms of the process approach relating to the description of processes or their distinctive characteristics include: the manager (owner, owner) of the process,

• process resources,
• process consumer
• process input, process output,
• control influences, suppliers,
• process network,
• process functioning,
• progress of the process.

Manager (owner, host) of the processan official who has personnel, material and information resources at his disposal, manages the progress of the process and is responsible for the results and effectiveness of the process.

Under the term "process inputs"are understood as objects transformed by a process to obtain the result of the process, or the so-called “outputs” of the process [.

Process outputs this is the result (product or service) of the process, as well as information and decisions. The output of a process is also the intermediate result of the process.

Process Resourcesthese are influencing factors that are necessary to carry out transformations, but are not themselves transformed. These include information, finance, materials, personnel and their skills, infrastructure, environment, software. In practice, it can be difficult to distinguish between what is a resource and what is an input. Repin V.V. and Eliferov V.G. In their work, they proposed to draw a conditional line between inputs and resources as follows: inputs are what come from other processes and are converted into outputs. Resources are what are initially at the disposal of the process owner.

Process consumercalled the subject who receives the result of the process [ibid., p. 24; 33, paragraph 3.3.5]. The consumer may be:

• internal located in the organization and in the course of its activities using the results (outputs) of the previous process;
• external located outside the organization and using the result of the organization’s activities (output).

Process Providera subject that provides input to the process. The supplier may be internal or external to the process.

Influences that establish, regulate the process and influence it, but are not transformed by it, are called controls. There are internal and external control influences in the organization. External management for university processes includes accepted legislative requirements and requirements of external management bodies. Internal governance includes intra-organizational requirements and the regulatory system.

It is necessary to define what is meant byfunctioningprocess. In the Russian language dictionary S.I. Ozhegova “to function” means to act, to be in action, to work. The functioning of a process is the performance of its functions, the implementation of various activities in order to achieve the goal of the process. The functioning of the process is a change in the previous state of the process associated with the transformation, development, and improvement of its basic elements.

If we are talking about part of the execution of a process, then the terms “operation”, “work”, “action” are used. When considering the overall execution of a process, we will use the term “functioning.” When considering a sequential change of actions or development of a process, we will use the term “process progress.”

Defining business process boundaries

An important problem when implementing a process approach is defining the boundaries of business processes. It is possible to distinguish four main approaches to defining process boundaries: process sequence of actions grouped:

1. by type of activity (similar functions);
2. based on the results of activities;
3. on the importance of consumer expectations;
4. by added value;
5. according to sections of the ISO 9001 standard.

The first approach is focused on determining the sequence of actions performed by employees to achieve results within their functional unit. This approach is used mainly when working on various automation projects and in organizations with project management. The disadvantage of this approach is the identity of the processes of the functional hierarchy and, as a consequence, the difficulty in complying with one of the principles of the process approach, defined by M. Hammer, J. Chapley, Simon: “one process one department one budget one process owner.”

In the second approach, activities are grouped according to the principle of identifying a consumer and a product for him. The approach is based on the identification of processes based on the results of activities and is represented in management by the most famous models of this approach: thirteen- and eight-process universal models and the Scher model. The main problem when using this approach in process identification may be the definition of the results themselves. You can mistakenly follow the simple path of process design: imagine each function of the organization as a separate process, as a result of which something is produced, then combine the resulting “processes” and get the previous model “by activity”.

Third approach highlighting the sequence of elements: enterprise strategy, stakeholders, expectations for products or services, processes

In general, this approach consists of formulating an organization's strategy, which is determined by stakeholders (i.e. organizations, institutions or individuals with a legitimate interest in the organization of its process). These parties have certain expectations regarding the products or services provided by the organization due to the processes by which those products and services are produced, as well as the support and ability to produce them.

With this approach, the organization's stakeholders and its obvious consumers are identified, expectations for the organization are determined and ranked, and a clear strategy is formed.

It is interesting to consider the implementation of this approach in the method of identifying processes developed by L.V. Kukhareva. The essence of the method is to use the approaches of the concept Lean at the stage of identifying processes, focusing the organization on the consumer and laying the foundations for the process approach. The technique includes 7 steps:

1. identification of consumer groups;
2. identifying stages characterized by different consumer values;
3. determining the values ​​of each consumer group at various stages of interactions;
4. structuring of values;
5. highlighting business processes;
6. allocation of subprocesses;
7. allocation of auxiliary processes.

The methodology of the process approach was initially formed within the framework of business organizations and consumer value (the result of business processes) was considered as an economic category that correlates the cost of costs necessary to make a profit and the amount of profit itself. With the development of process approach methodology, the definition of value has expanded.From an organizational point of view, value has come to be understood as “...that characteristic of a product or service (in combination with the time and place of its delivery) for which the consumer is willing to pay, or at least for which he will be grateful.”

The fourth approach is focused on identifying the value chain in the organization. The value chain consists of the key sequential actions necessary to move a product or service from the initial idea to the specific consumer. Value can only be determined by the end user and is specific to a specific product or service. The chain identifies the main processes that support the production cycle and the business processes that support and accompany the product life cycle.

Thus, The value chain is an infrastructure that shows the significance of each process. In this case, process boundaries are where each internal process adds something to the value of the product or service..

PDCA cycle in a process approach

PDCA concept is present in all areas of our professional and personal lives and is used constantly, formally or informally, consciously or subconsciously in everything we do. Every activity, no matter how simple or complex, falls under this never-ending cycle:

PDCA is a dynamic cycle that can be applied within each process of an organization, as well as in relation to the system of processes as a whole.

Maintaining and continuously improving the capability of processes can be achieved by applying the concept PDCA at all levels within the organization. This concept applies equally to high-level strategic processes such as planning and to simple production activities carried out as part of product creation processes.

PDCA cycle applies to processes as follows:

“Plan” establish the goals and processes necessary to achieve results in accordance with customer requirements and organizational policies;

“Do” implement processes;

"Check" monitor and measure processes and products against policies, objectives and product requirements and report results;

“Act” take action to continuously improve the functioning of processes.

Process classification

An analysis of the use of process orientation shows that the lists of processes of various organizations, including universities, contain different numbers of business processes, differ in process boundaries and are classified differently. On the other hand, different organizations perform similar activities and may have identical process systems.

