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	BPMS Watch: Engaging the Business in BPM Read this column.
As BPM begins to expand beyond isolated projects to mainstream programs at the division or enterprise level, there is a need to engage a far greater number of business people in the...

Experts Wanted

Presented by Bruce Silver, Principal, Bruce Silver Associates

Course Duration: 2 days

Course Description:

Traditionally, process modeling has relied on proprietary tools and methodologies, raising the cost and limiting shared understanding. Today we have a widely accepted standard for process modeling, the Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) from OMG, with near-universal adoption by modeling tools. BPMN looks a lot like traditional swimlane diagrams, but adds powerful new features that allow exception handling – the hidden cost of real-world business processes – to be modeled explicitly in the diagram.

This course shows process modelers how to use BPMN correctly and effectively - to document existing processes, to analyze and improve processes, and even to collaborate with IT in executable process design. Creating “effective” models - those that stand on their own, clear and complete from the diagram alone, without accompanying explanation - depends on more than knowing the catalog of BPMN shapes and symbols. It requires understanding BPMN’s hidden assumptions about basic concepts - What exactly is a process? What do sequence flows and message flows really mean? What does BPMN mean by starting, completing, sending, and receiving? You won’t find the answers in the BPMN spec, but they are critical to using BPMN effectively.

But that alone is not enough. Effective modeling also requires a methodology, starting from a blank page and progressing to a complete diagram. And it requires a style guide, a set of rules and best practices for making diagrams clear from inspection. This course provides those as well.

This course, based on Bruce Silver’s new book BPMN Method and Style, will show you how to use BPMN at two different levels, with a method and style applicable to each level. Level 1, or descriptive BPMN, is intended for business users. It relies on a basic working set of shapes and symbols, familiar from traditional flowcharting, but aligned with the basic structure and meaning of Level 2. Level 2, or analytical BPMN, is intended for business process analysts and architects, as well as developers planning to collaborate with business on process design. Level 2 BPMN represents a common process language shared by business and IT, but achieving that common language demands attention to method and style. Level 2 refines Level 1 models with an emphasis on events and exception handling, the source of problems in most existing processes. We teach specific diagram patterns that signify a particular type of exception and its effect on the process, so that exception behavior is captured explicitly and clearly in the diagram itself.

You can’t learn BPMN from lectures. You need to be hands on. That’s why the training uses a BPMN tool, an add-on to Microsoft Visio. Each student is expected to bring a laptop to the class and will use it to complete exercises, both in class and afterwards. The post-class exercises are optional, but give students the opportunity for individualized feedback and instruction. The price of the training includes 60-day use of the tool, Process Modeler for Visio from ITP Commerce. In addition to certification through BPM Institute, students who satisfactorily complete the post-class exercises are eligible for certification of proficiency in BPMN modeling from BPMessentials.com.

Course Outline:
Day 1

1. Why BPMN
2. Getting Started: BPMN Level 1
3. The Level 1 Palette
4. Level 1 Method
5. Level 1 Style
   
   Day 2
6. Deeper Meaning: BPMN Level 2
7. Events
8. Branching and Merging Patterns
9. Exception Handling Patterns
10. Repeating Activities and Pools
11. Level 2 Method
12. Level 2 Style
13. Gaining Proficiency

Course Objectives:

• Understand where BPMN fits in the overall framework of business modeling and its role in business-IT alignment
• Learn a “cookbook” methodology for creating business-oriented Level 1 models
• Learn elements of Level 1 style essential to clear and effective models
• Understand the hidden technical meaning behind BPMN’s shapes and symbols
• Learn a methodology for refining Level 1 models to show the exceptions and variations important to key performance indicators
• Learn the “art” of process modeling, diagram patterns and best practices that allow your diagrams to stand on their own

Instructor Biography:

Bruce Silver, well known BPM industry analyst and educator, is founder of BPMessentials.com, the leading provider of BPMN training worldwide. He is the author of the book BPMN Method and Style (www.bpmnstyle.com), on which this course is based, and is a participant in the working group creating the BPMN 2.0 standard. He writes extensively on BPMN and BPM Suites in his blog BPMS Watch (www.brsilver.com/wordpress), and the BPMS Watch column for BPM Institute. In addition, he is the author of the BPMS Report series of product evaluations available on the BPM Institute website.
 
Target Audience/Who Should Attend:

• Business analysts, business process analysts
• Business architects
• Process implementation designers
• Consultants

Unique Value of Course:

The class teaches a step by step methodology for effective BPMN modeling. Also, the course includes hands-on exercises in class using a BPMN tool, plus optional exercises for certification to be mailed in after the course. Students will receive individualized feedback on their submitted exercises at no extra charge. Students completing the certification exercises correctly will be recognized on the BPMessentials.com site.

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