There are many ways to classify business processes.

Process classification

Using a systems approach and meaning processes by elements, a group of authors proposes the following classification of processes by management levels within the organization’s activities:

• superprocess,
• hyperprocess,
• macro process,
• process,
• subprocess (subprocess).

This classification allows us to consider the interaction of the organization’s processes with the processes of external stakeholders at the superprocess levels. In other embodiments, processes are divided into processes of the first, second, third, etc. levels.

The majority of authors of works devoted to the process approach divide processesaccording to the degree of influence on consumer satisfaction into two groups: main and auxiliary.Core processes concern the functioning of the life cycle of a product or service and add value to the consumer. Auxiliary processes do not come into contact with the product and are designed to ensure the normal functioning of the main processes.

It should be noted that whenclassification of processes by purposeThere is a wide variety in the names of their categories, but the same approach is used. Highlight:

• business processes (core processes, production processes, life cycle processes, basic processes, main processes);
• supporting (resource provision, resource management, supporting processes, secondary);
• management (organizational and managerial processes, management processes, management activities of management).

Often, supporting processes and management processes are combined into the class of auxiliary processes or the classification is expanded, supplementing it with development processes.

O.P. Gludkin highlightsprocesses of three types according to structure:

• an individual process performed by a single individual;
• a functional or vertical process that reflects the company’s vertical activities and corresponds to its structure of interaction between managers, departments, divisions and employees of the company;
• business (business process) or horizontal process that crosses horizontally the activities of the company and represents a set of interrelated integrated processes, providing final results that meet the interests of the company.

R. Gardner’s classification is based on M. Porter’s theory of the value chain and containsthree groups of processes according to their importance:

• processes that create value;
• processes that create value creation opportunities;
• supporting processes.

In this classification, the second group includes processes that do not directly contribute to the creation of value, but are necessary to ensure the functioning of the processes. The third group includes processes that do not create value and do not provide the opportunity to create value, but are necessary to support the organization’s activities.

M. Kagonov’s classification provides for the division of processeson management system processes and product creation processes.

Yu. Adler proposed divisionbusiness processes into external processes, which are generated, as a rule, by consumers, and internal processes, the functioning of which does not involve interaction with the consumer.

One commonly used classification is based on the structure of the ISO 9000 series of standards.

According with the standard, processes or business processes are divided into:

• senior management processes;
• resource management processes;
• life cycle processes;
• processes for monitoring, measuring and improving the QMS.

By level of detail of considerationprocesses are divided into top-level, detailed, and elementary processes.

Processes may varydepending on whether they are formed within the same division(intrafunctional processes), with the interaction of two or more departments or the entire organization end-to-end (cross-functional processes).

Process classification possibleby interaction with each other. In this case, a distinction is made between:

• control relationship when the output of one process is control for another process. Process 1 is the control process relative to process 2;
• input relationship when the output of one block is the input for another. In this case, processes 1 and 2 are sequential and belong to the same category;
• control feedback when outputs from one process affect the execution of other processes, the execution of which in turn affects the execution of the original process. In this case, process 2 falls under the category of measurement, analysis and improvement processes;
• input feedback when the output from one process is an input for another process, the output of which is an input for it.;
• “output-mechanism” relationship when the output of one process is a mechanism for another. In this case, process 1 falls under the resource management category.

There are also more specific classifications developed by firms and organizations, containing an approximate universal list of business processes applicable to any organization.

Universal process classifications

Researchers fromUniversity of Plymouth (USA)a hierarchy of business processes has been proposed, which has five levels. In this hierarchy, processes are divided into three main groups: “production”, “management” and “support”. A simpler and more practical approach was proposed as a result of the NorwegianTORR project on comparative benchmarking.The proposed structural diagram of business processes contains processes divided into: primary, supporting (auxiliary) and developing. The resulting classification was further developed during the implementation of the program ENAPS (European Foresight Research Network). As a result, other names for business process groups were adopted: primary business processes were called business processes themselves. They were divided into four subgroups of main processes. The other two groups of processes were called secondary processes, which in turn are divided into groups of support processes and development processes.

The so-called “Business Process Classification Framework” was developed by APQC (International Benchmarks Chamber) with the help of several major international corporations and in close collaboration with Arthur Andersen and Co. The Business Process Classification Framework provides a general view of business processes that are often found in many industries, manufacturing, services, healthcare, government, and education. This option for organizing business processes is based not on functions, but on the structure and general vocabulary of main processes and subprocesses. The structure contains 13 enlarged business processes, divided into two types: operational, management and support. The framework does not list all processes within any given organization and it is understood that not every process listed in the framework is present in every organization. The proposed “Structure of Business Process Classification” is a developing document and implies changes with the development of the theory of the process approach.

All of the above classifications of business processes are universal intended for an organization of any type and in any industry.

6.2 Systematic approach to management

The second important principle of quality management, which is closely related to the process approach, issystematic approach to management.

The essence of the systems approach ( from the point of view of management theory): the organization is considered as a system, with its own input (goals, objectives), output (performance results based on indicators), feedback connections (between staff and management, external suppliers and managers, external sales people and managers, buyers and internal sales people, etc. .), external influences (tax legislation, economic factors, competitors, etc.). The main goals of the systems approach are:

Reduced emergence;

Increased synergy;

Ensuring positive multiplicity in the organization;

Ensuring the sustainability of the organization's functioning;

Ensuring adaptability of the organization;

Ensuring compatibility of the work of the organization’s subsystems (for example, the “personnel” subsystem with the “management” subsystem, the “sales” subsystem with the “customers” subsystem, etc.);

Ensuring the effective operation of feedback links in the organization both within subsystems and between subsystems.

From the point of view of building management systems: “Identifying, understanding and managing interrelated processes as a system contributes to the effectiveness and efficiency of an organization in achieving its goals.”.

In this context, the quality management system includes a number of interrelated processes. The processes required for a quality management system include not only product creation processes (those processes that directly contribute to the making of a product or provision of a service), but also a number of management, monitoring and measurement processes, such as resource management , communication, internal audit, management review and other processes.

Individual processes are rarely isolated from each other. Outputs from one process typically form part of the inputs to subsequent processes, as shown in the figure.

A chain of interconnected processes.

The interactions between an organization's processes can often be complex, resulting in a network of interdependent processes. The inputs and outputs of these processes can often relate to both external and internal consumers. An example of a network with interacting processes is shown in Figure 6. The model of this process network illustrates that customers play a significant role in defining requirements as inputs. Feedback from the customer on satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the output of the process is an essential input to the process of continuous improvement of the QMS.

Typical network of interacting processes

Note that the cycle PDCA can be applied both to each individual process and to the network of processes as a whole. Some important processes of the quality management system may not have direct interaction with external customers. Process "F" in Figure 6, for example, could be an internal audit process, a management review process, an equipment maintenance process, or a personnel training process.

Application of the principle of a “systems approach to management” usually leads to:

Structuring the system to achieve the organization's goals in the most efficient and effective way

Understanding the interdependencies between system processes

Structured approaches that harmonize and integrate processes

Provide a better understanding of the roles and responsibilities needed to achieve common goals and thereby reduce cross-functional barriers

Understanding organizational capabilities and establishing resource requirements before taking action

Targeting and determining how specific activities within the system should be carried out.

Continuous improvement of the system through[her] measurements and assessments

6.3 Business process assessment

Currently, several approaches to assessing processes can be distinguished, the classification of which is most fully given inwork of Repin V. and Eliferov V.The basic principles of assessment were developed in the works of the founders and followers of the business process reengineering methodology, such as M. Hammer and J. Ciampi, M. Robson and F. Ullah. For qualitative analysis and assessment, well-known approaches are used: SWOT -analysis, analysis using the Boston matrix, visual analysis methods. Techniques for graphical analysis and evaluation are less developed in the literature and are most fully considered only. Qualitative assessment techniques are indispensable in process design.

Methods for quantitative assessment of processes have been developed in more detail and are widely used in world practice. Most of these techniques are based on the collection, processing and analysis of statistical information about processes. In fact, process quantification techniques were developed as tools used in the implementation of quality management systems.

Currently, such techniques as process simulation modeling and ABS -process analysis (operational cost analysis). In practice, these techniques involve high costs and long implementation times. These methods require clear regulation of processes and means of measuring their indicators.

Quantitative techniques involve measuring process indicators. Process indicators can also be both qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative indicators include subjective assessments of process managers and experts. For quantitative assessments: completion time indicators, technical and technological indicators, cost indicators, plan implementation indicators (effectiveness), specific indicators.

The overall performance of the process is assessed in three areas:effectiveness, efficiency and flexibility.

The concepts of “effectiveness” and “efficiency” of a process in the scientific literature are ambiguous. This is due, firstly, to the nuances of translating the terms “effectiveness” and “efficiency” from English in the works of various authors on the process approach. A common translation option is “effective” and “effective”, respectively. As a rule, the term “effective” means a process that achieves its goals. Under the term "effective" t » a process capable of operating at minimal cost. Secondly, the terms are used ambiguously in the ISO 9000 series standards. Thirdly, the term “efficiency” is used more often in relation to production processes, is associated with economic categories and is difficult to define for many university processes. Analysis of the use of these concepts in the practice of organizations is the subject of discussion by many authors.

This lecture will use the definitions of effectiveness and efficiency given in the English version of the ISO 9000:2005 standard, since they are most often found in this interpretation.

“Effectiveness degree of implementation of planned activities and achievement of planned results.”

“Efficiency the relationship between the achieved result and the resources used.”We support A. Stepanov, who believes that “the ratio in this case is the state of the results achieved and the resources used…. There is always a correlation. It may be satisfactory or unsatisfactory, good or bad (in the understanding of the enterprise), but it cannot but exist.”

Process flexibility (or adaptability) is understood as its adaptability to changes in conditions due to external and internal reasons.

Flexibility is the ability of a process to recognize changes in external conditions and quickly respond to changes, restructuring so that effectiveness and efficiency are not reduced.

It is impossible to use all types of indicators for any process at once. The introduction of certain indicators must be accompanied by certain conditions for the functioning of the process. Each process has a current state, determined by the degree of its standardization, certainty, the presence of feedback, evaluation methods, etc. This state will determine the set of indicators. For example, to introduce process performance indicators, the existence of a high level of performance indicators is necessary.

An assessment of the current state in terms of actual management practice is called in the literatureprocess maturity assessment.

Concept "process maturity"means the degree of its controllability, including the possibility of a step-by-step quantitative assessment of the quality, controllability and effectiveness of the results. The higher the maturity level of a process, the higher its status.

In ISO/IEC standard 15504, in turn, it was noted that the maturity of a process is its ability to achieve the required goal.

The above definitions show that maturity is defined as a general assessment of a process based on assessments of its effectiveness, efficiency and flexibility. The movement of a process along the maturity scale implies an increase in these basic assessments of the functioning of the process.

The formation of the concept of process maturity is associated, first of all, with the development of quality management theory. In the early thirties of the 20th century, Walter Shevart published a work in which he outlined the principles of statistical quality control. His ideas were developed and their successful application was demonstrated in the works of W. Edwards Deming and Joseph Juran.

Philip Crosby, in his 1979 book Quality is Free, provided a quality management maturity grid that describes five evolutionary phases in the implementation of a quality management system. These phases included: uncertainty, awareness, enlightenment, wisdom, confidence. This author's works dealt with the maturity of the quality management system. Subsequently, many authors began to apply this term both to quality management systems in general and to individual processes, developing their own maturity assessment scales. At the moment, there is no unified approach to determining the degree of maturity of systems or processes.

F. Crosby's maturity structure was further adapted for the production process by R. Radik. In 1986, Humphrey proposed his maturity framework, adding the concepts of maturity levels and developing the basis for their current use in the software industry.

• model defined in the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) standard and called the Capability Maturity Model. The standard was developed in 1991 on the basis of the SEI Institute (Software Engineering Institute System Programming Institute at Carnegie Mellon University);
• model defined by the standard "ISO/IEC 15504: Information Technology Software Process Assessment."The standard was developed on the basis of the SMS of the International Organization for Standardization [ibid.];
• Robert Gardner's process maturity assessment model, first published in Quality Progress Paradox in March 2001.

The first two maturity models were originally intended for organizations that create software. Subsequently, both models outgrew their original purpose and successfully went from research work to world standards. These models are used in various industries today. The above standards contain not only maturity assessment models, but also detailed assessment procedures. The CMM model is the property of SEI and is not publicly available. Assessment using this model is carried out only by trained specialists. The model is aimed at large organizations. The model defined by the ISO/IEC 15504 standard is freely distributed and used, but the results of assessing processes using this standard look quite complex. Interpretation of results requires additional training for process managers. The model is aimed at both large and small organizations.

R. Gardner's maturity assessment model is less detailed and is a description of six levels of process maturity. The model is universal in nature and can be used equally in small and large organizations, regardless of industry direction.

R. Gardner expressed each level of process maturity in terms of actual process management practices, such as standardization, measurement, corrective actions, as well as in terms of operating results: customer satisfaction, process capability and its effectiveness. These terms are formulated for each level as characteristics of the functioning of the process, the joint possession of which makes it possible to improve the process and move it to a new level.

The model assumes six levels of assessing process maturity: uncertainty, certainty, repeatability, ability, efficiency, flexibility.

Level 1. Unknown. In a given process, customer requirements are not defined, and work methods are not precisely defined or documented.

Level 2. Certainty. In the process, consumer requirements are identified and transformed into a criterion for final performance; there is a feedback system. Work methods in the process are standardized based on common procedures. Process results are managed based on post-process control.

Level 3: Repeatability. In the process, not only feedback systems are identified, but their connection with corrective actions is also traced. Working methods in the process are standardized based on detailed procedures. Measuring final performance demonstrates repeatability. Measuring internal performance demonstrates repeatability.

Level 4. Ability. There is a noticeable trend of increasing consumer satisfaction with the process. The process includes internal audit methods. Measuring the final performance demonstrates the reproducibility of the process. Measuring internal performance demonstrates the repeatability of the process.

Level 5. Efficiency. In the process, non-value-adding activities are identified and minimized, and subtle points in the process are identified and managed. A system of measures regarding internal efficiency has been introduced. Measuring internal performance has replaced control activities.

Level 6. Flexibility. Information about changes in process requirements and obligations travels quickly. Alternative development paths have been identified for the process to ensure flexibility. Process cycle time is minimized and ensures fast response. Employees are vested with significant authority and are responsible for the final results of the process. A system of new learning cycles has been introduced.

Each level necessarily includes previous levels and contains new requirements for improvement. To determine the level of process maturity, compliance of the process with the above characteristics is checked.

The ISO 9004 self-assessment model provides an approach that can also be used by an organization to determine the relative maturity of both the quality management system as a whole and its parts. The model is not designed to evaluate processes, but is sometimes used for this purpose. The structure of the model is an assessment of the maturity of each standard (or process) heading on a scale ranging from 1 (no formal system) to 5 (best in that performance category). The maturity levels used in this model are shown in Table 4.

The main advantage of this approach to assessing process maturity is its simplicity and ease of use in any organization and for any process. The organization's processes can be assessed using a 5-point system, the results can be compared with each other, and carrying out this type of assessment does not require serious material, time and personnel costs. The disadvantage of use is the lack of detailed characteristics of process levels. In the case when the model is applied to the entire management system, it allows you to evaluate each point of the standard and thus cover all the details and areas of activity. The application of the model to the assessment of individual processes does not affect such basic characteristics of processes as fulfillment of customer requirements, effectiveness and efficiency of the process.

Execution Maturity Levels

The above models are used in practice not only for direct assessment of the process, but also as a tool for its improvement. The current level of process maturity provides a benchmark for improvement, and the characteristics of the next level are considered as targets for further improvement. In addition, maturity assessment makes it possible to implement another condition for improving the management system: taking into account, on the one hand, the degree of maturity of processes, and on the other, the classification and purpose of modern management methods, it is possible to establish compliance that allows optimizing change activities.

PROCESS PERFORMANCE =

Ability to achieve desired results

PROCEDURE *)

(“A specified way of conducting an activity or process” may or may not be documented)

PROCESS

(“A set of interrelated or interacting activities”)

ENTRANCE

EXIT

PRODUCTS

(“Result of the process”)

(includes resources)

PROCESS EFFICIENCY =

Monitoring and measurement capabilities

(Before, during and after the process)

Results achieved in relation to resources used

PROCESS A

PROCESS B

PROCESS C

Login to process A

Exit process A

move to process B

Exit process B

Login to process C

Exit process C

Modern realities force us to adapt the management apparatus to a dynamically developing environment with fierce competition. The opinions of professionals in this regard differ. Some completely deny the importance of organizational and economic methods, others propose appointing someone responsible for each management function.

Practical experience shows that using only a functional approach leads to a decrease in management efficiency. What is the essence of other management methods? What is the process approach focused on and what are its advantages?

4 approaches to management

In modern management, there are four types that allow you to look at the organization and the management process differently. This is a quantitative, process approach, systemic, situational, which arose in the twentieth century.

Process approach in management

The modern process approach is based on a systems approach to management and considers any organization as a single organism. At each enterprise, various business processes take place, receiving resources at the input, and producing a semi-finished product or product at the output. The entire cycle is closed on the release of finished goods and services.

This approach consists of organizing work in such a way that it is based on dividing all enterprise activities into business processes, and the management apparatus into blocks. The entire system can be presented in the form of a diagram, a chain with individual links - operations. The end result of the production chain is the product. The units responsible for a specific business process are formed from structural divisions.

Fundamentals of the process approach

To make it more clear, we have compiled all the postulates in the table below.

Problems in implementing the process approach

In theory, the process approach looks simple and logical, but its implementation in the activities of an enterprise in practice turns out to be difficult. In this case, it is worth paying attention to real examples, the practical results of other organizations, and the opinion of professional consultants. For any organization, the implementation of an untested theory results in large financial and other costs.

The practical application of the process approach is associated with a number of problems:

• management introduces a process approach to management only at a formal level;
• the created system does not correspond to the real state of affairs in the organization;
• an attempt to introduce the approach at an informal level;
• managers do not perceive the approach as a new organizational ideology;
• management does not think about the need to regulate processes or does not know how to manage them;
• managers are not ready for fundamental changes, for example, revising the company structure;
• lack of competence, motivation, dedication, perseverance in optimizing processes.

Process approach in the organization and quality management system

One of the main requirements of ISO 9001:2000 is the implementation of a process approach. According to the standard, it is necessary to identify processes and organize their management, but a specific system of actions is not given.

Many managers, starting work on creating a QMS, perceive its implementation as informal. At the same time, they emphasize how significant the expected changes for the better that arise during implementation are, and not the QMS certificate itself. In practice, the implementation of the project creates difficulties. They frighten the management of the organization, which decides to limit itself to compliance with the formal requirements of ISO.

Thus, the QMS remains at a formal level. As a result, frustrated staff have a negative attitude towards the system itself and the process approach.

Methods for transition to process management

All of them are presented in the table:

What does the description and regulation of processes provide?

Increasing efficiency is not directly related to process regulation. The enterprise may not have descriptions and regulations. The work will still be performed by employees according to accepted rules, since the staff knows the production process. Such organization of work leads to constant loss of resources. Description and regulation of processes open up a number of possibilities:

1. Activity within the framework of standards and repeatability of processes create opportunities for management.
2. Identification of problems, difficult moments, losses of resources during the implementation of processes.
3. Development of measures to improve processes.
4. Experience and knowledge of work processes that can be transferred to new employees, branches, and other organizations.
5. Implementation of benchmarking, comparison of your enterprise with competitors to improve business processes.
6. Internal audit.

Regulation is effective if it is accompanied by analysis, development and implementation of improvements.

Ideology of the process approach

The process approach and its real, rather than formal, implementation into the management system causes many difficulties. The problem for management is the lack of leadership skills and the ability to involve staff. Changes when creating new systems must first occur in the minds of workers.

Employee engagement is made easier if the approach is taken as an ideology. First, an idea penetrates people's consciousness, and then it becomes a tool. Then the staff will be ready to apply new methods and programs, for which they must be encouraged.

Conclusion

In many countries around the world, the process approach to management is perceived as the main factor of business success. It is no coincidence that it has become the basis of quality management standards. The effectiveness of the approach has not yet been confirmed by real examples of implementation at Russian enterprises. There are few examples, as well as new benefits from implementing the standard. The reason is that many organizations simply changed the terminology: there was a sales department, now there is a “Sales” process. Department heads have become process owners.

The process approach in management is the main tool among the tools that are used by management to reorganize the management system.

Annotation: Purpose of the lecture: Presentation of the process approach to organizing enterprise management

Introduction

Process approach assumes that the activities of an enterprise can be represented as a set of ongoing business processes. It is effective for enterprises whose production activities involve repeated repetition of the same chains of actions performed by different performers. Such enterprises are the majority of office companies engaged in various types of work with documents, for example, banks, insurance, investment companies, consulting companies, publishing houses. Also, the use of the process approach is effective in enterprises whose activities are described by detailed regulations, for example, in government bodies.

About a hundred different definitions of the concept business process are used in the literature. Therefore, in this course we will not give a general definition of a business process; we will just note that, as a rule, the definition assumes that a business process has a graphical diagram on which nodes and transitions (arrows) are located. Control points move along transitions.

The appearance of a control point in a node of a certain type corresponds to the execution of some action in the production activity of the enterprise. Transitions in the business process diagram, as well as nodes intended for branching and merging control points, are located in such a way that the actions taken into account in the business process are performed in a coordinated manner and in the correct order. Process approach does not imply mandatory automation of the enterprise. Business processes can be of two types: Business processes for analytical modeling of enterprise activities and executable business processes.

Business processes for analytical modeling actually represent a special language of communication between managers, business analysts and enterprise executives and are used to develop and explain basic decisions on organizing the business of an enterprise. Their task is to ensure the perception and understanding of these decisions by people, so they do not contain details, as a rule, they are limited to describing only frequently used sequences of actions that do not contain any deviations; the sequences of actions described in them are not intended for real execution.

Executable business processes, on the contrary, involve moving control points along a business process diagram in a computer environment in strict accordance with the actions performed in the enterprise. Such computer environments are implemented - business process management systems and. From now on we will call them SUBPiAR. In fact, SMS&AR distribute tasks to the executor in accordance with the movement of control points along the business process diagram and control the execution of these tasks.

Historically process approach At first it included only business processes for analytical modeling. As part of this approach, the enterprise's business processes were identified, the identified business processes were analyzed, and proposals were generated to improve business efficiency by changing business processes. Next, the modified business processes were implemented at the enterprise. As a rule, it took a long time and was complicated, through changes in job descriptions, organizational structure, and direct instructions from managers.

The advent of executable business processes has brought many new benefits to the process approach. The main ones are:

• the use of SMS&AR as an analogue of a production conveyor and, as a result, a significant increase in the productivity of office workers
• the ability to quickly change enterprise business processes in response to changing business conditions

In recent years, there has been an active implementation of SMS&AR both in business and in government organizations. Therefore, there was a need to train students of both economic specialties and specialties related to information technology in the process approach and work with SMS&AR.

This course focuses primarily on executable business processes. The course provides the definition and main characteristics of executable business processes, describes business process management systems and administrative regulations and their main components. The basics of developing enterprise business processes are outlined. It is expected that in the framework of this course, students will study the theory of executable business processes, the main components of a typical SMS&AP, become familiar with graphical notations for describing business processes, and gain practical experience in the development and execution of business processes.

A description of the main elements of business process management systems is given using the example of a free open source system – RunaWFE. RunaWFE is freely distributed along with its source code under the open LGPL license. The system is free, it can be freely installed on any number of computers and used without any restrictions. You can download distributions and source code via the Internet from the sourceforge free software developer portal. net at: .

The RunaWFE project website address is http://www.runawfe.org/rus.

Process approach to organizing enterprise management

Levels of process management

A modern view of process management involves dividing management across several levels.

At the first level, the overall strategic management of the enterprise is considered. This level uses business processes for analytical modeling. The task of business processes at this level is the formation of general ideas about the main business processes of the enterprise and the exchange of these ideas between managers. This level does not imply the actual execution of the developed business processes. At the first level, it is convenient to depict business processes in graphical notations IDEF0, IDEF3, DFD, EPC, and related ones. You can also use some of the BPMN 2.0 notation constructs at this level. As software tools for working with business processes at the first level, you can use, for example, programs such as Business Studio, Microsoft Visio or ARIS.

Sequences of actions in first-level business processes can be described simply in the form of text; such descriptions are called text regulations. However, people perceive visual information much faster and easier than text descriptions. Therefore, it is graphical representations of simulated business processes that are most widely used.

Simulation modeling tools are also used at the first level of process management. This class of programs does not provide for the actual execution of enterprise business processes in a computer environment. Simulation modeling systems contain a customizable statistical model of an organization's business processes. By setting various parameters of this model and repeatedly “playing out” business processes on conditional automatic users, it is possible to obtain the values ​​of various performance indicators and thus predict changes in the real indicators of the enterprise in the future depending on certain changes in business processes. If the statistical model is built correctly, then simulation modeling can be a means of determining the optimal parameters of business processes.

At the next level, the enterprise's strategic business processes are translated into executable business processes. At this level, business process diagrams are usually depicted in BPMN, UML (Activity Diagram) and related notations. At the second level, the current activity of an enterprise is represented as a set of running instances of business processes. At this level, SUMS&AR are used. The main task of these systems is to distribute tasks to performers and monitor their implementation. Along with the task, the performer is given the information required to complete it. The sequence of tasks is determined by a business process diagram, which can be developed and subsequently quickly modified with the help of a graphic designer. This diagram is similar to a flowchart of an algorithm. Control points move according to the diagram. At certain nodes of the circuit, tasks are generated for executors.

There are certain similarities between an executable business process and a computer program. Algorithms underlie both an executable business process and a computer program. For computer programs, as well as for business processes for analytical modeling, there are graphical notations (for example, the UML class diagram) that programmers and software architects use to explain various software and architectural decisions. However, computer programs themselves are not yet widely developed in the form of graphic objects; they are mainly written in the form of texts in programming languages. How is the situation for executable business processes different from computer programs? Unlike a computer program, the commands of which are executed by a computer, some of the actions of a business process are performed by people. They do this significantly longer than the computer, so business process instances run for a relatively long time and their state changes slowly. Moreover, unlike a computer program, during the execution of business processes, enterprise management can significantly influence their implementation, for example, increase or decrease the number of employees performing certain actions.

Therefore, it is important for executives and managers of an enterprise to quickly understand the state of the running instances of the enterprise’s business processes. This understanding is provided by a graphical diagram of a business process with the current positions of control points plotted on it, as well as the routes traversed by these points since the launch of the business process instance. For computer programs, such diagrams in most cases do not make sense, because the speed of movement of control points will significantly exceed the limits of human capabilities to track them.

The third level corresponds to the business objects of the enterprise. The state of the entire enterprise at the current point in time is determined by the state of all business objects of the enterprise at this point in time. The process approach assumes that the states of business objects are changed by instances of second-level business processes when performing corresponding tasks. For this layer, content management systems (ECM systems) or database management systems are traditionally used as storage. It is also possible to use ERP systems at this level (for example, you can use the 1C or Galaktika system).

In business process development examples, we will sometimes use Microsoft Excel document sheets as a storage of business objects. This is made for educational purposes to demonstrate the third layer concept quickly and easily.

Benefits of the process approach

The use of a process approach at the first level leads to the emergence of a common language for describing business processes for all managers of an enterprise, based on graphic diagrams. After enterprise employees master this language, they will be able to quickly read existing business processes, discuss their features, and propose various changes. After conducting a survey of the enterprise, identifying repeating sequences of actions and grouping them into first-level business processes, it becomes possible to analyze selected business processes, identify and correct unsuccessful decisions, optimize bottlenecks and critical areas of business processes. If the activities of an enterprise are not formalized and business processes are not described, then it is difficult to improve and optimize management.

Using executable business processes provides the following benefits:

• Significantly increases labor productivity
• Significantly simplifies the activity of monitoring work performed. Increases the transparency of the enterprise.
• Improves the quality of the enterprise's products, because - due to automatic regulation and monitoring tools, compliance with all stipulated rules is ensured
• Allows you to quickly change business processes in response to changing operating conditions of the enterprise
• Allows you to solve the problem of enterprise-scale integration
• Reduces the cost of enterprise automation work, increases the speed of development and reliability of software.

Let's look at these benefits in more detail.

Previously (before the advent of executable business processes), the execution of business processes in organizations was carried out mainly indirectly - through changes in job descriptions, the organizational structure of the enterprise, and direct instructions from managers. However, the degree of automation of modern enterprises allows for the direct execution of business processes in a computer environment. In this case, an analogue of a production conveyor appears at the enterprise, from which it is possible to obtain an increase in labor productivity comparable to that obtained from the introduction of a conveyor in production. Increased labor productivity is achieved due to the fact that this mechanism makes it possible to eliminate routine operations and ineffective procedures associated with searching and transmitting information from employee actions, and significantly increase the speed of employee interaction. Workers complete assigned tasks without being distracted by:

• Obtaining from other workers the data necessary to complete the task
• Transferring the results of your work to other employees
• Studying job descriptions

Everything necessary appears in front of the employee on the computer screen. The sequence of execution of work elements is determined by the business process diagram. At the nodes of the circuit, the SUP&AR distributes tasks to performers and controls their implementation.

The use of executable business processes also allows you to quickly rebuild an organization's business processes. In many cases, task performers may not even be informed about a change in a business process, since this will not affect the nature of their work. That is, it becomes easier and faster to change the execution of processes. In this way, the enterprise can more effectively respond to changes in internal or external conditions.

A modern Russian enterprise, as a rule, already operates several heterogeneous automated systems that participate in some of the enterprise’s business processes. Since business processes permeate the entire enterprise, they will have to interact with all automated systems during execution. Thus, the task of implementing an SMS&AP turns out to be a special case of the task of integrating enterprise-scale computer applications. In other words, when implementing an SMS&AP at an enterprise, applications should appear that ensure its integration with existing systems.

SUMS is a central part of modern enterprise-scale systems. If the corporate information system (CIS) does not have a SUMS, then the logic of business processes turns out to be scattered across various elements of the system - databases, individual applications, etc., such systems are difficult to maintain and develop further.

At enterprises with stable, repeating chains of operations, the implementation, configuration and maintenance of systems based on SMS&AR turns out to be faster and cheaper than traditional automation, in which individual application components are developed for various tasks and departments. SUBPiAR allow:

• Quickly adapt development to changing tasks and the emergence of new ideas during development
• Reduce development costs by:
  • Development of business processes using SUMS instead of writing code
  • Elimination of interaction between programmers and the customer. A business analyst and a customer are much more comfortable interacting with each other when jointly developing the main elements of an executable business process diagram than a customer and a programmer when discussing the text of a technical specification
  • In this case, the programmer is freed from routine tasks and can concentrate on developing complex graphic elements and connectors, which increases the efficiency of his work
• Reduce technical support costs
• Significantly reduce the cost of modifications and maintenance

In traditional development, the solution is described twice: once using text included in the technical specification or technical design, and again in the form of program code. The process approach allows you to describe the solution only once, in the form of an executable business process, and thus reduce automation costs.

These advantages (faster, cheaper, easier to support and maintain) coincide with the advantages of the object-oriented programming paradigm compared to the procedural programming paradigm, which has almost been forced out of practice. By analogy, automation based on executable business processes can be interpreted as a new high-level programming paradigm and one can expect a significant increase in the scale of its use compared to traditional automation.

Executable business processes and management system

Business process management is an actively developing field and many terms in it have not yet been fully established. Various authors resort to concepts such as SUMS, work flow management systems (Workflow), document management systems (Docflow), enterprise-scale integration systems (EAI - Enterprise Application Integration), etc.

We will use the term workflow management to refer to cases where only people perform tasks in a business process. We will consider the term SUBPiAR as more general in relation to work flow management: the executors of tasks of a business process or regulation in SUBPiAR are both people and computer applications. As a rule, the management system coordinates the work of all performers uniformly, without specially highlighting the work performed by humans or computer systems.

In addition to DBMS, document management systems, or DocFlow systems, have become widespread. Instead of control points, document management systems use a “document flow.” DocFlow systems describe the activities of an enterprise in the form of documents traveling between their editors along certain routes in accordance with given rules.

DocFlow systems are the successors of paper document flow. Hence their natural limitations follow: a limited set of actions can be performed with a document: approve/reject, endorse, delete, make edits, etc. Typically, document management systems are complemented by systems for storing images of paper documents and version control systems. The main advantage of document flow systems is the ability to quickly implement them in an enterprise if document flow is already well established there.

In document management systems, as well as in DBMS, there are graph-based schemes that consist of nodes connected by possible transitions. However, it is not control points that move along these graphs, but “baskets” of documents. In DocFlow systems, as a rule, data is contained inside documents that directly move through the document flow diagram.

In a SUMS, data does not move with the control point, but is contained in global (corresponding to the entire business process) and local (corresponding to one node) variables.

Currently, SUMS and document management systems are systems of different types, but gradually document management systems are approaching SUMS and AR in functionality. With the help of modern DocFlow systems, you can model many types of business processes, and with the help of SUMS, you can automate elements of document flow.

Executable business processes

The evolution of the development of SMS&AP has led to the use in modern systems of such concepts as business process definition and business process instance. Sometimes a business process definition is also called a business process template. The business process definition contains a business process diagram, business process roles, and rules for assigning performers to roles. During the execution of a business process, control points move along the diagram. The easiest way to think of control points and their movements is by analogy with moving pieces in a children's board game with a cube.

The business process definition also contains a description of data storage structures. During the execution of a business process, these structures contain specific data. Even in modern BPMS, the definition of a business process contains a description of the means of interaction of the business process with the task executor. Typically this is a graphical form for user interaction, or a software interface for interaction with an information system. Another element of defining a business process are business rules, which are used to select a specific path for further movement of the control point at route branching points.

For each business process definition, you can create and run instances of that business process. The differences between a definition and a business process instance correspond to the difference between a variable type and a variable instance in a traditional programming language. That is, if the definition of a business process contains a business process diagram, data types, role names, then in a running instance of a business process there are moving control points on the diagram, specific performers are assigned to roles, business process instance contains specific data whose types correspond to the data types in the business process definition. Also, in business process instances, specific task executors are assigned to roles.

Business processes that can be executed in a computer environment must be formally defined in a sufficiently strict manner so that they can be easily translated into a computer-understood representation. It is convenient to use mathematical concepts for this.

Let us give a formal definition of an executable business process, the basis of which is the ideas of S. Yablonsky and S. Bussler:

An executable business process is determined by specifying the following perspectives (points of view or layers/levels of consideration):

• control-flow perspective
• data perspective
• resource perspective
• operational perspective

Let us consider in detail all levels of the formal definition of an executable business process. In this case, we will use the “Payment of supplier invoice” business process as an example. With its help, we will try to explain all the prospects for the formal definition of a business process.

Control Flow Perspective

The control flow perspective corresponds to the business process diagram. Initially, a diagram was defined as a mathematical concept - a directed graph: a set of nodes connected by transitions (arrows). Business process nodes could be of two types - nodes corresponding to process steps and route nodes. The control point (a pointer to the active process node) moves along the transitions, guided by the business rules in the route nodes (business rules also apply to the control flow perspective).

The node corresponding to the process step contains an Activity node. If the control point has arrived at the action node, then the SUMS gives the task to the performer (employee or information system) and waits for a response (message that the work has been completed). After the performer’s response, the control point moves along the transition to the next business process node. A node corresponding to an action node can only have one incoming and one outgoing transition adjacent to it.

A route node corresponds to the appearance, removal, branching-merging of control points, or the selection of a transition along which the control point will be moved further. In such nodes, the management system selects, based on the business rules contained in the routing nodes, the next node(s) to which control will be transferred. Often these nodes have more than one incoming or outgoing transition associated with them.

The fundamental difference between a process step and a route node is that in a route node you only need to make a decision about the further path(s) of movement of the control point based on existing data, so the control point should not be in the route node for a long time. The control point may remain in a process step for a long time. An exception to this rule is merging route nodes, in which incoming control points “wait” for the arrival of control points along the remaining incoming transitions, after which all incoming control points are destroyed and control points are generated along outgoing transitions. However, if we assume that the control point that arrived at the merge node is deleted immediately, while the node stores information that the control point has already arrived along this transition, then this exception disappears.

A running instance of a business process can have multiple control points at the same time. In accordance with business logic, the management point in a route node can be divided into several management points, and management points can also wait for each other in a certain route node and then merge into one management point.

Later, with the advent of various business process-related standards and specifications, this definition was expanded:

1. Combination nodes have been added, which are the merging of a process step with one or more route nodes. For example, when merging an action node with a route node located behind it, which selects one of several possible directions, only the action node is placed in the diagram and the transitions that must leave the route node are directly attached to it.
2. Additional constructions have been added, the elements of which are not elements of the graph (hereinafter referred to as additional constructions), however, transitions and route nodes can be attached to these elements, or transitions can intersect these elements. For example, events and interrupt areas were introduced to encompass business process steps. When the control point is located inside the area with an interruption, an event may occur (the client may change his mind about placing an order, force majeure circumstances may arise during the validity of the contract, etc.). In this case, the control point can immediately move from any node located inside the area to a route node attached to the area and from there continue moving along the transition connected to it.
3. Nodes have been added that correspond to a process step, but are not action nodes. For example, waiting nodes in which no tasks are given to the process executors, the UPMS simply waits in these nodes for the occurrence of a certain event, after which the control point moves on. Subprocess nodes have also been added. For these nodes, a specific executor is not defined; in these nodes, the SMS&AR launches another business process as a subprocess of the current process and transfers the corresponding data to it.

With the additions, the control flow perspective can be defined as follows:

The control flow perspective represents a business process diagram. A business process diagram consists of a directed graph and possibly additional constructs. Business process nodes can be of three types - nodes corresponding to process steps, route nodes and combined nodes, which represent the merging of a process step with one or more route nodes.

Process steps are action nodes or additional nodes. Control points move along transitions. At the moment the control point arrives at the action node, the SUBPiAR gives a task to the executor. After the executor completes the task, the control point moves along the transition to the next process node. A node corresponding to an action node can only have one incoming and one outgoing transition adjacent to it.

A route node corresponds to the appearance, removal, splitting, merging of control points, or the selection of a transition. These nodes may contain business rules on the basis of which further paths of management points are selected. In routing nodes, the SUP&AR selects the next node(s) to which control will be transferred.

We will explain the behavior of the nodes most commonly used in business processes, and also provide their graphic images.

The "start" node corresponds to the start point of the business process execution. It has no incoming edges and one or more outgoing edges. At the moment of launching a business process instance, a control point is placed in the node, which immediately leaves it along the outgoing edge. There must be a single "start" node in a business process. Indicated by a “thin” circle (Fig. 1.1 a). In the case of multiple outgoing transitions, the node is combined by an exclusive gateway, so when starting a business process instance, the user selects one of the outgoing edges along which the control point will be moved further.

Rice. 1.1.

A "flow termination" node must have one or more incoming edges and no outgoing edges. When any management point hits this node, it is deleted. An instance of a business process in which there is no control point left is considered completed. There can be multiple thread completion nodes, but there must be at least one such node. Indicated by a “bold” circle (Fig. 1.1 b).

The “end” node corresponds to the end point of the execution of a business process. The End node must have one or more incoming Transitions and no outgoing Transitions. When control reaches Termination, all threads of this process, as well as all its synchronous subprocesses, stop. There can be multiple Finish nodes in a business process. However, this node is not required in a business process if there is at least one flow termination point in the business process. Indicated by a black circle inside a circle (Fig. 1.1 c).

The “action” node generates a task for the performer, is denoted by a rectangle with rounded corners, in the center of which the name of the node is written (Fig. 1.1 d), and can have several incoming and several outgoing edges. In the case of several outgoing transitions, the node is combined by an exclusive gateway, therefore, for each control point that arrives at it, when performing a node task, the user selects one of the outgoing transitions (edges), along which the control point will be moved further.

An exclusive gateway node can have multiple incoming and multiple outgoing edges. For each control point that arrives at it, it is selected along which of the outgoing edges it will be moved next. It is indicated by a diamond with a “cross” in it (Fig. 1.2 a).

In Fig. Figure 1.3 shows an example of the business process graph “Payment of supplier invoices”. The steps of the process are depicted as rectangles with rounded edges; the beginning of the process corresponds to a circle, and the end - a circle with a circle inside. The element "Pay the bill" is a combined node, which is a composition of a route connection node of transitions and an action node. The remaining rectangles with rounded edges are action nodes. Elements in the form of diamonds correspond to route nodes - places where control point routes branch.

At the beginning of the business process, the supply business manager enters the parameters of the expected payment (invoice number, invoice date, invoice amount, counterparty company, agent company, comment). Next, the department's budget execution is automatically monitored. If the current deal exceeds the budget, it is automatically rejected and the business process ends. If the department's budget is not exceeded, the transaction amount is compared with the payment limit. Further, if the limit is not exceeded, the invoice is paid automatically, after which the business process is completed. If the limit is exceeded, the payment must be confirmed by the financial director.

The following business rules correspond to the “Payment of supplier invoice” business process:

1. If the external application called in the "get data from budget" node returned the value "no" to the variable "Is the department's budget exceeded", then you should proceed to check the limit, otherwise go to the business process completion node.
2. If the value of the "invoice amount" variable is less than the value of the "one-time payment limit" constant, you need to go to the "pay the invoice" node, otherwise - to the "confirm payment" node.
3. If an executor belonging to the role “Financial Director”, filling out the fields in the appropriate form, returned the value “yes” to the variable “whether the manager approved”, then go to the “payment of invoice” node, otherwise - to the business process completion node.
4. business process management can also be complex and differ from the behavior of the control point in the traditional flowchart of the algorithm: in this example, if the application is approved by the boss, the control flow is divided into two parallel flows (the separation and merging of flows corresponds to a diamond-shaped element, inside which shows a “plus sign”), executed simultaneously, which then “merge” at one point.

Data Perspective

The data perspective corresponds to a set of internal business process variables. Business process variables can be input and output parameters in the interaction of the management system and information systems of the enterprise. With the help of variables, information is exchanged between process steps and, as a result, between external information systems, i.e., a business process can transfer information in a corporate information environment between heterogeneous information systems. Business process variables are also used when selecting a specific internal control point movement between nodes along any of the possible transitions.